Centuries
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Arlo
“Arlo-”
Sadie bit her lip as she used her hands to hoist herself onto the heavy cedar desk. The light from a single candle illuminated her seductive features, casting dancing shadows across her face.
She opened her blouse with deliberate slowness, carefully peeling it off to reveal the black lacy bra beneath. Her hands moved with practiced sensuality, never once breaking eye contact with me.
A smirk played at the corner of her lips as she motioned with one finger for me to step closer. “Touch me, baby.”
My heart pounded in slow, rhythmic movements as I stepped forward. Sadie leaned toward me, grabbing the glass of whiskey from my hand and bringing it to her own lips.
“Mmm-” She licked her lips appreciatively.
I slid my hand around her waist, evoking a purr from both of our chests. My hand traveled down her curves, as it had many times before, engulfing her tiny frame.
“You wanted a taste of my drink, huh?” I nibbled on her ear lightly, making her laugh. “Why don’t you just taste it on my lips instead?”
Sadie didn’t waste a second before grabbing a handful of my slightly damp, curly hair. “A taste of your lips will never be enough, Arlo.”
She pulled me to her lips and wrapped her now bare legs around mine in one swift motion. “Fuck, woman.”
My hand glided upward to meet the underwire of her bra, gently pushing it up as I slid my hand beneath to cup her breast.
Our kiss grew hotter, Sadie encouraging every one of my moves. Her wolf welcomed it, sliding her body closer to mine until her sensitive spot was grinding against my pants.
“Why are you still wearing clothes?” she giggled, grabbing my face with both hands and gently pulling my lips away from hers. “Are you suddenly allergic to sex?”
She shook her head slightly, making her short, wavy hair bounce. Just like it did when I was fucking her.
Sadie leaned back, reaching into my top office drawer and pulling out a condom. She placed it between her teeth, her canine slightly elongating over it- a sign that her wolf was teasing mine.
My wolf didn’t react normally like he had in the past. He was too distracted. Too disoriented.
I felt Sadie’s fingers trail down my chest as she unbuttoned my shirt. Her long fingernails scraped against my skin, following the patterns of my Steelclaw tattoo.
Her actions made my body shiver.
By now, Sadie was unbuckling my pants, her face full of determination as she pulled me closer to her core.
“Hello?” She raised her brow, looking up at me with her big, brown puppy eyes. “Are you just going to stand there like a statue or fuck me?”
My head spun. This was a normal day, I reminded myself.
Just a normal day.
I offered a smile in apology. “Sorry. It’s just been a long day.” I sighed. “I have a lot on my mind.”
Sadie nodded in understanding before reaching her hand around my cock. “This will help you forget.” She stroked me in her hand. “It always does when you have a stressful day.”
I stepped back, taking Sadie by surprise and removing myself from her grasp. “What the hell is wrong with you, Arlo?”
This wasn’t normal. It was wrong, it was-
I slid my hands through my hair, grabbing it lightly as I stepped away from Sadie. “I’m sorry, Sadie. I can’t do this today. I just can’t.”
Sadie pulled her bra back over her breasts, all while looking at me like I was crazy. “Is something wrong? You’re not acting like yourself today.”
I sighed, reaching for the whiskey on the desk. “It’s not good, Sadie. Nothing is good right now.”
Sadie sat up, her legs dangling off the edge of the desk. “Do you want to talk about it? Maybe I can help.”
“No.”
“No?” Sadie scoffed. “Why not?”
“You don’t need to know, okay?” I swung the hot liquid down my throat. “There is nothing you can do to help, so just forget it.”
Sadie crossed her arms over her chest angrily. “Why do you always do this shit?”
“What shit?” I snapped, her high-pitched voice now getting on my nerves.
“Oh, come on, Arlo!” Sadie threw her arms up. “You can’t possibly be so naive!”
My head snapped up. “You don’t even know half of the shit I have to deal with, Sadie.” My voice dropped to a threatening low. “Maybe just shut up and let me do my job.”
Sadie’s eyes darkened, her wolf becoming restless. “I don’t know because you don’t tell me!” She threw her hands down. “Maybe if you told me at least something that is going on, I would be able to help you!”
I sighed, dropping my shoulders in defeat.
“I don’t understand why you are so fucking secretive all the time,” Sadie continued, her voice rising with frustration.
“You have been telling me for years that you are going to marry me, Arlo.” She blinked, her eyes threatening tears of frustration. “That you are going to make me your Luna-”
“But yet, you can’t even tell anyone about our relationship,” she yelled. “You have kept our relationship a secret for years!”
“Please stop-”
“No!” Sadie slid off the desk and slapped her hands down on its surface. “I’ve been loyal to you for years. I have even undergone extra training and responsibilities to prove to you and the rest of Steelclaw that I am fit for the position!”
My mind drifted to Sadie on the training grounds, wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top that showed off a little too much cleavage.
“I acknowledge your efforts,” I said, grabbing her arms to steady her. “And I’m not saying that you wouldn’t make a great Luna.”
