Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

Chapter 88

**Blake POV

It was a cold day, but the weather didn’t make a difference. We had to prepare for the possibility of an attack, so we wouldn’t be canceling our training for something as minor as a cold chill.

There had been some grumbling among the recruits when they had first arrived, but the stern look on my face silenced them quickly. It was plain for anyone to see that I was angry about something. None of them dared to test my patience.

Sometimes, my reputation for angry outbursts worked to my advantage. This was one of those times. I really don’t know what I would have said if any of the men had dared complain to me about the weather.

The gray, sunless sky was a perfect match for my overcast mind. I knew in my bones that something

terrible was coming. I wanted to prevent it, but I was quickly becoming convinced that it was impossible to do so.

Rekindling the passion with Nora only served to remind me of how desperate our situation was. I could lose her. I could lose everything. I wouldn’t let that happen.

The men were focused on their sparring. Many of them had never fought outside of their wolf forms before. This was hard for them, but it was necessary.

There were times in war when you were surprised and didn’t have a chance to shift right away. There were also some terrains where fighting on two feet was beneficial. If these men wanted to be warriors, they would have to train for every eventuality.

They weren’t ready.

None of us were ready for what my bastard uncle was capable of. These men were in the city when the coup

happened. They should know how quickly things could go wrong. Yet, the sense of urgency that I felt didn’t seem to impact anyone else. It was as if the rest of the pack couldn’t remember what happened.

I had to wonder if my uncle was able to suppress the story of his cruel murders and hostile seizure of power from reaching the pack.

I watched one of the men as he blocked and pivoted with ease and grace. He was a good fighter, and with more training, could make a worthy general.

His name was Jay, and he was among the first to volunteer when I put out the call for new recruits. He had dark eyes and rich brown skin just like his father, who I had known most of my life. He was the carpenter that custom built every stick of furniture in the castle.

Each of these men was from a respected family in the pack. The guilt of bringing them into this

battle gnawed at me, but it couldn’t be helped.

It would be worse for them to be caught unprepared and watch as the city was ravaged by an invading force. At least now, they stood a fighting chance.

I suppressed a si gh as I turned to watch another group spar. They had already improved so much. I should be proud, and I was, but it was overshadowed by guilt.

None of these men truly knew what they had volunteered for. No one besides myself, Nora, and Maisie knew of the danger that was looming ever closer. I didn’t have any evidence, so I couldn’t go to the council. That being the case, I couldn’t tell the men the truth either.

All of my warnings about being prepared for anything and never knowing when an enemy would strike probably made me seem paranoid. It made me appear weak,

and that was the last thing I needed when I had only regained my throne a few months ago.

I couldn’t afford to look weak. I couldn’t afford to be unprepared. There was no easy solution to this problem.

My attention was drawn to a movement at my left. One of the men, a blonde named Alex, laughed as he threw wild, aimless punches toward his sparring partner. The other man blocked them easily, with an amused grin on his face.

Alex flew back in an exaggerated fall when the other man swung at him. He sprawled his limbs out on the ground and flailed. Barely restrained laughter came from the men near him.

He jumped to his feet and took a wild run at his partner, who sidestepped him easily. Alex launched into a back handspring without warning and landed with his arms held high in a victorious

pose.

Laughter and cheers broke free from the men and Alex bowed low as if he had just completed a performance.

A low, dangerous growl rose from me unbidden. It was so loud that every man close to me froze on the spot and a hu sh moved through the crowd.

Alex noticed, and when he turned to look at me his face went ashen pale. I could see fear take root, though at first, I didn’t know exactly why. Then I realized that I was rushing toward the man with murder in my eyes.

I managed to get ahold of myself before I reached him. I stopped a foot away from him.

“What is wrong with you?!”Iroared. The men who hadn’t witnessed Alex’s little show now turned their full attention to the altercation that was playing out.

The entire field went stone still and I felt every eye fix on me. I could see in the faces of the men nearest to me that they were afraid.

Good.

They should be afraid. What was coming for us was terrifying. They had to learn to work through the fear.

“S-sir…”

The young man staggered back a single step as I lunged at him. I saw by the shifting of his muscles that he had instinctively moved to counter strike against me, but managed to check his instincts.

If I hadn’t been so angry, I would have commended him for that.

“Do you think this is a game?”Idemanded.

I stepped well into his personal space and glared down into his pale blue eyes. I could see my own rage filled face reflected back at me. The

image filled me with a deep shame, but that wasn’t enough to stop me.

“No, sir,” he said shakily.

He didn’t co wer before me, but he was clearly afraid and uncertain of what to do. In his mind, he had livened up a boring, repetitive practice and brought some joy to his friends. He had no idea that this wasn’t just an exercise to build stamina.

“We are here to learn to fight forour pack. This kind of screwing around does more damage than you realize.”

My hands were shaking with rage as I spoke. I squeezed them into fists in an attempt to reign in my anger.

“Not only could you injure theother trainees, you’re distracting from training that is desperately needed. We could be attacked at any moment. There are neighboring kingdoms that would like nothing more than to over take us. If we were attacked tomorrow

morning, would you be prepared?”

Alex’s eyes were impossibly wide as he stared mutely at me. He opened his mouth to speak, but there was no right answer to my question and he knew it. He did the smart thing, and remained silent. I turned my eyes to the rest of the men who were gawking at us. They shrank back guiltily at my stern gaze.

“Would any of you?!”I asked.

A murmur went through the crowd, but no one dared to speak up. I shook my head in disgust at myself for losing my cool.“If you aren’t prepared to take this seriously and put the good of the pack above everything else, then you shouldn’t be here,”I intoned.“Go home. All of you. You’re dismissed for the day.”I turned on my heels and headed back towards the castle.

None of the men dared to move. I could feel their eyes watching me as I walked briskly away.

I couldn’t deal with this right now. I

was too worked up and I was liable to cause more harm than good when I got like this.

If my uncle’s plan was to simply lurk on the borders and wait for my distrust of him to drive me mad, then his plan was working perfectly.