Chapter Three

“Where did you sneak off before dawn? Gunnar was looking for you during headcount, you know how he gets during procedures,” Kai chuckles, watching Niklas duck through the shrubs.

Brushing off the few leaves that gathered on his clothes he shoots Kai a disgruntled look and walks past him without answering.

Kai follows after him nonetheless with a grin on his face.

“Anyway, we’re all ready to head off, I’m just missing my second-in-command.”

“Stop calling me that, you haven’t even had your Alpha ceremony yet. Technically, I’m the only one here with any sort of title or rank, so that makes you my second-in-command,” Niklas says with a smirk.

“You know I don’t care for any of that anyway, as long as we get this over and done with as quickly as possible, that’s all I care for.”

“You and me both, brother. Come on, the group should be ready to depart now.”

Kai and Niklas rejoin the small group that has been sent as the delegation party from the Wolfmane Tribe to represent them. Led by Kai and Niklas, they brought along their Chief Commander Gunnar and his second-in-command warrior Vikras, along with a few senior warriors in case anything happened along the three-day journey it takes to get from the Wolfmane Tribe territory to the Raseri Tribe.

The soon-to-be Alpha and his father are waiting for them when they arrive, with tense bodies and awkward smiles as greetings.

“Welcome to the Raseri Tribe, delegates from our High Alpha Tribe. We welcome you with great respect and prosperity, may the High Alpha reign forever and lead us to our destined homes,” Raseri Alpha Petr Iversen speaks to them, adding the last part with a glint in his eye as he looks at Kai.

Rune Iversen stands like a stone in the mud, but his face gives away the aggressive and hostile feelings he has towards the members of the Wolfmane Tribe.

Kai is well aware that there isn’t any particular reason why his father couldn’t make the ceremony today. He sent Kai here specifically to see for himself if the Raseri Tribe has the potential for a revolt against the High Alpha Tribe, and if they have started to try and recruit others.

The feeling he is getting from these two alone is enough to convince him that his father is right about them. They have never been ones to follow the command from the High Alpha, and the Iversen kin has been raised for years on the mindset that they were meant to be the true High Alpha family and not the Pendersen.

Kai doesn’t understand the feud between the two families, his father telling him he will be told one day when he is truly ready to take over as the next High Alpha and that there will be many more secrets to reveal, only when he feels the time is right. Kai, who doesn’t much care for such great responsibility, that makes him wants it even less and prefers not to know all the drama between the two.

“We greet the Alpha of the Raseri Tribe, and we thank you for your humble welcome,” Kai says and crosses his fist over his chest in the traditional warrior greeting, remembering that the Iversen family does come from a long line of strong warriors with immense ancestral power.

Not enough to overthrow the Pendersen family it seems.

“You must be weary from your long travels. Please, this way to the lodgings we have prepared for you, where the members of the Omega house to help serve you in anything you will need,” Petr Iversen says and leads the group away.

Kai hangs back with Niklas to watch Rune as he continues to assess them as well. They remain in an odd staring stand-off, before Rune grunts and turns up his nose at them.

“Don’t cause any trouble while you’re here, and leave as soon as you can,” he says before turning to follow after his father.

“So, that’s the infamous Rune Iversen? Not much to look at,” Vikras says, snuffling her nose in disgust as she watches Rune wander off.

“Careful, Vikras. You could turn out to be his mate, who knows,” Niklas chimes in.

Vikras scoffs. “Not a chance, I heard he rejected his mate a couple of years ago, which makes this ceremony all the more interesting.”

“He rejected his mate?” Kai asks in bewilderment. He has heard of other tribe members rejecting their mate and has also heard the painful effects it can cause the mate to be rejected. But he never imagined it would actually happen.

A mate in the Wolfmane Tribe is someone sacred. There has never been a recorded member who has ever rejected their mate and if they did, they suffered dire consequences and it was never spoken of in public.

Here, it seems to be wildly accepted, like it happens every day. The member who is about to become Alpha has members of other tribes gossiping about him rejecting his mate, yet no one seems to be batting an eye.

“Do the other members know he rejected his mate?” Kai asks.

Vikras shrugs. “Not sure, I just heard he will also be announcing his future Luna at the ceremony, which is what will make it so interesting if he is rumoured to have already rejected his mate.”

I can already tell this is going to be a long ceremony.

~*~

After being led to their rooms in the Alpha guest house behind the main house, the team seems to have calmed themselves a bit, but are still on high alert to the Omega House members that have been lingering around them.

Kai can’t help but feel a few people are missing, after having sent Niklas ahead earlier the other night to assess the active high-ranking members of the Raseri Tribe. They introduced two daughters and two wives, something else unheard of in the Wolfmane Tribe but seemingly normal here.

