No Claim: A Dark Reverse Harem Romance (The Alpha Brothers Book 2) Read online

  If you love Elodie as we do, you cannot kill her mother, I warn Alpha through our connection. He stares down at Melina for a long while before letting her go.

  "The baby you abandoned just saved your life. Be sure to thank her if you get lucky enough to see her again," Alpha tells her before walking out of the tower.

  "We save our pack and then head for Elodie. We do not have a choice," Alpha states, his growl terrifying as he shifts. I shift too, as well as Alaric, before we all run into the pack. Into the chaos that is destroying and killing our pack. Let us hope Elodie can survive until we can deal with the mess here.

  Chapter 3

  Alpha

  "Swim faster, you have to swim faster," I urge Alaric, knowing he needs to be fighting the current that is pulling him away from me. Letric holds his small arms around my neck tighter, his weight pushing me further into the water. The waves are loud, much angrier than when we first started swimming, and the dark clouds above us look like a storm is near when there was no storm before.

  "There is nothing out here," Alaric cries. "I am too tired." His words are garbled with water, and I shake my head of the water getting in my ears as I keep swimming.

  "There will be something soon. Just don't give up!" I shout at him, the harsh waves are so loud that I doubt he can hear me. "Alaric, do not give up!" My final words are lost as a big wave slams into Letric and me. I grab his arms, pulling him to me as everything blacks out. I don't remember how long I was sleeping, but I remember waking up with a mouth full of sand and coughing it out on an unfamiliar beach.

  "Alpha?" little Letric calls, and I sharply sit up, wiping the sand from my eyes and feeling water brushing against my feet as the world comes into view. Letric runs over to me, and I breathe out a sigh of relief. He is four years old, and I didn't think he could make the journey considering he can't swim. Letric wraps his arms around me as I stand up, picking him up with me.

  "Have you seen Alaric?" I ask about my younger, only six year old brother. I spin around, seeing the old bridge that is broken in half and impossible to pass. We had to swim, we had to escape the mainland and our father. If it cost us Alaric, I don't know how I would live with myself. I walk down the empty beach, shouting Alaric's name and praying that he will hear us. That he is near. As the sun starts to reach the middle of the sky, I finally see him lying on some large rocks, with blood covering his head. I put Letric down and run over to Alaric, pulling him up and looking at the healing cut on his head. At least he is alive.

  "Is he o-okay?" Letric asks, getting to us and climbing the rocks.

  "Yes, just sleeping. We need to find some shelter until he wakes up," I say, thinking back to the little path we passed not long ago that led up the island. I pick Alaric up, throwing him over my shoulder and climb off the rock. Letric runs over and takes my hand as we walk back to the path and start to head up it.

  "What if there are bad people here?" Letric asks as I walk up the path.

  "They can't be worse than what is behind us on the mainland. We will make our home here, I feel it is safe," I say, just as we get to the end of the path where a big clock tower stands. The clock doesn't work, but the brick structure is just about holding in place. In the distance are three more towers, and ruins of houses lead all the way up to them. I look down at a book by my feet, which Letric picks up, wiping off the leaves and dirt. I still smile.

  "This is our pack. The Luxa Pack and our new home."

  I stand on a rock, looking up at the big gates of the Xan Pack, remembering the day I escaped with my brothers and we ran for our lives from this very place.

  "Why isn't he letting us in? Taking Elodie was to get our attention, it doesn't make sense," Letric muses from my side. Alaric doesn't say a word, but his swirling emotions say enough to me. He is worried sick for Elodie. He hasn't slept this last week, none of us has as we saved what we could of our pack. We lost three hundred pack members in the fight and those who are left are devastated by the loss of their loved ones. We have made camp in the forests around the Xan Pack, knowing we will be here for a while no matter what. The doors finally open hours after I asked for an audience. Instead of my father or one of his betas, a guard runs out the doors. He comes nervously up to us, bowing his head once.

