The Prince's Fated Mate: M/M Alpha/Omega Paranormal Werewolf Romance (Norvargen Wolves Book 1) (16 page)

They continued their secret trysts night by night, and Will himself would sometimes sneak away first, sure that James would follow after him soon enough. Running by day, they’d steal an hour by moonlight to sate their lust, James pounding into Will until they had their fill, until they were tired, wet with sweat, cum, and slick.
 

“I can’t stop thinking about what’s going to happen,” said James one night, after they had orgasmed, when they were only a two-day journey away from Hemslock. “We’re so near your town now. It won’t be long before I get to speak with Father again, and I’ll have to tell him I want out of the engagement.”

Will thought of Alpha Miles, how fearsome and stoic the pack alpha seemed, and wondered what sort of reaction would he display. “Are you worried?”

James looked away. “Would you hate me if I said yes?”

“No,” said Will, “I would understand. I’m worried too, you know.”

James looked at him apologetically. “This is all my fault,” he murmured. “If only I weren’t the First Son — my younger brothers and sisters don’t have the same expectations of them as I do. Or if only I…” he looked ashamed as he spoke, “if I too saw you as my fated mate. You being my fated mate might not be the enough to change all their opinions, but at least some of the Court might be swayed at least. As it looks now, I’ll simply be cast out of the Den and stripped off my power.”

“Let’s not complain about things we can’t change,” said Will firmly. “No good wasting time on that.”
 

James smiled at him. “You would have been a wonderful Alpha Consort, you know, if we were ever given the chance to rule the pack. You’re sensible and smart, and you’re rather amazing at helping me realise what must be done and what I want to do.”

“No good dreaming about impossible things either,” sighed Will. He had no desire for power or to rule over the Norvargen pack — but the thought of being accepted as Alpha Consort made him wish it were possible.
 

Maybe that would be possible in any other world
, he thought to himself a little bitterly.

James reached for his hand and kissed the back of it, holding it tight. “I’m scared about the future, but knowing that it’ll be spent with you is all I need to know.”

All bitterness left him at those words, and Will bent down and pecked his lips with a brief kiss.
 

“We’ll start a family of our own,” said James, a dreamy smile on his face. “A litter of pups running around — if I’m not entirely exiled from the pack and forced to leave the territory, we might still be able to live in Hemslock, you know. Wouldn’t you like that?”

Will smiled. That did sound wonderful — none of the pressure from the Den and being Prince Consort, while being able to lead a simple life with his fated mate in the home he had grown up in.
 

“I’d still be able to take over the inn,” he said, “and our pups could grow up the way I did.”

“They’d have a very different life from what I had,” said James. “They’d be more free — and I’d make sure of that. No First Son nonsense, not for our children, not in Hemslock. They can love who they want and bond with who they want.”

Will laughed. “You sound very keen on being stripped of your First Son duties now.”

“The more I think about it, the more I like it.” But a troubled look passed over James’s face.

“But you still feel you owe your people, don’t you?” said Will softly, stroking the alpha’s hair. He knew the prince well enough to guess accurately now.

“Don’t I? I was raised to take over my father in his later years, and I’m the only one prepared to become Alpha. None of my brothers or sisters can do it, nor do they want to. Am I being selfish, abandoning the future of the Norvargen wolves?”

Will exhaled and brushed his hand over James’s forehead. “I’m not very well-versed in political matters, James. I don’t know what you’ve gone through, and I don’t think I can understand. But I don’t think you’re wrong for wanting what you want. You’re not being selfish.”

James’s blue eyes reached his. “You really would have been a wonderful Alpha Consort.”

“I doubt it,” said Will, scoffing at the idea.

“You would! You’re a lot more relatable than Prince Dashel, that’s for sure. Everywhere you go, people love you — in Hemslock Town, in Elkpaw Village. Even the servants here are fond of you now. You even got
me
to fall in love with you, and that hasn’t happened before.” He cracked a grin. Then he took Will’s hand and dragged it down to rest on his slowly beating heart. “And more importantly, you know how to calm me down. Even after a long day dealing with those bothersome advisors, you know how to make me forget all that and think with a clear head about the things that really matter. You’re good for me, and you would’ve been good for the pack.”

