Queen of the Shifters

Chapter 9: A Sigma

BRYANT

I pulled up to the private plane and Tallia climbed out of the passenger seat without waiting for me. I frowned at her. She wasn't acting right.

It was natural for shifters to defer to an alpha, especially their pack Alpha. Even more so for the Alpha King. I'd always assumed it would be something I would have to train out of my mate, but Tallia didn't have a deferential bone in her body.

I should hate it a hell of a lot more than I did. My wolf thought it showed her strength. I just found it refreshing. I could almost pretend that I was a human, and she was a normal girl. I loved being a shifter, and I enjoyed being Alpha King mostly, but sometimes the pressure of that position could be heavy.

I climbed out of the car and my eyes tracked Tallia as she made her way to the plane. A shifter stood at the bottom of the staircase. He waited for us and guarded the plane.

Tallia stopped in front of him and adjusted her bag on her shoulder. "Hello."

He blinked at her before he lowered his head in submission. He was a delta and clearly hadn't expected his future Luna Queen to address him so casually.

"Hello," he said slowly.

Tallia smiled and shoved out her hand. "I'm Tallia."

She was going to shake his hand?

What the hell was wrong with this woman?

A low growl rumbled within my chest. Her instincts had to be broken. Was that a turned shifter thing or just her?

Lunas ranked as high as their alpha from the moment the mate bond snapped into place. They could come from any rank, but they were sort of honorary alphas after finding their mate. They wouldn't have the dominance to back it up, but the respect was still there. The Luna Queen though? The delta should be kissing her damn feet. She was making a fool of herself.

His hand slid against hers, and she shook it with a smile. The delta's lips twitched up into a grin, and I didn't like it one bit.

"On the plane," I ground out.

They both blinked at me. The delta's eyes widened before hitting the ground. My wolf was satisfied with that reaction. He didn't like any other male touching what was ours.

Tallia smiled at me like I hadn't just yelled at her before she stepped past the delta and climbed the stairs. I followed with my eyes narrowed in on her back.

Something nagged at the back of my mind, but I couldn't grasp it.. Not her cheerful and kind nature, but the way she didn't seem to notice or acknowledge shifter ranks. I'd seen that before, but where?

The answer slammed into me, and I stumbled. Tallia heard and turned to look at me.

I nodded my head that she should keep going, and she turned to enter the plane. I stopped at the top of the steps and released a long exhale.

The reason we couldn't read her rank was because she was a sigma.

Sigmas were incredibly rare, and most packs didn't want them around. They were as dominant as any alpha, but...different. They didn't care about the hierarchy. They didn't care about pack life. They could be taught to, but they were natural loners.

A turned shifter was my mate.

And she was a sigma.

I'd rather have a human. Or an omega. Anything would be better than this.

Tallia took a seat near the front and shoved her bag onto the one next to her. She smiled at me as I neared, but I looked away and kept walking toward a grouping of seats at the rear of the plane.

I heard her suck in a shaky breath and my wolf growled at me for hurting her, but I couldn't be around her. I couldn't handle that she was our mate.

About ten minutes later, Zarron shoved a tied and terrified looking man onto the plane.

He had shaggy brown hair around his head, with gray streaks at his temples. His brown eyes were hard and wary as they darted all over the plane. His skin was too tan and weathered looking. Despite all that, he was just under six-and-a-half feet and bulky. He had muscles that pressed against his tattered clothes. His feet were bare and filthy.

When his eyes landed on Tallia, they widened before darting to the ground and remaining there.

Zarron shoved him in a seat near the center of the plane before he joined me in the back. Within minutes, the crew had locked up, and we were hurtling down the runway.

"She's a sigma," I said in a low voice.

Zarron gaped at me. "I've never met one before."

I nodded and waved at her. "Now you have."

He looked at her and nodded. "That could be a good thing."

"How on earth could that be good?"

"She'll take care of everyone equally and won't be a pushover."

I shook my head. "It's a disaster. A f*cking turned sigma. I don't know what I did to earn this, but I'm pissed."

Zarron's honey-colored eyes went hard. "You should remember how lucky you are."

His tone was challenging, but I let it slide. When it came to mates, Zarron had issues.

I drew in a slow breath through my nose to calm my bristling wolf and nodded. "What happened with him?"

Zarron looked away. "Nothing. He was easy to catch. Looks strong, but he's malnourished and weak. Starving I think. I gave him a hamburger, and he scarfed that sucker down."

"Take him to the dungeon when we get home. Starving or not. He turned a human against their will. I'll deal with him at some point."

I reached into my bag and pulled out my laptop. I rested it on my lap and powered it up.

"You could go talk to her," Zarron said with a huff.

I shook my head. "I took off too long while looking for her."

"I could do it and you could go to her," he suggested with a laughing tone.

I lifted my gaze and glared at him.

Zarron chuckled and lifted his hands.

I sighed and looked back down at my computer. I wasn't one to hand off tasks. I was the Alpha King. That meant the responsibility of this country's shifters fell to me and me alone.

As I started working again, the weight of my job pressed on my shoulders. For a few days, I'd been able to push it all aside in favor of searching for my mate, but now I had to get back to it. People depended on me.

It was a lot, but ever since I'd become Alpha King, I dove headfirst into all the tasks it took to make my shifters function like a well-oiled machine. I didn't shy away from anything and did most of it myself.

I was never meant to be the king and some days it was hard to remember why I'd ever wanted the position. It hadn't been for me, that was certain.

I sighed and tried to focus in on my work. I didn't like to think about my brother Charles and how I'd become king. I'd done what had to be done.

My gaze lifted from my computer and fell on the back of Tallia's head. My ears strained to hear her over the hum of the plane. Her head tilted to the side and her heartbeat was slow.

She'd fallen asleep.

I clenched my jaw. I wanted a mate, any mate, but not her.