Chapter 217 – Destined Bond with My Forbidden Alpha Novel (Alpha Alexander & Selene)

Filed To Story: Destined Bond with My Forbidden Alpha Novel (Alpha Alexander & Selene)

Alexander had gone to his room after their conversation had ended so abruptly. He expected he and Axel would not speak or see each other again until the morning at the earliest.

Which was why the knock at his door surprised him. It had only been an hour since their conversation.

“I just got an unexpected call,” Axel said as Alexander pulled open the door.

“Your scout?”

“No,” Axel smiled. “Alpha Jonas, of Broken Crag.”

Alexander sighed.

“Let me guess, he was an asshole?”

“Naturally, though, I was slightly relieved to hear from him this time.”

“It is good to know that at least one pack is alright,” Alexander said, eyeing Axel, “I assume?”

Axel nodded.

“He called to tell me that he knew we were in the area, his scouts spotted us, and he wants us to come for dinner. Where he expects us to answer his questions about, and I quote, ‘all the shady shit you ‘blessed’ bitches keep pulling’.”

Alexander furrowed his brows.

“Jonas calls Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter the ‘blessed bitches’ because of the Goddess,” Axel clarified.

“I know,” Alexander replied with annoyance.

“Sorry, seemed like you didn’t interact with the lesser packs much, so I wasn’t sure you knew much about him.”

“Broken Crag has always been a pack that needed to be watched. They have skilled warriors and good leadership. Granted, their chosen Alpha is an asshole, but he does lead his wolves well.”

Axel nodded in agreement.

“Do you know the ‘shady shit’ he refers to?”

“No idea,” Axel replied. “But my guess is it might have to do with whatever Autumn has been doing to get wolves to abandon their packs and join.”

“Agreed,” Alexander said.

“Guess we’re going to dinner,” Axel sighed.

The territory held by the Broken Crag was one of the largest of all the lesser packs. Though, it was primarily mountainous and considered uninhabitable.

To reach the settlement, one would need to climb through treacherous caverns and up the mountainside. At which point, they would need to repel into the canyon below and cross a river to the large rocky island that supported the almost two hundred wolves that lived there.

That is unless you were a guest of Broken Crag, in which case, you would be escorted under the mountain. Through a well-maintained and complicated tunnel system.

Though, that had its own drawback.

There were three things that Broken Crag was known for. The first was their strong warriors. They had never lost their territory or even come close to losing it. Every member of the pack went through vigorous physical training from a young age and was more than capable of defending themselves and their home.

The second was their territory. While it was correct that they were strong enough to hold it, the environment itself was primarily avoided for one reason in particular.

The mountain that Broken Crag had chosen to settle into and where they built their homes was filled with heavy deposits of silver and iron. Their tunnel system was purposefully designed to run through several deposits at different points.

Created over many generations, the system was intended for the pack to gain easy access to multiple places within their territory. But it was built in a complicated and confusing manner, so intruders would get lost and run straight into the trapdoors and pits built into the tunnels.

When a wolf came of age, they were left to navigate the tunnels independently. Some spent days finding their way through, while others were simply found where they had fallen.

Alexander had been here only once before, with Cain. A visit that had not gone well and left a bitter impression on him..

He remembered the tunnels. They were suffocating. He hated it then, and he hated it now. Still, he could admit it was an excellent way to keep the members of Broken Crag protected and very likely the reason that they were safe now.

Axel had visited several times but had only been invited inside twice. This would be his third time. He actually enjoyed the tunnels. The challenge of losing his natural abilities and relying on the strength he had built for himself was a thrill.

When he was younger, he had asked if he could try to navigate his way through. His request was denied, seeing as only Broken Crag wolves could know the actual pathways. Still, he did receive an invitation to join. Wyatt was particularly annoyed by that.

The third and most well-known fact about Broken Crag was their Alpha, Jonas. The nicest and most succinct way of describing him was to say he was an asshole.

Broken Crag had always maintained that the blessing received by the major packs was more of a curse than a gift. Not having received the benefit, they relied on themselves and the strength they earned through their work in their homes and bodies.

But Jonas, in particular, seemed to hate the major packs. Even Cain, who was considered the most reasonable of the Alphas and respected by most lesser packs, could not see eye to eye with Jonas.

The wolves escorting Axel and Alexander through the tunnels were quiet. They were prominent men, bulky and muscular. As were most of the wolves in the pack. The walk through the tunnels lasted a long time, at least an hour, possibly longer.

