Wolvren

Thank you to all the feedback from previous Chapters. I hope you are enjoying the exciting world of Wolvren. All disclaimers from prior chapters still stand.

Chapter 6

***

Somewhere deep in the Alaskan mountains

"Stupid human! Curse him and his damn wolves! How could that puny human defeat me! I kill him. I'll skewer him and rip his fucking throat out!" cursed the warg as he slammed his clawed fist into the cave wall.

"Now that will put a damper in my plans, Drommi," said a voice, slightly amused.

Drommi turned in surprise and knelt to his master and creator.

"Master! I did not see you there. I was just releasing some of my...frustrations," said the nervous warg.

"Now now, my dear Drommi. Do not fret over past mistakes. It took me over a thousand years to get to this point. It is not like I don't have the patience for you failing me," said the amused voice as he gripped Drommi skull in his paw-like hand and squeezed.

"Mas-ter, for-give me...ugh...for failing you," struggled the large warg against the death grip. He felt his masters claws dig into his skull and his vision blurred by the pain. He dared not scream or face his master's wrath.

"Everything needs to be perfect. Now that your brother Laeding is going to be reborn into a more... attentive warg, my plans are falling into place," said the warg master, releasing Drommi from his grip.

"You are lucky the human didn't crush your wolf skull or else you wouldn't have been able to be reborn," said the master, disinterested in his creature's pain.

"Yes Master, I will not fail you again. But why can't we kill that human? The more time he spends with the werewolves, the stronger he will grow," Drommi said, still kneeling before his master. He watched as his master walked up a few steps to his makeshift throne and seated himself. He picked up a goblet and took a deep drink before addressing the nervous warg. He had a wolf skull in his lap that he toyed with nonchalantly.

"You wargs only care for blood and battle. Keean needs to be alive for my plan to succeed. He is the Wolfbound. Even if he grows stronger with the werewolves, he still has not learned how to control his newfound powers. He cannot summon or use the ancient wolf magic and I am sure he has not found his protector. In fact, his little trip to Wolvren may prove more valuable, as he is separated from the wolves he saved, he will not be able to fully awaken. But worry not my dear Drommi, once I have used the Wolfbound, you can kill him. Only then! Do you understand, my dear Drommi," said the warg master as his soft voice and sinister smile sent shivers of fear down Drommi's spine.

"Yes Master Garm," said Drommi, bowing his head.

Garm waved a hand and the cavern they were in lit up. He bit into his palm and dropped his blood into the skull. Within seconds, a fully-grown warg knelt before him bowing his head. Garm stood up and shifted to his human form. He placed a warm blond covered hand on top of the new wargs head and patted it gently as if it were a puppy.

"Welcome back my child. Let us start, shall we. My brother and the Wolfbound is not going to know what hit them," laughed Garm as the sinister sound bounced off hundreds of wolf skulls that lined the walls.

***

King. Dax has been chosen as the new King of Wolvren. He barely registered the congratulations and hug he got from Alistair, as he was still dumbstruck by the announcement. The council had unanimously voted him in and he would be crowned at the Winter Harvest Festival in three weeks. With the tensions between Rummund and Wolvren running high, they needed a warrior to lead them. His powerful were form and keen battle strategy would be the best deterrent against an invasion. Within the last 24 hours Dax had found his mate, discovered he was going to be an uncle and now that he was going to be king. Everything was happening so fast it seemed to go past him in a blur.

It has been over a 300 years since the Alpha Prime and King were the same person. The First Alpha fought in the First Great War and for his bravery and courage, he was named King after winning the war. Eventually the role of King overshadowed his alpha duties and a new alpha was named as the strongest warrior to lead the army during times of war and protect the crown and Wolvren's interests. Now Dax was both and he did not know what to make of it. He loved being the Alpha Prime. He could come and go as he pleased. He answered to no one and he enjoyed battling and training with his soldiers. He thought that Alistair would fare well as the next alpha prime. It was the logical decision to make as Alistair had only ever lost to Dax in battle. As his beta, his brother in law was a powerhouse of strength and a cunning leader and he knew that Alistair would have his back. But he also needed him as his future royal advisor. Especially now with all these strange things happening with Keean, Dax needed his best friends advice and counsel.

