Mating the Alpha by Ivy Sinclair Read Free Book Online
Authors: Ivy Sinclair
released him and took a step back. “I’m sorry. Where Maren’s concerned, I don’t have a lot of patience.”
“Yeah, I gathered,” Billy said as he straightened his shirt’s sleeves and collar. “So, how far along did you take the mating ritual?” He caught my warning glance. “I’m assuming by the fact that you continue to reference her as your mate, and just mentioned the fact she’s possibly amenable to the idea, that you began the mating process with her. We can talk about what a shitstorm that is going to cause with this whole thing with the Lopers later.”
“She bears my mark,” I said stiffly.
Billy nodded. “Okay, then. That means we’re in business after all.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll be able to track her,” Billy said. “But it’s possible that the people who took her understand that too. So my aforementioned warning about this being a trap still applies.” He knelt down and looked at the ground in the clearing. He pointed. “There are at least two sets of footprints here that are considerably larger than Maren’s. Her footprints disappear right there, so I think it’s another safe assumption at this point that she was carried away from here.”
I growled again. “How do we track her?”
“That’s all up to you,” Billy said as he stood up. “I’ve never taken a mate myself, but obviously you know there is an initial bond now that exists between the two of you. You should be able to sense her.”
“Yes, that I know,” I said. “But I don’t understand how to turn that into GPS directions.”
“It’ll be easier in your bear form,” Billy said. “You should be able to scent her more easily. Between that and the pull from the bond, you can track her. I’ll follow you.”
Billy’s description of the scene had my hackles up, but his warnings were finally settling in. “This seems too easy,” I said slowly.
Billy nodded again. His expression was grim. “If they know what Maren means to you, and there is a good chance that they do, it means they’re up to some kind of mischief around the Summit. They aren’t going to make it too hard to find them.”
“They want me to come after them.”
“Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Glad to know you’re finally listening.”
“I can’t let anything happen to Maren,” I said.
“Once we figure out where they are, we’ll regroup,” Billy said. “I don’t want anything to happen to Maren either. But we have to play this smart, Lukas.”
“Something I’m not exactly known for,” I said with a grim smile.
“That was before you became the Alpha,” Billy said. “Everyone in this clan expects that you will be there to take care of them, just like Markus did. You can’t let them down.”
I felt the weight of that responsibility in my bones now. It was an odd sensation. I nodded curtly. “Let’s go.” I stripped my clothes off and effortlessly phased into my bear form. It was something that I looked forward to more than I’d ever care to admit. It would be hard to explain to someone who wasn’t a shifter, but the ability to move through the world based simply on instincts and the nature’s hints with sights and smells was the most freeing experience I had ever experienced.
I let my nose down to scent Maren’s left behind belongings. I knew her smell by heart, but there was another undercurrent of a scent there that my woefully inadequate human nose hadn’t been able to smell before. Blood.
I wanted to let loose a howl, but I was too close to the tent and the five hundred other shifters who were boozing it up and having a good time. I heard a rumble next to me and swung my massive head toward my companion. We didn’t need words to communicate in this form. Billy had smelled the blood too, and I sensed his agitation.
I had to give the guy props. I knew he had a thing for Maren, and if I hadn’t shown up in town a week ago, whatever had been going on between them might
“Yeah, I gathered,” Billy said as he straightened his shirt’s sleeves and collar. “So, how far along did you take the mating ritual?” He caught my warning glance. “I’m assuming by the fact that you continue to reference her as your mate, and just mentioned the fact she’s possibly amenable to the idea, that you began the mating process with her. We can talk about what a shitstorm that is going to cause with this whole thing with the Lopers later.”
“She bears my mark,” I said stiffly.
Billy nodded. “Okay, then. That means we’re in business after all.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll be able to track her,” Billy said. “But it’s possible that the people who took her understand that too. So my aforementioned warning about this being a trap still applies.” He knelt down and looked at the ground in the clearing. He pointed. “There are at least two sets of footprints here that are considerably larger than Maren’s. Her footprints disappear right there, so I think it’s another safe assumption at this point that she was carried away from here.”
I growled again. “How do we track her?”
“That’s all up to you,” Billy said as he stood up. “I’ve never taken a mate myself, but obviously you know there is an initial bond now that exists between the two of you. You should be able to sense her.”
“Yes, that I know,” I said. “But I don’t understand how to turn that into GPS directions.”
“It’ll be easier in your bear form,” Billy said. “You should be able to scent her more easily. Between that and the pull from the bond, you can track her. I’ll follow you.”
Billy’s description of the scene had my hackles up, but his warnings were finally settling in. “This seems too easy,” I said slowly.
Billy nodded again. His expression was grim. “If they know what Maren means to you, and there is a good chance that they do, it means they’re up to some kind of mischief around the Summit. They aren’t going to make it too hard to find them.”
“They want me to come after them.”
“Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Glad to know you’re finally listening.”
“I can’t let anything happen to Maren,” I said.
“Once we figure out where they are, we’ll regroup,” Billy said. “I don’t want anything to happen to Maren either. But we have to play this smart, Lukas.”
“Something I’m not exactly known for,” I said with a grim smile.
“That was before you became the Alpha,” Billy said. “Everyone in this clan expects that you will be there to take care of them, just like Markus did. You can’t let them down.”
I felt the weight of that responsibility in my bones now. It was an odd sensation. I nodded curtly. “Let’s go.” I stripped my clothes off and effortlessly phased into my bear form. It was something that I looked forward to more than I’d ever care to admit. It would be hard to explain to someone who wasn’t a shifter, but the ability to move through the world based simply on instincts and the nature’s hints with sights and smells was the most freeing experience I had ever experienced.
I let my nose down to scent Maren’s left behind belongings. I knew her smell by heart, but there was another undercurrent of a scent there that my woefully inadequate human nose hadn’t been able to smell before. Blood.
I wanted to let loose a howl, but I was too close to the tent and the five hundred other shifters who were boozing it up and having a good time. I heard a rumble next to me and swung my massive head toward my companion. We didn’t need words to communicate in this form. Billy had smelled the blood too, and I sensed his agitation.
I had to give the guy props. I knew he had a thing for Maren, and if I hadn’t shown up in town a week ago, whatever had been going on between them might