He didn’t know if a word existed to explain it, afraid to research on a computer Drew had access to. The endless teasing wasn’t worth the added vocabulary. Besides, Keon didn’t care what it was called.
Whatever Vega expected, it was the small-town thinking, prejudice, and expectations he’d gone to Dnara to escape. Any thought as to being better off in Dnara evaporated. Keon could have found a nice boyfriend to love him for who he was. He could have learned how to be happy and oblivious in a world where he remained invisible.
Suddenly, he was Alpha. The boss, the one responsible for a hundred souls, the one withallthe power. Here, he couldn’t change one life, not love one person. He could open the eyes of apack. Become a father to lost and innocent souls, a beacon of hope and light to those who would be shunned and banished.
In Vihaan, Keon could be someone. He could changethe world.
Chapter Three
Keon
AFTER A HALFhour of wandering and contemplating the future, Keon settled by the lake in the middle of the forest, farther from the house than planned. Skimming stones, like he used to in his childhood, ruminating over everything in his mind.
The pack thought him weak. True, he’d never been made for a position of power, but he wasn’t a quitter. He’d been asked to lead his people and fix the mess Simeon had left. He’d done everything asked, sacrificing his education, friends, and family, losing his freedom and the chance for self-improvement in Dnara.
How could he prove he wasn’t weak without becoming the hardened brute Simeon had become?
When a shadow moved to his right, Keon didn’t move. His m’weko senses recognised Vega long before he sat.
“Are you okay?”
Keon skimmed another stone. “I was thinking about my father,” he lied, choosing diplomacy over his feelings. “He would want me mated.” His father would have been proud of him. For becoming Alpha, for rejecting his true mate in favour of being happy. No matter how or why either state came about, his father would be as supportive and encouraging as Weston.
“I know. I’m sorry.” Vega touched a hand to his shoulder.
Keon wondered what he was sorry for: sleeping with other people, desecrating their mate bond, or the reality of his father not living long enough to attend his mating? All worthy reasons to fall apart, but Keon was strong. Stronger than Vega gave him credit for.
“I?” He paused as fast footsteps rustled through fallen leaves.
Instinct drew Keon to his feet, muscles tensed in preparation of a threat. He relaxed when Weston approached, a guard following, Boran’s face impassive as always.
“Alpha, a messenger has arrived from the border.” Weston cast a sour glance at Vega.
The meaning was clear. ‘A messenger’ had crossed pack boundaries, backing onto a mile of forestry and extending into a system of caves. Their visitor must have made the guards uneasy or they wouldn’t have sought the Alpha. Gut twisting, he nodded silent thanks to Weston and started running. A prickle of irritation spiked when Vega jogged alongside, as any mate would when trouble came. But he wasn’t Keon’s mate.
Keon skidded to a halt outside his family home. A weary, dirty messenger rested on the doorstep, a guard handing him a cup of water. The boundaries of their land stood a mile from the village square, and this man looked bedraggled. Keon must find a better method of communication between the outposts at the border and the village to prevent this happening again.
Drew was right. He would kill for a mobile phone.
The messenger shot to his feet when Keon stepped into the light. Fifty, and old friends with his father, Nigel had frequently visited their home during Keon’s childhood. Had taught him to whittle wood, track animals as a human, and play strategy games. It hurt to see the man worried and breathless.
“Take your time.” He waved him to sit. Pleased Nigel relaxed and dropped to sit on the doorstep, Keon crouched to eye level. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“M’weko. A whole pack, by the numbers,” he explained in panting breaths. “One guard transformed at the boundaries and killed Nelson.”
Nelson was seventeen. A strong kid who dreamed of being promoted to the Alpha Guard. What a waste of a young life.
Keon clenched his fists to rein in his anger and stood. “Have soldiers prepared to gather the old, frail, and children into the bunkers. I’ll try to handle this diplomatically, but have the guards prepared, in case these bastards can’t be reasoned with. I refuse to lose anyone else.”
Ignoring Vega’s hovering, Keon gestured to Boran, the nineteen-year-old guard who had gone to school with Nelson. “It’s a heavy weight, but will you inform Nelson’s mother? She’ll appreciate the news coming from a familiar face,” he reasoned, though it was cowardly to dodge the duty.
Boran swallowed. “Yes, Alpha.” He took a half step and glanced over his shoulder. “Thank you.”
Keon marvelled at the respect, the acknowledgement he was doing right. He wished he could deliver the news, as an Alpha should, but with one death dealt and more potentially on the way, Keon’s first task was to prepare for treaty talks or, if diplomacy failed, war.
*
AT THE HOUSE, Keon stepped into the spare room to the side, once the dining room. Weston had helped move the ceremonial cupboard and other Alpha-related items from Grier’s house. The room fitted one purpose: being Alpha. Meeting with other dignitaries, other Alphas, and preparing for war would happen here.
