WANTED BY THE ALPHA

One

He wanted to check on her first thing in the morning to make sure she'd spent the night okay. After everyone had left, Caspian had asked Isolde to get some food and clothes for Celeste. She didn't look malnourished but he wasn't a doctor therefore couldn't tell if she was fine or not. So he'd summoned Pennington, their pack doctor who had assured him the child was healthy and there was nothing to worry about. There were no visible bruises or any sign of abuse which meant he wasn't going to have to track down some bad guys and kick their asses.

It was odd, how he was beside himself with worry over her when he didn't even know who she was or where she'd come from. He was naturally protective of women and children but this was different. Caspian didn't know why he was acting that way. Maybe because by falling on his lap, she'd chosen him as her protector or it could have been because she was so young and vulnerable. He couldn't decide. Watching him, Evan had shook his head to indicate his disapproval but hadn't said a word.

Caspian knew what his beta wanted to say. That he shouldn't trust a witch. They were clever and cunning, always looking for ways to get the upper hand on them. The relationship between werewolves, vampires and witches was complicated. Had been for thousands and thousands of years. As one of the strongest Alphas, he had done everything he could to try and bring peace among the three races but it was impossible. Especially when each wanted to be on top of the food chain. Witches believed they were stronger and wanted to dominate them. Vampires on the other hand wanted the one thing witches had vowed never to give it to them. The ability to walk under the sun, roam freely during the day without turning to ash. A few older ones could tolerate it but the rest had to wait until sundown in order to come out. Werewolves wanted the curse gone.

While they could change into their wolf form any time they wanted, whenever the full moon came out, it was mandatory and painful. A lot of them hated being forced to change but in Caspian's opinion, they had a better deal than the vamps. It only happened once a month. A price they all had to pay for having their own world where they could walk freely without fear of humans hunting them. He didn't understand why the other wolves couldn't appreciate that small gift their ancestors had given them.

A long time ago, someone had made the mistake of exposing them to the world. That action had led to a war that resulted in bloodshed, so much so that the gods had come together and created a different world. Separating the supernatural from the mundane. It was a wise decision since humans couldn't stand sharing the same space with them. They'd been called monsters, abominations that shouldn't have been allowed to exist in the first place. Because they were half man, half beast and had a few extra supernatural powers, their existence was seen as an atrocity. In reality, humans were just scared of them so they'd started hunting them down and killing them mercilessly. Of course they'd tried to make them understand that they weren't a threat and would never harm them but human beings were stubborn.

Sometimes Caspian wondered why it was so hard for different races to coexist in peace. And it wasn't just the difference between them. Even now when they had their own world, they still managed to come up with petty reasons to start a war. If the rogues weren't stirring up trouble, then it was the packs fighting over a piece of land or because some young pups had trespassed into the neighboring pack. Any little misunderstanding led to Alphas challenging other Alphas, which in turn led to a war. They made the idea of living in peace seem quixotic.

But no matter how bad things were between them, he would never harm an innocent. Celeste was between ten to twelve years old. He'd asked her and she'd said she didn't know. She also had no idea where she came from, just that a nice man had saved her from a bad woman. The only way to get information from intruders was to torture them. But doing that to a child was inhumane and something he would never allow any of his pack members to do. He wanted to find out more about her origins and he would ask any burning questions later. If she could remember even a small detail, it would help them figure out who she was and where she'd come from. As a matter of fact he was going to start.... Isolde grumbled when he moved away from her.