Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

Chapter 99

**Blake POV

It was the second day in a row the recruits had been woken before dawn and told to report for training. None of them complained, although I knew that they were irritated by the situation.

Their irritation was overshadowed by the concern that I knew was starting to settle over them. I could hear the men whispering amongst themselves. Something was wrong and they could tell.

Maisi e stood beside me with one hand planted firmly on her hip. Her gaze was sharp as a blade as she watched the men go through their paces. I knew that some of the younger men were distracted by her scrutiny. She had a way of looking at someone that made it obvious she was seeing right through to the core of them.

I called for the men to come to

attention and they did so quickly.

Most were able to resist the urge to cast their uncertain gazes around at their fellow recruits.

“What do you think?”I askedMaisie.

She stepped forward and looked the men over appraisingly.

“They’ve improved a lot since I lastobserved them,”she said.“But you’re right, they aren’t ready.”

She stepped up to one of the men and stepped into his personal space.“Are these sessions the only training you get?”she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,”he said nervously.

“It’s not enough,”she replied.

The man was smart enough not to respond. Maisi e stepped back and addressed all of them. Her voice was strong and carried easily.

“The time for games is over,”sheannounced.“From this moment,

consider your training your top priority. If you aren’t able to commit yourself entirely to this, then don’t bother returning in the morning.”

She turned and walked back to me. “Those that are too scared won’t beback,”she said softly.“It’s best for everyone that way.”

“A frightened warrior is a liability,”Iagreed.“Go for a run,”I shouted to the men.“Five miles, then break for lunch.”

The men moved to follow the order immediately. We watched them sprint away from the training field and toward the forest path that circled the castle.

Once I was sure that everyone was out of earsho t I let an exasperated sigh loose.

“We have seasoned warriors ofcourse,” I noted. It wasn’t as though the new recruits were the only fighters available to us, but they were the majority of our forces.

“But I worry that we don’t havenumbers on our side.”

After my uncle’s coup, the troops were purged. Those loyal to me were killed or banished, and not all of them returned when I was able to regain power. Some had lost faith in the leadership of the pack, and I couldn’t blame them. I released them from service and gave them leave to return to the pack if they ever chose to do so.

Many hadn’t.

The warriors that were loyal to my uncle had fled with him. I had no doubt that some of them were now among the ranks of Lanecreek’s forces.

“What would you suggest?”Maisieasked.

“That’s what I was going to ask you,”I said with a sigh.“We need to speed up their training, that’s obvious.”

She looked thoughtful.“I’ll put

together a plan for a formal assessment that will allow us to identify their strengths,”she offered.

I wasn’t surprised by the suggestion. We often used obstacle courses and assessments to help the recruits narrow down their areas of need and their strengths, but it was still very early in their training for that.

“We can organize the troops intogroups based on their strengths and specialize their training. We don’t have the luxury of focusing on shoring up their weak points right now,”she stated unhappily.

I frowned at the statement, but she was right. A well rounded recruit was a luxury at this point.“Alright,”I said.“Good call.”

“I can take a group to trainpersonally.”Maisi e offered.“The more we can individualize, the better the results we’ll see. Our time is short, so we have to use it

wisely.”

I nodded.“I’ll be as involved as I can, but I can’t guarantee my availability,”I noted.

The running of the kingdom couldn’t be put on the sidelines to deal with this potential crisis. I had to be mindful of my own behavior to avoid panicking the pack.

My frantic behavior when I returned from my meeting with Margot had already caused rumors to spread. Nora was right to scold me the way she had. If I had listened to her right away, the damage might not have been so bad.

Now, all I could do was try not to make things worse. I would have to lean on Maisi e if there was any chance of getting the recruits ready to defend the pack. I didn’t like handling things this way, but if there was one person I could trust, I knew that it was her.

“The spymaster and generals can11:19

take a group each as well,” Maisie suggested.“Their insights and different approaches will be a benefit.”

“I’ll meet with them later today andinform them of the plan to accelerate training,”I said.“We have to move quickly. We don’t know how much time we have left.”

“Send the men home after lunchand tell them to return tomorrow ready to work,” Maisi e said firmly. “We want them to be well rested forthe assessm ent tomorrow. If they’re overworked today, we won’t get an accurate sense of their abilities.”

“Ok. I have other things to take careof today anyway,”I replied.“I’ll see you at dawn.”

“Right,”she said with a nod. Maisiestarted to walk away, but hesitated. “Make sure you get some resttoday,”she added firmly.“You look like hell.”

I scoffe d at her comment. She waved me off and walked toward

the front gate.

I felt like hell, if I was being honest. I’d hardly slept in the last few days.

I appreciated Maisie’s willingness to be blunt with me when the occasion called for it. There were very few people willing to speak bluntly to the Alpha King.

Maisi e had quickly become one of the most reliable people in the pack. She was dedicated to protecting the people of her new home.

I owed her more than she realized. After losing my own Beta, I was determined to lead on my own. It was a foolhardy and pompous thing to attempt. If I had a Beta by my side, my uncle likely wouldn’t have been able to manipulate me the way he had. A lot of loss could have been avoided if I hadn’t tried to take on all of the responsibilities of the kingdom by myself.

It wasn’t until I met Maisi e that I was able to see myself accepting

anyone into the role. I should have offered it to her officially, but I hadn’t been able to find the words to do it yet.

I knew that she would take it and that the pack would not only accept her into the role, but embrace her wholeheartedly. My pride and the sting of old grief were the only things that had stopped me from making the offer.

I looked toward the end of the forest trail that the men were running. The fastest of the men were visible already. It would only be a few minutes before the confused recruits were surrounding me again and waiting uncertainly for their orders.

The guilt of bringing them into this situation blind was hard to manage. They knew that something was coming. The whole pack knew at this point that something had spooked their Alpha and put him on edge. It was not a position of strength for me to occupy, but it

was unavoidable.

I couldn’t risk that word would get back to Lanecreek if I made any kind of announcement to the people. They would have to suffer through the rumors and uncertainty for a while longer.

But I hoped that they trusted me enough to realize that all of my strange behaviors were only meant to protect them. Everything I did was for the good of the pack.

I knew that my intentions weren’t enough to make up for the outbursts of anger and my coldness toward those that came to me with comparatively petty issues over the past weeks. I could only hope that the pack wouldn’t hold it against me when everything was said and done.