Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

**Nora POV

Nervous didn’t begin to describe how I was feeling. I could feel my heartbeat in my fingertips and I felt like I might throw up or pass out at any second—I wasn’t sure which. I wanted to turn around and go back to the castle, but I couldn’t.

I kept walking toward the edge of the city where I was assured I could find the shack of the old seer from Reed. I finally had to admit that I needed to talk to Rita’s sister, who was convinced that her visions of a red wolf were about me.

I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to know what she was going to tell me. But I had to go anyway.

The way I had panicked after my dream last night was the final straw. I couldn’t keep flying off the handle like that. There was too much on the line and there were too many people dependant on me for me to

allow myself to unravel under the strain of the dreams.

I had to find a way to end them, and this was the only option that I had left.

I reached the house that the healer Rita and her sister shared. It was a small, s quat house with a lush garden out front and vines overgrowing the structure. It was so unassuming, but I still found my hand shaking as I lifted it to knock on the door.

The door swung open immediately and Rita’s dark eyes gazed up at me critically.

“It’s about time,” she said. Shestepped back into the house and motioned for me to follow.

“I’m here to see your sister,”Ireplied weakly as I entered and closed the door behind me.

The smell of herbs and smoke filled my nose as I made my way into the dimly li t house. Rita led me to a

small, round table at the end of the room. It was draped with a rich, purple cloth and a smoldering bundle of herbs sat atop a glass dish in the center.

Rita sat in one of the wooden chairs at the table. I sat beside her, unsure of what else to do.

“Chelsea isn’t home,” she noted.

“She’s not home,”I repeated. I feltcompletely defeated.

“Don’t be discouraged,” Rita said.“The fact that you’ve finally cometo hear her visions is a good sign. You’re ready to learn the truth.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready, I justcan’t put it off anymore,”I confessed.“Maybe you can help me, since she isn’t here.”

“I’ll do what I can,”Rita agreed.“What is it you think I can helpwith?”

“What can you tell me about Reedpack?”

She stared at me in surprise for a mo ment before answering.“That’s a broad question. Can you narrow your focus a bit more?”

“What can you tell me about thechild of the current Alpha?”I asked.

Rita leaned back in her chair and looked at me thoughtfully.“I must admit, Luna, that is not the topic I expected you to bridge.”

“Until yesterday, it wasn’t a topic Ihad any interest in.”

I rubbed my temple. The scent of the herbs was pleasant, but it was strong and I had a stress headache before I even left the house.

“Chelsea was in Reed when theAlpha’s daughter was born. She always said there was something amiss with the whole situation, especially after the war.”

“What war?”I asked in confusion. Iwasn’t aware that Reed had been involved in a war in my lifetime.

“It was with a pack outside of thekingdom,” she explained.“Reed is a border pack, they have contentious relations with their neighbors.”

“I suppose that explains why theysent a hostage to Moonery,”I muttered.“They couldn’t afford another fight.”

It still didn’t make sense to me that the Alpha would send his own daughter.

“Perhaps,”she said.“The point is,after the war, the Alpha and Luna began acting very strange. Chelsea wasn’t the only one that noticed. They started limiting access to the pack house and months passed without their daughter being seen by anyone outside of the household.”

“Was she ill?”I asked. If the babywas weak or sick, then their behavior would make sense.

Rita shook her head.“No, there was never any indication that the child was unwell.”

“Perhaps the Luna was sufferingafter the birth?”

I was reaching for any reasonable explanation that would explain away the odd behavior of the Reed Alpha. I didn’t want to consider that I could really be their child, but I was desperate for there to be any other explanation for what was going on.

“I do not know,” Rita answered.“ButChelsea is certain that the child that the Alpha and Luna of Reed have claimed as their daughter is not the child that was born to them.”

I shook my head, but there were no explanations left for me to offer. I had no idea why the Alpha and Luna would have behaved so strangely and I couldn’t distance myself from them.

The front door of the house creaked open and I turned to watch as a tall, willowy woman with white hair strode in. She walked directly to the table and sat beside me.

“I apologize for my tardiness,”sheacknowledged.

I frowned in confusion.“We didn’t have an appointment,”I said.

“No,”she responded with anenigmatic smile.“But I knew that you would be coming soon. I regret that I had the day wrong. I’ve been wanting very much to speak to you, I’m sorry that you were kept waiting.”

“This is about the red wolf you’vebeen seeing visions about?”I asked knowingly.

“That’s right,” she said kindly.“Itrust that you understand the implications for such a vision.”

“I’m not the child of an Alpha,”Istated firmly.

She smiled sympathetically and placed her hand, palm side up, on the table.“Would you be kind enough to give me your hand?”

I looked down at her pale, slim

hand. I really didn’t want to know what she would see if I let her read me, but that was why I had come. I needed to get to the bottom of what was happening to me and nothing else had helped.

I placed my right hand in hers. She gently grabbed my wrist and turned my hand over. An odd tingling sensation passed over me as she closely examined my hand. The unease I was feeling hadn’t eased si nce I entered this strange little house.

Maybe unease wasn’t the right word. This was anticipation. I knew that something important was coming, and it was too late to stop it now. All I could do was try to keep an open mind and fairly consider whatever the seer was going to tell me.

“You’ve suffered so much in yourshort life,” she said sadly.“And your suffering isn’t over yet. If you are patient and follow your instincts, you will overcome it.” She

narrowed her eyes, then released my hand and sat back.“The visions I am seeing of the red wolf are about you, there is no doubt in my mind. You are the child of an Alpha, but perhaps you truly don’t know that. What I can tell you, without a doubt, is that your wolf will come to guide you when you need it the most. You must trust it.”

I bit my lower li p as my emotions spiked. I wanted to cry, but I only shook my head.“I’m sorry, but that’s wrong. I don’t have a wolf.”

She narrowed her eyes at me and studied my face, as if she was looking for any sign that I was lying to her.

“You have a wolf,” she insisted.

“No,”I repeated.“She was stolenfrom me a year ago now.”

But Chelsea wasn’t hearing it.“The wolf that will protect you is out of reach, but not gone. When the time is right, you’ll understand.”

Her voice was so sincere and firm that it left little doubt. She fully believed what she was telling me.

I stood and pushed my chair in. “Thank you,”I said softly.“Butyou’re wrong.”

Neither of the sisters tried to stop me as I went to the door and out of their house. I could feel their eyes on me until the door closed between us.

She was wrong. She had to be. And yet… There was only one thing to do. I hurried toward home.

If the answers I needed were anywhere, they would be in the library. It was a long shot, but I had to look.