“I’m including you more, aren’t I?” I questioned.
Sadie rolled her eyes. “Including me in the dinners with the Beta and Gamma couple is hardly that,” she sighed. “It only causes rumors.”
“Until you propose and put a ring on my finger,” Sadie pointed to her ring finger, “our relationship means nothing to our pack.”
I sighed, running my hands down my face.
“I am the perfect choice for Luna, Arlo. You, Jett, Link, and the rest of the pack know it.”
She turned around, shrugging her blouse down to show me her back tattoo. It was a mirror image of mine, only more delicate to fit her tiny frame.
Her back glowed in lines of red and black, a large claw mark in the middle. It gave the illusion that it was cutting through her skin, flames appearing all around it.
“I bleed black and red just like you,” she whispered. “Born and raised Steelclaw.”
“Our children will be too,” Sadie said, lifting her shirt back over her tattoo. “They will be even stronger than us.”
She bit her lip, her eyes glazing over as she thought to herself. She leaned over slowly, holding her hand to her mouth as if she was telling me a secret.
“Together,” she whispered, “we will eliminate the Riverbend pack once and for all.”
“Alpha!” Jett knocked on the other side of the door. “You must come immediately!”
I sprang up from my chair, causing Sadie to let out a little gasp in surprise. I opened the door to see Jett, his eyes black with red swirling rapidly inside them. He wore his royal guard armor, his coat shining with rows of medals.
“We must talk on the way,” Jett urged.
“What’s the situation?” I ordered as Jett and I stepped in unison, making our way out of the pack house and into the dense forest.
“Riverbend ambushed us at Luminaria.” He reported, never once slowing his steps. His body radiated fury and adrenaline. “It was a planned attack, I’m sure of it.”
By Jett’s eyes, I could tell something disastrous had just occurred. “How many fatalities are there?”
“We can’t tell for sure,” Jett reported. “At least seven Steelclaw guards. If any of them survived, they would be in critical condition.”
“What about Riverbend?” I clenched my jaw, fury evident in my voice. “Do you know if they had any casualties?”
As we approached, I saw my Gamma, Link, scrambling to get our remaining patrol out of the now smoky woods. A few large oak trees had fallen into a pile of ambered leaves.
“Come on,” Link offered a guard his hand. She was covered in blood and open sores. “Rush her to the infirmary right away!”
A group of nurses emerged from the smoke, all coughing as it invaded their lungs. They took the woman’s arms, guiding her into an open ambulance.
“Link!” I shouted, catching his attention. “Are there any Riverbend left?”
His eyes shifted between mine and Jett’s as he put his sword away. “They had already retreated before I got here. I only came to find this mess. At least ten of our guards have serious injuries.”
“It caught us completely off guard,” Link rambled. “They threw bombs at us from over there to herd us to this side,” he pointed out. “Then, they all came at once.”
“They knew exactly what our next move would be,” I concluded. “They must have been watching us and coordinating this attack for some time.”
Anger rushed through my chest, a flame erupting in my hands. “Those motherfuckers!”
I punched one of the fallen oak trees as I watched another ambulance arrive to pick up a few more guards who had more minor injuries.
“Order all off-duty hospital staff to work immediately,” I ordered Jett, who just nodded before his eyes turned black again. “We are going to need as many hands as possible.”
“They have found our weak spots, Arlo.” Link paled. “They will find more.”
“He’s right,” Jett interjected, looking between us. “What if they come after our mates? They have already found a way into our territory through Luminaria.”
It was natural for Link and Jett to think about their mates. Their first job as a mate was to protect their other half. “Will Willow and Lyra be safe here?”
“I hear your concerns.” I acknowledged, their faces becoming soft at the talk of their beloved mates. “We will staff Luminaria with more patrols to ward off any future attacks.”
“What patrol?” Jett scoffed. “We just lost seven more wolves!”
“He’s right, Arlo,” Link chimed in. “We are losing wolves faster than they are being born. Last year, we only had five babies born to Steelclaw.”
“What about Riverbend?” I thought aloud, looking in the distance at the heavy stone wall that separated our packs. It lit up as electricity ran through it once again, almost as if it saw me looking and was warning me to stay out.
No one in Steelclaw knew much about Riverbend. They had practically cut off all communication with us a few centuries ago, and since then, the only thing we had learned about them was through face-to-face combat.
That was the only time we had seen them.
But even then, we knew little about what they were capable of. Their attacks always involved a cloud of smoke, or they would cover their faces, making them completely unidentifiable.
They were a mystery in every aspect of the word.
“No way to know,” Jett sighed heavily. “They lost at least fifty through our attacks last year. And as of right now, we have no way to know their population or capabilities.”
My wolf reacted to my Beta’s and Gamma’s concerns. “I will take care of this. You are both dismissed. Your mates will be waiting for your safe return.”
Jett and Link nodded quickly, not needing any more convincing. As they ran, I saw Willow and Lyra looking into the distance as they helped to clean up a few of the injured wolves.
