Spellbound Mate

Roman’s POV

I stood at the window of the older woman’s room and a young girl stood close. She looked over and asked if Althea would be staying here and would they be able to, too. He nodded and asked her name. She said “I’m Cassidy..and that’s my Grandma in there. Her leg got messed up saving a four year old from a fire. Michael demands absolute servitude. And he is vicious and barbarous, at best..the little boy in question kicked Michael in the shins after he had seen Michael sodomize and kill his mother. Michael grabbed him and threw him into the funeral pyre alive and my Grandma rushed in to save him. She was struggling to pull him free and her pants caught fire. We were able to ice her leg and save her..sadly, Tommy didn’t survive his burns.” I could only stand there in silence. A blinding rage engulfed me, as I realized my link had been open to my mate and she had heard everything. The rage I was feeling was not my own. As I stand here, I realize there are probably hundreds of stories of the cruelty of that man. How he destroyed an entire pack in less than a week…He vowed to himself to end him..to eliminate the threat to his mate and pack..and a small voice in his head said “No! He is mine! And I will make him pay as he watches me take everything from him!” My head snapped up and I looked into the eyes of my beautiful mate.. her eyes were burning red and her hair was floating around her head as the tips flicked flames around her and I realized she was being consumed by her burning fury. I yelled at her Let’s Run! And before I could turn she was past me and out the door shifting into her magnificent wolf as she jumped clear. I struggle to keep up, but My Goddess what an incredible sight! Her fur burning in the waning light leaving falling enbers in her wake..we ran for about two hours until she finally huffed her large body down beside the river. I sat beside her as I waited for her to speak. When she did, her voice sounded so small and defeated..”I never wanted to be Alpha. I always thought I would find my mate and I would lead my pack beside him. They are my family. They were my home and hearth. Martha is like the grandmother I never had! I healed her..but the muscle damage is so extensive she will always have pain. I can treat it but I can’t make it go away. I failed them. I failed before I even had the chance to begin. And I will make Michael feel every pain he inflicted on my people!” I laid down beside her and said I am your mate. And we will lead side by side. We are an Alpha pair..and our people will thrive under our rule. In 48 days, you will take on the mantle of True Alpha..then we will begin our lives as a team. Making certain nothing like this ever happens to our people again. Baby, GoldenMoon was a small pack..a peaceful pack. This plan to take it from your father was in the works a long time. We will find out what we are facing..and how we will defeat the danger Michael presents. We are not a small pack. We are 15,000 strong with over 1300 warriors, We will prevail! You did not fail! It isn’t failure if you didn’t know!” She leaned over and licked my face and whispered “I love you” The happiness that flowed through me took my breath away! I shouted through the link “She loves me!” And we heard the entire pack sound out happy howls.. she giggled and said “let’s go home” and I melted inside. I said I am home. Wherever you are..that is my home “ And she shifted. Standing there in all her naked splendor, my only option was to shift and pull her into my arms! I was Not about to run back sporting a huge boner with nothing to hide it! She held me close and giggled..she said that would be awkward, huh!! And I laughed. Damn! It feels good to laugh so freely again. I put my finger under her chin and tilted her face up to mine, as I tasted her lips for the first time today. I whispered Auburn and Ambrose may have stolen your first kiss..but that is your first Wednesday kiss..and I will find ways to make sure you have as many first kisses your heart can hold. I love you! She smiled and the world lit up! She kissed me and shifted..running home with me on her heels. Once back at the packhouse, she went back to the infirmary and I headed to my office. Opening the door, I saw Caleb on his tablet working on something. I said get Dillon and Brent in here as I linked Neil to please meet me in my office. Then, I linked Althea and told her I was holding a meeting but would keep the link open so she can hear everything being said. She said that she is in with Martha and Neil had told her he was summoned. I asked what Neil was doing and she replied visiting his mom. I said okay as Neil knocked on my door. I shook his hand asking how his mother is feeling and he said better but her leg was giving her quite a bit of pain. I spun my head around and said Martha is your mother? Is Cassidy your daughter? He said “ Yeah.. Martha is my mother. Cassidy is my older brother’s daughter..my niece. He is gone..bled out trapped in a hunter’s bear trap and his mate succumbed to heartbreak. My mom and I raised Cassidy” I said Damn! I am sorry and he only nodded. I introduced him to my circle..then I asked him his rank in GoldenMoon. He said “ I am Head Warrior. I believe this pack refers to my rank as Delta ( as he nods in Brent’s direction) so I am content just being a warrior. I have been Head Warrior 20 years now. I’m 36 and only just met my mate after all these years. I could use some getting acquainted time” and he laughs. I laughed with him and said I can understand that but I am afraid I can’t accommodate your wishes. I would like you to remain Head Warrior and work alongside our Delta training our troops. We have three divisions of warriors..Fighters, hunters and trackers. With 1300 warriors, and 200 more set to graduate, I want you to observe them in training and see which fighting discipline suits their individuality. In battle, it is necessary to have many styles of fighting.. keeps our enemies guessing. He let out a breath I didn’t realize he was holding and said “I am relieved. I don’t want to retire but I didn’t want to step on Delta’s toes. I can do what you ask. I am proficient in several disciplines and my idea would be to choose 5 warriors from each division of warriors and train them to different discipline so they may train the others” Brent said he really liked that idea and they would start tomorrow morning at 5..but wants Neil to train him two hours a day in every discipline..and I laughed! I said Now Neil..tell us everything you know..we need to get on top of this..and stay on top. And so he began his horror story “After Michael had murdered Alpha Phillip (and we know it was murder..we all smelled the wolfsbane on the body) the entire pack was in chaos. We had no Alpha! Michael demanded everyone submit or die. None of us wanted to submit.. He went through the crowd demanding it..and if submission was refused he struck them down on the spot. I linked everyone to submit after we had lost 15 of our people. I couldn’t let any more die. I had to find a way to save us. We lost so many to death and by the time morning came, we learned that, not only had our Thea escaped and was safe..twenty families had escaped in the night. I will start looking for them now that we have a safe place. I had already linked the six tracker’s Michael had out searching for Thea and told them to make their way here. So we went from a pack of 600 plus to a pack of less than 400 in one night. The next two days were horrendous. Michael had his father come in to be Beta and he brought over 100 rogues with him. They raped our women and killed anyone trying to stop them. Even the children weren’t safe. There is no food..no electricity. Michael couldn’t access pack funds and has begun to lose whatever sanity he possessed. He demanded Thea be found and brought to him in chains. Well, we weren’t going to help him find her! I knew her extraction plan..we all did.. but we have never known the particulars. We knew she would go to her aunt…but that was all. None of us knew the healer witch at our border cottage was her aunt. Phillip was smart in his planning. Michael is building an army. He has rogues out recruiting..they accept anyone. The very dregs of society. Some feral..some near feral. Dangerous men with nothing to lose. Right now, he has about 300 men. He doesn’t want war. He wants an apocalypse“ I sat there stunned. I looked at my circle of now 4 men.. and said Well..let’s get to planning. We don’t want to disappoint him!