  "Who are you?"

  "The alpha sent me with a message," he says and clears his throat once. "Alpha Elodie has taken control of the pack since killing Alpha Tanner. She has stated you are not welcome in the pack until you submit to her." Shock ripples through my body as I reach for the wolf. I crush his neck under my hands, ignoring his screams before throwing his dead body in front of the gates. Seems our sweet Elodie has been causing trouble.

  That is our girl, Letric replies, though he is clearly still troubled by how Elodie managed to kill Tanner.

  Now we need to save her from herself before she destroys everything. I don't reply to Alaric's warnings as I turn and walk back into the forest. We need a new plan, and we need to find out what happened to our Elodie.

  Chapter 4

  Elodie

  "Alpha Elodie, your private quarter is ready for you now," River tells me just after he comes into the room and stops near me. I still can’t get used to him calling me Alpha, or anyone for that matter. Not long ago, I was lying in mud and treated worse than the dirt. I run my eyes over my pack, one I was born to rule. The snow covered mountains, the grey brick houses, the horse-drawn carriages that run down the paths with people walking at their sides. This place looks like a story from a book I used to read as a child, and it does not seem real. I keep coming back to this room when I’m not needed, wondering if my father stood where I am and looked down the mountain.

  "I've told you more than once that you don't need to call me Alpha. Just Elodie, or something else, but nothing so formal," I say, looking away from the window that is an impressive view over the pack, and the best one I’ve found in this building I have explored. “You did kidnap me and then help me. We don’t need to be formal with each other.” River softly smiles at me, and I realise how much he is different from any man I’ve had in my life. He is a good wolf, one who fights for what is right, and he isn’t using me. Not in any way I can see anyways.

  "Alright then, Elodie. What are you going to say to the pack when you meet them tomorrow?" he asks.

  "I have some ideas, but you might not like them," I reply. Even though I have not left the castle, I have heard enough from the guards and staff that look after the place about what the pack is like, and nothing I’ve heard so far is good. Women are treated like slaves, mates are not respected, and children are far from protected like they should be. The horses are worked until they die, every tree is cut down and burnt, but yet they do not plan any more. Everything is used, destroyed and never fixed in this pack, and things need to change.

  "I like your ideas so far," River replies, smiling at me. In the last week, I've changed a lot of the old pack laws, ones that were cruel and no wolf should abide by them. We are going back to older laws, and that is what I will tell people today. I smooth down my light blue dress that is beyond beautiful. It sparkles as I move, the bodice is tight, and the train flows out. With my crown on, and the pack bowing to me, I feel like a queen. A queen with a broken heart, that is.

  "Have they left?" I ask, knowing River will understand who I mean without me speaking their names. It hurts to talk about them, but they are on my doorstep and can’t be ignored.

  "Since Alpha killed the man you sent with your message yesterday morning?" River remarks. "No, they are still there. Waiting."

  "Why aren't they attacking us? It doesn't make sense to just wait in the forest," I reply, remembering how River explained they have set up camp in the forest, and it looks like the entire pack are out there. Women, children, horses and men. The Alpha Brothers didn’t just bring an army, they brought the pack. But why?

  "Maybe they know you are carrying one of their children," River suggests the most likely option.

  "Possibly, but the
y could take the pack without hurting me," I respond. Alpha doesn’t care for me, none of them do, so even if I was hurt a little, I know it wouldn’t matter as long as he got the pack.

  "I grew up with the Alpha Brothers," River tells me, and I didn't expect that. I wait for him to tell me more as he pulls his eyes from me and to the view of the houses down the mountain.

  "Were they always so..." I drift off, not having the right words for them. Cruel? Heartless? I don't know them, because the Alpha Brothers I fell for were none of those things in my mind. Not until Misty turned up. The idea my half-sister is with them now, just outside my pack walls makes me so mad that my nails turn into claws, and I have to push back my shift. My wolf wants to be out all the time, and I suspect it is a mixture of being locked in my mind for so long and protective of our growing child.