Willow, Jett’s mate and our Beta female, talked fast, ordering staff to bring her and Lyra, Link’s mate, more gauze.
Their eyes lit up when they met their mates. They cried, screamed in happiness, and ran into their arms.
My chest twinged with a bit of jealousy at their love and mateship.
That night, Sadie never came back.
I was almost expecting her to come and check on me, and somewhere deep down, I think I wanted her to. To experience the same joy as Jett and Link did with Willow and Lyra.
As the pack house went quiet, I stayed awake, sorting through the files of those who passed in the Luminaria attack.
I needed to update our population, order the maids to clean out their rooms, and budget for their funerals. Willow and Lyra always picked out the flowers to send to the families of the deceased.
This was routine.
I tapped on my keyboard and scribbled on my notepad as I analyzed the numbers all night long. Just when I thought everything added up, it didn’t, and I would have to start over again.
We were in trouble. Big trouble.
I calculated potential counterattacks against Riverbend all night, only to come up with the same problem, only to realize that Link and Jett were right.
Centuries of war were going to lead us to collapse.
I glanced down at the phone, somehow taunting me silently as it sat in the corner of my desk. My heart pounded as I stared at it.
I reached for the large phone book, lightly dusting it off with my hand.
The only communication Steelclaw had with Riverbend was through letters. It had been years since we had spoken, even over the phone.
But something needed to change, and fast.
Through our allies, we had discovered that Alpha Rhett and his Luna were still in control of the pack. That hadn’t changed.
I slid my finger down the page, squinting my eyes to look at the tiny writing until I got to the “R” section.
“Rhett Riverbend,” I whispered, my finger falling onto it. “There you are.”
The phone rang multiple times before it beeped. “Please leave a message for-”
“Of course, you don’t pick up,” I growled, typing in the number again. “Coward.”
The phone rang again. “Please leave a message for-”
Alright, this might not be the best way. He wouldn’t answer me.
So, I decided to write a letter, the way we had been doing it for years.
Dear Alpha Riverbend,
I am writing to request an immediate ceasefire of the Luminaria borders and beyond. We urge you and your royal court to reconsider the attacks on our wolves. We urge our fellow werewolf court to help de-escalate the violence between our two packs.
*We condemn the violence committed by your patrol on our wolves over the past century. We demand a treaty to facilitate humanitarian efforts and the benefit of our kind.
We mourn the deaths of our beloved pack members, as do their families. We grieve in the presence of war.
Sincerely,
Arlo Steelclaw
Alpha of the Steelclaw Pack
The next day, a mail carrier took the sealed letter to an allied pack territory to be delivered to Riverbend.
I sat restlessly at night, staring at the phone, waiting for a response. Weeks went by without a call or letter.
“Well, I got good news from the doctor today,” Willow said between spoonfuls of cereal. “The injured guards from the other week have all been discharged.”
“That’s wonderful!” Lyra perked up.
Link smiled at his mate. “That is great news.” He stroked her hair behind her ear. “You ladies did a great job aiding in the effort, as usual.”
Sadie scoffed beside me. “It wouldn’t have happened in the first place if it wasn’t for those fucking Riverbends.”
Jett looked at me with wide eyes across the table in response to Sadie’s comment. I could tell he didn’t want to ask about a counterattack or for an update in front of Sadie.
That wasn’t information anyone outside of my royal court knew. And Sadie wasn’t my Luna yet.
“So, ladies, what’s on the agenda today?” Jett asked, lowering his gaze back down to his bowl of cereal.
Willow smiled at Lyra. “We are going to work on a few projects for the Asgard land warriors. They are in need of some new uniforms.”
Jett and Link nodded, happy to know where their mates would be off to. “I would be happy to help,” Sadie offered, giving a slight smile. “If that’s okay with you, Arlo.”
I nodded. “Yeah, sure.”
“Alpha!” A boy ran inside, holding a gold envelope in his hands. “You have received a formal letter from the Riverbend pack.”
“Riverbend?” Everyone yelled in unison, choking on their breakfast.
I stood, taking the letter from the boy’s hands. “Thank you.”
The boy bowed slightly before running off to find his friends outside. “Holy shit, you got a response from Riverbend!” Link exclaimed, his eyes wide like the rest of ours.
“Open it!” Jett urged.
A commotion erupted. “Alright, alright.” I held my hands up. “I’m opening it.”
I cut it open with a knife, the blade gliding effortlessly through the gold Riverbend seal. I pulled out a long piece of yellow paper, inscribed with delicate and small handwriting.
Alpha Arlo Steelclaw,
We have granted you access through the Xylos land border on the third half-moon of the month from 9:00-9:15 AM.
-Rhett Riverbend
“Well, what does it say?” Lyra questioned impatiently. “Good or bad? I can’t really tell by your face.”
My breath hitched in disbelief as I looked between Jett and Link. “We are going to Riverbend.”Co
