The Last Royal

Chapter Eight

(Image: Nicholas's wolf)

Nicholas's POV

She was perfect. The strength and poise she exuded were just what every wolf wanted in a Luna, and her wittiness and beauty and intelligence was everything I could have ever hoped for in a mate.

Barely half an hour in to the movie she had fallen asleep so peacefully against my shoulder, snoring softly that I couldn't bring myself to move her or wake her, even if my arm was now stiff and tingling from lack of blood flow.

I took my time observing the soft skin of her face, so pale but not at all colorless, she glowed. Not literally of course, but there was something about her aura that seemed to radiate light. Her hare was a bright shade of red and it cascaded over one side of her dace and shoulders in soft waves. Her small body was well toned, muscular even, but not in a bad way. I could tell she was strong and could most likely hold her own against most of my warriors.
The black shirt she had on was not revealing, but it was sexy in it's own way, with a round neck that showed off her collar bone and the fabric clung to her body just enough to show the delicate mounds of her breasts.

I gulped and shivered slightly. It was hard to be this close to ones mate and not give in to the physical temptations that came with it. But I knew she was worth the wait.

I had been prepared for Gaia to throw me anything, I had mentally readied myself for a submissive mate, a rogue mate, a criminal, any other bad scenarios that might have come my way, but never in a million years had I thought to prepare myself for someone as perfect as she was.

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed too good to be true, this she wolf had landed in my lap, the last of her blood line, the first blood line, she was bloody royalty! As Alpha of one of the largest packs of the American continent, there could not be a more promising prospect for furthering my own blood line, to blend the McCalister blood to the Aldridge blood, it would be a formidable mix.
And on top of this she had been the daughter of the Alpha and Luna of her former pack, which meant she had experienced first hand the ties to the pack and the duties her parents had. She had been trained as a warrior and a healer, which were both incredible traits to have on their own, but to have both was rare. A healer that could go to battle with her wolves and not need constant protection was invaluable.

As if all of that was not above and beyond what anyone could ask for, she was also beautiful, kind, fair, smart and funny. A bit of an attitude but I liked that, it meant she'd be able to handle herself well with the rough ways of many male pack members and demand their respect.

As I marveled over the many gifts the Goddess had bestowed upon me that day I almost didn't notice the unfamiliar wolf smell. It was faint, and my human scent was far less impressive than my wolfs, but it was there.
A growl escaped from my throat as my mind went in to overdrive, I would need to shift in order to contact the wolves running perimeter checks, and it would be handy to be in wolf form in case it was any kind of threat, plus my senses were much keener as a wolf. I hesitated slightly before lifting Leah in to my arms and slowly walking to her bedroom to place her in bed. She had had enough worries for tonight and I was not about to wake her up for something that might be unimportant. As I took one last glance at her sleeping form I felt a fraction of my soul attach to hers, and so it began...
I knew right then that I would lay down my life to protect her and keep her happy.

Closing the door gently, I made my way outside and shifted. It still hurt each time, but a fraction of pleasure had began to accompany it, with each breaking bone and claw sprouting, a shiver of excitement ran through my body.
As soon as my four paws hit the grass I began mentally searching for the energy strands that belonged to the pack mates closest to me.
The best way to describe an Alphas bond to his pack is if you close your eyes and imagine a core of burning energy, or two, depending on if the pack had a Luna as well or not, and from that core, imagine dozens, or hundreds or bright strands leading off in to nothingness. Each strand slightly different, some larger than others, depending on the wolfs rank. It was through those links that an Alpha could communicate and feel his pack.

I located the 10 wolves I had patrolling that night here and alerted them on a possible intruder, then lifted my large head and howled in warning before running towards the tree line, nose to the ground attempting to pick up the scent I had smelled earlier.

There it was.
A dirty mongrel.
A rogue.

"Eric! I need you to go to the cottage. Now! I left Leah sleeping but there is a rogue in the area and it might be one of the ones that are tracking her." I barked at him through his faint strand. He was of no rank but I trusted him and knew he wouldn't freak Leah out if she woke. He could also hold his own in a fight if it came to that.

"Yes Alpha..." I heard his reply, knowing that I had forced a shift when I called him.
Since we can't communicate mentally in human form, when the Alpha tries to contact another wolf, he triggers a shift. It's only to be done in emergencies.
We can sense when our pack mates are in human or wolf form by the strands of energy. They glow brighter when they are in wolf form.

I ran towards where I sensed the smell and heard the thump of 4 sets of other paws, instantly recognizing 3 of my pack mates scent and the 4th must be the stranger.

He was fast, I'll give him that, for around 10 minutes he led us on a chase, weaving through the woods, although he showed no sign of leaving our territory, it was only as we burst through the trees in to a clearing I realized in horror we had been led away, and back to the cottage. My nose twitched and picked up two other scents, one extremely similar to the first, probably why we missed it the first time, the second was a female...
They smelled of fear and blood and dirt.
They were here for Leah.
And I wasn't there to protect her.

*************************************
Dun dun dun!!!

Haii!

Another update!! Yay! And 10 minutes before I leave the office! Wheew, cut it a little close today, but I made it!

Happy hump day everyone!!

Do you think Nicholas will be able to get to Leah in time to save her from who ever is here?

Who do you think it is? What did you think of his POV. I wasn't sure if I wanted to write from his side as well but figured it was worth a shot. If you liked it please let me know so I can include more in the future!!

Much love all!
Xoxo
BB