The council room erupted in cheers when he mentioned he found his mate, but fell silent again when he mentioned that Keean was male. Lucian cut through the tension by informing the council that there was no law that restricted the sex of an intended mate even for the King and only that they have never come across an alpha mating with a male. All the same, the councillors congratulated him on his newfound companionship and wished him and his mate well. Dax felt slightly angered by the deadpan stares he got when he said that Keean was male. To Dax, Keean was beautiful and it felt so right to be with him. He just hoped he could repair the damage from their earlier fight. He needed the comfort of Keean now more than ever. It was funny how he spent his whole life mateless and yet in the few hours of meeting the sexy smaller man, he could not imagine being without him.

Two werewolves mating with each other was rare of as both would be dominant and seeing one submit to the other was very unlikely. But he knew otherwise. He stumbled across two soldiers going at it behind some trees one scouting mission a few months back. The two big males were so caught up in their rut that they didn't even notice their alpha watching. For Dax, it was very arousing. He watched in keen interest as the two males fucked hard and fast, mounting each other as they took their pleasure. Every time one was close to release they would switch roles and fuck the others ass. He watched in the dark as balls slapped hard against round mounds of flesh and he silently pulled down his own breeches. His hard dick jutted out in front of him and he stroked his thick length in time with the two werewolves' sex. He came heavily on the back of a tree as both werewolves stroked themselves and sucked each other's seed off their fingers. Dax quietly made his way back to camp as to not be discovered but for the rest of the mission and around the castle, he looked out for the two lovers. He was not surprised to find the two unmated and spent a lot of time with each other.

Before Keean, the incident was the closest thing Dax had ever come to having sex. As embarrassing as it was he was a virgin, with his hand and mind his only source of relief, foregoing the option to bed a random wench. Alistair dropped the matter when Dax adamantly refused one night at their favourite tavern a few years back. Dax knew his friend was looking out for him, but the thought of bedding anyone but his undiscovered mate repulsed Dax. He generally saw females as weak and as he thought about the two soldiers in the woods and his session with Keean, he realised his preferences were more on the male side of the genders.

In Lycra, werewolves are all male. Most males are born human, and they lived in the villages and worked for the kingdom. However, almost all werewolves in Wolvren joined the army and they only had pups with their mates. The younger single werewolves bedded the tavern girls or visited the not so secret pleasure parlour in the city to sate their lust but generally most held out for their own mates. As mating with a werewolf and baring young could be dangerous, a law was created that no werewolf was allowed to impregnate anyone but his mate. Not even the alpha prime could break the law and bare young outside of his intended. For this reason, most werewolves found their mates early in life around their mid-twenties and this was true for almost all the werewolves he knew. Alistair waited until Dax's sister was 18 before he bid for her, which made Alistair claim his mate at the age of 24. It was very rare for a 33-year-old werewolf like Dax to be mateless. Even though werewolves in general had strong sexual urges, for Dax it was worse. An alpha like him was easily aroused and the need to fuck was strong. But he waited and stayed faithful that one day he would find his mate and fulfil his desires.

How he was going to do that was still a mystery to the big black giant in waiting as he padded his way back to his chambers.

***

"Who does he think he is, refusing me to go home? Like I'm some trophy wife that just gonna sit here and wait for him to come back from his busy day and fluff pillows and make dinner. Like wtf," ranted Keean

Kari sat quietly in Keean's room as Keean ranted on about his fight with the alpha. She was not sure how to respond to all the figures of speech Keean used to explain what happened. From what she got, Dax thought of Keean as a "desperate housewife" and Keean regarded the big alpha as a "closet case". She was glad to see her newfound patient well but did not know how to address the current tension.

"Keean, Lord Dax obviously wants what's best for you. You are his mate after all. Every werewolf is protective of their mates when they are newly discovered and you have been through a lot. He is just trying to keep you from harm. From what we know, those creatures that attacked you could still be there waiting for you in this Alaska. Grandpapa said you should get plenty of rest and try not to overexert yourself as we still do not know what this black affliction is and what may happen to you," Kari said trying to get Keean to see reason. She dropped the "Master" from addressing the alpha's mate as Keean told her many times to address him more familiarly.

