Galina stopped short as she saw Vadim come to a halt and her coat went up as she caught the scent that had made Vadim stop his easy run. Panic gripped her and she bounded past Vadim into the clearing that surrounded their den.
Lothar and Irin stood in human form in front of the den. Irin had a worried look on her face and Lothar looked grimly at the two wolves as they skidded to a stop in front of them. At Lothar's feet lay two large rabbits. He had brought the Lotus pack a gift of food. Guilt sliced through Galina and she shifted quickly. She felt Vadim do the same next to her.
"Lothar," Galina said quietly.
"Galina. I see that you've been hunting," Lothar said and gestured to the rabbit that Vadim held. "I was concerned so I brought you some food." Lothar finished lamely and gestured to the rabbits at his feet.
Irin cleared her throat and fought to break the tension in the air.
"Isn't that sweet of him, Galina?" Irin said.
"Yes, thank you," Galina said quickly. She knew that both of the wolves would be able to scent that her and Vadim had mated. There would be no way to hide the musk of arousal and semen that clung to her. She saw Lothar's nose crinkle slightly.
"I see that Vadim helped you to hunt as well," Irin said brightly. "We'll have plenty of food for a few days now. Thank you, gentlemen." Ever the diplomat, Irin sought to ease the tension in the air.
"We buried Father." Galina said quietly. She needed to change the subject.
"Oh. Oh, I'm so glad." Irin brought a helpless fist to her heart and lowered it.
"I'm sorry again for your loss." Lothar said gruffly. Galina remembered that he knew what it was to lose a partner and appreciated his kindness towards Irin.
"Yes, thank you. I hope to get through this in one piece." Irin smiled sweetly and bent to gather the rabbits. "Galina, I believe it is time to talk to your sisters." She turned and bid her goodbyes to both wolves. Lothar's eyes tracked her briefly before returning to Galina.
"So, you've mated. Does that mean you've made your choice?" Lothar asked directly. Vadim let out a low growl in his throat and moved to step in front of Galina.
"Vadim. Stop." She moved around him and went to Lothar.
"No, I haven't made my choice. Yes, we coupled. It just happened." Galina gestured with her hands, helpless to explain the overpowering emotions that had coursed through her this evening. From the sadness of burying her father to the excitement of the hunt, she felt like had quite lost her mind.
"If she wishes to couple with me then she may." Vadim said with a low growl.
"If she gets a say that is. I've heard how ruthless you can be." Lothar said. With a growl, Vadim leapt towards Lothar. Galina threw herself between the men.
"No! No. Absolutely not. Not tonight. I've...I've had too much." Galina's voice shook with emotion and tears pricked her eyes. "I can't do this right now. Please." She gently pushed Lothar's chest and stepped back against Vadim's hard chest. Slowly, she nudged the two men apart.
"I came to see if I could hunt with you tomorrow." Lothar asked stiffly. "I have a special spot that I would like to take you to that I'm sure you would enjoy." Galina felt Vadim bristle behind her.
"I'd like that. Where should I meet you?" Galina said. Vadim huffed out a laugh behind her.
"I'll be here at sundown. Be sure to get some rest today as it is a little bit of a trek." Lothar said.
"I will. And, thank you for the rabbits. We need them." Galina said softly and touched his cheek. She met the Alpha's warm brown eyes and felt awful for coupling with Vadim that evening. Lothar shouldn't have found out as he did. Knowing the wolf's sensitive smell, she was sure that it was an affront to him. With a brief nod, Lothar shifted. The large red wolf took one last look at her before bounding from the clearing. Galina let out a long breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding.
She turned to meet Vadim's eyes. His lids were low and his shoulders hunched over the arms crossed against his chest.
"How could you do that?" Vadim spit out. Galina could tell that his pride was wounded.
"I have to do this. You know that," Galina said.
"No you don't. You can just pick me and this stupid courtship will be done."
"It's not that easy." Galina said carefully as Vadim began to pace the clearing.
"It is. There is no need for this. Pick me and we'll be done. Think of how great it will be." Vadim said eagerly.
"I can't. I have to pick a pack that fits with the Lotus pack. It isn't just about me." Galina said stubbornly.
"That's bull shit. You know that you can pick me and your pack would be happy. Why are you putting me through this?" Vadim asked. Suddenly the picture of a wounded pup, his hurt eyes met her. Galina felt fury lace through her.
"Excuse me...but you are the one who came up with this stupid plan. Not me! I had wanted to stay on my own and run my own damn pack. But no. Apparently I am being forced into making a decision. One that I never wanted to make." Galina shouted at the Alpha.
Vadim recoiled at her sudden onslaught.
"Fine. Be a stupid female then. You can stay out here and let your pack die when word gets out that there is a pack of females without an alpha to lead them." Vadim yelled at her. Furious, he shifted and refusing to look at Galina, he tore from the clearing.
Galina sunk to her knees in the soft dirt. Quietly, she allowed the emotions of the night to overcome her and she began to weep. Slow rivulets of tears ran down her flushed cheeks. It was all too much. She wanted to go back to yesterday when her biggest concern had been where they would hunt that evening. Now the safety and the future of the pack rested on her shoulders. Her body shuddered as sobs racked through her. Fur brushed her shoulder and without looking, Galina wound her arms around Irin's soft fur coat. Her mother licked her tears and leaned her warmth into Galina. With one last sob, Galina buried her face into her mother's pelt. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself against the steadiness of her mother.
"It's okay. I will get us through this and make the right decision. It's just been a really long day," Galina said. Her mother's rough tongue licked the last of her tears away. Together they entered the warm safety of the Lotus den and went to feed the others.
**********
I hope that you enjoyed Part 1 of the Alpha Bond series! Sign up to be notified of new releases HERE. And, as always, if you loved the book please leave a review on Amazon. It helps other readers to take a chance on my stories. New parts to the story will be released each month, however, if you wish to wait for all of the parts at once, a bundle will be released in the future. At the moment, I'm not sure how many parts to the series there will be as the characters often end up deciding that for me. It could be a while before I get to wrapping up and bundling the series but please know that there will be a bundled version at some point.
Ana Munroe can be contacted via email at the following address: amunroe.author@gmail.com