Chapter Ten

Seth

I watched Ellie walk away, her presence leaving a void. She was a she-wolf, a force of nature that stirred something deep within me. I wanted her, craved her, as if she were my mate. Her scent alone was enough to drive me to the brink of insanity. No other female had ever had this effect on me. Seeing her with Kayden had nearly pushed me over the edge. My wolf, too, was drawn to her, sharing my feelings.

But I knew I shouldn’t feel this way. She wasn’t my mate.

The bond with my destined mate had shattered the night Ellie left to visit her brother.

I wasn’t sure what hurt more. The loss of my true mate, the realization that she had chosen another, or the painful truth that Ellie wasn’t my mate.

But it felt like she was. I still felt something for her. That’s why I kissed her at the dock. Maybe I shouldn’t have. Maybe I should’ve waited.

Hindsight is always clearer.

But that wasn’t my biggest mistake.

My biggest mistake was not telling her myself. Not explaining everything.

Instead, I let Gabriel do the talking. I don’t know what he told her, but whatever it was, she was furious with me.

She was right. I had been avoiding her. It was almost unbearable to be near her, knowing I couldn’t have her.

When I had her pinned against the wall, all I wanted to do was kiss her. My wolf wanted to mark her, but she wasn’t ours to mark. I wouldn’t take someone else’s mate, even though it seemed someone had done the same to me.

That didn’t mean I didn’t want to protect her. I did. That’s why I hadn’t been assigning her to patrol duty.

If I had my way, she wouldn’t be anywhere near the upcoming battle. But that wasn’t my call to make. The final decision would be Clayton’s, and I doubted he would agree with me. I was almost certain Gabriel wouldn’t either.

Sending her out on patrol now was a calculated move. If she was on patrol, she wouldn’t be getting close to Kayden.

Kayden had a reputation. He was unmated and had a history with the unmated she-wolves in the pack. I wouldn’t let him anywhere near Ellie.

Not him, not any other unmated wolf.

This wasn’t just about me being possessive, although that was part of it. This was about who she was. She was the heir to the werewolf throne. The Alpha queen. As queen, she was expected to produce an heir. Something she could only do with her fated mate.

At least, that’s what I thought. Being a hybrid, there was a chance she could produce an heir without her mate, like humans do. If that was the case, then maybe there was a glimmer of hope for me.

But I couldn’t take that risk, not until I was sure she didn’t have a mate, or that he had already chosen another. If he had, he was a fool.

I quickly added her name to the next patrol shift. I was sending her out with two experienced warriors and a tracker. The warriors were already mated, and the tracker was female. I wouldn’t have to worry about her being hit on by another male wolf. I was also going to change her training schedule.

She was training in the mornings at the moment. Tomorrow, I would schedule her for the patrol that ran from ten pm until four am. She couldn’t be expected to train right after, plus she had briefings to attend. If she trained in the afternoon, she would also be away from Kayden. At least until after her birthday. I just prayed he wasn’t her mate.

While I hadn’t wanted her to go on patrol, it was a necessary evil. Between patrols, briefings, and training, she wouldn’t have the time or energy to get cozy with any males.

I left the roster and headed towards Clayton’s office. I was the pack’s Beta, and I needed to start acting like it.

Since Ellie’s return, I had spent so much time avoiding her that I had neglected some of my duties. I hadn’t attended any of the war-room briefings. Sure, I had briefed Clayton privately, but it wasn’t the same.

The war was inching closer every day. I couldn’t afford to be distracted any longer. Now seemed like a good time to discuss Ellie’s safety. I was pretty sure that as soon as our enemy crossed the border, they would be looking for her.

Many of the high-ranking wolves would recognize her. Even though they hadn’t seen her for ten years, she still resembled her younger self.

Joel, Dante, Zagan, Elijah. Just to name a few. All of them Alphas and Betas. I knew Ellie was an Alpha and a skilled warrior. But that didn’t ease my fear that something might happen to her.