Will’s eyes twinkled at the praise. “In a way, I’m a little glad that you don’t see me as your fated mate.”

James cocked his head in curiosity.

“At least I know you like me for who I am, and not just because I’m your fated mate.”

“That’s true,” said James, laughing. “You really have a way of looking on the bright side of things, Will. Just another thing I love about you.”

*

They were only a few hours away from Hemslock when they made their final camp for the journey. Will secretly thought that they could have easily pushed on for just an extra couple of hours and ended the journey, but he had a hunch that James wanted one extra night of peace before seeing Alpha Miles again, one extra night to think through what he was going to tell his father and how he was going to end the engagement.
 

After supper, when James and the advisors were served their usual tea and Will privately chewed up a few slices of his own wagsroot, the omega waited, lying down on the ground. He dozed off for a few moments, his consciousness slipping out of exhaustion.
 

Eventually, he snapped awake, looking around carefully. James hadn’t come to wake him up, but they were used to taking turns now at being the first to sneak away. When he was sure that everyone else around him were deep in their own dreams, snoring loudly, he got up, took his clothes, and silently padded away.
 

They were more careful now than they had been on their first night — Will went further away, far enough that they wouldn’t have to worry about being overheard by anyone. They could be as loud as they wanted without fear of being caught. He went on for nearly fifteen minutes in one direction.

Eventually, he settled down by the banks of a creek, back pressed against a tree as usual. He yawned, covering his mouth, still feeling sleepy. Travelling so much in such a short amount of time made him ache all over, and the little bit of sleep he got every night was just enough to recharge him in time for the morning.
 

He massaged his calves while sitting down, staring into the creek. He waited for a long time, staring at the water. He suddenly imagined him and James, sitting side by side, skipping stones on the water, causing ripples to spread out.
 

We’ll have time to do that soon
, he thought happily to himself.
Soon, we’ll be free to do whatever we want together.

“Just as I thought.”

Will jerked his glance away from the creek, looking around at where he thought he heard the voice come from. He found to his left a pair of eery eyes glaring at him out of the darkness. For some reason, he couldn’t detect any scent to attach an identity to the stranger, but the voice had been familiar.

“Advisor Keanes?” he suspected, feeling his blood run cold. He was suddenly very glad that he had put on his trousers before settling down to wait for James.

The burly man appeared before him, stepping into the clearing. He wasn’t wearing his robes as usual, and his heavily-muscled torso was on display.
 

“What are you doing here?” asked Will, feeling frightened.
 

“I could ask the same of you,” said the advisor coldly, a glint in his eyes.

“I just came here to relax a little by myself,” Will deflected. He swallowed hard, praying that James wouldn’t come anytime soon. It would be bad for the two of them to be caught meeting like this.

“Oh?”
 

“There’s nothing wrong with that, you know,” said Will defensively.

“Oh, but there is something very wrong with lying. I hope your parents had the decency of teaching you that, at least.”

Will did his best to keep his expression blank as his heart sped up. “What do you mean?” he said in a controlled tone.
 

Advisor Keanes looked down at him. What frightened Will the most was how calm the advisor was being. He didn’t look an inch out of order, and he looked as poised and perfect as usual. “I’m not a man who appreciates being poisoned by my own knowledge, William.”

“Poisoned…?”

“Hogstail powder.”

Will tensed up.

“Oh, yes, I know about that. I’ve been wondering why have my dreams been more lucid than usual, and why do the mornings seem a bit more painful to greet.”

Will’s eyes flickered to the opposite direction — James ought to be coming soon, and he feared what would happen then.

“He’s not coming.”

That got his attention. “Who?” said Will, playing dumb.