Yet from the intel that Niklas gathered the other night, two members are missing from the group; another wife and daughter. It is said that there are three wives in the Omega house, but the amount of kin is unknown, as is with the Beta and Alpha Houses, due to the amount the many wives they have produced.

It has been the biggest sign that the high-ranking members of the Raseri Tribe are planning a revolt by raising as many powerful members as they can from members with already high amounts of ancestral power.

Kia wants to question where the other house members are, but that will also giveaway that they’ve gathered intel on them before coming here.

I’ll just have to wait and see you at the ceremony. Just a few more hours.

Kai has been telling himself that since they arrived, they still have at least a day and a half left before he can even think about leaving.

“Ready to get this over and done with?” he asks Niklas, who is sitting in the corner with the front of his suit still undone, staring holes into the ground.

He doesn’t answer him or look up, prompting Kai to give him a few pats of encouragement on the back.

“Come on, let’s get this over with, you’ve avoided her long enough and she hasn’t been that far away.”

Niklas sighs but gets up and follows after him, motioning for the others lingering around and pulling at their fancy attire to follow along as well. They’re led to the Alpha House, which is decorated with tons of flowers and string lamps to symbolize the special celebration being held today.

Walking towards the entrance, Kai gets a sudden waft of a strong and delicious smell, but with so many people walking around it is hard to pinpoint where it is coming from.

“Do you smell that?” he asks Niklas while sniffing at the air behind him.

“Smell what? I don’t think we’re anywhere near the kitchen, and even your nose isn’t that strong.” Niklas shrugs him off with an odd look as Kai continues to viciously sniff around him.

“Seriously, you don’t smell that? It’s something sweet, and extremely delicious. I need to find it.”

Kai turns to walk down the hall but is stopped by Niklas.

“What are you doing? The ceremony is about to start and we kind of need the special guest for when they announce us, that special guest being you,” he says.

Kai knows he makes a good point but can’t seem to let go of finding the owner of the mysterious tantalizing scent.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure we can look for it later, come on,” Niklas continues to urge and presses forward with the rest of the group into the main hall.

The room is littered with people, all giving their group odd and hostile looks. Walking over to the food and drinks table, Kai grabs a glass of what he assumes is wine and stands off to the corner to wait for Alpha Petr and Rune to arrive.

“Announcing, your future reigning Alpha, Rune Iversen. Accompanying him is your future Luna and fated mate of the Alpha, Savea Hansen!” a loud voice rings out from the ballroom balcony before Rune Iversen and a pretty woman with light hair and green eyes appear through the door.

Everyone in the room breaks out into cheers and claps, but Kai feels an odd tinge of sadness in his chest for some odd reason, unsure of where the feeling has come from. He feels the urge to look around the room but doesn’t see anything or anyone suspicious looking or even looking sad.

Everyone looks as if their saviour has reigned down from the Asgard realm to guide them home and save them from themselves.

“Is this guy really that high and mighty?” he hears Gunnar mutter next to him.

Kai chuckles to himself. “I’m sure it’s just because of his looks, nothing more. We’ve sparred once in the past and he could hardly keep up with me, and I doubt he’s become much better since that time just by looking at him.”

“Why do you say that?” Gunnar asks.

“Because he’s just as arrogant as before. You know better than anyone where arrogance as a warrior gets you, right?”

It’s Gunnar’s turn to chuckle to himself, remembering the few times he and Kai had butt heads in the past due to his arrogance. “Yes, indeed I do. So, how long do you think this thing will last?”

Kai shrugs and takes a swig, confirming the tasteless wine in his glass.

“I’m hoping not long, but Vikras mentioned earlier that we might see some interesting drama tonight, so who knows how long the night might run on for. You’ve been here before, right?”

“Once or twice, just as a messenger a few times. Why?”

“Do you know any good places we’re allowed to go for some privacy? I’m not sure how much social interaction I can take once members here learn who I am,” Kai says and cringes just at the thought.

As if cursing himself the announcer’s voice booms once more and Kai is ushered to the door to stand next to Alpha Petr along with Niklas.

“Announcing the current Alpha and leader of us all, Alpha Petr Iversen. Accompanying him are our esteemed guests from the Wolfmane Tribe, the future High Alpha, Kai Pendersen and Beta Niklas Olsson.”

The room once more breaks out into clapping and cheering, but Kai knows it isn’t for them and more for their Alpha, Petr. Nonetheless, he follows along after him and keeps his head down, not caring to greet anyone, while Niklas waves and smiles slightly at those staring, none giving him the same back.

The delicious smell from earlier wafts through the crowd once more, hitting Kai like a ton of bricks. This time, however, it feels like whoever or whatever the smell is coming from is closer than before, so close he can almost taste it.