"I get that Kari. I get all of that. But you should have seen how adamant he was. As soon as I mentioned home he freaked out. I'm not from here. Wolvren isn't my home. If anyone were in my situation, they would want to go home too. I'm in a land full of magic and werewolves and kings and castles. It's a lot to take in. I'm all alone here and right now what I need is a friend not a boyfriend," dejected Keean sat down on his bed and rubbed the side of his face.

"What am I going to do? I said some mean things to him as well. As soon as I started, I just couldn't stop and all these words just came out. I think I really hurt him," said Keean sorrowfully.

"It will be alright Keean. Lord Dax is strong. This fight will pass and you will come to realise that he is indeed a friend who cares about you as well as your mate," said Kari gently as she placed a hand on his shoulder sitting next to him.

"I am your friend as well. You can trust me," said Kari smiling to him. Keean placed his head on her shoulder and sighed.

"Thanks Kari. I think I needed that. I also I need a drink. You think I can drink alcohol while on these magic antibiotics the doc gave me?" asked Keean mischievously.

"I would not advise. Nightshade is a powerful healing plant. It may have an adverse effect," said Kari sternly.

"Spoil sport. Fine. But we are getting drunk one of these days. Hmm. It's been like 3 hours. What's taking so long? Do council meetings usually run this long?" asked Keean jittery as he bounced his leg up and down to distract himself.

"You miss him?" asked Kari quietly as she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah I miss him. How could I not? He is so sexy. Like its unreal how sexy he is. But he is also so cute, sweet, and attentive. Like when he was sleeping and his cheeks puff out. Or when he growls softly. Especially when he hugs me. Oh my god! He gives the best hugs...Goddammit! I know I'm his mate. And I know that all of this is real. I just want to see him and say I'm sorry," said Keean as he rested his head on Kari's shoulder once more. In the 3 hours since their fight, Keean went from being angry and annoyed with Dax to missing him terribly.

"I am sure he knows. I will take my leave. Try to get some sleep. The council meet usually lasts an hour or so. Moreover, the last one that was held at sunset was when the King passed away. I don't know what's going on but Lord Dax could be in there for the rest of the night. It would do you well to not worry and try again in the morning after a good night's sleep," said Kari as she got up to leave.

"Thanks Kari. Good night," said Keean as he watched her leave as he started to get ready for bed.

"Good night, Master Keean," said Kari as she left and closed the door. Entering the common room, she almost screamed when she bumped into the big alpha.

"Lord Dax! Uhm I was just leaving," said Kari as she desperately tried to see a way around the big alpha.

Dax smiled to her and arched an eyebrow.

"How much of that did you hear, my Lord?" asked the healer a bit apprehensive.

"From the part where I am apparently sexy," smirked Dax, as he looked passed Kari longingly to the door of Keean's room.

"Ah. Well my lord...may I offer some advice," asked Kari, surprised by her own boldness.

"Yes," Dax looked at her attentively.

"Keean is scared and confused. He does not understand how being your mate works and honestly, I think rushing into it will only worsen your standing with him. I think what he needs now is a friend that can help him navigate through all that has happened and that will happen. He truly feels alone here. He needs you, my Lord," said Kari. She was quite flustered at talking so freely to the big alpha.

"Thank you Lady Kari for your honesty and thank you for taking care of my mate. You two seemed to have grown close. I'm glad he has found a friend in you," said Dax genuinely touched by the friend the small healer has become.

"We all could use a friend sometime. Good night my Lord," said the healer as she made her way to the entrance.

"Good night Lady Kari," said Dax gently and smiled to her as she made her exit.

He turned his attention to his mate's door and sighed aloud. Keen thought of him as sexy. He almost thought the two of them heard him growl when he heard his mates confession. His appearance was one of great pride as well a source of loneliness. He was proud of his alpha body and knew he was unequalled in battle. But his massive frame, ebony black skin and cold facade rarely offered him the opportunity to make friends. He was somewhat jealous of the smaller males bonding and joking with one another. He didn't miss the remarks and one-liners from the soldiers or others at the castle, when they thought he wasn't around.

