Antiope

"Are you sure about this?" Egil asks for the millionth time.

No.

"Yes," I lie. "Just do what you are told and make sure everyone does as well."

"You know we will follow your lead, Luna, but-"

"I know, Egil," I cut him off.

All my focus is on the brink of our border. Any minute now. I will see him again any minute now. I try to control my body but I can't. Whoever is about to come holding Magnus will sense my perturbation. But maybe I will be able to pin that to wrath or hate. Let him think it's for Magnus and not for his ass.

"I will kill him!" Maximo threatens.

"Keep calm, Max. This is not the time to be impatient. All in good time."

And right at that moment, there is movement from the trees of the forest before us. Then a group of men appears. Ten of them, all stark naked and all abnormally tall and wide. I feel Egil shift to my side. But I freeze when I see two of them, holding a leash. A leash that leads to a collar. A collar that is around Magnus's neck. Goddess! His head is stooped low and his focus is off. He doesn't even look at me and that hurts me deeply.

Seeing my mate degraded like that makes my blood boil. I search for wounds and I almost cry on joy when I find none. Look at me! I try but it's as if I am calling out into the void. My nails sink in my palm and when I sense Egil growl lowly beside me, I warn him.

"No!"

Egil takes one deep breath and manages to keep his emotions in check. Max is howling in my mind to tear all these men apart but there is no way to do that without putting Magnus in danger. I turn my focus on him once more. The chains don't seem silver but Magnus is staggering. I am suspecting drugs. I can't but smile at that. Even outnumbered and chained, he is still dangerous and these animals know it. What they don't know is that I too am dangerous.

I shift my gaze and look for their leader. And don't have to look long. There is a huge man among them. Taller and bulkier than all, with defined muscles and the dangerous gait of a predator at the top of the food chain. He is shifted but that doesn't seem to affect him much, the way he moves it the way of a wolf. An Alpha. I focus on his face but his long, unkempt hair fall on his face though I feel his eyes pinned on me through the long strands.

There is power, raw, untamed power coming off in waves from him. A natural born killer, without remorse and fears. A deadly animal that I am about to dance a dangerous dance with.

I hold my head high and my eyes on that man, though every fiber of my being wants to go to Magnus and hold him, break the chains and the necks of those that dare drag him before me like that.

I only have Egil with me, a show of good will and part of my plan. I need that man to trust me, to lax his hold over Magnus so I can find a way for my mate to be safe. Thankfully, Egil is keeping his cool and his low growl is only natural.

The group stops right before our borders and I sense the men sniff the air. I have no guards, no one even close. I dare a glance to Magnus but his head is still low and he is swaying, barely standing.

"Antiope Everstone," I hear the same voice I heard on the phone.

I turn to the man leading and he takes one step forward. My body and wolf react instinctively to his presence. I am scared. So scared that I have to fight to keep myself from submitting to him. But I can't. I won't.

"And what do I call you?" I am glad to hear my voice is even.

He chuckles. Had he not been the one holding my mate, not reeking of ruthlessness, had I not known that he is the one behind my almost death, I would appreciate the allure of that wild beast. Strong, commanding and seductive at the same time. As he draws near, my fear intensifies and I scowl. I am a Beta but even so, the presence of an Alpha shouldn't be affecting me so. There is something wrong here, something I don't like. And why don't I smell anything from that man? Who is he? What is he?

He stands right before me and I clench my jaw to keep the whimper of fear down my throat. He lifts his hand and he catches my chin. I hear the rustling of chains behind that man but I do not dare look at Magnus. I have my eye pinned on that hidden face.

"You will call me," he says and tilts his head, "my lord."

"I will not do such a thing," I fight back.

He sniffs the air and growls. Great! My big mouth pissed him off. I will never learn. But then I see his lips curling into a smile. Another one that likes them feisty. I guess it's my luck. And then he straightens his back to his full height and brushes the hair off his face.

"Oh, I think you will, little girl."

The urge to kill him as he calls me that is the biggest temptation. Cause I know he knows that's what Magnus calls me. Perhaps he was muttering that while chained and drugged. And I also know that he is using it derogatorily. I want to tell him off and I look at him with my most menacing face.

The moment I glance upon this face, I forget everything. The only thing that matters to me now is that my plan better work. Not just for Magnus's sake and for the sake of our pack. But for everyone's sake. Because that man standing before me is the spitting image of the Alpha King.

I only saw the King once on that fateful day at the Mating Hunt but there is no way I could ever forget his face. Granted, I was too pissed at him and too riled up by Magnus but I had to be blind not to notice his perfectly chiselled face, those piercing eyes and that tall, built body that only Magnus could rival.

Who is this man? A twin? Is there magic involved? Plastic surgery? Freak of nature? What ever makes the man look like the King, it makes him dangerous. This goes deeper than I thought. Panic threatens to take me over but I swallow it. Panicking is a luxury I cannot afford.

"Hm, if you think you can replace him, no one is going to buy it."

"That's what you think?" he narrows his eyes.

I lean to him and pin him with what I hope is a seductive look. Men, wolves, mosquitoes you name it fall hard for this shit.

"I know so. The Alpha King is a pretty boy. You," I moan lightly, "are all male."

Stroking a man's ego works even better than stroking his dick. As for me, I'd rather stroke his ego that his dick. I plan on crushing both anyway. Feral as he is, he is not immune to my flattery. I can see that is what he thinks too. He thinks that he deserves the position.

A brother then, I surmise. No outside usurper would have that satisfied look on his face, the one that says that he wants his birth right to be recognised. I swallow my panic once more. He is the first born, the rightful heir. I do not know what happened to him but if he gets his claim... Chaos would erupt.War, civil war. Werewolves at each other's throats.

I keep my eyes pinned in his while I try to mind-link Magnus. Nothing. The drugs must have something to do with it and the fact that he is strategically kept outside our borders.

No pressure to make this work then! I cringe internally.