  "No, they were kind, good friends. Well, at least Alpha was to me," River replies. “Letric and Alaric were younger than us.”

  "Do you know his name?" I ask.

  "No, because Alpha Tanner refused to let anyone address his son as anything but Alpha. It was his way of showing power," River explains. “His way of making sure his son was fit to lead, but when he didn’t choose a mate and became what he did, everything changed.”

  "They were no claims, like me. Alpha told me about his past a little bit, so did Alaric and Letric," I reply.

  "You were closer to them than I thought, if they told you that," River suggests, but I don't answer him. "I believe no claims are just wolves who are so powerful, so unique, that they need longer to embrace their true selves. It is likely the very wolves the packs treat like slaves have the power to be stronger than any of us."

  "You can be very poetic at times, River," I say, grinning at the handsome wolf.

  "I'm just good with words, part of my beta job. Speaking of which, you should assign two more wolves to protect you. I have suggestions, but it might be better if you go into the pack and find out yourself who you want to choose. With me at your side, that is," he says, crossing his arms.

  "I will think about it," I reply. It does make sense to have some more people around me I trust, but I’m not sure who to trust. River is different from the other wolves in this pack.

  "Can I show you your rooms now?" River asks, holding out an arm for me. I link my arm in his for an answer and let him guide me out of the small room and into the corridor. I didn't want to move into the alpha rooms until Alpha Tanner's things had been removed and every trace of him gone. River was quick to find me a temporary room while he had wolves change the alpha's rooms. I know River's room is right next door, making it easy for him to protect me.

  "River, do you think they will leave?" I ask, walking down the stone corridor that is lit up by torches.

  "No. You're here, and they will fight to see you again," he tells me.

  "They chose Misty," I reply. “They never wanted me for more than fun. I was never going to be someone serious in their lives. It was me that thought—well, hoped—it was more.”

  "Then they are fools. Anyone can see you are worth far more than she ever could be," River says, pausing in the corridor. We stare at each other for a moment, and not for the first time since we met, I see how attractive River is. How seductive with his words he is. He clears his throat, letting go of my hand, and I shake myself out of it. I know I need River at my side but as nothing more than a friend. I can't mess that up, and I doubt he feels the same way. "Here you go. I will be next door and come to you later on. Oh, and the cooks are bringing you some food shortly. I ordered your favourites."

  "Thank you," I reply.

  "Anything for you, Elodie," he says, bowing his head once before walking to the door opposite mine and going into his room as I'm stuck watching him. I place my hand on my stomach, reminding myself that I need to focus on securing the safety of my pack. Nothing else can get in the way of that.

  Chapter 5

  Elodie

  I open the double doors to my new rooms and close them behind me as I take in the room I now have. It's a big step up from my old room—if you could call it that—in my old pack. I didn't have a space of my own with the Alphas in the Luxa Pack. It was just them letting me into their lives, their places, and using me for what they wanted. I was stupid to ever think I was more than that to them. A tear runs down my cheek as a flood of emotions hit me as I stare around the room. It's beautiful, with a very large white wooden bed, cream sheets that match the thin cream curtains that blow from the wind of the balcony. I walk further into the room, seeing two doors and the dark wooden floor beneath my feet. One of the doors is open, showing me a large bath tub in a blue tiled room.

  On the other side of the room is an elevated platform, where a white wooden crib is resting, with a light blue blanket inside it. River thought of everything I could ever need, and I know that I was lucky to have him kidnap me, in a way. I would have been left at the Luxa pack, watching my alphas and Misty together as I had their bastard baby. Now I know who I am, and my baby is anything but a bastard. This room is perfect but lonely. I miss them so much, much more than I can tell anyone. I can't afford to break down in public or let anyone see me like this. I have been strong, if not for myself, for my baby. He—or maybe she—is all that matters now. I walk to the balcony and push the large doors open, instantly feeling the snow and icy wind pushing against my face as I stare down the mountain. Even if I am alone, I sure do have a stunning view to look over.

