Blackshadow (Kingdom of Wolves #2)

Before I can get near, one of the she-wolves looks up under the male’s arm, turns and runs back where they’d just come from, heading to the pack border.

“What’s wrong?” I ask as I near the male, who isn’t sure whether he needs to chase the she-wolf or stay where he is. But the other female turns and runs after the one that left.

“Everything is fine. I think Hope got rattled about something and bolted. Swift will catch up and either bring her back or escort her back to the Parklands.” The male is stepping from one foot to the other, unsure what he should do.

I rub my chest once more, and my hand rests over my heart. I’m not sure why I feel like I’m losing something important, but when I try to work out what’s going on, Caleb walks over to us and holds his hand out to the male.

“My name is Caleb, and I’m acting Beta for the pack at the moment. Come and eat, and ask your questions. Can I ask what happened to the she-wolves to run like that?”

“Spooked I think. My name is Baildon, by the way. Hope, who ran first, is my sister by choice. The other is Swift, who is a natural protector. She’ll stay with Hope and I think she’ll talk her into coming back.”

“MATE!” we three hear and turn to see Isla running over and standing in front of Baildon, who looks rather shell-shocked before he grabs ahold of Isla, slams her against his chest and sounding shocked states, “Mate!” before slamming his mouth over hers and kissing her soundly.

I can’t help but smile broadly as this is the first mate match I’ve seen in a long time, because the mate for Evangeline rejected her, and to see them accept each other is simply beautiful. I rub my chest once more and think how lucky they are and please Goddess, let me find my mate, my Luna.

Evangeline looks sad when I notice her watching Isla and Baildon, and knowing her mate rejected her, I can only hope she’ll be granted a second-chance mate. That is something I think she’ll get if she proves to the Goddess she has learned her lesson.

No one can say what the Goddess Selene sees or hears, but from what we are taught, she is all seeing. It’s one of the worries I have when thinking about finding my mate. I hope I’m showing that I’m a fit male, and will be an excellent mate and Alpha to the pack.

I mingle with the other five males as Baildon is sitting with Isla on his lap, looking smug, I have to say, and rightly so. Isla is a hard worker and has never caused a day’s drama for herself or anyone else.

“Do any of you possess a particular area of expertise? What is it that you want to do or excel at more than anything else?” I ask.

The one named Chaz nods, “Yes, I’m an expert hunter, not a bad fighter either, but my tracking skills are the best and I don’t mean to sound boastful, but it’s the truth. I’ll be a good patrol warrior mind you.”

“I’d be handy in a garden; I have worked alongside Hope at times, so am not bad at planting and growing,” Chester states with a good amount of pride to his voice.

“Silas has been getting our kitchen garden and orchard cleared out, cleaned, and is now replanting. I’m sure he’d be happy to have help with that, as it’s not a small area.” I wave to Silas who walks over and I introduce them and watch as Silas grabs Chester’s arm and drags him away to the garden.

“What about you five?” I ask as I turn toward the five of them.

“We are all warriors. We’ve patrolled the area where we live to keep the she-wolves safe. Gamzin has put himself into the position of leading our area, but he’s what you would call unelected, and we mostly ignore him,” Walim informs me with a snarky grin on his face.

Baildon walks over holding onto Isla’s hand tightly, showing all signs of being territorial. “Alpha Connell, Hope will come back, I’m sure. I’ll make sure even if I have to fetch her because now I know I’m joining the pack with your permission. I’ll not leave her or Swift behind.”

“What do you think Swift would want to do here if she agrees to join?” I ask.

Baildon grins, “That’s easy as Swift is a natural fighter. She’s fast and can be deadly if she wants to be. She hunts better than some of the men in the Parklands. She is also big friends with Hope, looks out for her, brings her food. Hope does the cooking, because let me tell you, you do not want to eat Swift’s cooking.”

The man who introduced himself as Walim laughed and gave a look that was hard to work out, but when he mimicked vomiting, we all laughed at his antics.

Baildon, Drew, Walim, Chaz, Alan and Stephen all want to join the pack and be patrol warriors. We arranged for them to join once all the she-wolves give their decisions, plus it will be easier to do them all at the same time, than one here and one there.

Chester has not reappeared from where he went away with Silas, so I’m sure they are enjoying talking about the garden and orchard.

The two she-wolves don’t reappear, and I can see it’s worrying Baildon and the other males, but I also see he’s not going to be leaving his mate as the urge to claim her is getting stronger the longer they are together.

Noah walks over to me and the group of males as we finish eating and I slap his shoulder. “Take everyone to look around the garden, orchard, kitchen, dining room and the rooms they will have if they decide to stay. Take the second group that have arrived too, and if you need to, get William to help you.”

“Yes, Alpha Connell. Come on and I’ll give you the tour. You can tell me what you’ve decided to do, if you’ve decided.” I hear Noah say as he walks away with the males behind him. All except Baildon, who is being dragged into the packhouse by a more than willing Isla. I can’t help the smirk and the feeling he’s one lucky male.

I’m taken by surprise when Knight pushes the block away and snarls. Mate, I want my mate.

‘Yeah, so would I Knight, so would I.’

Chapter 11

HOPE