Nikolai's POV
I sat back in my office chair quietly, looking over the mountain of paperwork in front of me. I hated doing paperwork, but it was a necessary part of the job as the Prince of the Wolf Clan.
My kind were shifters, no, not werewolves, we don't change at the full moon or anything like that though wolfsbane and silver can hurt us, it doesn't kill unless it's in a highly concentrated dose. Shifters are beings that can transform into only one type of animal, and we tend to stick with our own kind. The Wolf Clan, my clan, has everyone who can transform into a wolf or wolf-like creature. The clan is huge, with over 5,000 members in our kingdom alone. So there is a lot of responsibility.
I rub my eyes tiredly, I had been doing this for several hours now, and there looked to be no end in sight, how I loathed paperwork.
My ears perked up at the sound of my door opening and the clatter of boots crossing the dark red carpet towards my desk. I finished writing the proposal in front of me and looked up tiredly. Thane, my best friend and future Beta, stood on the other side, his captain's uniform gleaming in the sunlight streaming from the window. He was 6'5" with short hair that always looked like he had just gotten out of bed. His skin was tanned from constantly being outside, running drills with the guards. His face was angular with a sharp jaw, high cheekbones, full lips, with a small scar running straight down from the top of his lip to his jaw of the left side. A wound he received protecting me from an attack when we were kids.
His bright silver eyes looked at me concerned as I continued scribbling, "Did you get any sleep last night? You look terrible." He said gruffly. Thane was pretty straightforward when he needed to be, and I knew I must look awful. I hadn't been sleeping well for the last few nights. I rolled my eyes and yawned, "Gee, thanks so much for your concern, I did get a few hours but not a lot." I grumbled as I continued writing.
Thane came around and leaned over my shoulder, watching me work. "You should take a break Nik, let Simon or Nathan do some of this." He muttered quietly. I shook my head, "You know I can't do that. I've been falling behind on work as it is, I need to at least get this stack done before the Council meeting this afternoon." I said, stifling another yawn as I glanced pointedly at the small stack in front of me. He went back around the desk and sat down in one of the chairs in front of it, grabbing a stack of papers from my desk. "Then I may as well help you."
I looked at him, shocked. "Who are you, and what have you done with Thane Darkwood? You hate paperwork even more than I do." I asked suspiciously. Thane shrugged but refused to look at me as he grabbed a pen and began writing. "The meeting this afternoon's important, and if I help you out, you can at least try and take a nap before it." he muttered, and I growled.
"The Council's still trying to make me take Lorraine as my chosen huh?"
He nodded, "They think it will end the feud between our clan and the Bird clan. An alliance through your marriage to Lucien's sister would usher in a new era of peace or some such cr*p." he scoffed, rolling his eyes. Lucien Wildwing was the King of the Bird clan, the kingdom of shifters that were our neighbors to the north, farther up in the Rocky Mountains. Shifter clans were in kingdoms and hidden pretty well away from humans as they weren't exactly prepared to deal with us.
Lucien was a good king to his people. He was firm but fair. Unfortunately, he was also arrogant and c**ky. He believed that the Bird shifters were the best out of all the shifter clans, and every clan needed to be under his rule. The way he chose to go about that was to try to take over through diplomacy. Trying to convince the Council that his younger sister Lorraine would make the perfect chosen mate for me was one way he was trying to accomplish that.
I sighed and rubbed my temples, I had been trying to find my mate since I turned 18. Going to the Bird clan and the Cat Clan to the south of us when I couldn't seem to find her in our own territory. The clans were small kingdoms set next to each other, and while we didn't completely get along, there was a mutual peace between the kingdoms at the moment which allowed for trade and different social events that the people from each kingdom could attend.
I was 21 and still hadn't found my mate, which was causing the Council to get antsy.
They decided, with Lucien's urging, no doubt, that if I didn't find my mate soon, then I would be taking Lorraine as my chosen. And while Lorraine was a lovely woman, much nicer than her brother, she wasn't my mate. An Alpha is only strong with their Luna at their side, so even if I did decide to take Lorraine, the strength of my kingdom would suffer.
I set my pen down and ran my hand through my wavy silver locks, sure that it was sticking up at odd angles. "I have told them multiple times that taking someone who isn't my mate will hurt my kingdom. And possibly leave us open to attack. Father has also expressed this. Why aren't they listening?!" I said exasperated. Thane shrugged as he finished the last of the stack and set the pen down, "Word is, the humans are getting too close to discovering magic-users. The elves have only been able to hold them off for so long. And if they discover them, then they'll soon discover us, and the Council is worried about a war. They want the clans united before that happens." he explained.
I shook my head tiredly, "The Council knows that humans are going to find us eventually. We've grown too big. There are more magic-users being discovered among the humans than there are regular humans. The shifter population is getting bigger as well, and the Elders are having a hard enough time keeping humans from stumbling on the outskirts of the kingdoms. Patrols have already had to be beefed up as you well know."
Thane nodded and then looked at me quietly, "Now that you know what the meeting will be about, you wanna talk about why you are having so much trouble sleeping?" he asked softly. My office was soundproofed from listening ears, but that didn't mean someone hadn't found a way to hear our conversation. I glanced at him and shrugged, "Dreams." I said simply.
"It's nearly the same one every night. The moon is shining full in a dark forest. There's a woman with dark hair wearing a lacy blue mask that covers her face, but her eyes are sparkling brightly in the moonlight. She smiles at me and then runs into the forest, I chase her, but when I come to a clearing where she is, there are hundreds of humans in red robes surrounding me. The same girl is standing with them except her eyes glow green, and she raises her arm. The humans point crossbows at me, and when she drops it, they fire, and I jolt awake in a cold sweat. It makes Luke restless and keeps us both from sleeping the rest of the night."
Thane frowns thinking hard about what I said, "Have you thought that maybe your mother's gift has finally surfaced in you?" he asked. I nodded. My mother, Marilyn, had passed in an accident when I was 13. She had been beautiful with wavy brown hair, kind violet eyes, and a soft demeanor. Her family was known to be great Sages and Oracles in the kingdom, but she had never had more than a good 'feeling' when something was going to happen. It had saved our family a few times from enemy attacks.
When I, as the only child, had been born, most expected her gift to show up when I turned 18. When nothing happened, Mother wasn't too disappointed, saying that maybe I would have inklings like her instead of full-blown visions. Looks like my visions just came at a time when I was the most relaxed...
I glanced at Thane wearily, "I'm too tired to figure it out, I'll probably have it again tonight and maybe try to get some more information now that I know it's a vision instead of just a dream." I said, and Thane stood up. He started to walk out of the room but turned at the last minute, "By the way, Jacqueline's back from the human city. She'll have her report at the meeting. I'll make sure to let the staff know not to disturb you until the Council meeting." he said as he took his key from around his neck and locked the door as he left.
I yawned widely and settled down on the couch after dimming the lights and closing the curtains. Laying down, I threw my arm over my eyes and passed out, a fleeting thought passing through my mind about the girl in the dress and who she was...