Vadim raced through the forest as his fury built. He wasn't used to taking orders or being forced into making decisions. He had tolerated Modar's peacemaking as it was a necessity for the survival of his pack. But...this? This silly woman should just choose an Alpha and be happy that either pack would be willing to protect her and the Lotus pack. Vadim let out a low growl as he thought about courting her. He'd never had to court a wolf before. They'd all but clamored to couple with him and he'd had his pick of the finest women of his pack. Couldn't Galina see what he had to offer?
Vadim shuddered as he thought of bonding with her. If they bonded, Galina would have a say in the working of the pack though his word would still be law. He thought of the feisty females in his pack and wondered how they would take a new woman as their leader. Their current she-wolf in command, Flora, was as close to a mate as Vadim had. Yet, he still resisted claiming Flora as his own. He knew that she wanted to bond with him but something wasn't right there. Perhaps because she was too willing, too available, and catered to his every whim. As she should, thought Vadim. Females were meant to serve the Alphas.
Damn it. That is what a wolf should want in a mate, Vadim thought. Flora was a dark beauty with an athletic build and pretty brown eyes. They could be brother and sister for how well they mirrored each other. Their pups would be strong and beautiful. And...yet, Vadim resisted. He felt comfortable with Flora in every way but his emotions. He supposed that is where the true intimacy of a mate claim would make the difference.
Vadim skidded to a halt at the entrance to his den. He shifted quickly and stormed down the long tunnel to the main room. Today, the large cavern was unusually silent. On a typical day the weathered rock walls would be echoing with the yips of pups and murmurs of the females gossiping. As werewolves, their pack didn't follow a traditional hierarchy of familial lines and many of their pack members had been outcasts from society looking for a home. Vadim studied the mixed group of wolves ranging in ages and sexes before him. Flora stepped forward to greet him but Vadim's brother, Loki, stopped her.
"Let's talk."
Vadim nodded at his brother and turned to address the pack as a whole. "Do not worry, my pack. This is but a small shift in our lives and we will continue to reign over the forest as the strong Medina pack." Vadim's words were greeted with howls and clapping from the mixed group of people and wolves that stood before him.
Vadim strode down a long tunnel with Loki on his heels. They reached a turn and entered into Vadim's private chambers. Soft furs and deer pelts lined a low bed along one corner of the room and a roughly built table and chairs dominated another corner. A low fire was kept stoked in a small fire pit that was half enclosed with a wall of stones that tunneled the smoke up and out of the room. Vadim stopped in front of the fire and stirred it so the flames licked higher. The flames mirrored the burning in his stomach.
"Would it be so bad to take a mate?" Loki asked quietly from behind him. Loki was the only person that Vadim ever truly confided in. Brothers by more than just pack, they'd been raised by the same mother before Vadim had rescued Loki from her grasp and descended into the forest. Both their mother and society had been fiercely cruel to them both. Their upbringing made it difficult for either wolf to trust others, especially females.
Vadim shrugged. "I suppose not. But. I don't know." Vadim restlessly poked at the fire. "A bond is different. The responsibility is different. It's..." Vadim let the words trail off. He swallowed against his suddenly dry throat.
"Love. A mate claim is love. You have to share more than just responsibilities for the pack." Loki said quietly from behind him. Vadim nodded and turned to meet his brother's eyes.
"You are the only person that I have truly loved in this world." Vadim wasn't ashamed to admit his love for his brother. In fact, he didn't have to even speak the words. The feeling ran so pure and true between them that it was almost as if they were one.
"She never knew how to love," Loki said.
"She was a cold-hearted bitch." Vadim spit out. Their mother had been ruthless. When she had discovered the true nature of her children she had done everything she could to try to absolve them of their sins. Their mother had spent the days alternating between desperate prayers to God and locking the boys in their closets without food until they would renounce their true nature. She had stopped short of physically abusing them simply because she knew that Loki and Vadim were capable of killing her. When Vadim was eleven, he had woken Loki late in the night and left for the forest he had discovered in his research. Loki had come willingly and that is where they had met the Medina pack and been absorbed into a community of their own. Through a series of unfortunate events with the Alphas of the Medina pack, Vadim had quickly rose in the ranks and been voted into Alpha. His reign was tenuous at best and he wondered how long before another wolf would try to overthrow him.
"Taking Galina as a mate would strengthen your position," Loki said with the uncanny ability that wolves had to pluck thoughts from each other's minds.
"I know. I hadn't thought of that until now." If Vadim mate claimed Galina and had pups with her, their rank as Alphas of the pack would be secure.
"I don't know how to court a woman." Vadim admitted gruffly. It was true. His experience with the opposite sex consisted of women throwing themselves at him. He'd never had to work for their affection before.
"Well, it is a good thing that I am your homely brother who has had to put some effort into wooing the lasses. I have a few tips for you." Loki laughed at him and punched Vadim in the shoulder. "Come, sit with me."
They moved to the table just as Vadim scented Flora at the opening to his den. He turned to see her standing silently by the entrance. It was rare that she came to his den. The pack was forbidden to venture here.
"I'm sorry Vadim, I don't mean to interrupt." Flora trembled, her small body tense. She lifted her chin and tossed her dark hair behind her shoulder.
"Yes, you do," Vadim said. He caught a look from his brother and sighed. He motioned Flora into his den. "Yes?"
"I, um, I heard about what happened." Flora stuttered as she glanced at Loki. Loki stared at her, his eyes unreadable.
"I'll leave you two, brother." Vadim nodded and patted Loki's shoulder as he passed closely. Flora's eyes followed him out before they met Vadim's.
"Are you going to claim her?" Flora rushed out as she rubbed her arms and then crossed them across her small breasts.
"And, if I do? What is it to you?" Vadim said, cruelly.
Flora hiccupped a sob but her eyes stayed clear. "I would accept your decision as leader of the pack."
"As you should. Is that all?" Vadim knew he was being mean but his emotions were in a turmoil. He never knew how to handle emotional women. Showing a soft side was the equivalent to weakness in his book.
Flora turned and without a word began to walk back. Vadim felt awful. She had been a good friend to him...almost as close to him as his brother. He silently padded after her and touched her arm. Flora stopped but didn't turn.
"Look. I, I don't know what I will do. For the sake of this pack, I might have to do so. If Lothar gains the Lotus pack he will outnumber us. Our delicate balance between the packs may be lost and a war could be imminent. I have to do what I can to maintain the Medina pack as the dominating pack of the region. Do you understand?" It was as close to an apology as Vadim was capable of making.
"I understand." Flora turned and to his surprise hugged him. She reached up to pat his cheek and gave him a small smile. "I'll miss you." She said softly and left his den. Vadim felt his heart shake a bit as he watched her go. She'd been a constant in his life for so long that he had begun to take her for granted.
It wasn't like he couldn't couple with her as he wished, Vadim thought. The Alpha was allowed rights with those not of his blood. Yet, something had shifted and he knew it. He sighed and moved to sit at the table. Picking up a small pail of water, he poured a small cup and sat at the table, contemplating the fire.
Court her or instigate an alpha war, he mused. Not that he wouldn't enjoy a good fight with Lothar. He'd always wanted to take the Alpha on and was interested to see if his stocky strength would match up to Vadim's agility. He shook his head and thought of Loki's warning. An Alpha war would be catastrophic.