Chapter 23
The following morning the Army moved out with Nicole at its head, followed by the rest of the Pack Alphas. She could hear them speaking about her even though they were a distance away. The men were wary of her and she didn’t care. She kept her eyes ahead as she listened to them try to question Julian, Curtis and Randy who said that she had told them all what she wanted them to know.
She followed Rua’s directions for many hours, knowing she was going home, terrified of what she would find there. She may have an army at her back but one was ahead and she needed to focus on her battle plan and stop letting her mind wander to Waverly.
She wondered what the omega was doing now and Rua chuckled in her mind.
‘You want to know if she thinks of you as much as you think of her.’ The wolf said knowingly and Nicole huffed. ‘You know we could always shift and make our way to her. We could catch up with the army in a few days.’ The animal continued and Nicole couldn’t help smile. She could admit that that sounded tempting but she snorted.
‘And tell Julian what exactly?’ The redhead scoffed
‘That we are working on making him some grandpups.’ The wolf grinned and Nicole laughed lightly, knowing the wolf was joking but she felt a pang of longing. She told herself that she still wanted a mate, a family, a home but when she tried to imagine that mate and that life it was always Waverly’s face she saw. Maybe it was wishful thinking but it always cause a warm feeling in her chest.
“Alpha Haught?” Nicole heard and looked over her shoulder to see Shae, the beta from the night before, trotting her horse forward to catch up with her and followed by a man she could smell was Shae’s sire. A pack Alpha she recognised from the meeting the day before.
“Beta Pressman.” Nicole said gruffly, unhappy to be pulled from her thoughts.
“I would like you to introduce you to my Sire, Alpha of the Vegas Pack, Alistair Pressman.” The darker woman purred and Nicole felt her wolf's hackle raised. This woman didn’t know Nicole at all and she had no right to act so familiar. Nicole glanced at the man who bowed his head and she huffed.
“We met.” She said before clicking her tongue and urging Firefly to trot quickly ahead, not wishing to talk to the woman or her father who she recognised as the man who had thanked her companions for their entertaining joke. Regardless of whether they believed the men or not, the other pack Alpha’s had been unnecessarily rude to her face and she had no interest in making friends with them.
A couple of hours later she was once again pulled out of her thoughts of Waverly by Shae calling to her again as she caught up with her.
“What?” Nicole growled when she came along side and she saw Shae’s face fall. The Alpha felt bad for snapping but she didn’t want to speak to the woman. Her familiarity was unsettling. “Unless you have something of import to tell me I have no interest in idyll conversation.” Nicole said with less aggression.
“I just wanted to apologise for disturbing you with my questions last night.” The woman said carefully and Nicole nodded but said nothing. “I was just some excited to meet a female Alpha and one of the First. Surely you must constantly be fawned over when people meet you .” The beta added breezily and Nicole rolled her eyes, annoyed the beta seemed determined to ignore the redhead’s desire to be alone.
“I desire no one to fawn over me but I do desire to ride alone and in peace.” Nicole said as she gave the woman a pointed look but Shae scoffed.
“we have a number of weeks left to travel. We should get to know each other.” The beta said, heavy with implication but Nicole growled and glared at Shae.
“No. Now go back to your Pack and leave me.” She ordered and Shae had no choice to obey. Nicole had given her a direct order.
Shae felt embarrassed as she turned back to join her father, knowing he would be displeased. Alistair was determined to build a connection with the Female Alpha and the best way to do that would be through personal bonds.
‘What happened? You were supposed to charm her but it looked like you pissed her off.’ Shae heard her father’s voice in her head before she joined him and she bowed her head apologetically.
‘Apologies, Father. She seems permanently in foul humour.’ The beta whimpered back but heard her father snort.
‘Then why does ³ Charles’s Step daughter appear to bring a smile to her face?’ He scowled at her and Shae saw that Wynonna had indeed ridden forward to join Nicole and they were both laughing about something. The female Alpha seemed to welcome the other beta woman’s company when she rudely rejected Shae’s.
‘That one is mated.’ Shae heard her brother, Damien’s voice now and she turned to look at the handsome younger man on the other side of their father. ‘Apparently she stayed the Angel Pack for months over winter.’ The younger Alpha added and Shae once again thought it funny how her brother always had the gossip.
‘And what did Julian Charles do to earn such an honour? How did he come by her?’ Alistair growled, angry the man with the smaller pack was elevated so.
‘He hired her to train his soldiers. She was living as a Rogue.’ The younger man shrugged.
‘Why was she living as a Rogue? Isn’t she a Pack Alpha?’ Shae asked her younger brother but he shook his head.
‘I’d assume because she is the last of her kind.’
‘You will have to try harder, Shae,’ Alistair growled. ‘you need to hold her attention. It won’t be long until the other Pack Alphas put forward their own unmated children at her in hopes of alliances with her. The one who is successful will be beyond powerful with a legend for an daughter-in-law.’