“The Prince, of course. You don’t have to keep pretending you don’t understand a word I’m saying. I’m afraid he won’t be attending tonight’s rendezvous. I had to confirm the hogstail powder, after all. I had an inkling that the First Son was being devious, and the first thing I suspected was my tea. To think that the Prince would dare drug my tea! He never would have done it before, not Prince James, no — his younger siblings were brattier than him, and I wouldn’t put it past them to pull a childish prank like that. But the First Son was always more sensible. I see your influence has been nothing but evil upon him.”

“How — ?” Will stuttered, not knowing what to say or do.
How the hell would he have guessed that his tea had something in it?

“I swapped our tea, of course,” said Advisor Keanes calmly. “During supper, when his back was turned, I exchanged my cup with his, and he was none the wiser. He ought to be having a marvellous dream right now, and so I wouldn’t expect him arriving anytime soon.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I had to confirm it, didn’t I?” said the older wolf in a matter-of-fact tone. “I had to confirm that he was putting Berin and I into a deep sleep, and then I had to confirm
why
he was doing so. And just as I thought, it was to meet with you. Following you was easy enough, and I have my ways of cloaking myself from being detected. You can’t detect my scent even now, can you?”

Will gulped. Just how many things was Advisor Keanes capable of doing?
 

On the alpha went, “Goodness me, you are a snake, aren’t you? Quick and venomous. I knew what you and your father’s intentions were from the beginning, but I never imagined you’d actually succeed at the one thing I could never prevent,” he spat bitterly.

“What are you talking about?” said Will, alarmed.
 

He tried to stand, but Advisor Keanes barked at him, “Stay still. I’m not done with you. You’ve turned the Prince’s head, I can tell. He’s different now, he’s thinking dangerously — he’s taken off his engagement ring. I saw his bare finger this morning. He means to end his engagement for you, doesn’t he?”

“And what if he is? What does it matter to you?” shot back Will, frantically. He could run back to the camp, but the ex-warrior would be on him within seconds. He had seen Keanes darting around as a wolf often enough to know just how swiftly he could sprint.
 

Advisor Keanes laughed darkly, his poised manner slowly stripping away. “I’ve worked much too hard on this engagement to see it end, William. Do you think I would let a lowly omega like you get in my way?”

Will had to stall for time, do something to drag it out while he tried to think of what to do. “Do you look down on me just because I’m an omega? Do you think that I’m not good enough for him? Is that why you’re — ”

“No, no,” Advisor Keanes hissed, his face breaking out in anger. “I don’t think that at all. You’re not a typical omega, I can see that. You’re more cunning than I’ve imagined, and somehow you’ve won the affection of the First Son. But I am here to tell you that this can go no further.” Just as quickly, his expression turned composed, stoic, with a hint of smugness. “The Alpha Court will never allow the First Son to end his engagement to bond with you instead.”

Will kept his mouth shut, thinking it too risky to say anything. He remembered Adrian telling him about Advisor Keanes’s temper, how suddenly it could break out and how dangerous it could be, and he wanted to steer clear of that.
 

But the wolf suddenly levelled his gaze on Will. Advisor Keanes looked hard at him, his dark eyes boring into Will’s, and the omega had the sensation had he was being read inside out.
 

Will shivered, feeling severely outwitted and overpowered. “If you came here just to scold me and warn me, you’ve done your job already,” he said loudly.

“But then,” said Advisor Keanes slowly, as if he hadn’t heard what Will had just said, “you
have
turned his head around. Prince James might have given up easily once before, but now he just might be foolish enough to pursue another path with you.”

It was a dangerous moment. Will felt as if a knife were about to descend on his head if he made the wrong move. He couldn’t quite understand what the advisor was so agitated about, and it gnawed at him — suddenly, something the wolf had said rang in his head.

“The one thing you couldn’t prevent?” Will said, repeating what Advisor Keanes had said just moments ago. “What else have you been doing to him?”
 

“What do you think you’re accusing me of?” said the alpha, looking stern, but Will swore he saw something twitch in the man’s face.

“You’ve done something to him, haven’t you?”

“Mindlessly accusing someone is a dangerous thing to do,” Advisor Keanes said, sounding as if he were trying to be calm.