The Gift chronicles novel Chapter 1

Book 1 Chapter 46

Alpha Wilson stood in front of me, a smirk visible on his face. His usually warm eyes were now unrecognizably cold and hard.

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time, Ares," Alpha Wilson spoke, drawing a knife out from his sheath.

I couldn't mindlink him back, since my bond to Red Crescent was broken once Cain marked me. I wasn't too worried he was going to kill me right now, since Jax had said that for whatever reason, Alpha Wilson couldn't kill me himself. That didn't necessarily mean he couldn't torture me though.

Eh, whatever. Do your worst, Wilson.

Alpha Wilson smiled at me, his icy glare making the action extremely unsettling. "I can imagine that you're fairly confused to see me here." I didn't give any indication that I had heard him, just continuing to stare blankly at him in response.

"Where do I begin?" Wilson mused, placing the knife on his cheek in thought. "About 19 years ago, I met a woman while I was traveling through uncharted territory while I was on my way to the Iron Claw pack." Luna Amelia was from the Iron Claw pack, though I didn't understand why she would be important to this story.

"She was on the outskirts of Iron Claw territory. Back then, these were dangerous times for Iron Claw. Rogues ran rampant, and the Alpha had a hard time protecting his people. We actually were going to his territory to work out a deal in which I would send some of my pack warriors over to help him exterminate the rogues, in exchange for land.

The woman was fighting off six rogues on her own. I was enchanted watching her strike the rogues with such sharp, fluid motions. She was shockingly aggressive, so much so that my wolf was instantly drawn to her raw ferocity. Wolves are like that, you know? Attracted to strength.

Not only that, but she was exceptionally beautiful. I later learned that beauty was her Gift from the Moon Goddess. You have to understand that I was powerless against her Gift in order to understand why I did what I did."

Wilson paused, gaging a reaction I didn't give him.

"Anyways, she killed three of the rogues before I shook off the enchantment that bewitched me, and I leapt in to kill the other three. I only killed two of them before she finished the 6th off herself.

I remember what she said to me. I had been expecting her to be grateful, but instead, she told me bitterly: 'I could have handled them myself'. I was surprised by her intensity and penchant for killing. It starkly contrasted with her outward beauty. Light blue eyes, long silvery hair, a small figure, but so easily broke the necks of the rogues. A true contraction. It drove my wolf wild. As you may have learned with Cain, Alpha's have an insatiable sex drive. At the time, I was 24, and still had not found my mate.

The small group of wolves I had traveled with were also enamored by the enchanting young women, and so they didn't question why we escorted her back to Iron Claw territory.

The Alpha of Iron Claw was incredibly thankful that we had escorted the young woman back to him. As it turns out, the young woman was his younger sister. Her being of Alpha blood explained the brute strength I had witnessed in her while she was killing the rogues.

The Alpha of Iron Claw and I discussed an arrangement in which I would send some pack warriors over in return for some of his land, and I agreed to have my Gamma bring over the pack warriors in the morning.

Later that night, I heard a knock on my guest room door in the Pack House.

It was the woman from the forrest.

I'll spare you the details, but we ended up copulating."

My nose wrinkled in disgust. What the hell did this have to do with me?

Alpha Wilson ignored my look, too lost in his memories. "The next morning, my Gamma arrived with the pack warriors that would be venturing into the woods to eliminate the rogue threat. The woman from the forrest and I emerged from the guest room and went to greet them outside.

Instantly, my Gamma's eyes turned towards the woman. Her eyes widened in shock. 'Mine!' He growled at her, and immediately claimed her. He was too overwhelmed from the mate connection and his natural instinct to mark her to pay attention to her scent. More specifically, the fact that my scent was mixed with her scent slightly due to our actions from the previous night.

She never told the Gamma about our night together, and because I ended up meeting Amelia in Iron Claw during our stay there, I never spoke about it either. Amelia would have been incredibly hurt if she had known that I had sex with the Alpha—blooded woman.

So we went on with our lives, and we both fell in love with our respective mates. I was elated. Amelia was pregnant with my pup. Sebastian. Future heir to Red Crescent.

Everything was perfect until one night, when the woman from the forrest mindlinked me asking to meet me in the woods. I was worried by her nervous tone, but I met her nonetheless.

I saw her standing in the forrest, her hands placed over her stomach protectively. Even without her stance, I could tell that she was pregnant, as I could hear the faint heartbeat of the unborn fetus. She was further along than Amelia.

'It's yours' she whispered, and my whole world crumbled. I panicked. I told her that Amelia could never know, and she agreed. She didn't want to upset her mate either. We agreed to pretend that the pup was hers and the Gamma's.

We went on like that, harboring the secret. The woman gave birth to her bastard child, and a few months later, Amelia gave birth to Sebastian.