FATED TO ALPHA HUNTER BY VENNEH LISAH

𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕:

I woke up the following day and found that Ania had built her nest around us in her sleep. She growled at me when I tried to move out of it a couple of times. Secretly, I loved seeing female Lycans nest. Despite the danger it posed, I was drawn to the possessive nature behind it. I admired how they never lost their primal instinct over time, even after changes in tradition.

It was ingrained in their DNA, just as our calling is ingrained in us men. Ania had burrowed underneath the shredded blanket, with feathers covering every inch of the bed as she disappeared beneath it. After showering, I put on some shorts and walked to the door where Dwight stood guard. He was wide awake and alert.

"My king," he nodded.

"Watch her for me," I asked, and he nodded in response. I started walking towards the stairs, but then I stopped.

"Don't enter. Ania..." I started.

"She is nesting. I heard her shredding the bed earlier. I also heard you trying to save your pillow from her. It woke me," Dwight laughed, and my lips tugged at the corners.

"When I return, you can go off duty. I won't be leaving her side," I told him, and I turned for the stairs again when Dwight spoke.

"What is your say on Desmond, my king?" he said, and I stopped, a growl slipping out of me as I turned to face him.

"He wants to return to his post," Dwight continued.

"Has Travis' issue been taken care of?" I inquired, feeling a little uneasy about Travis now.

"About that, I have removed him from her guard," Dwight told me. My brows furrowed, and I turned to him.

"Very well," I answered.

"Why do you agree with my decision so easily?" he asked, shocked. Yet, ever since Junior said something last night, it had been bothering me.

"Desmond doesn't trust him, and despite what he did, I know he wouldn't have done it to put her in harm's way. Junior said something last night too, so keep a close eye on him," I told Dwight.

"Certainly, and where should I assign Desmond?" he asked again.

"He can return to his post, but..." I started.

"I will tell him to keep his distance. You are doing the right thing, my king," Dwight said.

"He is Ania's friend," I answered.

"And yours, my King. He is yours too," Dwight said. I nodded, walking downstairs toward the kitchens. I was starving, and I didn't want to bother Zara, so I figured I would make breakfast for both myself and Ania. Or was it lunch? I had completely lost track of time. Only when I entered the kitchen did I stop and sniff the air. Rogues.

I stared at the two boys sitting on the bench with a bowl between them. They were each licking an eggbeater, and both of them froze when I stepped into the kitchen. However, Zara was nowhere in sight, and neither were any of the chefs, so I assumed it was between shifts.

"Hello?" I said to them, walking into the room and glancing around. How did they get in here, and where did they come from? They both stared at me like stunned rabbits. The older of the two boys tucked the younger boy closer, as if he could protect him from me. I watched them for a moment. The youngest looked like he was only 3 or 4 years old. Yet I could tell from their faint scents that they were siblings.

"What are your names?" I asked. The older boy answered while the younger one cowered away from me. I checked my aura, making sure it didn't give off any threatening vibes, but I gave them no reason to fear me. However, as I looked at them, I noticed they were skinny and bruised. It made me wonder where they came from.

"I'm Lezlie. My brother's name is Osborne," the older boy answered. He seemed like he wanted to jump off the bench, but I shook my head, and he remained where he was.

The little boy looked up at me as I approached him. I could tell he was scared, his little heart beating rapidly like a hummingbird's wings in a gust of wind.

"What are you making?" I asked him, looking into his bowl. It looked like a cake mixture.

The youngest boy scooped some out with his finger, holding it out to me. His brother nudged him nervously, but I thought it was a cute offer.

"Do you want some?" he whispered, and I smiled, grabbing his little hand and licking his finger.

"And that is Zara's famous mud cake. You two must be special if Zara is making a cake," I told them before scooping some batter out with my finger and eating it. They giggled, the sound warming, considering how frail they both looked.

The youngest boy, Osborne, turned on the bench and grabbed a wooden spoon, offering it to me. I took it, watching as they both used teaspoons and their egg beaters to scrape the sides, and I joined them. I wanted to ask questions but didn't want to scare them. When the back door to the laundry swung open, the boys jumped off the bench and hid behind me as Zara walked in with a washing basket.

"Now, you boys didn't eat all my batter, did you?" she asked, turning around and spotting me with the wooden spoon in my hand. I quickly hid it behind my back. Her mouth fell open, and she glanced around for the two boys currently hiding behind me. Osborne stuck his head out, and relief flooded her features before her face turned stern, and she placed her basket on the bench and folded her arms across her chest.

"Boys, why are you hiding behind the King?" she scolded before spotting her empty mixture bowl. She clicked her tongue.

