Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

**Blake POV

After running drills for a few more hours, I dismissed the recruits. I was feeling more hopeful about our chances after seeing how far they had come in such a short time. My talk with Christian had helped too. The situation was dire, but the loyalty of this pack could hold up against anything, I was sure of it.

It was the only thing I was sure of.

I decided to go to my office to take care of a few matters before I was supposed to meet with the seamstress for the final fitting of my tux. Nora saw them this morning to have the finishing touches done on her gown.

This inauguration may be the starting point of a war, but it was still a formal event and we still had to keep up appearances.

I opened my office door and

paused. Maisi e was standing by the window. Her muscles were tense and the look on her face was stern. I hadn’t expected to see her today. She was checking in with the spymaster about the surveillance on Lanecreek.

“What’s wrong?”I asked as I walkedin and closed the door.

Maisi e didn’t turn to face me immediately, which only heighted my concern. Whatever was bothering her, she wasn’t sure how to approach it with me.

“Have you heard from Margot?”sheasked.

“No,”I answered.“Why?”

She looked at me and sighed.“I was afraid of that. I have a bad feeling.”She walked to the chair across from my desk and sat down.“The news from Lanecreek is odd.”

“In what way?”I went to my deskand sat down.

I had hoped that there wouldn’t be any news from Lanecreek, honestly. If there had been nothing to report, then we might be able to assume that they were at least laying low.

“There’s been a flurry of activity,”Maisi e started. Her brow creased in thought and she growled.“But there’s no telling what exactly it’s all about.”

“You’re going to need to give memore information than that,”I said. “What activity? Who’s involved?”

“The entire pack,”she muttered.She sat forward and locked eyes with me.“The whole pack has been working nonstop. Goods are being moved in massive quantities, construction is being carried out throughout the town, there have been large gatherings every day and most nights. The warriors have been out in force, but we can’t tell if they’re preparing for a battle or just planning some kind of military display at the ball.”

“That is a possibility,”I saidthoughtfully.

It would only make sense for a leader ascending in such a battle focused pack to plan some kind of grand display of strength. It could be explained away, but given what we knew, it was more likely that the warriors were preparing for battle.

That is, if we took Margot at her word.

“What about Margot?”I asked.

Maisi e just shook her head. “Absolutely no sign of her. But,Kelly hasn’t been seen much either. They could be working on some kind of preparation in the pack house together.”

“So, there’s no indication thatanything bad has happened,”I muttered more to myself than anything.

“There’s a meeting arranged withher tomorrow night, right?”Maisie asked.

“There is,” I said.“The last letter Ireceived from her was a confirmation of the meeting.”

“What should we do about that?”

“I think that we have to keep themeeting,”I noted.“If she shows up, then we’ll learn what exactly is going on with these preparations, if she doesn’t… well. At least we’ll know that we’re compromised.”

“If she’s compromised, thencouldn’t we be walking into a trap?”she asked.

I nodded. There was the distinct possibility that the meeting could be a trap. If Margot was found out, then the details of the meeting may already be known to Blake. Margot wasn’t a warrior or a trained spy. I didn’t have high hopes for her keeping silent under duress.

“If Graham knew he had beenbetrayed, surely it would have impacted his behavior. The ball would be canceled, or at least postponed if he suspected us.”

Even as I spoke the words I wasn’t confident they were true. Graham had proven devious and unpredictable. Even if he thought that his plans were revealed to me, he might just go through with the event to save face.

“I don’t know,”Maisi e began.“Idon’t know anything. This whole situation is so damn frustrating!”

She slammed her fi st into the arm of the chair hard enough that I heard the wood crack. I understood how she felt. Waiting around to see what was going to happen was demoralizing. It didn’t come natural to a warrior like Maisie. If the situation weren’t so precarious, we would both be willing to risk a preemptive strike. As it was, there were just too many civilians in the way to try that.

My uncle wasn’t above using his own people as shields. Or as cannon fodder…

“What about my uncle?”I asked

softly.“Has he been seen?”

“Not in weeks,” she said.“Which isthe most concerning part of all of it.”

That was an understatement. My uncle was a dangerous psychopath. The fact that we had lost track of him was an unforgivable failure. As long as he was alive, our pack would never be safe.

Maisi e knew that already, I didn’t need to say it. She was at least as well aware of the risks of our current situation as I was. She and I were almost always aligned on our thoughts and goals. That’s why I trusted her so much.

Ever since my own Beta had died, Maisi e was the only one that I trusted enough to rely on. She had proven worthy of my trust countless times. If not for her, the peace that I had managed to create so quickly after my return to the castle would not have been possible.

While I was busy playing the royal

role, Maisi e was traveling across the kingdom and meeting with the Alpha’s of our packs. She was shoring up alliances and easing fears in order to keep the kingdom together.

After the chaos of my dethronement and my uncle’s brief reign, there were numerous packs that wanted to succeed from the kingdom. The instability and constant fighting in the capital had been too much for them to take, especially in the smaller packs.

An Alpha’s first priority is his pack. I couldn’t blame them for wanting to remove their packs from the dangerous instability in the royal family. It’s what I would have done if I were in their situation.

Maisi e was the only reason the kingdom hadn’t fallen apart. She was not only the greatest strategist I had ever met, she was a talented diplomat. She had a way of speaking that put people at ease.

It was likely because she was not of noble birth. Maisi e knew what it was like to suffer and to struggle. She could empathize with anyone’s plight. It made it easier for people to trust her.

If we were going to make it through this thing with my family, we would have to have Maisi e at our side. Without her, I truly didn’t believe that we could pull it off.

Going to Graham’s inauguration ball was an immense risk, but it was one that I felt was necessary. There was nothing that I could accomplish from this office now. The time for planning was over.

“I have an appointment with theseamstress,”I continued.“Come with me. I’m sure they can whip up something for you, even on such sh ort notice. I want you by my side at this damned ball.”

“Please tell me you aren’t sayingwhat I think you’re saying.”

I smiled at her reaction. Maisi e was

ą woman of action, formal eventswere the last thing she cared about. In fact, I’d never seen her in a dress.

“Maisie, you’re my Beta,”Ianswered.

Her eyes went wide.“Blake…”She shook her head in disbelief.

“We both know it’s true,”Icontinued.“I’ve just been too stubborn to make it official. I don’t know what’s waiting for us at that ball, but it’s nothing good. The fate of the pack and the entire kingdom could be at stake. I need my Beta beside me.”

She sighed and nodded in agreement.“We don’t have time to play around anymore,” she said.“I’ll be by your side. Whatever is going on, we’ll face it