The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate

Warriors who had shifted a thousand times stood transfixed. Captains and lieutenants who had trained wolves for decades joined them, looking equally brain-broken.

Aurelia stood in the center of the arena on legs that were absolutely, definitively shaking, lifted her chin like she owned the kingdom, and silently dared every single wolf in attendance to say something about it.

White wolves weren’t just rare, they were considered myth. But not only was Serena’s wolf white, she was glowing white like the sun.

She was smaller, she was stunning, and she definitely did not look like she was built for battle. She looked like she was made for a beautiful temple portrait. This was going to be a problem.

For three full seconds, every human and wolf in the arena forgot to breathe. Then two Alphas lost their goddamn minds.

Xeon tried to force a shift, that Fin caught and forced back. He locked his jaw and held his wolf down with everything he had.

Xeon: Out. Now.

Fin: Stand down.

On the floor of the arena, Dexmon had already lost the battle. One second he was standing upright on two legs. The next second he was on four legs, his vision had changed color, and Aegon was sprinting across the arena like he’d been fired out of a cannon.

Dex: What the FUCK just happened?

Aegon: I happened.

A massive black wolf moved in a blur, catching Aurelia with his nose before her front legs buckled. The size difference was enormous, Aegon’s shoulder at her head height, his frame dwarfing hers, and the gentleness with which he held his mass against her trembling body was the gentleness of a predator who understood exactly how much force he carried and was choosing to carry zero of it.

The arena, who hadn’t finished processing the white wolf, was now looking at a black apex Alpha babying a white wolf. He looked like a warhorse trying to hold a teacup.

Aegon pulled his head back as soon as she was stable.

Aurelia shot him a look with wolf eyes that said, I don’t need your help. I am a fearsome predator. Her legs were still shaking. She was not a fearsome predator. She was a glowing cotton ball with an attitude problem.

Aegon made a sound that was the wolf equivalent of a laugh. His tail moved once. He caught it. Alpha wolves did not wag. That never happened. Nobody saw that.

She turned her head away from him with the precise dismissal of a queen who was trying to prove she could run in the woods.

She got about two inches of freedom before one massive black paw slid across the ground and dragged her back like a stuffed animal being reclaimed by a toddler. She was mid-huff when the licking started.

Her huff died on contact. You cannot maintain indignation when a tongue the size of your entire face is being dragged across your forehead.

Dex: Stop. Stop. STOP.

Aegon: No.

Dex: I am your human. I am giving you a direct order.

Aegon: Mate is shaking. Mate needs comfort. Comfort involves licking. This is biology, Dexmon. I don’t make the rules.

The arena watched a black wolf the size of a small horse give a glowing white wolf a bath she had not requested, and two hundred warriors discovered simultaneously that they had no training for this scenario.

Dex: Pull back RIGHT NOW.

Aegon: Our mate’s wolf GLOWS, Dexmon. That deserves licks.

Dex: NOTHING deserves licks in a military arena.

Aegon: A glowing mate does. I will die on this hill. I will die licking on this hill.

Dex: Alpha wolves don’t lick their mates in front of warriors in an arena.

Aegon: This Alpha wolf does. This Alpha wolf just did. This Alpha wolf is going to do it again.

Fin Shadowclaw, who had been fighting his wolf for control for the last sixty seconds, lost the war spectacularly. A second black wolf the size of a goddamn horse jumped into the arena, running towards Aurelia at Alpha speed with his teeth bared.

Aurelia looked over at him, and flinched involuntarily.

In her defense, a black wall of teeth and rage was running at her at a speed that suggested murder. In Xeon’s defense, the murder was not for her.

Fin’s wolf rammed into Aegon like a jealous freight train. The impact sent Dex’s wolf stumbling, and before Aegon could even regain his balance, Xeon had already loomed over Aurelia, front legs planted on either side of her like a giant, black, extremely possessive cage with maximum fuck-off energy.

He licked Aurelia from shoulder to ear with the slow, proprietary authority of a wolf correcting a record while making direct eye contact with Aegon.

Fin: Xeon. Stand down.

Xeon: No.

Fin: That’s an order.

Xeon: Here is my priority list. One: mate. Two: remove Aegon’s tongue from mate. Three: replace with my tongue. Four: your feelings. Notice where your feelings are, Finnick. They’re at four.

Aegon got off the ground. He growled at Xeon, teeth barred.

Dex: Yeah no. Take him down.

Aegon: Oh, GLADLY.

Two apex predators were about to kill each other over her. Aurelia did not notice. Her eyes were on Captain Thane and Captain Calder because Aurelia wanted to prove she was a warrior.

She walked out of her cage without giving a flying-fuck that a full-scale Alpha confrontation was unfolding behind her. Her legs were shaky, but attitude was everything, and she had it.

Immediately, Aegon’s paw shot out, and scooted her over into his cage against her will like she weighed nothing. He could relocate her with less effort than it took to yawn, and he had just proven it in front of the Gods and the military. This was not helping Aurelia’s case to run free in the woods and for the removal of her remedial label.

The licks started again.

Captain Thane looked at Captain Calder. The look carried the specific despair of two professionals watching their training session dissolve into a custody battle between apex predators.

"Do we... continue?" Thane asked.

Calder watched Aegon scoop Aurelia back with one paw. "With what?"

Hyran pinched the bridge of his nose. "For fuck’s sake."

Aurelia tried to leave Aegon. She made it three steps before Xeon’s paw blocked, then pulled her back inside his cage.

More licks.

Next attempt, she made it two steps before Aegon scooped her back.

She was in wolf jail and losing ground with every attempt.