The Elf's Royal Match (Book 4 The Wolves of Winter Valley)

Chapter 3 - Putting The Plan In Motion

Colt POV

The warrior compound was the very image of every military base depicted in the war movies I’d immersed myself in throughout my adolescence. Row after row of long, aluminum-sided buildings stretching the length of football fields stood gleaming in the mid-afternoon sun so close together that a small child could barely squeeze between them. Outside, dozens of men and women congregated, sparring, socializing, or observing.

I could barely contain my excitement as the SUV slowly made its way along the rutted path to my destination. Finally, I would learn to fight, a skill denied me my entire life, despite my desire to learn.

Royalty doesn’t fight. That is for our subjects to do. It is how they honor us, and we repay them by mating well, producing strong heirs, and expanding the pride.

A muscle ticked in my jaw as I remembered my father’s words. While my parents raised me to share those beliefs, I never could. The older and more educated I became, the more I realized there was no justification for that elitist attitude and promptly rejected it. Much to my parent’s dismay, I began to strive for a greater understanding of those who made up our pride, our subjects, as my father called them. It was important for me to experience life outside the bubble that my family’s wealth and status provided us. My parents had humored my “hobby” until it became time for me to be mated. I balked. None of the candidates they selected suited me, and my fated mate had yet to appear, though I knew they would object if I did find her.

My family valued appearances and strength of blood above all else and decided long before my birth to arrange pairings instead of accepting the mates created for us by the Gods. This ensured that we were mated only with those considered our equals. My brother’s fated mate had been the daughter of a carpenter, a pride member without a single drop of noble blood. My parents banished her and her family and forced my brother to reject her, then mated him with a princess from another pride in Northern California.

My choices were also from royal families from all over the country. When I refused to choose, they chose one for me and began planning the pairing ceremony. I fled that night and never looked back.

The slight jerk of the SUV as it came to a stop brought me out of my reverie. My eyes met those of the driver in the rearview mirror.

“You’re assigned to bunkroom seventeen in bunk house seventy-nine. As of now, you’re the only occupant, but don’t get too comfortable. We began seeing a surge in new warriors when attacks on supernaturals started escalating two months ago,” he said. “Since you have no previous fighting experience, you will train with the junior warriors in the north circle of the pitch. Training is done in shifts throughout the day Monday through Saturday starting at 5:30 a.m. sharp. Your training time is noted in your packet. The shuttle will be out in front of the compound exactly half hour before your scheduled start time be ready. Your trainers will be Alpha Quincy-Raymond, Head trainer, Phillip Dixson, and primitive weapons expert, Sinead Elian.”

My heart leaped into my throat and immediately began to beat a tattoo into my trachea.

Great.

I would be spending six mornings a week looking at the one person I’d been hoping to avoid as much as possible. Knowing I’d need all the help I could get, I sent up a silent prayer to the Gods for the strength to hang on to my resolve around her without having to reject her. Rejection was irreversible, and I was clinging to the hope that I’d be able to claim her one day.

The dark-haired man with pale blue eyes passed me a large envelope with what I assumed was the packet he’d mentioned. “My name’s Brody. I am a security officer as well as liaison between our guest warriors and pack leadership. If you have any questions or concerns there’s a landline phone on the wall in your bunkhouse with a directory. I can be found at the security office most days, but if I’m out, Georgia usually knows where to find me.”

I nodded and pushed open the door to the SUV. Grabbing my duffel bag and helmet from the seat next to me, I eased myself from the vehicle and studied the entrance to the building that would be my home for however long they allowed me to stay. The aluminum was navy blue with white trim. The steel entry door was also white with a 9-lite grille providing natural light to the interior. It wasn’t fancy, but it beat the rundown apartments and motel rooms I’d rented over the years. Those were the only establishments that didn’t ask any questions and were more than happy to play dumb when strangers came looking for residents.

Brody cleared his throat, causing me to jolt at the unexpected sound. I turned and closed the door with a mumbled apology, then started toward the building’s entrance. Just as I reached for the knob, it burst open, and a tiny sprite of a woman with spiky, neon-orange hair, a riot of freckles, and green eyes emerged. She stopped short when she saw me and smiled.

“Oooh. Fresh meat!” She shouted over her shoulder without taking her eyes off me.

Behind her, another small woman stepped out onto the stone path, tying her long, rainbow-colored, curly hair into a messy bun. “What are you on about?” The woman asked with a hint of an English accent. She lifted her head and let her jaw fall slack as she looked up at me with eerily light gray eyes. “Oh my…” she practically whispered.

Her friend grinned broadly. “Hi! I’m Mercy and this is Dorit. We’re faeries.”

“Colt,” I answered, shifting my bag from one hand to the other. “Winged panther.”

Both pairs of eyes widened.

Mercy recovered quickly. “We’re in bunkroom twelve. Feel free to stop by anytime,” she said, stepping closer. “It gets a little boring around here and a whole lot lonely.” She lay a hand on my chest and offered me her best come hither look. “Perhaps we could all get together and entertain ourselves sometime.” Without waiting for an answer, she offered me a final suggestive wink, took Dorit’s hand, and led her away.

I stared after them for a moment, dumbfounded and feeling a tad violated, then continued into the building.

It was nicer than I’d expected. To my left, a thick-cushioned couch and matching chairs filled a reasonably-sized seating area, offering a cozy place to relax and socialize during off-hours. And to my right, a small kitchenette with a large refrigerator, a microwave, and a sink. Directly across from the entrance was a hall lined with white walls, decorated with colorful prints of local landscapes, and broken up by doors on either side.

I started forward, scanning the brass numbers on the doors as I passed until I reached the one designated seventeen. I tried to turn the knob. It was locked. Perplexed for a minute, I set my bag down and squeezed the envelope Brody had given me, assessing the contents. When I felt the rigid, distinct shape of a key, I tore into the envelope and poured it out into my open palm.