Niklas notices the wide-eyed look on Kai’s face and sees his nose start to go again. He recognizes that look all too well, as he did earlier as well. It’s the look of realization – he has found the scent of his mate and it’s clearly calling to him.

He has been experiencing the same thing since he stepped foot on Raseri Tribe territory and has been fighting the urge with great difficulty. Niklas knows his mate is mere feet away from him right now, but she is choosing to ignore his presence and has been since the day they discovered they were mates but hasn’t openly said the words of rejection to him.

So, they’ve been playing this silly game of avoidance and uncomfortable pain for the past few years. Thankfully, with the great distance between their tribes it’s a little easier to ignore the annoying pains and tugs he sometimes gets, but being so close now it has become almost unbearable. He understands the urges Kai is probably having right now, but it isn’t the time for him to run off and disappear to harass some random girl.

If she has felt he is also her mate, she should’ve come to seek him but hasn’t, which tells Niklas there is a chance she hasn’t manifested her wolf spirit yet.

Sneaking behind him, Niklas nudges Kai in the side to remind him where he is. Kai flashes him an angry look but quickly composes himself and continues walking forward until they get to the throne-looking chair at the front of the room, where Petr proudly takes a seat.

Unsure of what to do, Kai and Niklas take spots off to the side of the chair while Rune stands next to his father with the same arrogant and prideful look on his face. Kai almost wants to snort at the pair, but his nose refuses to stop trailing after the urging scent.

He has been feeling it drifting further and further away the longer he stands there, making the itching, tingling feeling in his fingers and toes worse by the minute.

“Once everything has gone back to normal, I’ll distract anyone who comes up to you so you can sneak away and find whatever it is you’ve been desperately searching for,” Niklas leans over and whispers, not taking his eyes off the room.

Kai gives him a relieved smile and nods his head before resuming his expressionless face. He occupies his mind while Petr drones on about the announcement of his son becoming a man and the next Alpha, and introducing his mate as the future Luna, by thinking of what that smell could be.

His heart has been beating wildly in his chest since discovering it and he has had the urge to run after whatever it is, the feeling almost overwhelming him earlier until Niklas thankfully reminded him he needs to be patient for the time being. Even then, the anger he felt at being denied the chance to run after is something he has never experienced before, let alone his good friend Niklas, he had to quickly compose himself.

I need to calm the hell down, this is ridiculous.

Kai zones out long enough to miss the entire speech from Petr and Rune Iversen, snapping out of it when he hears more cheers from the crowd at the end. He claps along with everyone this time and inches himself towards the small archway to the side of him before anyone has the chance to spot him.

Once Petr takes his seat again, Niklas turns to urge him away before going to greet the few lingering people around them. Kai tips a salute to him before dashing off, the scent from before barely there now.

He rushes out of the ballroom and into a random narrow hallway, easily picking up the scent again now that there are fewer around him to get mixed in the air with. He turns down a few other series of hallways before he finds himself at the back of the house by the west wing balcony.

The sweet smell from earlier is clear as day now, and Kai can no longer control his urge to run after it. Flipping open the curtains, he sees a small girl leaning over the side of the balcony and stops as he sees her long glittering raven-black hair catching the light of the large moon.

The wind blows her hair and she turns her head to brush it out of her face, revealing eyes that look to hold a thousand stars in them. Her smell hits his nose again, carried by the strong wind, and he feels the possessive urge take over his body again, this time completely breaking his self-control and awakening his inner wolf spirit.

Before he knows it, he is rushing towards the girl and grabbing her by the shoulders to pin her to the ground, growling with desire above her. He is unable to stop himself from leaning down towards her neck and taking a deep inhale of her scent, the sweet smell spreading warmth through his entire body and igniting something deep in his stomach.

Mate.

A voice rings deep and loud in his mind. That single word sends his heart into an even bigger frenzy than he thought possible. Then again, he never thought it possible he would have a mate.

Yet here she is.

“What is your name?” he asks in a deep growl.

She trembles under his touch, but he doesn’t move, unable to move an inch from her.

“S-Serenia Hansen, your M-Majesty,” she whispers through shivering lips.

This draws his attention to her mouth, and he doesn’t resist the urge to run his thumb along her bottom lip. “Do you know who I am?” he asks.

She just nods in response.

“Who am I?”

“The f-future High Al –”

“Not that,” he cuts her off. “Take a second to think about it, about how you’re feeling right now. Tell me again, sweetheart, who am I?”

Her chest heaves as her breathing becomes shallow and Kai watches in excitement as her pupils dilate as the realization hits her. Her mouth opens and continues to tremble, but she is unable to say the words.

Kai grins and leans down to her ear.

“That’s right, I’m your mate.”