matchmaker left but said she’d be back soon. When she returns for the king’s wedding, she will help us.” “That’s something, no?” she said, trying to inject hope into her voice. “Not if she can’t help us.” The doom expanding in his chest didn’t allow him to feel much more hope. “Try not to think on it too much, my brother.” She walked to where he’d stood by the window and stopped beside him. “Have you considered…earth?” He had. The problem lay in his and Eros’s appearance. With their pale skin and white hair, they tended to attract attention. Adding their size was a sure fire way to get them noticed by everyone. Not something they were looking for. “We are leaving that as a final desperate measure. We’re not looking to get media attention if we go there. Aurora is not going to be discovered because we went to earth and they found us too interesting to ignore.” “It’s hard when you guys look so imposing and big and well, sexy.” Alessandra laughed. “A great problem to have most of the time, but in this case it didn’t help you guys.” That was the sole reason he and Eros hadn’t gone to earth to find a mate. He was pretty sure from what he’d seen of Bella they could find someone their wolves would howl for. “We’ll see what we can do with the matchmaker. I won’t allow anyone to tell me who to mate.” “Brecc, don’t do this to yourself,” Alessandra pleaded. “I’m an Alpha. In charge of a pack larger than some countries on earth and I need to listen to someone else? No. Not going to happen.” “You are so damn stubborn!” she growled back. “You need a mate. When you rose to Alpha, you knew this was a possibility. Find your own or they’ll find one for you.” “I refuse,” he snarled. She gasped. “You can’t!” “I do!” The room shook from the sound of his voice. “This is my pack. I make the rules,” he growled. “My people follow what I say. I won’t be pushed into anything. I’ll find my mate my own way. The elders can fuck off.” He didn’t have much hope though. Fucking hell! Time was running out. In a few weeks, the elders would come knocking and nothing they said would be valid other than having a mate to show off. And there was no leaving his pack. He’d been born into a line of Alphas that didn’t quit over any fucking thing, much less the lack of a female. “How are things with the Dragos?” He growled, the wolf immediately pushing to the surface. They were making his life miserable. Not that Alyx had helped much with them. The king was too busy being happy to worry about the Ice Pack and their river being taken over by the damn Dragos. For so long, the Dragos had used a different source of water and now they wanted to own one of the major rivers the Ice Pack used. “Not good.” “You need to sit and speak with Vikter. He could push aside his frustrations and understand how this need for the river can be a joint venture,” she suggested, turning to face the glass and the mountain peaks. “I don’t want to talk to him. Nothing was achieved before. Instead, we are ordered to allow use of the river by Alyx like the fact we own it means nothing.” He curled his hands into fists. He’d been tempted to visit the Dragos holding. But nothing was solved with violence. Not when it came to the fucking river. “I still say you should. Talk to Vikter. He’s got his own stresses. Like Alyx, he’s approaching his end of time in order to find a mate. Unlike Alyx, instead of being unable to breed, he’ll die . I am pretty sure that’s damn stressful, if you ask me.” She blew out a breath. “Most of the adults are in hibernation, except for the younger dragons who tend to wake earlier. Yet he still has to worry about finding a mate or face certain death.” Her shoulders slumped. “It’s not even like he can fight it. His dragon will die from the need to mate.” That was the sole reason Brecc hadn’t brought