The room reminded me of a college dorm. There were two beds, one on either side, each with a nightstand. Instead of closets, there were oak armoires for storing clothing, and at the foot of the beds were thick-padded benches with cubbies beneath for shoes. A narrow door to the right—that I initially thought was a closet—turned out to be a small three-piece bathroom with white walls and navy subway tiles that I happily but only briefly inspected.

Thank the Gods! No communal shower! I thought as I returned to the room and began to unpack.

Sinead POV

“You wanted to see me, Alpha?” I asked as I tentatively stepped into Natasha’s office, trying to conceal my sudden attack of nerves.

When Nat wanted to talk to me about something, she usually channeled me and asked me to spare a few minutes. This time, she’d sent a junior warrior to relieve me in the birds’ nest where I was spending my evening, guarding the perimeter. That could only mean that the reason for this unplanned meeting was serious.

Natasha looked up from the stack of papers in her hand and smiled. “Yes, I do. Thank you for coming so quickly. Close the door and have a seat,” she said, setting the papers aside and picking up her ever-present bottle of water. After finishing the contents, she dropped the bottle into her recycle bin and folded her hands on the desk.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as I lowered my six-foot frame into the chair opposite her.

“Nothing’s wrong exactly,” she answered. “I just need you to resume your duties as primitive weapons expert and trainer.” She rushed on before I could utter a response. “Due to the recent influx of new volunteer warriors, we’ve had to add more training sessions and it’s beginning to spread us a little thin. Since Cullen is currently the only primitive weapons trainer, he’s been working twelve to fourteen hour days to keep up.”

I remained silent. I didn’t like what Natasha was saying, but I’d known it was coming. New warriors were arriving practically every day. Cullen was one man. It was only a matter of time before there were too many warriors for him to train on primitive weapons. Apparently, that time had arrived, whether I was ready for it or not.

“I know this isn’t going to be easy for you, Sinead. If there was any other way, I’d take it.”

Nodding, I shifted in the chair and met her eyes. “It’s not that big a deal, I’ll just take whatever group doesn’t include Adam and Colt.”

Natasha’s eyes darted away from mine, and a lead weight instantly dropped into my stomach. “I’m sorry, Sinead,” she started after taking a deep breath. “Adam has asked to train the senior warriors in the afternoons, so that he can be with Megan until she leaves for Nebula in the mornings. Colt has no combat experience whatsoever, so he’s been assigned to train with the junior warriors.”

“So, either way I hurt,” I mumbled, casting my gaze to the floor. “Brilliant.”

“I’m so sorry, Sinead.”

I pushed to my feet and forced myself to swallow my growing feeling of despair. Life waited for no one. It was time to suck it up and do my job. “There’s no reason to be. You’re doing what you have to do to prepare an army for war. As Alpha you can’t let personal feelings interfere with that preparation, and as trainer, neither can I. The morning session will be fine.”

“Thank you. If it gets to be too much for you and you want to try afternoons, just let me know,” Natasha said with a small sympathetic smile.

“I’ll do that, thank you. Will there be anything else, Alpha?”

Natasha jolted. “Oh! Yes! I almost forgot. Since you’re going past there anyway and you’re the only one who knows how to ride one, would you drop Colt’s motorcycle off at his bunkhouse.” She stood up and came around the desk with a set of keys. “He doesn’t even need to know that you’re there. Just park it out front and drop the keys in his mailbox. He’s in bunkhouse seventy-nine, room seventeen.”

I accepted the keys when she held them out to me and left her office without looking back. I was furious. Whether he saw me or not, Colt would know I was there. Natasha knew that. She was a wolf; she was aware that he was an animal shifter. And after Izzy’s scan, she’d probably learned what kind. So, she knew there was no way for me, his match, to get close without him knowing.

Gritting my teeth, I stalked out of the packhouse and around to the garage where the bike sat, waiting.

Maybe that was the point. Maybe Natasha wanted him to know I was there. But why? She knew how much his rejection hurt me. Why was she deliberately putting him in my path?

As I slid over the smooth vinyl of the bike’s seat, a thought occurred to me. Perhaps, it wasn’t that Natasha was putting him in my path, but she was putting me in his. We were friends. I suppose she might want to make him as uncomfortable as possible for rejecting me. I chuckled at the thought as I peeled out of the packhouse driveway and headed toward the warrior compound. If that was the case, I could certainly cooperate.

I felt Colt’s presence immediately upon turning into the compound. The strength of the pull nearly stole my breath, and for a moment, I considered parking the bike in the entrance and channeling Brody to take it from there, but my body wouldn’t allow me to stop, not until I was pulling up outside number seventy-nine.

Colt was standing outside the door, his expression guarded. “I thought my bike was totaled,” he said, making no effort to come closer.

I slid off the seat and faced him. “No. The front tire was bent pretty badly and there were a lot of deep scratches from the pavement, but all were easily repaired by our mechanic.”

We stared at each other without speaking for several agonizing seconds.

“What do I owe him?” Colt asked finally.

“Nothing. Natasha took care of it,” I said and took a tentative step forward, dangling the keys from my fingers.

Colt studied me for another long, tense moment, then came toward me with his hand outstretched. I lay the keys across his palm, careful to avoid contact. His fingers closed over mine, sending thousands of tiny sparks shooting through my body. So much for no contact, I thought.

“Do you need a ride back?” he asked.

Slowly, I eased my fingers out of his grip. “No, the nest I’m assigned to this evening is just half a mile down the road.”

“That’s still a significant distance. I’ll take you.”

“No.”

He jerked as if I’d slapped him, then said, “Suit yourself,” and strolled back into the building.