His Unidentified & Untouchable Mate

The Challenge

Jacob POV

I didn’t care.

Goddess, I didn’t care.

I mean, okay sure, I cared quite a bit about the rescue story, but nothing about how he’d felt that day.

“So what?” I challenged, crossing my arms over my chest.

“So,” he emphasized with a huff, walking to the edge of the living room where there was a long set of windows showcasing his pack lands. “She never stopped coming to me to protect her. The first few weeks she would cling to me whenever she got the chance. As she grew and got used to Ingrid, she stopped – but if something truly catastrophic happened, she was always somewhere near me. Somewhere I would find her.” He cast a sneer back at me. “Like today, when you decided Zahraa’s feelings mattered less than your dick.”

“That’s not-”

“You’ve done nothing but use her and toy with her since she’s come into your life,” his words were fire, searing into my skin, burning new fury into me.

Through gritted teeth, I asked, “How exactly have I used her?”

“The factory incident,” he replied, as if he had the words on the tip of his tongue since I’d started the question. “You must have used her to set it up somehow. You’re the only one that stands to gain from it.”

“I would never-”

“Zahraa would probably talk now that you’ve betrayed her trust. Thanks for that. We’ll have the truth in hours,” Rowan sipped the last of his drink and sat it down on the windowsill. “And you’ll be gone. And Zahraa will be mine.”

I growled, but once again, Rowan spoke before I had the chance to.

“The only thing I’m struggling to decide is whether or not you meant to seize more power from father, or whether you intended to angle for resources to get Zahraa straightened out for the mating.” Rowan turned, leaning against the wall next to the window and mirroring my pose – arms crossed, eyes focused. “It doesn’t really matter though, does it? If I get concrete evidence – or even just a good testimony – it’s over for you.”

“Shut. The f**k. Up.” I roared, putting my fist through his pretty tailored wall. I knocked down an old framed photo of him with his mate. It shattered, and we both stared at it for a moment.

Rowan went to it, shaking the photo away from the shards of glass and staring into it.

“Rowan,” I said, my voice evening out as my rationality returned to me. I almost almost gave him what he wanted. Instead, I needed to keep my cool. “I challenge you to combat on the grounds that you’ve insulted me and threatened my mate. On victory, I want any documentation you have on Zahraa – I want to know everything you know.”

He didn’t look up from the photo. “Fine,” he sounded much less aggressive now. “Tomorrow at dusk. Central pack training grounds. I’ll set everything up.”

The part of me that saw my brother staring into the face of his dead mate, drunk and clearly spiraling, wanted to pick him up, clean up the mess and see to it that he made it to bed. He didn’t have a luna, after all. There was no one here to look after him in his darkest hours.

But the part of me that saw a rival vying for my mate’s attention wanted to kill him where he slouched.

So, I left, leaving my brother to his fantasies – and running over in my mind what I’d just learned. Zahraa had moved the earth to make a shelter for her and Rowan. She’d said before she had reality bending powers, but maybe that in itself was a clue?

What kind of supernatural being controlled the earth and opened doors to wherever they liked?

I walked back to the central pack house, pondering my next move. I hadn’t made it all the way home before I got the notification on my phone – Alpha Showdown: Alpha Derick’s Fifth-Born Son Challenges Alpha Rowan! Details were below, listing the time and place. After that, an embarrassing history of all the challenges Rowan and I had fought in our lives. Mine was short. I didn’t often challenge people – because I didn’t usually have the rational mind to do so. I just fought them on the spot.

Rowan had been challenged many times before – by wolves that wanted his station, wolves that were upset by his policies, wolves who felt his decisions had adversely affected their families.

He’d never lost.

But neither had I.

I put the phone back in my pocket and was surprised to find father waiting on the doorstep. His eyes were cold when they fell on mine, and a chill ran up the length of my spine. “Dad. What’s up?”

He picked up his phone displaying the article. “What the hell is this?”

And that was one thing the article didn’t list. Crappy first announcement articles only ever showed a pre-constructed list of details. They didn’t have time to ask the why.

“I don’t know what he did exactly, but he hurt Zahraa. She came home crying.”

“And that has nothing to do with your little girlfriend on the side?” dad asked with a huff. “You’re the one that hurt Zahraa.”

“Dad, I-”

“Come up to the office with me, son. You and I are going to have a nice long chat.” He stood and turned, and didn’t seem to realize I wasn’t following until he made it to the door and I wasn’t there. His expression grew darker still. “Jacob. Come on.”

“Why?” I asked, emotions growing more and more turbulent. “If I had disrespected anyone else’s mate, I would be the one in trouble, regardless of the circumstances. But Rowan, the golden child, can do what he wants with mine? Why? Because he met her first?”

It was dark – there was no one on the streets to witness this argument. Which was good, because the esteemed High Alpha Derick descended the steps one by one, maintaining steady eye contact with me. I knew I was in trouble before he reached the landing, before he reached me, but no amount of bracing could have prepared me for the impact of his palm striking my cheek.

I staggered, but did not fall; this wasn’t the first hit I’d taken from dad, and it wouldn’t be the last.

“Don’t you dare question me in the streets, boy. Get your ass up to my office now.”