Magnus

I look over my shoulder and I see that female put on her high heels. I am still fuming inside. No one talks to me like that. No one! Even mortal enemies shake in fear before me, even those plotting assholes in the Royal Court that hate my guts talk to me with respect. But this woman...

I watch as she balances on one leg to put on the other shoe. Her legs pour out of the two openings of her dress. Long, strong, curvy legs. As she is turned I can see all of her back showing from that damn dress and when I see the two dimples on her lower back, I lick my lips.

"Strong," Henrar, my wolf howls in my head.

This takes my surprise and I look away. It's the first time after years that Henrar takes notice of a female. He has been nagging me for a mate but he never actually showed preference to anyone.

I press my eyes together and I go up to where my cousin is. I need a strong drink and to get that woman out of my head.

"Jag är ledsen, Alpha," Thane says.

He better be sorry. He embarrassed himself and disgraced our pack. I want to scold him and make him understand his mistake but I am too taken by that one Antiope Everstone of the Waterend pack.

One last glance, I promise myself and turn to look at her but she is not there. And a sudden pain goes through my heart. This is not normal. Maybe I am going crazy like all the people around me expect me to at any moment. I can't be missing a female I just met, a rash, insolent woman that dared talk like that to me.

Before I get the chance to go back to the feast, one of my cousins servants informs me that he retreated to his private room to rest before the Mating Ceremony.

I shake my head. I don't get why Sigvard insists on torturing himself like that. Love only brings pain. He should look for a Queen to share his burden, a business partner, not a lover.

"That's what you want? A business partner to help you run the pack?" Henrar is angry.

He is a beast, he doesn't understand the complexity of being an Alpha. I need to keep my pack strong and safe. To do that I need someone I can trust to share the burden. Every Luna is that and more. True mates are linked body and soul. What an effective way to work.

"Work. Only work?"

And procreate. It's essential for the pack to have a successor. A strong, healthy female to bear pups is needed.

"You do know that pups mean mating, right?" Henrar chuckles. "Actual physical contact."

He may as well be the only wolf that grasps the concept of sarcasm.

"Don't be ridiculous," I fire back. "Mating in shift is more certain to produce an heir so I'll leave that to you."

Luckily he has no snappy comments this time. Physical contact. That means a female writhing under me, chanting my name while I pound in her. And the moment my mind forms this thought, the image of that infuriating female comes to mind. I could show her how to be respectful to an Alpha, how to be submissive to my will. And for the first time in like forever, I go hard.

"Skit," I curse.

I have to use all my willpower to keep me composed. I am not some fucking teenager that has a hard-on for some random girl. I am the Butcher of the North, I kill my enemies, rip them apart, all of them. Thankfully, I come to my senses and when I reach Sigvard's hut, I am me again.

I go up to the luxurious hut my cousin has on the grounds and the guards part when they see me. Thane stays outside with my own personal guards and I don't even turn to look at him.

"Ah! There you are!"

My cousin gets up from his fine sofa and goes to the bar. We are alone in here and I feel calmer. Of course, everyone else would be happier if my cousin had a woman wrap around his arms but he seems eager to wait. After all, he can take some liberties. He is the Alpha King.

"Vodka? That's your usual, right?"

"You make it sound as if I am an alcoholic, Your Majesty."

"Fuck you, Magnus. You are the only person in the world I specifically asked not to call me that."

"It's the protocol, Your Majesty."

The King takes one undignified shot of whiskey and darts me with a sharp look. He is the most powerful wolf in the world but we share the same blood and I have been in more bloody fights than he has. We grew up together and I have saved his ass one too many times to buy that royal hard look.

"Drink!" He brings me my glass. "You are staying by me through the Mating Ritual."

"Forget about it! I got work to do."

Only the idea of sitting through that boring ritual where everyone is stupidly happy and disgustingly aroused makes me want to break some necks.

"Are you defying a direct order from your King?"

I take the glass and squint my eyes to him. If I am going to be a stickler for protocol to get on his nerves, I need to remember the side effects of that. I drink the vodka and welcome the burn on my throat. The alcohol is not enough to make me feel dizzy, but for some reason I feel lighter.

"It's her," Henrar offers.

His honesty takes me aback and I shake my head to deny his accusation. But I can't. It is her. I found the way she stood up for that girl she didn't know refreshing, her boldness admirable, her backbone amusing.

"Your Majesty," I sit across the King in an armchair. "What do you know of the Waterend pack?"

"Big, prosperous and peaceful. Are you planning on taking over the New World, cousin. Like our ancestors the Vikings did?"

"Just curiosity. Is there an Everstone family there?"

"Yes, Beta Everstone. A cunning, efficient male. One of the best Betas in the area."

I drink more of my vodka and I think of her. Yes, she has Beta blood in her. That spark, that bravery, the sense of justice, the grit. Her black eyes never shied away from mine, her long, dark hair flowing down her back. Her exposed, toned back with those damn dimples. Damn it, I swallow hard at that image.

"I think he has two daughters, poor man. No boy to take his place," the King continues.

He is a fool. At least one of his daughters is worth ten Betas but here in the U.S the packs are not so progressive. Not one female Alpha and no female Betas either. If there were, the Waterend pack would have a powerful, brave Beta to lead them. And a damn beautiful one.

The thought makes me take another sip. Is it because her looks are so exotic compared to the Scandinavian women in my pack? Or is it that inner strength that makes that female unable to go unnoticed?

"His eldest has finished the Beta Academy, I think. With flying colors. But she will never be a Beta in her father's stead. He wants grandchildren and his daughters safe in their homes."

The thought of her with another male makes me drain my glass and get up to pour some more. I don't like the idea and Henrar doesn't either. I drink one glass straight away and I pour me another. I take in deep breaths to calm my irrational anger but the more I think of that fiery female with someone else, I... Else? Other than who?

"Us," Henrar is never one to hide behind words.

Us. A female by my side? I... It can't be. It is an image that was wiped brutally out of my mind but when I paint it with her... I shake my head and drink some more, still standing before the bar.

After all, she is here looking for her true mate. Even if I wanted to - which I don't- there is no way I could force her to give up that search and follow me.

"There is always a way," Henrar says.

She would make a perfect Luna, that's for sure. Strong and powerful. With her by my side, I could shut all the mouths that think I am unfit to lead my pack. And since she has finished the Beta Academy she would be qualified to lead and make decisions.

"You are not interviewing her for a job, Magnus. She would also be our mate."

"Your mate. You need one, I don't."

"Are you OK, Magnus?" The King demands.

I am ready to ask more questions about Antiope Everstone but there is a knock on the door. One of my guards appears and he looks agitated. I put my glass down and I go to him frowning. He holds a tablet in his hands and he is almost scared to give me the news.

"Inkräktare," is all he says.

Trespasser.