Alarick POV

“Boss.” I heard through my light sleeping.

I was only half gone, because I was just so damned comfortable…But, it really wasn’t my bed time yet! I hardly wanted to sleep until this neck collar was off, but…By seeing the sun almost set now, it may not even happen till tomorrow. I had written a letter earlier and had it sent, so this might be the response for it.

Trying not to wake my lovely mate up, I slowly got out of her embrace and shifted to my human form.

Quickly putting on some shorts, I take one last look at my beautiful wolf and walk out, “Radolph.”

“Boss, there’s no response to the letter, but they had written one to you beforehand.”

I scratched my head, right, yeah, they might not have my letter yet. The travel time to get there and back wouldn’t be now, so, this letter of theirs was written and sent, before mine was delivered to them.

Taking it into my hands, I opened it and read, ‘Bring her to us.’

What the hell does that mean?

It wasn’t often we had pack members with silver neck collars, but they would always send someone out to us, instead of us going to them. But…Why now, why do they want us to go to them…

I had to admit…This was strange. “Radolph, tell me again. How have they acted.”

Walking over towards the elder den, I was filled in with the same information as before. That they acted somewhat normal…Until they knew this wolf was white. Now, not only are they ‘thinking’ about things, they want the Shifter to go all the way to them…

Why doesn’t this add up?

Taking another piece of paper, I wrote yet another letter. The first letter only stated the need for help, yet, now it was somewhat void because they would ask for the same thing, that my mate would have to go to them.

I wrote for the possibility that they are to come here instead, as she was going to be initiated into the pack the next day and become a Luna. That if they weren’t to change their minds, then I wanted a damned good reason why she would have to travel all that way!

Honestly, I hated the idea, yet…How else could I get the silver neck collar off her!?

Especially since I wanted to mark her so desperately!

This predicament was really shitty! I wished now that I had brought her back the first time I’d seen her, not only wouldn’t she have gotten shot, but she wouldn’t have that bloody collar on her!

Putting my hands through my hair, I dropped the pen and sighed. I couldn’t help but have a strange, bad feeling about this…The Misty Ice Pack were already questionable, with no evidence, now they wanted a pure, white wolf to go to them, when they had never asked of this beforehand…Why!?

I decided then and there, that I wasn’t going to send her if I didn’t have to.

After getting a scout to send the letter that I had written, with my obvious blood as evidence to seal it, to show that I had written it, I then sent two other scouts out to nearby packs to see if anyone else can come and take away a silver neck collar.

Putting my feet on the table, I grumbled, it felt like fate was playing with me. I couldn’t mark her, so she was still unmated, still basically free for the taking. And with just that going through my mind, I didn’t want to send her to get her collar off…But, I needed her neck collar off, so I could mark her!

I get someone to grab me a beer and I try and take my mind of the matter, as I tend to two other new things. One was the sudden disappearance of one of the pack members and another was a confirmation from The Strikers Den, stating that both an Alpha and a Beta will be coming for my birthday and staying for a night.

Getting someone to set up a place for them, I then looked into who had suddenly disappeared, and found that it was someone that had been initiated about four or five years ago.

Trying to remember when they had been added, I shrugged, I can’t remember everything!

But…What was strange…Was that their connection to this pack has not vanished and I could still feel him. Closing my eyes, to pin point on where he was, I could only feel that he was outside of our boundary and closer to the border of The Misty Ice Clan.

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…Was he there…

Looking down, to see the disappearance as of the day before, with no confirmations that they were leaving and had not shown up to tend to the farm…

Why was this looking so damned suspicious!

I couldn't help it...I was getting very suspicious and went as far as asking Sabassa about a pure, white wolf and was hoping that she would know anything about its history.

Surely, she was old enough to know something!

It wasn't like a white wolf was completely unheard of, it was probably more so that Rieka was completely, a hundred percent, white...And now, that I saw The Misty Ice Pack acting like this, I had to see if there was something that I should bloody know about! You know…Because she’s my mate and all! And that in itself gave me enough right to find out any bullshit about a pure, white wolf!

…Sabassa was very quiet at first, and I was getting edgy at watching a play of emotions on her face...Was there really something about the pure, white wolf?

"...Mmm."

Her response irritated the hell out of me! Why can't she just say whatever she’s thinking to make me feel better!? I'm not a bloody mind reader!

“Come on! Spill it!” I said, showing my irritation to the continued silence.

“Now that I think of it, a pure white wolf does have a history, but that information was hidden as swiftly as news had gotten out.” Sabassa said.

