Filed to story: The Alpha’s Pen Pal Book
“The king will question him. He’s abused his power too much by trying to command you to be his luna, and he’s the logical choice for who could be behind the poisoning of the pack,” Dawson says. “I will be very surprised if King Malachi lets him keep his alpha title, especially if he’s behind the poisoning. So, dead or alive, the pack will have to find a new alpha.”
I nod and rub my belly, glancing down at it. “The pack already has a future alpha,” I murmur.
“Excuse me?” Blake asks, her brow furrowing. “How? How would the pack have a future alpha? The only female Dominic has been intimate with recently is—” Her eyes widen and she throws her body forward in her seat, catching herself on the headrest of mine. “Wait, you’re pregnant?” I nod, looking at her over my shoulder with a small smile. “You’re pregnant with Dominic’s pup?”
“My pup,” Reid says with a growl, his eyes narrowing, his hold on my hand tightening. “Mine,” he repeats, glancing at me again.
“Someone’s possessive,” Blake says, rolling her eyes, a smile tugging on her lips.
“Fuck yes I am,” he says, eyes back on the road. “That dickhead alpha already tried to claim my mate. I’m not letting him claim my Sour Patch, too.”
“He’s an alpha,” Dawson says, sighing and shaking his head. “He’s not going to let his claim on his heir go just like that.”
“Wesley and Haven said they’d protect me and my pup—our pup,” I say, amending my statement before Reid opens his mouth to correct me. “I’m just not sure how it will all work if Dominic loses his title.”
“Usually, if the heir is not old enough to lead yet and the alpha can no longer perform his job, the king or the council will appoint a regent or a proxy to lead in their stead until they are old enough,” Reid says, turning off the main road and onto the side street that leads to the center of Silver Ridge. “But that’s when the heir is a member of the same pack. Since you’re a Crescent Lake member, that means she’ll be born as a Crescent Lake member as well, and I’m not sure what that will mean for her in terms of becoming the alpha of Silver Ridge.”
“A girl?!” Blake says, clasping her hands under her chin. “Oh, Goddess, I’m so excited! I am going to be the bestest, coolest fake aunt ever! She’s going to come to me for advice on everything and—oh! Does she have a name yet? If she doesn’t, I’d love to recommend Blake as a name. Not after me, of course, but because it’s the fucking coolest name ever.”
“Of course,” Reid says, his lips twitching as he parks. “No selfish reasons for suggesting that name at all.”
“None whatsoever,” she agrees, winking at me.
Reid laughs, and Dawson shakes his head as we all unbuckle and exit the vehicle. The solemn silence from before settles over us again as our doors slam shut and we examine the pack. Or what’s left of it.
Which isn’t much.
Every building is either a skeleton of what it once was—a burnt, blackened, crumbling skeleton—or reduced to a pile of ash, with no indication of what building it was before the attack. Even after days of snow, the scent of the fire hangs heavy in the air. It’s cloying and potent, clawing at my lungs and infiltrating my nostrils.
Nothing remains. None of the buildings stand. There’s no chance of salvaging anything. Memories, moments, traditions, entire lives gone in a blaze, all because some stinky, selfish rogues attacked us, stealing our joy and security. The tangible items are replaceable, but it’s the intangible—the emotions attached to those original belongings—that will stay forever damaged.
Reid’s muscular arms wrap around me, his nose burying into my mark and his thumb swiping a tear off my cheek. I inhale, my breath quivering, repressing the sob that wants to escape. I didn’t realize I was crying until he took me in his arms, but now I can’t seem to stop. My lip trembles, my body shudders, and tears pool in my eyes as I stand in my mate’s arms, looking over everything Silver Ridge lost.
“Did everyone make it out?” Reid asks, glancing at Dawson.
“Yes, thank Selene,” Dawson replies. “I triple-checked. The only one unaccounted for is Dominic.”
We fall quiet again, surveying the damage as tires crunch on the gravel behind us, signaling the other two vehicles from Crescent Lake arriving and parking.
Haven’s eyes widen as she joins us and surveys the damage. Even Wesley’s facade cracks, expression pained, and I know he’s thinking this could easily be his pack. They stand between us and Dawson and Blake, Wesley pulling Haven into his side. She glances at me and reaches her hand out, and I take it without hesitation, grateful for the lifeline of her comforting aura.
“Where are the others?” I ask, my throat tight.
“We dropped Sebastian, Nolan, and Levi off at the border. Nolan is setting up some surveillance equipment in case the rogues try to come back, and Seb and Levi are looking for any signs of them or Dominic,” Wesley explains.
“We figured it was better to ‘divide and conquer,'” another male says from our other side.
I turn my head and then immediately dip it into a low bow to the regal, statuesque male and his dominating presence. I’ve never met him in person—he left the pack several minutes after we did, and I didn’t see him before we left. But my wolf and I both recognize our king, the king of all werewolves and lycans, a direct descendant of Conan—King Malachi.
“Your Majesty,” Reid says from behind me, his head dipping into a bow as well.
“Beta Reid,” he says, acknowledging my mate. “And you must be his mate, Taryn? The healer?” he adds, holding his hand out to me.
I give him a weak smile as I shake his hand. “I’ve healed one person and eased the pain of another. I may have healing powers, but I wouldn’t qualify myself as a healer.”
“My understanding based on conversations with the royal healer is it’s mostly instinctual, and there is very little training needed for a healer to perform their job, especially since it is passed down through genetics.”
I drop his hand as Aunt Gigi walks over to join our conversation. “But there aren’t any healers in our family,” she says, glancing at Reid’s arms wrapped around me.
“Our healer, Julia, is looking into the records of known healers, as well as your family tree, to see if there was maybe a distant relative you were unaware of who was a healer since Dr. Russo said you didn’t know about your gift. She is looking forward to meeting you and working with you.”
“Thank you,” I say. “But I don’t think I’ll be able to travel anytime soon since I’m pregnant.”
“She’ll come to your pack, of course,” he says, waving off my worries. “It’s better for you to learn in a comfortable, familiar environment anyway.”
I give him a genuine smile at that. “Thank you, sir.”
He smiles too. “Of course.”
“What did you want to do first, King Malachi?” Wesley asks, pulling the king’s attention away from us.
“I need to take photographs of the damage. Our team at the palace will review them to assess our next steps and make sure the paperwork goes through the proper channels to limit human involvement and mitigate their suspicions. The fewer humans whose memories we have to alter, the better,” he says.
He walks away, following Wesley and Haven as they continue to talk, his phone out as he photographs the remains of Silver Ridge.
Aunt Gigi’s eyes stay on us, though, honed in on Reid’s arms around me. Her sharp gaze then moves to his face, and he shifts his body, moving around me with rigid, awkward movements as he reaches his hand out to her.
“Aunt Gigi—I mean, Georgia—ma’am. I’m—“Her lips twitch, and she bypasses his hand, pulling him in for a hug. His body tenses, and I cover my mouth with my hand as I chuckle at him.
“In this family, we hug,” she says. “But if you break my niece’s heart, I will not hesitate to kick your ass, you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says, relaxing into the hug and putting his arms around her.
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?