When they finally emerged from the darkness, they had to cover their eyes. Though the sky was lit up in orange and red hues as the sun set, the sudden change from blackness to light was momentarily blinding.

“It’s about damn time,” Jonas’ gruff voice called out.

Alexander was the first to recover. He rubbed his eyes and then looked forward. They stood down inside the canyon. The sound of the rushing river wasn’t far. Beyond that was an island these wolves called home.

An older man in his early sixties approached them. He was tall and built like a tank, his dark brown hair hung down over his shoulders, and his beard was thick but trimmed neatly to an inch below his chin.

“Thank you for the invitation, Alpha Jonas,” Alexander said.

Jonas laughed. He approached Axel first, who had just gotten his vision back.

“Welcome back, pup.”

“I’m not a pup,” Axel grumbled.

Jonas laughed and clapped his hand on Axel’s shoulder.

“You’ll always be a pup to me, boy,” Jonas said, then turning back to face Alexander. “Welcome, Summer.”

“You know our names, Jonas. Maybe try using them?” Alexander sighed.

“Let’s head on up. Liara made you a proper supper,” Jonas replied, ignoring Alexander.

Jonas turned to lead the way, Axel followed behind, but Alexander reached out to him.

“Are you friends with him?” he asked quietly.

“We get along for the most part,” Axel replied. “He’s a good guy, just a bit rough around the edges.”

“He’s an asshole,” Alexander replied.

“Isn’t that what I said?” Axel asked with a smile before turning to follow after Jonas.

***

The three alphas ate in silence. Alexander had tried to start a conversation but was quickly told that it was considered rude to talk while eating.

When the meal was over, and the table cleared, it was Jonas that spoke first.

“So, what the hell you blessed bitches doin’ sniffin’ around my territory?”

“Jonas, we weren’t doing anything,” Axel said.

“Yea?” Jonas said, leaning forward in his chair. “Then why I got scouts telling me you two are hiding out far from home?”

“Hiding out?” Alexander scoffed. “We were staying in a common-use building on neutral grounds. That’s hardly hiding out.”

Jonas smiled and sat back in his chair.

“Fine, let’s say you boys are just here by chance. What about the others?”

“Who?” Axel asked.

“The ones that lost themselves inside the tunnels.”

“We don’t know what you’re talking about, Jonas. Maybe if you actually shared some information, we might be able to help you,” Alexander said.

“Shared some information?” Jonas asked while bobbing his head rhythmically. “You mean how you Summer dogs shared that information about which tunnel to take?”

Alexander sat forward angrily.

“What the hell are you saying?”

“Yea, we caught one of them rogues still alive, barely, and in a lotta pain, but alive enough to have a little chat,” Jonas smiled, his words layered with anger and resentment. “He told us how you gave them instructions on which entrance to take.”

Alexander growled.

“You sell out my people, Summer?!” Jonas snarled.

Alexander jumped up from the table in anger, and Jonas met him. They snarled angrily at each other.

“Hey!” Axel shouted, pushing them apart. “Knock it off!”

“I wouldn’t do that, even if I could,” Alexander growled before sitting back down.

“Jonas,” Axel called to him. “Look, I know you don’t like the blessed packs, but I promise you, Alexander didn’t do that. He wouldn’t.”

“Then who did, pup? Because they knew, they went straight for the tunnel with the quickest access here,” Jonas said, still eyeing Alexander.

“I don’t know your stupid tunnel systems!” Alexander growled. “I couldn’t have told them!”

“Bullshit!” Jonas shouted angrily. “Your daddy designed that tunnel!”

“What?” Alexander asked, knitting his brows in confusion. “No, no, he didn’t… I was here when you tried to negotiate that. You got into an argument; my father refused the deal.”

“Your daddy said no when we offered to trade in silver and iron weapons,” Jonas said. “But he reached out and agreed to design it for us, so long as we didn’t make the weapons for yours or any other pack.”

Alexander stared at Jonas. He didn’t understand what he was saying.

“Honestly, we were happy to agree,” Jonas continued. “We made only a few dozen of those, but it never sat right with us.”

He stood up and looked out his window to the canyon surrounding them. Silver and iron deposits were scattered all across the canyon walls.

“We chose this mountain so that it could bend and break us. Exposing our weaknesses like a raw nerve until we have scarred over and risen from the blood and the dirt. To stand again on our own two feet.”

He let out a deep sigh.

“Using her flesh to create weapons that cheapen the battle of another. That makes it easier for them to kill their enemy. It was wrong. Your daddy helped me understand that.”

---