“And if it is not?” Her eyes narrowed on him.

“Then I suppose I had better kill Vasile quickly so that it matters not about their anger. The one who defeats an Alpha takes his place. I do not care how we get to the outcome just so long as it is the same―the Lupei dynasty crumbling down around the last heir of their bloodline.” Emilian clapped his hands together as he stood prompting the others to stand as well. “Now the time for talk is over. Tonight we go hunting and we will not stop until we have the bodies of the dead Alphas.”

Romanian Proverb #11

Pui migdale în nasul porcului si el spune cã e o ghindã.

Honey is not for the ass' mouth.

“May I speak with you?”

Vasile looked up from his desk to see his third standing in the door of his office. He motioned for Ion to enter. It was the first person he had seen in more than a week not because they did not seek him out but because he had commanded that no one was to disturb him. Nine days ago he had awoken in the middle of the night gasping for breath and sweating as though he had been running through the very depths of hell as a sense of loss engulfed him. His first reaction had been to reach for her but she wanted space and he wanted to give it to her. He had felt her reaching through their bond, and several times he had nearly responded, but the selfish part in him, the part was hurt by her words, kept him from doing so. More and more he had sought out solitude, needing the quiet undisturbed time to consider all the things that needed to be done to help restore his pack to a thriving, healthy one. And even with all of that time, he was still unable to concentrate long enough to come up with a plan that did not include running back to his mate and taking her for his own. Needless to say, as his third walked in, he was not greeted with a warm welcome.

“There are rumors that someone in the Western pack is stirring up trouble in the villages,” Ion began without preamble. He was not one for small talk, and that was something Vasile had always appreciated about him.

“What kind of trouble?” Vasile asked.

“They are questioning the events of the Alpha’s deaths. They think something is amiss.”

Vasile tossed down the parchment he had been looking over and stood from his chair. He rubbed his eyes and then pinched the bridge of his nose trying to will away the headache that had been beating the inside of his skull like a relentless drum. When he finally looked back up at Ion his brow drew together as he saw the concerned look on his face.

“Are you alright, Alpha?” Ion asked him.

“Aside from dealing with my parents' death and the mess my father left the pack in, I am as good as can be expected.”

Ion took a deep breath seeming to consider whether or not he should ask the next questions. “What of your mate? How are you handling the separation?”

“My mate?” Vasile’s eyes narrowed. “She is fine. Why, have you heard something?” He was suddenly a lot more alert as he considered the idea that something had happened to her. He was sure he would have felt her panic, and just as he started to open the bond, Ion answered.

“No, nothing has happened. But being separated from your mate is difficult, especially when you haven’t completed the bonding ceremony.”

Vasile let out a resigned sigh. He knew by the look in Ion’s eyes that he was not going to let it go. “I am having trouble concentrating.”

“Perhaps, you should go visit her,” he suggested.

Vasile shook his head. “I have things that need to be taken care of here and she is with her family. She is safe.”

“She may be safe, Alpha, but being safe and being well are not the same thing.”

Before Vasile could respond his office door flew open, the sound of the solid wood bouncing off of the stone wall reverberated across the room as Nicu and Alin rushed in. Both warriors’ eyes were wide, and slightly wild.

“What is going on?” Vasile asked. It was then that he heard the mounting rumble of a crowd and then yells beyond his window. He turned to go and look out but stopped at the sound of Nicu’s voice.

“Do not look, Alpha.”

The anguish in the warrior’s voice held Vasile’s attention.

“Why not?”

Alin was looking anywhere but at his face, and Nicu’s jaw was clenched so tight that Vasile was sure it would shatter at any moment.

“Answer me!” he snarled.

It was Ion who spoke through clenched teeth, his voice deep and rough. “They have your parent’s bodies.” Ion had made his way over to the window while Vasile had been questioning Nicu and was staring out at the described scene.

Vasile’s head snapped around and he moved using the speed of his wolf to the window. His heart stopped in his chest as his eyes took in the mob, and in the middle, lying in the caskets they had been buried in, were his parents.

The temperature of the room seem to drop several degrees as Vasile’s voice crooned out in the calm, contained fury he was known for. “Anyone who was the least bit involved with this is sentenced to death.”

Alina jumped as the door to the small cottage flew open and then slammed. Her father stormed in growling and muttering under his breath about stupid, high strung males.

“Is everything alright?” she asked him as she stood from the chair where she had been mending one of Serghei’s shirts.

Petre’s eyes snapped up to meet hers and widened slightly realizing that he had an audience. Alina took a step towards him and could smell the anger, fear, and worry flowing off of him.