Mated To The Alpha Of The North
Chapter 22

Jax

I clambered out of the bunker with Asher, not quite as angry as I was before I entered but still pretty pissed, despite the release of pent up energy and aggression I had expelled below.

I noticed the sun was just rising above the canopy of trees in the east. I looked down at myself and grimaced at the large b***d splatter that covered the front of my shirt, not to mention the dried b***d that I knew still coated my skin.

I gazed over at Asher, noticing that he fared little better, but at least he did not have a mate to return to yet.

I quickly considered my options while shooting a quick but sincere thanks to Reese through our mind link for offering to stick around with the remaining male until the bunker could be cleaned.

We had agreed to split the alpha’s responsibilities here in the South until a replacement could be found; however, I was thankful that Reese and Asher had been willing to step up so far to allow me time to bond with my skittish mate.

My wolf and I were beyond anxious to get back to our mate, but I also knew she would probably have a heart attack if she saw me coated in gore the way that I was now.

I could also use some time to process the information we discovered, as well as burn off the remaining vestiges of anger caused by being unable to end Zeke once and for all.

I looked over at Asher, “Hey, do you want to join me for a quick run down to the river to wash off?”

Asher shrugged and quickly transformed into his wolf without saying a word, shredding his clothes in the process. I could not say I blamed him, given the state they were in.

I contacted Ronnie through our mind link to make sure Willow was still asleep and let her know I would be back soon. I swiftly transformed into my own oversized wolf when Ronnie confirmed my mate’s inactivity, destroying my own clothes in the process. I loped off through the forest after Asher’s blonde wolf.

I considered the information we had gleaned from our little interrogation session while I darted around fallen trees and boulders that crossed my path.

Remus, the male that had jumped ship when he learned of Zeke’s treachery, was truly knowledgeable and forthcoming, but he was also limited in what he knew.

Sure, we learned a lot from him, like the fact that Zeke had hidden Willow from the rest of the community since nearly the beginning of the war, with the exception of his warriors. In fact, it was apparently one of their tasks to ensure she did not leave the massive house.

I was shocked to learn that Zeke had informed his warriors that this detainment of his “mate” was for her own safety from the bears.

He also went so far as to insist that Willow enjoyed providing nourishment for all the unmated males of her pack, and that was why she worked herself tirelessly in the kitchen. Only she was not and never would be Zeke’s mate.

Apparently, some of Zeke’s men had been beginning to question Zeke’s assertions regarding Willow, and my appearance and subsequent claiming of his so-called mate threw those claims even further into disarray. Remus, at least, had been able to see reason.

He spoke freely with no boundaries, so I was able to learn that Willow had indeed been chased into the Southern Province, alone and heavily injured, by a group of bear shifters near the beginning of the war.

I did not understand what bear shifters were doing so far from their own territory, but this at least somewhat explained how Zeke was able to convince his warriors that she might have been in danger in the beginning.

However, the lack of a claiming bite after nearly two years should have been a dead giveaway, not including the suspicions that should have arose when Zeke chose to isolate her from her own kind. I was working myself up the more I thought about what she had been through.

So lost in my own thoughts, I did not notice when I had arrived at the river and, consequently, rushed headfirst right into it, without pausing.

The cold water definitely jolted me back to my surroundings. Asher was slowly acclimating his limbs to the freezing water on the bank, having apparently chosen a much less nerve-wracking method to get clean. Lucky bastard.

I swiftly finished washing the rest of the b***d out of my fur, and then sloshed out of the water by Asher, shaking my thick, gray fur out in his direction. Yeah, I was a d**k. So, what.

My wolf and I were antsy to be by our mate’s side again, and he was over there taking his sweet a*s time. Whatever.

What did you think about what we learned from the other two?

He knew what I meant by the other two, the two cowards who had steadfastly remained loyal to the alpha that had abandoned them.

I had given them a fair chance, but they refused to listen to reason. So, they had to die, but not before we extracted as much information as we could manage.

I could not have snakes in the garden, so to speak, while I remained in the South with my mate.

Reese had taken it upon himself to re-train the males that were worthy from among the warriors that remained or weed out the more unsavory characters, at least for now until we could find a male worthy to take the role of alpha here.

Asher began talking through the mind link we shared while he finished washing the gore away. I paced along the bank, leaving a path etched into the mud.

Honestly, I kind of suspected the elder’s involvement from the beginning, just by the way they reacted when I demanded that meeting. That was one of the main reasons I made the decision I did, but it is nice to have confirmation.

Asher, always joking it seemed, was being completely solemn for once, showing the true severity of the situation at hand.

It would explain why Zeke never joined us as planned and how he got away with all that he did, though I have a feeling we are just scraping the top of the iceberg in that regard, unfortunately.

I replied just as seriously, pausing in my pacing to look at him, even if I was using my mind to talk to him.

You are probably right, but I doubt there is much we can do about that right now. We have other things to focus on until then, like finding mates for the rest of us poor suckers.

And, just like that, the old carefree Asher was back, though I could sense some of his true feelings seeping through in the longing I heard in his voice.

My wolf and I were still incensed that the males had not given up a concrete location for Zeke, but at least they were able to provide a direction to start looking.

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself and stood still, waiting for Asher to emerge from the water.

I think maybe he had the right idea after all. I did need to loosen up and let go of what I could not change for the time being.

My mate would be waking soon, and I wanted to be there when she did. Finally, Asher finished in the river and came loping back up the bank, returning the favor from earlier and shaking his shaggy wet fur all over the place.

Thanks for that. I was going to say that I would ask Ronnie if she would still plan the ball we talked about as scheduled, but now I am not so sure…

I trailed off suggestively through the mind link, turning and running back in the direction of Willow without finishing my thought.

I cut off the link with Asher and kept running. I supposed that was one benefit to being alpha; I could block any unwanted links with the snap of a finger or claw? Whatever.

The point was, Asher had no chance of breaking through my mental barrier, despite being an alpha himself.

I sniffed along the path of flowers that surrounded the pack house after I arrived panting from my sprint through the forest. Ronnie had mentioned that she left a spare set of clothes for me somewhere.

I definitely was not shy, but I was sure Willow was not ready for all of that just yet.

My wolf was practically prancing to be so near our mate and whined that he was more than ready, but I pushed him to the back of my mind as I shifted into my human form, having finally sniffed out the clothes.

I was in the middle of hurriedly dressing when Ronnie connected with me again to inform me that Willow had just awoken.

I anxiously finished putting on my clothes clumsily as I considered the conversation ahead of me.

Asher, Reese, and I had worked out a system to deal with the vacuum of power in the South for the time being, but all of that would mean nothing if Willow was not willing to remain here with me while we sorted out the mess Zeke had created.