After I ate my sandwich I told Goon A and Goon B to show me around the mansion.

Because the pack house was a mansion.

"Who lives here?" I asked. There were three stories, and the place was huge, but it seemed awfully empty. I thought Iron Moon was a big pack. There just didn't seem to be a lot of wolves here.

"Most live in town or in the outlying houses." Goon B told me. "Only the ranked members of the pack live here. And their families. And a few others."

Like Platinum. It was obvious to me why she was here.

So Alpha Gabel only kept a select few close to him. Just like the Alpha Kings of old He was already convinced he had won.

Although maybe he had. I touched the expensive-looking wallpaper in a hallway. Alpha Jermain wasn't a gutless coward, but all Alpha Gabel had had to was make a simple phone call. I was here. Gabel had gotten me without a fight. Shadowless had practically tied a ribbon around my neck and begged Gabel to take me. If everyone believed Gabel was King, did that make Gabel a King?

It was harder than that to become Alpha King. It had to be. I had to believe there was more to it than that.

The handful of people I saw passed me by and murmured greetings. They didn't know how to address me. I wasn't Luna, I wasn't Queen. I was Gabel's BondMate, but nothing more. I knew he didn't intend to take it any further.

I was going to start calling our Bond the Knot. Because "Knot" seemed to suit it better. Maybe Shackles, or Bindings, or Cage.

My two escorts showed me around the grounds. There was a lavish pool and patio, and beyond that, well trimmed grass and a dirt area for training. It was huge and carved into the forest itself. A number of wolves were training, several in human and several in wolf form, and they were immense specimens and brutal.

Maybe Alpha Gabel and Iron Moon's reputation was justified.

Curious, I drifted towards them. My goons didn't try to prevent me.

The way the wolves trained... it was like combat. Blood and fur flew everywhere. An older man, not wearing a shirt and in a plaid utilkilt (laugh if you will, but utilikilts were great for werewolves), stood on a little box and shouted instructions at everyone. He seemed to see everything at once and barked corrections and instructions constantly. He was perhaps about forty, huge, and even from a distance I was intimidated.

"Master-of-Arms Flint." Goon A murmured to me.

Master of Arms. So Gabel had even gone for the traditional titles too. I had never met a Master-of-Arms before but Flint definitely seemed to be worthy of the title. Gabel didn't suffer the weak, and Flint clearly made the strong even stronger.

"Stop!" Flint suddenly bellowed.

Everything stopped moving. Even the bugs in the air. Even my heart, I think.

Flint raised one huge arm and pointed straight at me. As one the warriors spun around to face me. Goon A and Goon B snapped to attention.

I wanted to just melt into the ground. Or bolt.

The Master of Arms jumped down from his box with the nimble grace of a deer in the woods. A man that big should not move like a dancer. It just told me how dangerous he was.

Where had Gabel found this guy? For that matter, where had the world found Gabel?

Flint marched towards me, the hem of his utilikilt swirling around his massive knees. He had a couple of bruises on his body and a few healing scratches. He also looked fresh as a daisy and ready to go beat every single one of these warriors with one hand tied behind his back.

He came right up to me, snapped one hand behind his back. I thought he was going to rip his kilt off and strangle me with it. But he bowed like a human nobleman, "Welcome to Iron Moon, Lady Gianna."

What.

The.

F-

My lips fumbled as he straightened and he spun around on his bare heels. He pointed at the assembled warriors. "As you can see, we train hard."

"Ah... yes." I found my tongue lodged somewhere in my throat. Flint's back was covered in old-order tattoos. I spotted one that was the sacred rune for a man who dedicated his blood to the Moon Goddess' service. There were a few others for death, victory, memory and family. "Yes, this is... impressive."

He nodded, "They may make something." He sounded proud of them anyway. "Wolves!" he shouted to them, "This is Lady Gianna, Alpha Gabel's Bonded and a Seer blessed by the Moon Goddess. Show her the proper respect!"

As one, the wolves threw their heads back and howled the pack's greeting to a returning female of high rank. It was slightly different than the howl greeting an absent Luna, but only just. I had personally only heard the howl once.

It had never been sung for me.

My Goons and Flint howled as well.

The song echoed over the forests and birds cawed and flooded into the sky. Flint laughed and spun around to me, his eyes a little too bright for comfort. I stretched an uncertain smile over my face. "Thank you, Master At Arms." I managed to tell him. "That was most um... fervent."

Later I would slap myself silly.

"Of course, Lady Gianna," he bowed low to me. "Allow my two strongest students present to demonstrate their ferocity for you."