  "It is rather cold out for the new, pregnant alpha to be all on her own," a sweet voice chimes, just as I feel a cold blade press into my side. I keep myself calm, even when every part of me wants to scream, to fight, knowing whoever this is could kill me before I'd even get a chance. They are talking to me instead of just killing me, so there is hope that this wolf wants more than just my death. You don’t talk to your prey.

  "That would be a big mistake," I coldly reply, seeing the woman more as she walks to stand in front of me. I would guess the woman isn’t much older than I, but her eyes suggest she is older than I suspect. She is gorgeous with tanned skin, silky brown hair that is up in a complicated bun, and on her cheeks are two hearts in black ink under her large brown eyes. They remind me of the daggers on River's cheeks that I haven't asked him about yet. I should have found out what they mean, as I'm clueless to who this woman is.

  "You may have killed our old bastard alpha because he didn't see you being strong, but I've fought my whole life to survive. I was going to kill him. I had it all planned out, but then you turned up," she says, keeping her eyes locked on mine.

  "Who are you?" I simply ask. “I want to know the name of the woman that is going to try and kill me, at least.”

  "Angel," she replies. “And it will not be trying.”

  "Is that your real name?" I ask.

  "It is the name I was given when I was sold to the brothel at eight years old. I don't speak my other name that my dead parents gave me," she replies.

  "Brothel?" I ask, not familiar with the word. “And I am sorry for your parents’ deaths.”

  "A place where men come. Literally, my dear. We are sex slaves for the pack, willing or not, the old alpha never cared. I worked my way up to become the leader of the brothel and did my best to protect my girls while fucking the old Alpha Tanner. I was going to kill him," she muses, cocking her head to the side. “And my parents sold me like I was nothing, and they died in an accident not much later on. Funny how life always gets its revenge.”

  "You slept with the alpha and planned to kill him to end the brothel? To free your girls?" I ask. “And your parents deserved what they got.”

  "Yes," she replies, pursing her lips in annoyance. "Don't go making me fake promises that you will end them. End all the pain in this pack and the way the women are treated."

  "It wouldn't be a fake promise, but I would need your help," I reply, which seems to make her pause, and the pressure of the dagger she presses into my side eases a little on instinct.

  "My help?" she
asks, her voice suggesting I surprised her a tad.

  "I'm new, and I don't know what truly goes on in this pack. You could say I have been sheltered my whole life. I know you have every reason to want to kill me and take the pack, but they won't listen to you if you do. Whereas, I am the alpha by both blood and death. That is something no one else can be," I tell her the honest truth. I never knew my father, or my long line of family that ruled this pack, but it is in my blood to be alpha. I want to know more about my family’s past, but only when the pack is not in turmoil like it is. “And I respect your commitment to saving my pack and sneaking in here to kill me. You are determined.”

  "You're a dangerous woman, you know that? Beautiful with a talented mouth that could persuade anyone to do anything. And with a bloodline that makes you born to be an alpha, you could be unstoppable," Angel muses, letting out a long sigh as I see the realisation creep into her eyes. Killing me will not help anything. I haven’t even mentioned the Luxa Pack being right outside our doors, and if I were gone, I know Alpha will kill them all to prove a point. To become one pack like he has always wanted.

  "Lower the dagger, we both know you won't kill me. I want to go back inside and wait for my food as we have a long talk about my pack. Tomorrow is going to be an important day," I say, and she slowly lowers the dagger. Angel pulls up the end of her long purple dress, revealing a black garter on her upper thigh, where she clips in the dagger before pushing her dress down and winking once at me. “I might even share my food with you if you are hungry?”

  "Why is tomorrow important?" she asks. “And we don’t get food like yours down in the pack, so yes.”