"Behemoth"

"Can you imagine him laying on top of a female?"

"Gods fur, what do you think they feed him?"

He ate mostly alone in his wing or in the army mess hall at the head table when Alistair was available. Dax was never surprised when people moved out of the way for him. Few stared him in the eyes when they addressed him and some even shook with nerves and fear when near the giant. Looking at his reflection in mirrored finishes, Dax thought himself as ugly. People always referred to him in his presence as "big, strong, and powerful". No one ever called him handsome. And not one soul ever looked at him with desire.

Keean did. The passionate session they had by the lake was still burned into his memory as the best moment of his life. It wasn't that he was ashamed of Keean being male. Dax was ashamed of his own appearance and scared that Keean would realise that he was an ugly giant and could do much better than Dax. The last thing he needed was people asking how Dax got someone so beautiful. When Keean said he wanted to go home, those fears rose again, this time in anger and he let it get the better of him.

Almost everyone he knew had mates. The big strong alpha laid alone at night wishing he would find his intended. Not just for sex, but the companionship. Every time the alpha and his soldiers went on campaigns or patrols, the soldier's mates would line the procession, hugging and kissing their werewolf lovers, clinging to them in hope that they will make it back. And for the werewolves, the urges to return fuelled their fighting and made for better warriors. Dax would just stare at the pairs of mates and long for the same. There was no mate to have a passionate night with before the start of battle. No mate to fuss over him in the morning preparations. And no mate to cling to him and send him off to battle. The giant would hang his head, with shoulders slumped and sigh deeply in shame, feigning interest in his gear as he waited further away for his soldiers to bid their mates farewell.

But now he had a mate of his own. And he was muddling it up with Keean. He stood in front of Keean's door and struggled with himself as to whether or not he should go in. The need to see his mate overpowered his fears as he gently knocked on the door.

"Yeah? Come in," said Keean.

Dax opened the door and blinked back at the sparks that flew across his vision as he stared at his mate. Keean was sitting on the edge of the bed clad in tight black short pants that hugged his groin and rear as well as a thin sleeveless white shirt.

"Hey big guy, uhm...how was the meeting?" asked Keean nervously as Dax slowly made his way into the centre of the room. Dax stared at the ground, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

"My ma-I mean Keean- it was long and something interes-hmmph," Dax didn't manage to finish as he felt his mates lips press into his. He looked down at his mate and sighed with relief as Keean wrapped his arms around his neck and slipped his moist tongue into Dax's mouth. Dax growled low, picked up his mate, and made his way over to the bed, mouth never leaving Keean's. He brought his knee up on the edge of the bed as he laid Keean down and stared into those beautiful brown eyes.

"I'm sorry Dax, I didn't mean what I said. You can call me your mate as much as you like. I care about you and I know that I am your mate. I've dreamt about you for so long and I just can't imagine what I'll do without you. Please say you forgive me?" said Keean quickly as tears stung his eyes as he stared up at Dax. The big black alpha came to rest his forehead on Keean's. Keean discovered that this was Dax's favourite thing to do when they were alone.

"Shh Shh, hush now. Of course my mate. My Keean. I apologise as well. It was selfish of me to suggest that you stay in a place that is not your home. I was so excited to have found you that I only thought about my own desires and not what you are going through. Can you forgive me as well, my mate," asked Dax as he closed his eyes waiting for the answer.

"This is ridiculous. We both got angry at each other and we both are sorry. Can we start over? Like a clean slate. No hiding our feelings and lets see where this takes us? Whaddya say big guy?" smiled Keean as he rubbed his cheek against Dax's beard.

"Anything for you, Keean. But let's start slow. I want you to trust me as your friend not just as mates. If time is, what you need then you will have it. If all we ever become is friends then it will be a life well lived. I promise I will do everything in my power to make you happy here until you find a way to go home," Dax swallowed hard. The thoughts of losing Keean to make him happy were gnawing at him.

"Well you can come with me?" said Keean smiling mischievously once more. Dax found that his mates' smiles made his insides turn upside down.