Where the hell was I? Fifteenth century Europe? I expected a bard wielding a lute to jump out of the bushes. What else could I do but play along? Playing along seemed like a great idea, because I clearly was the only person who thought this was weird. Everyone else looked at me like please, please, please, may we may we? and I just tried to imitate a smile I had seen the Queen of England wear a lot. "I would be pleased."

That sounded like a Queen-ly thing to say.

The wolves all broke formation and two of the biggest ones moved to the center of the big dirt ring. They started in human form and were completely naked. That meant they intended to shift forms during the fight— indicating a very high level of control and endurance to be able to shift repeatedly and quickly enough for combat.

I began to understand why Alpha Jermain had just given in.

The wolves were big in their human forms. Easily over six feet, sleek muscles and cut like fine diamonds, but they weren't very bulky. Big bulky muscles usually meant bad cardio endurance. Big muscles looked great but they were pretty impractical, inflexible and robbed most of endurance. The men were tanned and already filthy and sweaty from training before I got there, but were all grins and eager to get started.

What scared me is that Flint had been very specific: the two best students he had right then when I happened to walk up. That meant there were wolves better than these. He also happened to have two wolves on hand who could combat-shift.

"These are just our younger recruits." Flint said to me just before they began, "So forgive them if they're a little unpolished."

My throat was too dry to respond. Unpolished.

The wolves slammed into each other.

I watched as they punched, kicked and wrestled each other, and they tumbled into the dirt. One shifted as he tumbled into a dark brown-red wolf, and bit into the human shoulder of the other. The other's transformation was just a few heartbeats later, into a tawny timber-wolf pelt. They slammed back together, snarling and scratching at each other. Once again they tumbled, one shifting to human form and throwing the wolf off him with his arms, then the other one rolled twice and shifted to war form as if it were the easiest thing in the world to do.

The dark red one elected to remain in wolf, charged and lept at the one in war form, dodged a swipe with a massive arm and bit into his thigh. He dropped between the other's legs, rolled a few times in the dirt and sprang again, but this time he got slapped backwards like a fly. He sailed through the air his form enlargened and shifted.

Oh by the Moon Goddess! He could shift into war form sailing through the damn air?!

These Iron Moon would have ripped through Shadowless. This was the sort of thing all Shadowless' warriors had trained for, but couldn't shift fast enough or frequently enough to turn it into a weapon. But if Gabel had a whole army that could combat shift, and fight like this, Shadowless would have been a bloody memory.

"Very impressive, Master Flint." I told him when the demonstration was over. Because it was impressive. And terrifying. And saddened me.

I could never go back to Shadowless. I had seen true power, and I'd never look at any of the Shadowless pack males with respect again. I would see Jermain and even my father and uncles as weak, and worthy only of my pity and contempt. Not my loyalty and respect.

I was a she-wolf. We were drawn to power and authority and strength. It was just our nature. If these were Gabel's weaklings, I could not fathom what true strength was.

I couldn't go home. It was like looking at heaven and being forced to go back to earth, and pretend I had never seen heaven. For all of this, I hated Gabel. I had thought this sort of strength was rare and special, and he had proven he had it in vast quantities.

Master Of Arms Flint bowed to me again. "Thank you, Lady Gianna."

I walked a little bit more around the grounds so nobody would think I was rattled by the violent demonstration. Then I went back into the mansion. An older woman came over Goon A and whispered in his ear.

"Alpha Gabel wants to see you." Goon A told me.

They took me back upstairs and down a long hallway, down another hallway and through a small set of doors that opened to another set of stairs. Gabel's office was on a protected mezzanine level of the mansion, and overlooked the training fields. As I went down the narrow hallway to the doors, Platinum passed me. She gave me a look of pure venom.

"Lady Gianna." She spat at me with a sarcastic curtsy.

I ignored her. That only made her screech like an angry bird and she kept on her way.

Up another set of small steps to Gabel's office, which was lined with... books. There was a second floor to his office, but it was just a narrow walkway that encircled the whole office so he could get to the books on the shelves up there. There were other pieces of art on the walls, and gleaming antique werewolf weaponry: claw cuffs, collars, greaves, all for wolf and war forms. But mostly it was just books. His desk was a huge dark cherry wood affair with clawed feet and the rug under my feet was thin and bright red, and had once been exquisite. Now its beauty was a little faded from its extraordinary age.

My whole body shivered with pleasure at seeing Gabel. Even if I was terrified of him, even if I hated him for what he had done, even if I was scared of what I had seen outside--what I could still see through the massive window overlooking the training grounds--we were Bonded. And that meant that even seeing him pleased me. Gabel stood up from his desk. It was piled with papers, just like I would have expected, and a small slender laptop. He gestured to the goons. "Go."

They nodded and wordlessly filed out of the office.

