His Lost Queen

3. The Unwilling Alpha

GRAYSON

The training grounds-a huge plot of land, only a five-minute walk from the pack house-were full of werewolves.

Most were already in wolf form. Some were fighting off in the distance, but many were in a large group, listening to Casimir speak.

I wasn't surprised. Casimir was Zagan's second-born, a vampire prince.

I remember sitting with my father when I was young, listening to him tell me about the Mortars and the special abilities they obtained.

They were an exceedingly gifted family and had been this way for centuries.

Depending on when they were born in relation to their siblings, each child that was conceived had a unique role.

As expected, the firstborn was the heir to the throne. They were born with natural leadership skills.

The firstborn Mortar became king or queen when they came of age. Azazel had been the firstborn of his family, destined to be king.

The second child born into the Mortar family was a warrior, strong and agile. They would take over as the head of the royal army when they came of age, leading them into battle whenever necessary.

Casimir was the warrior of his family. This is why I wasn't surprised to see that he had taken it upon himself to lead my pack in training. It was a natural role for him.

The third-born was the smartest, born with an incredible mind and problem-solving skills.

Third-born Mortars were some of the most intelligent people in the world and were known for always having their noses stuck in a book.

And then, finally, the fourth child born into the Mortar family was the clan healer.

They were born with magical properties in their blood that could heal any injury when it was consumed.

They were also kind and compassionate-easy to talk to. Minnie was the fourth born of Zagan. She had saved my life with her blood.

Azazel had the throne before Zagan. Together, he and his wife, Queen Cordelia, were to produce the next four Mortars meant to continue the family legacy.

The heir, the warrior, the scholar, and the healer. However, this plan quickly changed when Cordelia died during childbirth, along with their firstborn and heir to the throne.

Azazel was overtaken by grief after Cordelia died. Many believe that it was due to this grief that fate decided to pass the throne down to Zagan, his family's second-born, and warrior.

Zagan was never meant to be king. It wasn't in his nature. Yet, he was a fair and just ruler, leading his people with a gentle yet firm hand.

As I continued to study the scene in front of me, I noticed that Minnie was also in the group of werewolves receiving instructions from Casimir.

She didn't seem to be listening, though, too busy studying the large wolves around her with obvious fascination.

As if she could sense my eyes on her, her head turned to look at Zagan and me. She smiled brightly.

In a flash, she had basically flown across the large field and was standing next to her father. He smiled down at her when she wrapped an arm around him in greeting.

"Aren't they incredible?" she said in amazement to her father as she looked around.

Zagan nodded in agreement, assessing the hundreds of werewolves before us.

Minnie's gaze snapped to mine. "I've never actually seen a werewolf in real life, only read about them in books.

"But you guys are way cooler in person! And so strong! I couldn't believe it when I got to see one of you guys shift. Fascinating!"

I nodded once in response. I wasn't in the mood to humor the overly excited vampire princess.

We continued walking until we were in view of the entire training grounds and all of my pack members. My body tensed as I watched them. Unexpected anger and resentment surged through me.

"What color is your wolf?" Minnie asked me, continuing with her chattering.

"Black," I grunted.

An awkward silence overtook us, and for a moment, I thought Minnie might be done talking. But then I heard her whisper to her father, "He's not a very happy fellow, is he? Are we sure we want him to be king?"

A growl loud enough to shake the earth left me. Everyone's heads turned to us in shock, and the werewolves dropped to their knees and bared their necks as a sign of respect and submission.

I only saw Minnie's horror-stricken face for a second before Zagan stepped in front of her protectively. Smart.

I wasn't usually this on edge, but with everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours, my wolf and I felt ready to bite someone's head off. Minnie was one more smart comment away from being that person.

"Minnie, why don't we go help the wolves train?" Zagan requested.

I didn't hear her response. However, a second later, I saw a blur of movement fly from behind Zagan, and Minnie's small form appeared on the other side of the field.

Zagan nodded at me once before following her.

I looked back at all of my pack members watching me with wide eyes, waiting to see what I would do next.

I knew they were expecting me to say something, maybe give an inspiring speech to prepare them for battle. But that was the last thing I wanted to do.

I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from shifting out of blind fury. So, instead of talking, I stiffly motioned for them to continue with their training.

I didn't even notice when Kyle started to approach me, too consumed with anger.

"Hey, Alpha," he said warily when he was within hearing distance, taking small steps toward me.

"How ya doing?" He obviously sensed my touchy mood.

I grunted in response.

Kyle nodded slowly and stood next to me. He knew not to push me.

We watched in silence as Casimir continued to direct the wolves. He began splitting them up into pairs, telling them to go attempt to fight in the ways that he had just shown them.

Kyle sneered as he looked at Casimir in disdain. "This is so not fair. The dude's taking my job."

Kyle was usually the one to lead the pack warriors, having been the head of our army for years now. He was good at it and would continue to be the head of my armies after this war.

I knew that Kyle understood that. He wasn't actually worried that Casimir would be taking over his position. He was just trying to lift my spirits.

Only, he didn't understand that I wasn't in the mood for his jokes.

"He knows more about vampires than you do, Kyle. Let it go," I snapped.

Kyle's brows rose in surprise. "Ouch," he said.

I didn't respond. Guilt touched me for a moment but was quickly replaced with anger once again.

After a few more minutes of silence, during which I continued to glare at my pack members, Kyle spoke again. "Okay, seriously, what's got your panties in a twist?"

He just didn't know when to let go, did he? I growled and turned to him, baring my teeth threateningly. "I mean it, Kyle. Drop it."

He raised his hands in surrender and took a step back, which was a smart thing to do. But the extent of his intelligence ended when he continued to push me, opening his mouth again to speak.

"Look, you might kill me for saying this, but I don't care. I don't know what's going on with you, and that's fine.

"You're going through it. I get it. But whatever this is"-he gestured up and down to my heaving form-"needs to stop.