Filed to story: Owned by the Alphas Novel
I missed his warmth instantly, so he shrugged off his coat and laid it on my shoulders. He was much bigger than me, and it was like a blanket. It became my new favorite. I pulled it tight and smiled at him.
Kai growled and snapped in the link, telling his wolves to get their asses back on patrol.
“Good alpha,” I teased. He narrowed his eyes on me.
I was going to pay for that later, but I always looked forward to Kai’s punishments.
They were a delicious torture that never failed to stop me from misbehaving again and again. But misbehaving was his term for it; mine was much simpler. I was just doing what I thought I needed to–he was either on board or he wasn’t. This time, I think he was landing somewhere in the middle, but my teasing may have pushed him into not agreeing.
That was okay. He could teach me a lesson later. For now, though, I needed to make sure what I had done had actually worked.
“So the water is clear, drinkable?” I asked.
Anetta was there with a pitcher and nodded.
“Yes. Which is why I brought this down for you. Luna’s first.” Anetta smiled.
Derik stopped me from drinking.
“Someone has tested this first?” he asked. Anetta gave him a droll stare.
“Of course they did. I’m not an idiot.”
Derik frowned at the pitcher in my hand, then nodded. I lifted the pitcher to my lips and took a timid sip.
The liquid slid down my throat, relieving the dry ache in there instantly. I let out a sigh, then closed my eyes. It was beautifully clean.
“It’s delicious. Get water through the wolves in the infirmary; they should be clean in a few days. Go let the school know the water can be used again,” I said. Anetta grinned and ran off, doing as I asked through the link.
“I’m going to go turn on the water for the gardens,” she called out.
I nodded, and she sprinted away.
I sipped more from the pitcher, then handed it to Derik. He sculled some of the water before handing it to Brax.
Seeing us get our water source back, feeling like we had won this battle in the war, had a rush of excitement running through me. Maybe we could win.
Our wolves could heal; we had a chance. It was more than we’d had in a while.
Every step seemed wrong or came with consequences. But this step? It had fixed something instead of breaking it.
I smiled and tucked into Derik as he organized the pack in the link, sending them off to other places to store water. We weren’t taking any more chances, and he always learned from mistakes. Leaving the lake as our only water source was not something he was willing to risk again. So he had a plan to store barrels of water in the basement of the mansion. Just in case. It was a good idea, and he took charge easily.
“Should we go have tea, Mom?” I asked her.
She smiled and nodded, more and more comfortable with the wolves.
“Sure, although I was wondering if Derik could join us. I have some things I would like to discuss.”
I raised a brow at her, then looked to Derik. He was wary but nodded.
“Of course.”
“Can you make sure the water runs to the lake go smoothly?” Derik asked Brax.
Brax nodded, then pulled me in for a kiss.
“The twins are asleep. My shadows are with them, but I’ll need them on the runs to the lake and back,” Brax hesitated.
I pushed mine toward the twins’ room. “I’ve got them,” I said.
He nodded and ran to take over Derik’s lead.
We went inside to the sitting room of the mansion, where tea was delivered along with more water. I brought the twins down to be with us, sitting on the floor next to their portable crib, while Mom poured the tea.
Derik grabbed a quill and parchment, always prepared.
“Pearl, your lead,” he offered.
She nodded once, smiling in thanks, before speaking.
“Now that the humans are all committed to the grassland villages, I was hoping we could make the title of the land official. We would like it to be ours, so we can do to it as we see fit,” she said.
I listened carefully, sipping my tea.
“Isn’t the land already the humans’?” I asked.
Derik grimaced and shook his head. “Not until we bind an agreement in blood. At the moment, the lands respond to our city’s vitality. The magic between them is connected. If the land is given to the humans, things will change,” Derik said, scribbling on the parchment.
I had no idea what he was writing, but it looked important.
I should learn how to do some of the paperwork and agreement side of things, but it was hard when I didn’t understand the wording. It was so specific, and Derik said every word had to be carefully considered and chosen to make sure there were no loopholes.
Magic was black and white; if you found a gray area, the contracts were breakable.
He made sure there were no gray areas.
“We understand it will change things. Could you explain what that would mean for us? What we would have to offer the realm to keep it happy with us using the land instead of the wolves?” she asked.
She had a better grasp on it all than I did. That was clear. Galen had obviously been teaching her the ways of the wolves.
Derik sighed and looked up from the parchment. “We offer the realm magic every time we shift; that is our contribution. For the humans? I would assume blood.”
I sucked in a breath, but my mother just nodded.
“I also assumed this.” She sipped her tea.
“How much blood?” I demanded.
Derik shook his head. “Not much. A drop to show loyalty. But looking after the land is the most important. Watering it, farming it, looking after the animals the realm gifts us for resource. All of these things must be done. And then the contract,” he said with an ever deeper sigh, “that would require a balance.”
Mother nodded, putting her cup down as Galen strode in, buttoning up his tunic.
I thought he would take over the meeting, but he sat down next to Mom, his hand going to hers, clutching it before waiting for her to continue.
The respect in that single move was more than I had ever seen my father give her.
My heart swelled, and I silently thanked him for treating her like a human, no, like a person.
“You’re welcome.” He nodded once to me. I smiled and turned to the meeting, trying to hide my grin.
“A balance. We would need to give you something in return for the land?” she asked.
Derik nodded. “We don’t want to take anything off you, but it wouldn’t be accepted without an equal transaction,” he grimaced.
Mom didn’t look bothered. Instead, she reached into her pouch purse she carried everywhere with her.
She placed a vial on the table. Then she placed a dagger on the table. Then a mini pouch of powder.
“Here is our offer then,” she said, nodding to the items. “The vial is a werewolf toxin bomb. It will burn the vamps like wolfsbane does wolves. The dagger has been melted with it and will stop the vamps from regenerating or healing wherever you cut with it. The powder is toxin turned into a powder; use that however you see fit. We can make a substantial amount of this per week. I’m offering you 30 percent of whatever we make in exchange for the land,” she stated.
I was impressed, and even Derik had to be.
He raised a brow and put his things down, then came over to the coffee table where the items were. He knelt down and inspected each one slowly.
“The werewolf toxin is procured–“
“Voluntarily,” Galen defended.
Derik nodded and wrote more notes down, sitting back in his chair.
“Would you be willing to add in a clause of exclusivity? It would prevent you from creating anything of this type of weapon for the vampires or anyone else outside of the city pack.”
Mom nodded, and Derik scribbled more down.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?