I eyed him as he paced around the desk. I couldn't trust he wouldn't snap my neck. I had seen his army. I had to assume since he was the Alpha that he was at least as strong as they were.

"I saw you outside." He walked halfway to the window and gestured to the scene. I avoided looking at it, which meant I had to look him. "You have met Flint."

"Yes."

"You were properly impressed?"

"Why do you care what I think? You've made it clear I'm just here for your entertainment."

If an Alpha had an entire army of combat-shifters, of course he'd need a new challenge. A Bond seemed a good one.

"There's always that possibility I will succumb to your charms, Gianna. I wouldn't want you to be disapproving of your army."

"I don't want an army." I spat.

"No? What do you want?"

"I don't want anything." I flung at him. Because I had thought I wanted to go home, but after seeing Gabel's "new recruits" I knew that was impossible.

"We all want something, Gianna. Even if you've not decided what that is yet."

Fine, what I wanted to bite him on the wrist. Sink my teeth in and make him bleed. Which he probably would have enjoyed. Which would have made me enjoy it.

Would that have turned me into a monster?

Could Gabel... corrupt me?

He smirked at me. "So you enjoyed your tour? I hope you've been fed?"

"Yes, I can find a kitchen."

He came over to me. I tried to step back, but he followed me. I gave up. He'd chase me all over the office. He smelled wonderful. I couldn't tell you exactly what about him smelled so tantalizing, except he smelled amazing. The bite on my neck throbbed with my heartbeat.

He looked me up and down. "You look lovely in that dress." He informed me. "Like a queen should look."

"Thank you." Hadn't Platinum just been in here? Funny. I sniffed. I smelled her in this room, faintly, but not on him. This close Gabel's eyes were like a tropical sea, shifting greens and azure hints, and by the Moon Goddess, he was gorgeous. If I looked too long I felt my anger hide under the carpet. I wanted to like him.

Damn Bond. Damn Knot!

I should be afraid of him, his ambitions and what he had done to get where he was. I should be revolted by his sadism, his arrogance, his cruelty.

And I was.

But I felt other things as well.

He studied my neck with those eyes, leaning close, and I inhaled his exquisite scent. He reached up and lifted the thin strap of my dress. My skin caught on fire and I gasped. What was he doing? Whatever it was, I wanted him to continue, I wanted to feel him pull the strap over my arm and down, expose my breast to his beautiful turquoise gaze, bare the flesh to his chapped hands—

I yanked my head to the side and my eyes saw bright daylight. "How large is your army?" I blurted out.

He clicked his teeth once in annoyance. But his fingers didn't move. He rested them against my collarbone, with the strap of my dress captured in the crevice of his fingers. He told me the number.

I had to look back at him in disbelief. "All combat shifters?"

"Almost all. Some can't, but are good marksmen or have other skills that offset being a combat shifter."

"Where did you find so many?" I whispered. I thought combat shifters were rare.

"Hmph." He moved his hand and smirked at me. "What other packs threw out as garbage I picked up. You call them rogues or criminals or unwanted. I call them lost souls. Some are beyond redemption but many just needed a second chance. I gave them that chance. And now," his cruel smile made me cold. "Now they are loyal without question."

"All of them?"

"Not all. Some are recruits from other packs. Shadowless doesn't have any combat shifters, so I haven't extended the offer. There's nothing in that pack I want. It's a little ironic. Often the older, stronger packs have such lousy warriors. Like being fat on rank and glory has dulled your teeth."

"SableMoon won't be so easy." I spat at him. SableMoon was one of the largest and most powerful packs.

"I have no interest in SableMoon."

Yet.

He didn't need to tell me that. He also didn't tell me that. Deliberately. But I knew it. The Moon Goddess whispered it inside of me. Gabel wanted to be King Alpha, and to do that, he'd have to subdue SableMoon, NocturneBlood and BrightCrescent, the three most powerful packs on the North American continent.

"How is your neck?" he asked me.

"I will be fine."

"Ah, good." He said. "Because if you are recovered, you will join me in my bed tonight."

"What?! I have my own room!"

His bland tone betrayed him. "Of course. For when you don't feel well. But since you said you are recovered, you will sleep with me."

"Don't you have that Platinum blond and every other female in this mansion to do that?"

"Plat- you mean Gardenia?"

"The platinum blond that was in her before me."

"Gardenia."

"She's no flower." I muttered.

"Gianna, I may have a certain reputation from my younger days, but I got older and wiser." He informed me. "I've found it's unwise for an Alpha to have his... dalliances."

"Bullshit."

That smirk. "Believe whatever you want, Gianna, but I just told you the truth. I will see you at dinner. And remember. My bed this evening."

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Apparently Wattpad ATE this chapter? Ug. Here. Reposting it

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