The King (Alpha Trilogy #3)

Chapter 4

Lorenzo

I stare distractedly out the window, not paying much attention to the chatter around me or the shrill voice of the stewardess as she keeps pestering me about if I need something. I don't need anything but some peace. I want to clear my mind before I plan my next movements.

Alex and I are currently on our flight to Berkeley, where I decided to settle for the next few decades. I changed my mind about staying in San Francisco at the last moment. We'll land in San Francisco then drive to Berkeley, hopefully reaching the city before noon. I want to fucking rest.

I can't stay in one place for too long. Humans tend to notice the lack of aging and they ask questions. I've traveled through the whole world many times, going from one place to another in search of the other half of my soul. With no results. I still haven't found her.

It's been over three thousand years since I took over as the Alpha King. But what use is a king without his queen? Without someone to ground him and let him know when he's wrong? What use is a king that has never known love or compassion? What use is a king... without heart?

Those thoughts have been plaguing my mind for centuries, millennia even. It's how I always felt. I can't even remember how many times I tried to distract myself with random women, with the packs that needed help or simply the businesses I've established over the years. It was a way to take my mind off the ache and emptiness in my heart. It gave me something to thinks about and brought me enough money to take care of all my mate's needs when I find her for the rest of eternity. She'll never lack for anything.

I barely pay attention to the announcement of the landing, not even bothering to put on a seat-belt. What's the point of it? Even if we crash, I wouldn't die.

I can't die.

The wolves of the king's bloodline are pretty much immortal. The only thing that can kill an alpha king is getting his heart removed. Just like an Undead. Maybe that's why the Beast unnerves me so much. She's as much of an immortal as I am and I don't like it. Her power might threaten mine in the future. She already has a small army of those... Deads.

The Deads are an abomination, created by that deranged witch Thalia and her fucking psychotic friend. They're pretty much a mutated werewolves, created with a bit of Undead's blood to enforce their obedience. That's why every Dead will listen to an Undead. And since Beast is the only one left, all those hundreds of Deads answer to her. That's a lot of manpower.

But Beast is an Alpha's mate. She should answer to me, yet she refuses to do that. It's so frustrating!

"Lo, the car's waiting." Alex's voice pulls me out of my thoughts, only making me realize how lost in my head I actually was. It's been happening a lot lately. I would get so lost in my thoughts I wouldn't hear or see anything around me.

I get up from my seat then walk absentmindedly to the car waiting in the airport's parking lot. Since neither I nor Alex have a lot of luggage with us, we head straight to my hotel. Yes, my hotel. I have many establishments around the city, but I haven't been here for over two hundred years, so I don't know how much has changed.

All I know that I feel some strange pull to this place. I don't want to give myself false hope, but that has to mean something.

Once we reach the hotel, Alex hands me my key card, saying he's got some business to deal with, then leaves me alone. I go to the penthouse, riding my private elevator so no one disturbs me. I'd hate to deal with annoying humans today.

After a quick shower I go back to the bedroom to take a small nap. I'm beyond exhausted, but it's not they physical type. It's more like I'm drained mentally. It's been getting worse for few hundred years, but lately it's almost unbearable. I keep feeling this strange heaviness in my chest, my wolf's pain as he struggles to stay sane.

My wolf is a separate being inside of me; he's not just an animal. We are two entities forged into one thousands of years ago. Only wolves from king's bloodline have this feature. Normal werewolves can't communicate with their wolves since they're only representing the beast side of our existence. The previous king, my father, was the first werewolf, having been betrayed by an ancient witch who cursed him to a have a beast trapped inside of him and forbidding him from finding peace in death. A beast that has a mind of its own, feelings of its own and power of its own.

'Of course I have a mind of my own! Stupid human.' My wolf, Onyx, huffs indignantly, surprising me momentarily. I haven't spoken to him for a long time.

'You're up? I thought you went to sleep.' I mock, bending my arms behind my head as I lie in the king-sized bed in my bedroom. The black curtains are drawn, not letting any of the harsh light from the outside, leaving only the sounds of the city's busy life as the background noise.

'I wasn't. I'm not as weak as you.' Onyx snickers.

'Are you seriously calling me weak? I'm as strong as you, idiot.'

'As if, you puny human. You keep sleeping all the time lately and your heartbeat is weak.'

'I noticed.'

'It's because we're alone. I feel weak too. That's why I stayed quiet.' Onyx quietly says, laying down with his paws over his maw. He's never shown vulnerability or weakness, so seeing him like that, even if it's only in my mind, is concerning, to say the least.

'Do you feel anything here?' I decide to ask him. I know my gut told me to come here, but I need to know if that was only me or maybe my wolf felt the same.

'I do, actually. I can tell we're near. I can feel it.'

I don't question my wolf's intuition; he's never failed me before. After four thousand years together we're extremely well tuned and there are very little occasions when we disagree.

If he feels we're close, then we're close.

Finally! I feel nothing but elation and anticipation. She's here! Onyx can feel it! Soon we'll find her!

'I wonder what she's like! I bet she's beautiful, soft and sweet.' Onyx sighs dreamily. We haven't met her yet, and he's already assuming what she'll be like. Unbelievable.

I shut him out to get some much needed rest, dreaming about my mate and what our first meeting will actually be like. I have no idea what she might be like, but I hope she'll love me.

Getting rejected by a mate would kill me. Rejection is extremely painful for werewolves, because it means half of your soul doesn't accept the other. And how long can one live with their soul torn apart?

Not long.

In my long life I've never seen a wolf not going crazy after being rejected. They always end up killing themselves or going on a rampage before doing so. Nothing helps. There's no second chance mate for us. No hope.

The only way to ease the pain is death.