If I was honest, I didn’t care that she was the Alpha King's heir. That wasn’t why I felt so protective. I just didn’t want to see her get hurt.

I knocked on Clayton’s office door and heard his muffled voice shout ‘come’.

As I pushed the door open, he looked up from his desk.

“How’s things?” he asked.

I knew what he was asking. He was wondering how I was handling the loss of my mate.

I shrugged.

The loss of my mate wasn’t affecting me as much as it should have been. Losing Ellie was what really hurt.

He reached behind him and grabbed a bottle and two glasses from the cabinet behind his desk.

He held them up, looking at me questioningly. I nodded. After the scene in the hallway, I could use a drink.

I sat down in the chair across from him while Clayton poured a generous amount into the glasses. He slid one of them across the desk towards me.

“Have you...erm...spoken to Ellie yet?” he asked.

I took a big gulp of the alcohol, savoring the burn as it slid down my throat.

I nodded and put the glass back down on the desk.

I held my head in my hands and rubbed the bald skin of my head before letting out a sigh.

“What am I going to do, Clayton? She’s not my mate, but I’m acting like she is, like some lovesick pup.”

Clayton rose from his chair and circled the desk, resting a hand on my shoulder.

“Seth, you and her have always been tight, even when she was just a little pup. Give it time. It’ll get easier when she finds her mate. You’ll realize then that you have no choice but to let her go.”

I shook my head, unable to accept his words.

“I don't think she’s going to wait that long. She was flirting with Kayden earlier. I almost lost it,” I confessed.

He removed his hand from my shoulder and returned to his side of the desk, pouring more liquor into my glass.

“Maybe you should keep your distance until her birthday,” he suggested.

I took a hefty swig of the alcohol and shook my head, slamming the glass back onto the desk with more force than necessary.

“No. I need to start behaving like the pack’s Beta, not some infatuated teenager,” I said, “but I do have one request.”

Clayton looked at me, nodding for me to continue.

“Go ahead.”

I bit my lip, then released it.

“I want you to keep Ellie out of the fight. When the war comes, I want her duties to be away from the front lines.”

Clayton’s brow furrowed.

“Seth, do you understand what you’re asking? After everything those bastards did to her. Don't you think she deserves some revenge? And do you really think she’ll thank you for it? Or that Gabriel will agree?”

I leaned back in the chair. I knew it wasn't what she wanted, but I just wanted to keep her safe.

“So, that’s a no?” I asked.

Clayton let out a heavy sigh.

“Seth, you know I can’t command her. She’s immune to an Alpha command. She won't sit on the sidelines willingly, especially if Gabriel supports her. She’s been training for this since my Uncle took her into the mountains. I know you want to protect her, but this isn't the way,” he finished.

I nodded, releasing a deep sigh.

Clayton offered a small smile.

“Ellie’s a strong warrior, Seth. She can protect herself,” he started.

I opened my mouth to argue, but he raised his hand to stop me.

“Let me finish...I will talk to Gabriel. He’s essentially her father, even if not by blood. I’ll ask him to keep her away from the other unmated males. At least until after her birthday. We don't know if she still has a mate. Hell, her mate could have been the little pup that crossed the border with her. She won’t know until her birthday.”

Clayton stood, leaning against his desk.

“You know she’s probably hurting too, right? She probably wanted to be your mate as much as you wanted her to be yours.”

He shrugged.

“Sadly, things don't always go as we hope,” he added.

I nodded and rose from my chair.

Things certainly hadn't gone as I’d hoped. I was without a mate, and the one person I would have chosen was beyond my reach, if not beyond my league.

“I’ll see you at the briefing tomorrow,” I said, turning to leave his office.

I would immerse myself in my work. Ensure the war plans were flawless. At least until Ellie turned eighteen.

Once she turned eighteen, I would at least know if she had a mate. And if she didn't, then maybe I had a shot, although I doubted she would want anything to do with me now.