Over the next week or so Shae tried in vain to get the Alpha woman’s attention but while her father was displeased no one seemed able to turn the woman’s head. Every omega and beta male and female unmated adult pup of every pack Alpha tried various method to get the woman’s attention on orders from their Sires but the redhead mood stayed sour. The only time she didn’t have a face like a well slapped arse was when she was in the company of a handful of Angel Pack members she would sit with at their camp at night
Some Pack Alphas joked amongst themselves that if they had so much attention from so many omegas they would fuck themselves to death and Nicole’s disinterest in all that ass and pussy was a goddamn waste. She didn’t have a mate, that much had been established from gossip with some of Julian’s pack members, so why she went to her tent alone every night was a mystery.
Julian have been cornered by a few Pack Alphas demanding he divulged anything he knew of the woman and how he had developed such a close bond. She only seemed to trust a handful of people. Julian had heard all the foul things those Alpha’s said and he was disgusted by that way of thinking. All he said on the matter was that Nicole Haught was extraordinary in more ways than one.
He was amused by the attempts some omegas made to get near Nicole.
“They swarm around you like flies on shit.” He chuckled when Nicole sat down one night beside him at their camp fire after he had watched her duck away from three eager omega women.
Nicole rolled her eyes and took the bread and cheese Eliza tossed at her and took a mouthful before huffing.
“What is your flavour anyway, Haught Shot?” Wynonna asked with a grin. “Did you hook up with anyone back home?” the beta asked, her smile turning wicked as Nicole began to choke of a bit of crust. Wynonna had heard about the Alpha and her sister sharing a kiss but that had been the morning they left but she hadn’t heard of any other gossip. Julian sniggered and patted the coughing woman’s back.
He knew Nicole was a good woman, regardless of her heritage, she was loyal and honourable. He had expected Nicole to have taken advantage of her stay in the pack to enjoy the company of willing bedfellows. Unmated Alphas, especially young ones, could be promiscuous but until he had seen his daughter kiss the Alpha he had heard nothing nor seen anything to imply she had ever been with anyone in his pack.
Before he could add to the teasing Champ Hardy stomped over and plopped down beside the fire, grabbing a lump of jerky from the sack at Kate's feet and tore into it before chewing loudly, his mouth open as he stared at Nicole with scorn.
“when are we gonna get to the mountain? How do we even know you are leading is the right direction?” he goaded her but the redhead just ignored him as Julian snarled at him but Champ pointed at the redhead. “she’s just a Rogue, no matter what pack she came from. You should be putting your faith in me! I am the future Alpha of this pack!” He growled, all puffed up arrogantly. No one knew Waverly had ended it with him and he had every intention of getting her back under heel when he got home but Julian simply let out a bitter chuckle as Nicole looked into the fire, her face still, fighting her wolf who wanted to beat the shit out of Champ for simply breathing in Waverly’s direction.
“You will never be Pack Alpha of the Angel Pack, Champ.” Julian said heavily as the younger male Alpha began to splutter.
“Wh... why not? I’m taking Waverly as my Mate so that position is mine-“ he was cut off by a vicious snarl from Julian.
“Obviously my daughter neglected to inform you of what I told her some months ago. If she mates with you, I find another heir. This is my fucking pack and I’ll be damned if I leave it to a feckless layabout to run into the ground. But if my daughter is as smart as I think she is then she will finish with your ass.” Julian told him and the surrounding Pack members let out excited barks of agreement, proud that their Alpha was putting the Pack first. They wanted Waverly to rule of course but what ever Alpha she mated with would be the one with the power.
Nicole looked up at Julian and bit back a smile as Champ snarled in anger and lunged at Julian who shifted to wolf to meet him as everyone fell back and began to shout at the two fighters. This was a direct challenge to Julian and there was no going back or stopping.
The winner would be the Pack Alpha of the Angel Pack and the loser would be at the mercy of that Alpha, if the loser was still Alive.
It became evident quickly that younger wolf had bitten off more than he could chew as Julian was stronger, better trained and more experienced and soon Champ submitted by exposing his throat, his tail tucked between his legs and whined pathetically, bloody and beaten as everyone cheered, even other fenrir who had Joined to watch.
It wasn’t every day there was a Pack Alpha challenge.
Julian shifted to human and glared down at champ who had also changed and was shaking on the ground, begging for his life pathetically.
“You are no longer a member of my pack. You are now a Rogue. If you step foot in my lands again your life is forfeit.” Julian growled.
Champ began to shout, pleading for mercy, to be let stay. This was worse than death.
Julian turned his back as Wynonna and Doc lifted him and dragged him away as others followed, ready to run him away from the Army.
“Well done.” Nicole said as she handed the man a blanket and he winked at her.
“I still got it.” He joked back. Beating an Alpha half his age was an achievement to be proud of and it would only cement his standing as Pack Alpha for many more years What his daughter’s reaction would be was another hurdle but he had time to figure out how to tell her.