The Amber Shift

Thirty

Elijah

I always thought that the day I was made alpha would be conducted with all the bells and whistles. A call to court, an assignment to a territory, a pack of lycans to mold to fit my agenda. The early promotion in status was the last thing I expected, yet the most precious gift I'd ever received. Noelle opened the line out of a raw desire to make me happy. She didn't do it to control my strength or fortify her rule. It was pure compassion that initiated her instinct. It couldn't have been any better.

Then we ran, and she matched each of my steps, staying by my side the entire time. We didn't joke around or dive into deep rooted worries. It was just me and her running until our legs throbbed. And that minuscule span of time meant more to me than just about anything else. Noelle was a perfect companion, made for me in every way.

I mindlessly lift my beer to my lips as I watch Noelle try to keep afloat on the large raft she shares with Asher in the middle of the pool. She splashes Killian in the face and clunks Remi over the head with a pool noodle before flashing me a smile. The pride she displays vanishes when the two swim under the raft and tip it over. Her barely-there hot-pink string bikini holds on to her curves for dear life as she flails her arms and legs.  

"Dante reached out to me today," Corbin quietly says from the lounger next to me.

I pry my gaze from Noelle. "What did he want?"

"He hammered me with questions about her. Time is running out; he is going to request her presence in court. I know he feels his power diminishing by the minute. It will take at least another two years for her to surpass him, and we won't be able to hide her for that long. The moment he finds out who her mother is, he will have her killed. There is no way he is letting a half lycan-half human take his crown."

"Maybe we can avoid talking about who her mother is."

"She is the spitting image of Liz. He will know the moment he sees her."

Noelle has one thing working in her favor. She is strong. I've never seen a lycan take to the shift the way she has. She has tapped into her abilities and wields them like she has lived every day of her life with them. Everything has come to her naturally, even her abilities as the future queen of the lycans.

Dante intends to destroy everything she is if it doesn't serve his purpose of creating a strong legacy. Noelle is the last of his countless children that he would want carrying on his line. If it weren't for Corbin, she would have never been born. According to him, it was his quick thinking that got Noelle's mother to safety and allowed for her to birth her only child—the heir to the lycan throne.

I turn my attention to her again, watching her climb on Remi's shoulders to chicken fight with Asher and Killian. "I won't let him lay a hand on her. None of us will. We'll figure out a way to keep her safe until the time comes that she can take her rightful place. I'll do whatever it takes."

Corbin stands and claps me on the shoulder. "I know you will. I just pray you don't have to lead a war against my brother to do it."

"If that's what it takes."

Corbin crosses the pool deck and leans over, planting a kiss on Bennett's forehead, whispering something in his ear. A smile spreads over his husband's face, and I can't help but feel a wave of jealousy pass over me.

They're always so happy, so perfectly matched.

My match is right here, and I can't have her. I watch as Remi and Killian meet in the middle of the pool and she and Asher join hands, all four of them laughing as she and Asher wrestle to take each other down. Just as Noelle shoves Asher hard enough to take him off Killian's shoulders, Corbin and Bennett appear next to me.