Marked by the Alphas

Axel POV

The scents in the room are overpowering. Full of lust and desire. I scrub my hand over my face, turn around, and walk to the window. I stare at the grounds, town, and the forest. The forest I so desperately want to escape into right now.

This whole situation is impossible on a multitude of levels, and I have no idea how to even begin fixing it. I want to mate with Alice, and not Elara. But I do not want Elara to end up with monsters like Greg and Luke.

“Elara,” I sigh, and turn to face her. “We must make the best of the situation. Either we compromise and work together, or we all lose. There is no golden midway. Mate with us or take your chances with the Elders. There’s no other alternative.”

“I … I need a bathroom,” she stutters, standing up. “Which way?”

“Down the hall, second door to the right,” Kane directs.

“If we mate with Elara tonight, what the fuck will happen to Alice?” I mind-link Kane. “And how would we mate Alice later if we are forced to mate Elara tonight?”

Kane POV

Axel’s questions echo in my head as I watch Elara leave the office. Those are good questions.

“There might be something,” I mutter when an idea hits me.

I walk to the bookshelf and pick out the massive book of pack laws. I put it on my desk and quickly page through it until I find what I am looking for.

“This,” I point at the page, and Axel leans over to get a better look.

“No,” Axel looks at me wide-eyed, shaking his head. “Don’t even think it.”

“It could work,” I say urgently as the glimmer of hope grows.

“No, bro,” Axel snorts. “Shit is complicated enough without doing that. And we can’t guarantee that the elders will assign Alice to us as a second mate.”

“We can find a way to force their hand,” I argue. “Surely there must be something we’ve overlooked when it comes to second mates. We haven’t gone over those laws as closely …”

“And we’re not going to, Kane,” he cuts me off. “You’re playing with fire even thinking about that.”

“Am I, though?” I raise my eyebrows, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“Yes, you are,” his voice raises an octave.

“Listen,” he inhales deeply and calms his voice. “There’s no way Elara will go for that. Not in a million years. And she’s a feisty one. She could cause trouble for us if we don’t handle her correctly.”

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and get a glimpse of Elara’s scent that is still lingering in the room. Her sweet, sweet, in-heat scent …

No! I reprimand myself, shaking my head to get rid of the thoughts.

“It doesn’t matter if she goes for it,” I continue. “She has no choice. If she refuses, she’ll be mated to …. to … hell, I don’t know. They’ll find the oldest, grossest pair for her. You can believe that.”

“Kane, this isn’t like you.” he bends over the desk, flipping page after page, scanning through the tiny words, looking for a needle in a haystack.

“There’s nothing else,” I sigh, taking a seat, as sadness fills my heart.

“But this isn’t right,” Axel mutters.

“We can’t let Alice go to them,” my voice is filled with despair. “And we can’t let her end up with someone worse, Axel.”

“I know,” he sighs, sitting down. “Dammit, you’re right. As much as I want to play by the rules and keep everyone happy, we can’t.”

“Alice is our chosen mate,” I smile sadly. “We must do whatever we can to protect her. Even if it meant taking on some collateral damage in the process.”

“We’ll give Elara a good life,” Axel nods. “We’ll find a way to make her happy. Once she has a pup or two, they’ll keep her busy. And, hell, if she wants to keep someone on the side, that’s okay, too.”

Axel starts looking through the tome again, his finger running over the words line by line, looking for mentions of second mates.

“Whatever we must do, we will,” Axel says adamantly, closing the book.