Young King

11

Meki's POV

I force my trembling fingers to still as my grip tightens against the steering wheel. The scent of my mate so close driving me and my wolf crazy.

It was also apparent that my wolf had more control than I did because I had a very lewd dream about my mate and apparently some of that might've been transferred over to Kaiden. Which was good and bad. It's good because that means Kaiden is being affected by the mate bond and judging by the way he reacted when we touched, he's feeling it almost as much as I am. Maybe not everything because he's human, but enough. He also didn't seem horribly disgusted that I was a man so maybe this won't be as difficult as I'd thought.

The bad part of it is I'm out of control in weak moments like when I'm asleep. I was barely keeping it together when I was awake, but I knew what was a stake if I lost it. And I did. I don't know exactly what Kaiden saw of me last night, or what he heard, but it obviously freaked him out when he met me.

Met me.

I've met my mate. He was in the back seat of my car. He knows my name. My voice. My scent, as much as he can know it. Humans didn't have very good scenes of smell.

The massive home that was our central pack house for the upper Philadelphia area. The pack house I was now Alpha of. In the days working up to attending the basketball game next week where I'd formally meet Kaiden, which was now cut short because apparently the moon wanted that day to be today, I spent almost all my free time shifted. Leaving my scent on every tree, every bush, until my father's was gone. My claim on this land now true.

I knew the other wolves of the pack would smell it. A few of them invited me to their homes. Other's kept their distance. I had left a certain reputation when I'd left home. And I guess that didn't change. But the day of brutilty, cruelty, and violence was over. I wouldn't be a feared alpha, but respected. I want to be an alpha that pups can look up to and wolves can follow. One that they know will protect them. Keep their families and businesses safe.

I lot of the businesses in the neighboring town were actually run by our pack members. Before my father, an Alpha and their wolves had very good relationships with each other. Both personally and financially.

My grandfather was a businessman, and his idea was to give families loans in order to buy out restaurants, grocery stores, anything that counted as a business. Humans eventually left, as a result of it. Leaving the town a safe haven for our pack. And in return, the families were able to have stable financial income and the pack house would get a percentage of their earnings. It was a mutually beneficial transaction that worked great for many decades.

Until my father came into the role and broke those deals with lower pack members he deemed lesser. Forced them to pay a tax every year and if they didn't meet the amount, they'd be kicked out of the pack.

To fix those relationships, to bring trust and respect back between an Alpha and their wolves, is my first priority. Besides Kaiden, of course.

I'd already reached out to many of them, asking for their time in the next month when I was scheduled to visit the town that had once prospered greatly. After that, I'd find the pack members that were dispelled. Bring them back to us, if I can. The problem with bringing rogues back is a lot of them are too far gone in their wolves, feral. But as Alpha I still had the power to bring them back as long as apart of their humanity was left. I'll be their temporary anchor until they find their own.

It'll be a lot of work, and I'll need help. But with time, I'll undo every wrong, every injustice my father brought upon this pack. I'd heal it, unite us.

And somehow get my mate to fall in love with me so deeply he won't reject me when I tell him about me. It's not the wolf thing I'm worried about. I think with Nick there, it'll go by smoother. It's everything else that worries me. The man I'd been, the monster my father had molded me into. He deserved to know who he was agreeing to spend the rest of his life with. If he agreed.

"I never get used to seeing this place." Kaiden mutters as we leave the car. Nick give me a warning glare meant to keep my under control. Though the idea of having my mate's scent freshly spread throughout my home made my canines threaten to come down.

"Mi casa, and all that." Nick says, patting Kaiden's back.

My wolf growls in a jealous rage at the sight of my brother getting to touch my mate and not me.

"I'm going for a run." I say lowly before stalking off towards the tree line, ready to shed my clothing and let my wolf loose. Work out this sexual frustration instead of tackling Kaiden and kissing him.

I hear Nick saying something to Kaiden but I don't register it as my wolf begins to emerge.

Kaiden POV

The home is as big and understated as I remembered. I haven't been here in a couple months, but nothing has changed.

I look over to where Meki was headed. At the tree line he stops and bring his t-shirt over his head. I watch from afar as his strong muscles flex and move and he throws the shirt onto the ground. I was so entranced by the image of his pale skin reflecting off of the grey sky I didn't even think to wonder why the hell he was taking his shirt off. And before I could, Meki's body was swallowed by the dense forestry.

"Don't worry about him." Mila says as she grabs her bag from the trunk. "He gets in a mood sometimes. Just needs to run it off."

I nod dumbly before looking back at the towering home. It was darkly colored, but not painted. All wooden with large windows that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. On the third floor, where I knew most of the bedrooms to be, had patios that looked out into the forest. From what Nick told me, their family had bought this land generations ago, building a large home enough for a growing family. Over the years it had been renovated and kept up. But the rest of the land they owned, which was several thousand acres, was left untouched.

It was kinda cool to kid whose lived in a city his whole life. The only trees being few and far between. I liked the idea of living somewhere so quiet, so undisturbed by the corporate world.

And to think all this was hidden only twenty miles out of the city limits.

The three of us walk into the home. Mila immidietly runs to the fridge, opening it and surveys the contents before choosing a soda and chips. Nick offers me the same and I take it gratefully. The home seemed different to me, though it's physically appearance was the same, there used to be a tension in the air. A darkness to it all. But everything now seemed light and open. Weird, I wonder what changed.

We all sat in front of the large tv screen in the sitting room. Mila takes first choice at the what to watch and puts on Teen Wolf.

"Seriously? You guys ain't got nothing better?" I tease.

Mila shrugs and Nick rolls his eyes. "I like how inaccurate it is." She says nonchalantly.

"And how would you know if it's inaccurate?" I question mockingly.

She gives me a pointed look. "Trust me, I know."

I join Nick in laughter as we shake our heads and try to pay attention to the wacked out screen.