"Did you eat my mixture?" she asked, and I glanced down at them. Her lips tugged at the corners, and the boys stepped out from behind me. Lezlie, the cheeky little thing, pointed at me.

"He helped," Lezlie snitched.

"Is that so, my King?" Zara asked.

"I was merely helping by making sure it didn't go to waste," I told her, and she chuckled, turning her attention to the boys.

"Well, you'd best get me more ingredients, boys. I can't make a cake with no mixture," she told them, and they scurried off toward the pantry. Lezlie stopped at the door to the enormous pantry and looked back at me. "Are you really the King?" he asked.

"I am," I told him, and his eyes widened before he rushed inside after his brother.

"You are teaching them bad manners," Zara scolded me.

"To be fair, they had eaten your batter before I came in and helped," I told her, and she laughed.

"So, are you going to make me ask, or are you going to tell me where they came from?" I asked Zara.

"Dwight and Junior brought them here. I know I have a full schedule, but they are no-fuss. I can still do my tasks. And I will keep them in line... I thought you gave out the permission and paperwork," Zara gushed, and I touched her shoulder, stopping her.

"We can keep them, Zara. I was just wondering because I didn't meet the boys who were brought in," I told her, knowing her too well. She loved kids, and I would never turn away a child. Zara let out a breath.

"Thank you, Arman," she murmured.

"They really are good little boys, timid but sweet," she said, her eyes sparkling as they rushed back out with flour and cocoa in their arms.

"Will you help?" Osborne asked, and Zara wanted to excuse me, but I shook my head.

"Of course," I told him, scooping up the boy. He was almost weightless, and I looked at Zara, who ruffled his curly locks and smiled sadly.

"Where?" I asked her.

"Where do you think?" she asked, and I nodded. Looking at Lezlie, I noticed a few lash marks on his shoulder where his shirt slipped down a bit.

"Dwight took care of it," I told her.

"Yes, I know he would have, but someone needs to take care of those mutt Alphas," I added, and she nodded once.

"I will see to it," I told her, while turning my attention to the angelic little boy in my arms. Someone definitely needed to take care of those Alphas in the neighboring packs. They were all responsible.

"And I will have you moved to one of the bigger guest quarters to accommodate the boys too," I told her.

"Thank you, Arman," she said, smiling at the boys who were excitedly waiting for her to make more batter.

𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐀'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕:

Every muscle ached when I woke up the following day. Arman was nowhere to be seen, and his side of the bed was cold. Sticking my head out from under the blanket, I groaned when I saw the mess I had made. I knew I made it because I had not seen Arman nest once since being here. He must get sick of replacing all the bed linens and his clothes. Yet as I stuck my head out, I wanted to curl back inside my nest.

As tempting as that was, I knew I couldn't stay in bed all day, or what was left of the day, so I forced myself out of bed. Only when I did, my legs gave out from under me, pain ricocheted up my spine and twisted throughout every muscle. It was bad enough that we had to go through the heat, but to suffer afterward seemed beyond cruel. Hobbling over to the door, I stuck my head out, keeping my naked body hidden behind the door. I found Dwight standing there in front of my door. I was hoping to see Desmond, but right now, I couldn't care less as long as he could help.

"My Queen," he said with a swift nod before turning his attention to me. He looked through the gap in the door behind me.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Have you seen Arman?" I asked. "He is in the kitchen. I can go get him if you like?" I shook my head. If he was in the kitchen, surely he would be back sometime soon.

"No, it's fine, but can you ask Doc for some painkillers?" I stated.

"Ah, I see. Certainly," he said, touching my forehead. His hand felt cold against my skin.

"You're still a little warm," he said, his brows pinching together before sniffing the air.

"Yet you're not in heat; it must be after-effects. I will go see what I can find. It will probably ease off when Arman returns, just the bond fretting, so not to worry," he said, and I shut the door.

I half wished I were a regular werewolf. They didn't seem to fret or have these bizarre compulsions I experienced.

Growing up knowing one thing only to find out you're something else entirely really made things confusing. How could I fret for someone I had just seen? It made no sense to me. I made my way to the bathroom. My legs trembled as I stood outside the water spray while waiting for the water to heat. I stepped under the water as soon as it did, hoping the added heat would loosen my aching bones and wash the tension away.

I heard a knock on the door roughly five minutes later. Dwight announced himself, and I sang out from the bathroom to let him know it was okay to come in. He stopped next to the bathroom door with his back to me.

"I set some pills on the bedside table. There is already a water bottle there," he told me.

"Thank you," I told him, rinsing the soap suds out of my hair.

"Anything else, my queen?" he asked.

