Claimed by the Alphas: Part Two Read Free Page B

he had. When the rest of the pack slept, he would slink away in a weary daze and scale the mountainside. On the flat plateau of the bluff, he could look down at the vast expanse of his unspoiled territory and be reminded of the great responsibility that rested on his shoulders.
    Sometimes it took minutes, other times hours, before he could find the will to return to the den. On the days when he didn’t think he could, Caim was always there to drag him back down.
    For Caim, his wolf was a pervading force, always alive and moving just beneath the surface of his human flesh. He let his instincts guide him in all things, and he was born knowing that he would be an alpha. The world that he had been raised in had prepared him for the harsh realities that came with ruling a pack. The isolation was easy for him to bear because he had always viewed himself as being separate from others.
    It was harder for Asch, who even now, kept his wolf on a tight leash. He had repressed that part of him for so long that in his younger years he had oscillated between the denial of his wolf and a complete lack of control. It had been his inability to conform to human society that had driven him into the wilds with Caim, but after a decade of mastering his wolf, he had realized that he didn’t want to be one thing or the oth er. He wanted both.
    Caim must have heard him coming, because he was standing on the plateau, his back turned. Asch could tell by the way he rolled his shoulders in an attempt to ease his discomfort that Caim had just shifted.
    Asch shifted as he approached, easily slipping into his human form. He advanced slowly and gave the other male a wide berth, standing a few yards away.
    He had known Caim would be here. Much like him, Caim often sought out high places when he needed to clear his mind, though for different reasons. The younger male had once told him that when his human emotions weighed heavily on him, he would go high up where the world was small. It would remind him of how eminent he was, and how insignificant everything else was by comparison.
    Caim did not look very eminent today. His stance was stiff, his broad jaw locked. The only movement he made was the clenching and unclenching of his fists.
    “She should have known better than to get in the way,” he recited.
    “You’re right,” Asch replied. He paused for a moment, but Caim still looked agitated. He added, “She’s okay, though it might scar.”
    “I do not care.”
    Asch suppressed a grin, wanting to bait him further. He let the moment pass though, knowing they had more serious things to discuss.
    “I’ll tell you what I told Brae. You’re gonna have to be patient and careful with her. She’s not a wolf. This is all new to her. You know what the world she comes from is like.”
    Asch wondered how much of his time in Halifax, Caim remembered. Caim had been fourteen then, and on the verge of being feral. Even once the rage inside of him had quelled, Caim still obstinately rejected any attempts to humanize him.
    He had hated everything .
    He hated wearing shoes, he hated using a fork, he hated taking a bath, and above all, he hated having to follow rules. Even as Asch had aided his mother in trying to reform Caim, he had admired Caim’s tenacity, envied his conviction.
    Caim was a wolf. He knew it with absolute certainty and no one could take that away from him.
    They were silent for a while. Asch let his words sink in as they both looked out across the misty valley.
    Finally, Caim said, “She means to share us.” He looked over to Asch then, his expression pensive.
    “We have to try. It’s for the good of the pack.”
    “What if I do not want to share her?”
    “Then I’ll fight you for her,” Asch replied tightly.
    “You would cast aside the years that we have been pack for a human you just met?”
    Asch knew that Caim was just being petulant now. When the time came, Caim would fight for her too, whether he wanted to or not.
    He considered