Page 6 of The Alpha's Stolen Mate

But my favorite thing about Summer was her unyielding compassion for the people she loved.I was alsoimpressed withher inner strength and resilience after the Rogue attacked her. Instead of shying away from her wolf, which could happen after an attack, Summer embraced her other form. She first started shifting six months after the Rogue bit her,and when we were running in the woods as a pack, I always looked for her. The happiness in her eyes when she was a wolf made my heart lift with joy.

She was also dating my best friend and brother, Axel. They had been going out ever since her attack when he had asked her out at the hospital. From what I could tell, they were happy. Over the past two years, I’d buried my growing feelings for Summer. But these staggering emotions just kept expanding like a giant bubble about to pop. No matter how hard I tried to suppress the feelings, there was nothing I could do to stop them.

Every time I thought about her, guilt would stab me like a rusty, serrated knife. How could I betray Axel by fantasizing about his first serious girlfriend? And how could I get lost in thoughts about another woman when I was in a political marriage that would result in securing the protection my pack so desperately needed?

“Young man! I asked you a question.” The Alpha King’s voice snapped me back to reality.

Shit.

That was the second time I’d spaced out during this meeting. That wasn’t how an Alpha inheritor should behave. Even if I wasn’t fond of the people on the other side of the table from my father and me.

“Everett, you need to teach your boy some manners,” King Ezekiel chided my father.

Before I could point out that hisdaughter was the one without manners, my dad put a warning hand on my forearm.

“King Ezekiel wanted to know if you were planning on having children,” my father explained in a tight voice before I blew up at the king. “I already told him that since you're only eighteen, it's a little too early to think about that right now.”

“Oh,” I answered. “Um, well, yes, eventually, I hope to have children.”

Without my permission, an image of Summer holding a child popped into my head. Not just any child, my child. But that could never happen. She was dating my brother. And I had to get married to Olivia for the safety of my pack.

The meeting came to a close, and the Alpha King stood up, his daughter following his lead, pulling out her phone to look at a message.

“You're going to have to offer me more money if you ever want to align with the royal family and have access to my army,” King Ezekiel said brusquely. “Contact me again when you have more to offer me.”

“Please, Your Majesty, good people are dying in my kingdom. I need extra protection from your warriors. This is my only option to keep the people in my pack safe from—”

King Ezekiel cut my father off.

“I've told you my terms. Get back to me when you can meet them,” the king said.

Without a goodbye, the Alpha King left the room, Olivia and his guards following after him.

Once they were gone, my father let out a loud sigh. It reminded me of the time I got a flat tire on my bike, and I could hear the air slowly escaping while my tire deflated.

My dad sat back down at the table and ran a hand through his graying hair. He pulled his notes on the meeting toward him and then grabbed our pack's budget report from our meeting with the Elders earlier this week.

Once a week, my father, his Beta, and I met with the Elders of our pack to discuss everything from the pack's budget to how to protect them against the increasing Rogue wolf attacks. Most of the time, we focused on the latter. Summer's father, Delta Theodore, attended as well, since his role in our pack was commanding our small army. Whenever I saw Summer's dad, he looked just as stressed as mine.

“I'm going to have to find more money. We need those warriors,” my dad muttered to himself.

“Dad, why do we have to work with the Alpha King? Remember what I told you last week about what I heard from Evan of the EchoLight Pack? How King Ezekiel might be betting on outcomes of wars with the kings of other kingdoms? What if that's true? What if the king is corrupt in some other way, too? Why would we want to align with him? Can't we find another way to protect our pack?”

My father scrubbed a rough hand down his face and put his other hand on my shoulder.

“Son, I’ve heard those rumors as well. When I had the idea of the arranged marriage between you and Olivia, the Elders and I conducted an investigation to see if they had any truth to them. We couldn’t find any. King Ezekiel might be a jerk, but he isn't corrupt. I'm sorry. The reality is that the only way our pack will survive these Rogue wolf attacks is for you to marry Olivia,” my dad said.

I could see the pain in his eyes. I knew it hurt my father to take away my choice of a partner. My parents are Fated Mates. They met when they were eighteen, and it was like a lightning bolt struck them, creating a supernatural bond. Ever since then, they just knew that they were meant to be together in their very souls.

Even though they'd been through hardships, my parents’ love had never wavered for each other. My mom and dad had always wanted me to find the same kind of love that they had until the Rogue wolf attacks started in our pack. Now, they thought this political marriage was the only option. Even if I were to find my Destined Mate, I believed my parents would still want me to go through with the marriage. They thought it was the only way to ensure our pack’s safety.

But what if it wasn't the only way?

“Dad, can't we just talk about other ways to protect the pack? You, me, and Delta Theodore could meet and—”

“Gabriel, Delta Theodore, and I have talked about this. Numerous times. Don't you think, after his own daughter was attacked, Delta Theodore didn't look at every possible option to increase our pack's army? Aligning with another pack isn't possible because no one else but the Alpha King lives close enough. If an attack were to happen, it would most likely be over before any warriors could get to our pack. Even if we did live close enough to the packs we are aligned with, they don't have the warriors to spare because they are dealing with the increased number of Rogue wolf attacks, just like us. We just don't have enough strong shifters in our pack to create an army. I'm sorry, but this marriage is our only option. I just have to find the money somewhere.”

He looked down at the budget report again, and I knew that I was dismissed.

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