"It's Ania! Did the King say anything about Desmond?" I asked nervously, rubbing my eyes and looking at his back just outside the door.

"Yes, Desmond will return to his post today," Dwight answered.

"So he is okay?" I asked.

"Yes, Arman hasn't punished him, but I am sure you can convince him otherwise," Dwight said. Hopefully, I could convince Arman not to punish him. Desmond shouldn't be punished just because he came with me. Either way, I intended to leave. If Arman wanted to be angry with anyone, it should be me, not him. But my king was strong-headed; it took a lot to change his mind once it was set on something.

"And Rina?" I asked.

"She's in my quarters. She's a little sore, but she's okay. I would love to spend some time with Rina until she readjusts to being here," he said. I nodded, forgetting he had his back to me.

"Anything else, Ania?" he asked.

"Yes, stop calling me 'my Queen,'" I told him, and he laughed.

"Very well, Ania," he stated.

"Thank you. You can go unless you want to chat," I laughed.

"Somehow, I don't think the king would approve of me standing here chatting with you while you shower," he said.

"It wouldn't make much difference. You already saw me naked, but you're probably right. Best not to push the king's buttons," I said.

"I will be outside if you need me," he said before walking off. I heard the door click shut, and after a few minutes, I climbed out, wrapped myself in a towel, and walked into the bedroom to the closet to find some clothes. Setting them on the bed, I dried myself when I noticed the pills on the bedside table.

I grabbed the water bottle and twisted the cap off. I drank half the bottle, not realizing how dry my throat was, only stopping when I remembered I needed water to swallow the pills. I picked up the two foil packets and tried to read what they said, but the words were too long in Spanish. I figured they were both some form of painkiller. I popped the first two out and swallowed them down before snapping the foil on the other gray pill. It smelled funny, and I tried to remember where I had smelled that scent before.

I shook my head and tipped the bottle to my lips when the door opened. I dropped the empty foil packet back onto the bedside table, intending to put the tablet in my mouth, but the wind was suddenly knocked out of me as I landed on the bed.

Arman grabbed my hand and landed on top of me on the bed. "Geez, Arman," I snapped at him as he pried my fingers apart.

"What's gotten into you?" I demanded. Arman took the pill out of my hand before letting out a breath. "Ah, thank the Moon Goddess," he sighed. I stared up at him, wondering why we had to thank the Moon Goddess. I would rather curse her out for making me sore.

Arman sat up, and I noticed Dwight standing in the doorway, looking petrified. Then Arman glanced over his shoulder at him.

"She didn't take it," Arman told him, and Dwight visibly relaxed.

"Sorry, I didn't know," he said to Arman. Well, that made two of us because I still didn't know what was going on right now.

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have left it there. You can go," Arman told him, and Dwight shut the door. Arman turned back to look down at me before holding up the pill.

"This is not a painkiller," he said, climbing off me. I blinked up at him, waiting for him to explain, and he leaned down, pecking my lips.

Arman let me sit up before dropping the pill into my hand. "That is the morning-after pill. Do you know what that means?" he asked. And no, I did not, so I shook my head. Arman scrubbed a hand down his face.

"I didn't mean to, but I knotted you," he said. I remembered him saying that last night. It was why I couldn't move afterward.

"If you take that, it will prevent an unwanted pregnancy, but it has to be taken within 72 hours if you're human. Since you're a Lycan, you have roughly half that time to take it, but the choice is yours," he explained.

"Wait, you impregnated me?" I asked, horrified, while looking at the pill in my hand.

"I'm not sure, but you are more fertile during heat, and since I knotted you, the chances are even higher. So, if you don't want to be pregnant, you can take that to stop it," Arman said, looking at the pill in my hand.

"Do you want me to take it?" I asked him, staring at the pill.

"What I want doesn't matter; it is your body. The choice is yours," Arman told me. Then, I heard arguing outside the door. Arman looked over his shoulder at the door. He growled but climbed off the bed and walked over to the tray Dwight had placed on the dresser. He grabbed it and walked back to me.

"Here, I made you something to eat. I will be back in a second. Just need to sort out something," Arman said, and I could feel that he was angry about something as he glared at the door before storming outside.

I stared down at the tray, which had different meats, eggs, and toast, while holding the pill in my hand. I sighed, not knowing what to do.

Did I want kids? More importantly, did the King want them? Assuming he wanted to continue his royal bloodline, that would include mine as well. However, I wasn't sure. I had never given babies much thought after the incident that took away mine. I honestly didn't see myself having a future, let alone one where I could have children. But if I took it, wouldn't that be going against the Moon Goddess? At the same time, Arman wouldn't have given it to me if he believed that, would he?