"You have a point."
"I always do."
I nuzzled my face into his chest and fell asleep to the soothing sound of his heartbeat.
The wind glided through my fur as my paws carried me forward. Trees passed by in a blur of greens as the scent of foliage swamped my nostrils. Blaine kept up with me as we patrolled the edge of our territory.
His stunning silver coat matched his eyes perfectly. The man was born for the Arctic. His wolf form was eccentric here, standing out from the plant life around him.
'You're beautiful,' his voice echoed in my mind.
'I was just thinking the same about you.' I nipped at the fur on his neck as we ran and treasured how comfortable I was with him. My lover and best friend; a bond I thought I had been robbed of.
'I loved your scent before marking you, but now that you smell of me, it drives me crazy.' His eyes bore into mine.
A jolt of desire rippled through me. A sharp intake of breath was all it took for his arousal to flood my senses. I craved him. Thoughts of him mounting me in the middle of the forest engulfed my mind. I didn't care if we were on patrol or that it was considered obscene to humans. We were wild animals, and this man drove me to my wildest impulses.
'I know what you're thinking.' He gave me a sideways glance. 'And I'll be happy to entertain your thoughts after our patrol.'
I whimpered in response. Despite my arousal, something tugged at me. As the wind gusted again, it chilled me to my bones. The smell of putrefaction lingered in the air.
My ears laid flat as we followed the scent and I lowered myself closer to the ground. The wildlife was silent as we stalked up to the clearing, where our territory ended, and discovered the source of the smell.
Just inside our border lay the carcass of a grey wolf, stained with blood. Flesh was torn into gut-churning chunks. It stunk of decay and didn't have the smell of any pack I knew; it was a rogue.
Our pack was known for kindness to rogues, the wolves who didn't have packs. My father would have them visit his office. He'd investigate their backgrounds to find out why they were rogue and what type of person they were. If the investigation cleared, they'd become part of the pack. Most rogues knew this, and the other packs. For a rogue to be dead on our land, meant trouble.
I sent a mind link to my sister. 'Riley, I need you on the East perimeter. Bring Xavier, and the coroner. Keep this quiet.'
Blaine and I morphed back into human form. We investigated the area around the wolf but couldn't find anything useful.
I stared at the scene in front of us; the wolf was in shambles but there was no sign of struggle. "This is fucking gruesome. Who would do something like this?"
He shook his head. "I don't know, but we will find out."
"This will ruin our reputation with the rogues if this gets out."
"We won't let it get out. Maybe this was a message. It has Lockhart's scent around it."
I lifted my nose and sniffed for Lockhart's odor. Sure enough, it was there. "Are they trying to make us a target?"
"That's a possibility."
I huffed. "The rogue wasn't killed here."
He nodded, staring at the wolf. "It's too much of a messy kill for the grass around the wolf to be clean."
I turned toward the sound of crunching leaves. Riley, Xavier, Gabe, and Caroline, the pack's coroner, all jogged over, their eyes fixed on the dead wolf.
"Someone killed this rogue and planted it here. The wolf is so mutilated that we can't even tell the gender. It has Lockhart's scent," I said.
"Interesting. I can't smell the gender either." Caroline pushed her glasses farther up her nose. She shook her head in disbelief as she approached the wolf, her auburn curls shaking back and forth.
"Figure out everything you can on this wolf," I said.
"Absolutely, Alpha. I'll need to have the body transported to my lab. I should have all the information by tomorrow morning."
"Thank you."
"Of course."
"Riley, have a few of the pack warriors help transport the body to Caroline's lab. Xavier, set up a meeting for the higher-ups tomorrow at noon," I said.
"Yes, Alpha," they said simultaneously.
"I'll see you all tomorrow." I turned to Blaine as we walked away from the perimeter. "I'm pissed Lockhart waited until I took over to pull this shit."
Blaine nodded. "Let's figure out a game plan."
A game plan sounded easy enough, but we had been at odds with the Lockhart pack for decades. My father refused to associate with them. Of one thing I was sure; Lockhart would be a royal pain in the ass.
"Alpha Maxwell!" Holly rushed up to me, her hair soaked from sweat.
"What's going on?"
"We have a rogue. She's requesting to join the pack, asked to speak to you." Her chest heaved as she caught her breath. "Jason is watching her until you arrive."
That couldn't be a coincidence.
Blaine and I entered our office to find Jason seated beside a girl who appeared to be our age, if not a couple of years younger. Her head whipped towards us as we took our seats across from them.
She was skinny—almost malnourished. Her collarbones stuck out, and her sternum was visible through her pale skin. She had blonde hair that hung to her shoulders and swollen green eyes.
"I'm Alpha Maxwell and this is my mate, Alpha Huntington," I said.
The girl lowered her head. "T-Two Alpha's?"
I nodded, giving the girl a small smile. "Yes. What's your name?"
"Olivia." Her eyes were downcast as she fiddled with the hem of her dress.
"Nice to meet you, Olivia. I've been told you want to join our pack." I tucked my hands under my chin.
"Yes."
"To accept you as a member, we need to ask some questions.
