Page 60 of The Reluctant Alpha

“Sire,” Ivan snarled and took a step forward, but Dimitri held up a hand.

“Our ruling council sent me because the prince has rejected the coven. Rhys is born and not made, and only those of the blood can take over a coven. The other doesn’t have any powers, so he may be of the blood, but he doesn't qualify. In fact, the coven itself would reject him, should he ever think of trying so. In all my fourteen hundred years, I have never known this to happen, both with Rhys and the other—"

"He has a name," I growled out.

Dimitri bowed his head in a kind of apology. "My apologies. ‘Other’ is a term used to describe those of the blood who have not developed. I believe you have a term, mar-wolves? The wolves that cannot shift, but are not omegas either?"

I glanced at Phoenix because I'd never heard of it, but he nodded.

Dimitri continued. "Both those facts plus the crime Alessandro committed against our race has sent shockwaves through our covens. There are many who wish to exist alongside the other races, without constant war.”

“And are you one of them?” I asked.

“Would you believe me if I said I was?” Dimitri countered, and I shrugged because he had a point.

"One more question," Phoenix said, studying the three silver-skins carefully. "How did it get past our barrier? You seemed surprised by that."

The silver-skins exchanged glances again—a silent communication that made my hackles rise.

"There are possibilities," Ivan said slowly. "Permission is the obvious one, such as Rhys and the other—"

"You mean Ben," I said.

Ivan's jaw tightened. "Yes. The second possibility is that it had help."

There was a short, charged silence. I didn't understand silver-skin politics, so I decided to ask Phoenix later about everything.

"Had help from whom?" Phoenix demanded.

"That," Dimitri said, "is something we all should be concerned about. A revenant acting alone is dangerous enough. One with allies is...troubling."

"We'll strengthen our defenses," Phoenix added. "If it managed to breach our barrier once, it might try again."

"Guard your mates well," Dimitri said, his pale eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "Revenants are drawn to bonds of power. Two alphas mated to human omegas...that's a rare combination. One that might prove irresistible. Especially as one of you is a bear."

I growled low in my throat, my bear surging forward at the threat implied in his words.

"Peace, Alpha," Dimitri raised his hands. "I merely offer a warning. The revenant will target what you value most. It's in their nature."

We left the silver-skins standing in the clearing, their stillness making them seem more like statues than living beings. The journey back to pack territory was tense, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

"Do you believe them?" I asked Phoenix once we were safely across our boundary.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Parts of it. They know more than they're telling us, that's for sure."

"The bit about Danny concerns me," I admitted, the fear I'd been suppressing bubbling to the surface. "Especially as he won’t listen."

“I know just how you feel,” Phoenix slapped me on the back.

"What did he mean exactly about Ben, and what's a mar-wolf?" I asked.

Phoenix huffed. "The problem is that Ben was also born not made, except he's grown up with no knowledge of his history and doesn't seem to have the ability Rhys has. The complication is that Ben is nineteen, so technically he should have been Alessandro's heir. The silver-skins seem to treat him as an aberration they don't understand." Phoenix sighed. "A mar-wolf is an old-fashioned term. It refers specifically to a male or female omega that can’t get pregnant, whether they have the biology or not, and cannot shift. A wolf omega, not a human one."

"I thought Rhys had gotten the harder deal, but I think Ben has." Especially the complication with Estrelle. My problems seemed to pale into insignificance compared to his.

Even though I knew my dad had hated me, at least I knew what I was.

Danny