The gates of the High Alpha's mansion stood tall and menacing, with equally tall walls surrounding the compound. Guards lined the front, their postures stiff, hands resting on their weapons.
Alpha Keenan reined in his horse and stared up at the walls. Behind him were his trusted beta Asher and Asher's younger brother, Theo. The two brothers had been with him through thick and thin.
"We could have been here faster in our wolf form," Theo muttered.
"Perhaps," Keenan said, not looking back.
"Why then didn't—"
"She doesn't have a wolf, Theo," Asher cut in.
Theo's ears reddened. "I forgot."
Asher pulled forward, stopping beside Keenan. His gaze swept the gates; the guards could be seen getting ready to attack. "This won't be easy."
"Nothing ever is," Keenan replied. "Shall we?"
Asher shrugged. "We came all this way, didn't we?"
Keenan urged his horse closer and the guards stepped in his way. They had no respect for him or his status. His green eyes glinted, reflecting the sun like the emerald necklace resting on his neck.
Keenan stared at them condescendingly, and a few flinched and stepped backward. More than a few of them looked familiar. Keenan smothered his anger as he sat on his horse. He ground his jaw, reminding himself not to be distracted.
"Open the gates!" he yelled instead.
"You have no permission to be here!" one of the guards said. He looked to be in charge.
Keenan didn't spare him a glance; rather, he looked past them to the gates. It would only take him a few seconds to get over it and onto the other side. He also knew his way around; he could easily get in whether or not they let him, but this way was more satisfying.
Keenan couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces. There was nothing any of them could do to stop this, and it made all the trouble worth it.
"We do!" Asher replied. He removed a scroll strapped to his belt, unrolled it, and showed it to the guard who had spoken. The scroll had the royal crest and the Alpha King's mark.
The guard shrank back, not wanting to touch it. "I apologize, Alpha Keenan. Open the gates."
Keenan frowned; now the guard was willing to be polite. He moved his horse forward, almost hitting the guard, who barely jumped away in time. He sped through the now-open gates with Asher and Theo rushing in after him.
The compound was big and filled with trees and flowers. Keenan made his way through the stone path with trees on the sides, and just as he came to a stop in front of the mansion, the doors sprang open and Vilhelm marched out with guards.
"Vilhelm," Asher said under his breath like a curse.
Keenan barely acknowledged his presence. He swung off his horse in one movement. Asher and Theo followed suit.
"Get off my property! You're not welcome in my territory!" Vilhelm slammed his cane loudly as he stopped a few feet away from Keenan.
"You have what is mine," Keenan said with folded arms. "I gave you a month, Vilhelm. That should be more than enough time to make a decision."
"You will speak to me with respect!"
"You simply have to give me what's mine and I will be out of here." Keenan looked around, his gaze filled with contempt.
"None of my daughters wants you!"
"Maybe," Keenan sneered. "But that's not for you to decide. You had a month to get yourself ready. Bring one of your daughters out here or I shall take it that you want me to go in and pick myself."
"You have no right to do this!"
Keenan tilted his head toward Asher, and the latter was quick to unroll the scroll and hold it high for Vilhelm to see.
"I think that scroll says otherwise. Besides, Vilhelm, you had no right to keep us in your mine for over a decade. Yet you did."
Vilhelm laughed, hitting his cane. "Is this what this is about? Revenge?" He laughed again. "The likes of you hold no power here. You're nothing but orphans with nothing to your name. I did you all a favor! If only my brother didn't take pity on vermin, you would still be in the mines where you belong!"
Asher crushed the edges of the scroll as he held it up. His gray eyes blazed. Keenan, on the other hand, showed no reaction. Vilhelm was trying to get a rise out of him, but the High Alpha could yell all he wanted; he couldn't stop the Alpha King's decree.
"The clock is ticking, Vilhelm. We can do this the easy way," he gestured toward the scroll, "or the hard way."
Vilhelm's gaze darkened and he stepped forward toward Keenan. Asher made to step forward, but a glance from Keenan stopped him.
"Are you threatening me?"
Keenan looked down at Vilhelm, who was visibly shorter than he was. Keenan kept his arms still folded, his muscles threatening to burst out of his sleeves. His coat rested on his shoulders while the sleeves of his coat hung down, empty.
Keenan opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of the mansion doors opening silenced his words. Keenan didn't miss the look of horror on Vilhelm's face as they both turned to the door.
Keenan froze as Vilhelm's first daughter stepped through the open doors. It was a little over a year ago that he had last seen her, just before he was carted off to war. She had seen him off, sneering next to her younger sister. The two women had made his life miserable but Maya was especially cruel.
It annoyed him that she was just as he remembered. Elegant with soft blue eyes that reminded him of someone he couldn't dare compare her with, and Long black hair that cascaded over her shoulders, floating softly in the wind.
There was something timid about the way she walked, but Keenan had been fooled multiple times already. He knew better.
"Maya Olsten," the words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.