“What did you hear?” I asked, pulling myself into a more seated position.

Sabassa looked at me in conflict, “At the time I was in the south, I heard that a child of an alpha had been taken and went missing. She had white hair…”

“White hair…” I repeated, thinking immediately of Rieka. She had the obvious white hair! “Is that all? Can’t you remember anything else?”

Sabassa sighed and said, “I was young, this was a long time ago Alarick. It happened in the north of the continent, while I was in the south, I can’t explain much more.”

All I could think, is that of the obvious. They wanted her because of being a pure, white wolf…That in the past, someone with white hair had gone missing…

I did not see anything good out of letting my mate leave my side and I felt like I had already made my decision. She was not going to The Misty Ice Pack!

If she was to leave and never return, it would be entirely my fault! Especially when I know this much!

Hell, even if nothing went wrong and she came back with no neck collar…I felt like I couldn’t give it the chance!

Something was most definitely going on and as long as she stayed here…She should be safe!

“She won’t be going there then!” I said, voicing my thoughts.

“Then…How are we to get off the neck collar?” Sabassa asked the obvious question.

I looked at her and said, “I sent out scouts to find another that can do it, hopefully someone else will come.”

After that, silence overcome us while we were both in thought, I wondered if Sabassa was trying to remember the past, perhaps to help me to prevent something that might happen in the future.

***

For the next twelve hours, nothing happened because I didn’t want to let my mate leave and The Misty Ice Pack sent no one to come and help take off her collar.

A scout came back, and they had news that someone could take the neck collar off at the border of the boundary to the south. The person was from The Strikers Den and that taking off neck collars wasn’t their specialty.

When I heard that, I was displeased, thinking that it was an amateur and that I shouldn’t bother with them…But, it wasn’t as I thought, when the scout continued and admitted that this person’s specialty was bordering the inhuman type of specialties and even asked for a lot of money for him to do his job, I changed my mind.

I knew about people like him, hell Harou was my own assassin, so I couldn’t totally dismiss him…But he was the only other choice I had.

Going to the border was better then making my mate leave my territory altogether and not only that, the person that was going to do it blandly stated his job and honestly asked for money.

I had thought about it for awhile and figured that The Misty Ice Pack was scarier than this guy. I knew what I would get with this guy and would send protectors, with myself included, and that should be enough…With The Misty Ice Pack, my protectors probably wouldn’t be able to freely go onto their land to follow my mate.

My decision was made, I sent someone to tell this person to meet at the boundary an hour before the initiation, as the day had progressed further then I had thought.

To be honest, I had started to think that she will have the neck collar on while being initiated and so I was a little happy to hear that it should be taken off by then!

It was great news and I couldn’t wait!

Straight after initiation I would mark her as mine and she would already be Luna of the pack!

Sometime within the month…We will be fully mated and there shouldn’t be anything else to fear after that!

Just as we were about to leave, knowing that the meeting was going to take place, The Misty Ice Pack’s Beta had come all the way to our border and wanted to talk to me.

Having a Beta come all this way, was obviously very important. You could nearly say that the Alpha was coming, if the Beta personally went to your boundary.

I sighed and really did think it was bad timing. After I declined, and we were already half way down to the meeting point, Radolph came personally to get me.

I was pissed!

My beautiful girl was looking at me like I was her only trustworthy ally and here I had to leave?

Why couldn’t they wait the hour I had told them to wait!?

“He said it’s very important…” Radolph said. “He is unwilling to speak to me in place of you.”

I let out a huge sigh and look at my mate. She had three protectors and a hidden one, if I left…Would that be enough?

Making her stop, I pull her into my arms and take in her sweet scent. Freedom washed over me, even though I felt shackles from having to go to the west of our borders, while she will be here, south of our border…

“Blanket?”

Her question was filled with curiosity, but…Blanket?

Is she…Calling me a blanket?

Putting a hand to her cheek, I couldn’t help but smile, “I will go for a short time, but, tonight, you will become our Luna. When you get back, if you get back before me, one of the girls will help you look pretty and give you something to eat ok.”

“Mmm, pretty food…”

I sighed, leaning in to kiss her, that tingled touch running over me and making it even more difficult to leave her side…

Fuck…I’m whipped!

“...Boss…”

Letting go of her, I stepped back and smiled, “I’ll see you soon!”

Then I shifted, after quickly undressing, so that I could get to this ‘Beta’ faster and be able to get back to my mate faster…