My Alpha's Wolfless Daughter
My Alpha’s Wolfless Daughter – Chapter 31

Future Beta Nate

I told Ayla I loved her before I left her room to replace a warrior waiting in the hallway. I didn’t want to leave her, but I knew I needed to learn their ways so I could better prepare myself for a fight against a mermaid.

“Beta Nate,” the Warrior acknowledged me, and I gave him a nod before we made our way to the training room.

“Um, sir?” He hesitated.

“What’s your name?” I asked him.

“Ryan, sir.” He answered.

“And what is your question, Ryan?” I knew this had to be new for everyone to have a wolf among them.

“Is it true, wolves have fated mates?” He finally asked.

“Yes. Wolves have what we call a mate bond,” I told him.

“And you are fated to our future queen?” I nodded. He made a noise and I grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop.

“Is there a problem?” I demanded and he shook his head.

“No, sir. Sorry, I meant no disrespect. This is all new to all of us. And we never thought we would see our future queen. After her mother left, there were rumors about her having a child. And even her claiming someone. The people always believed she would one day return. My mother would tell me stories about Princess Melody and how wonderful she was to her people. The kingdom was devastated over her disappearance,” Warrior Ryan explained.

“And what do you think happened to Ayla’s mother?” I asked him as we continued to walk.

“Everything is just rumors but the main reason is said to be because she fell in love with someone her parents didn’t accept. She ran away to be with him.” He answered.

“Was she set to marry someone else?” I asked, knowing King Samuel told us he was set to marry Ayla’s mother.

“I’m not sure. Again, rumors were she was to marry the king of the northern sea.”

“And how do you feel about having a wolf as the future king?”

“Honestly, I think it would be good for us. We need allies on land. There are far too many of us going missing. And I can’t even give you an accurate number. People don’t leave the island or the underwater kingdom. It’s always been unsafe for us but it’s escalating rapidly over the last few years.” Sounding sincere in his response.

We both walked into the training room to meet Xander and the princes. I was eager to learn more about how mermaids train. I had a lot to learn if I was going to keep my mate safe.

“Nothing will happen to our mate,” Duke growled.

“I know but what will happen if she’s attacked in the water? Are you going to swim?” I asked him and he huffed.

“Princes, Commander Xander.” Ryan greeted the others.

“I’m surprised the princess let you out of her bed.” Prince Silas chuckled and I rolled my eyes.

“Ignore him, he’s just jealous,” Prince Chase commented, and I laughed.

“If I wanted her, she would be mine.” Prince Silas retorted and Duke let out a loud growl.

“Yeah, I don’t think Duke would allow that.” I laughed.

“Awesome,” Ryan said, more to himself, but I heard him.

“And why do you have to be here if you have crazy wolf strength?” Prince Silas complained.

“I want to see how you train in the water. I can protect Ayla on land. Duke had even attacked his alpha for her, so I’m not worried about that. But I am worried about her being in the water,” I told them.

“Does someone need our help?” Prince Silas teased and the other prince pushed him.

“We could all learn something new. We are better in water than on land and Nate here can show us. We all need to keep Princess Ayla safe,” Prince Chase defended.

“Fine, but I’m only here to protect the princess.” Price Silas retorted.

“Jealous.” Xander sang out and we all laughed except for the prince.

“Didn’t you say you wanted your claim to love you?” I asked him with a smirk. And he pushed his lips into a line.

“Can we just train?” He exclaimed, throwing his arms up.

“You staying?” I asked Ryan and he looked at Xander.

“Warrior Ryan needs to get back to watch over Ayla,” he answered.

“It was good to meet you,” Ryan said, shaking my hand.

“You too, man,” I said before he left.

“Good chat?” Xander asked me.

“It was interesting,” I replied.

“He hasn’t shut up about meeting a wolf since you came to the palace. Someone might have a bromance starting?” Xander said, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

“Jackass,” I shook my head.

“So does the big bad wolf want to come out to play?” Prince Silas taunted.

“Do you have a death wish?” Prince Chase asked him and he shrugged. I pulled off my shirt, getting ready to shift before Xander interrupted me.

“You’re claimed?”

“Aren’t wolves supposed to heal faster?” Prince Silas questioned.

“Ayla bit me. Duke says she claimed me and it hasn’t healed, not fully, anyway.” I explained.

“She has to have a wolf in her, besides DNA. We don’t bite our claims.” Prince Chase informed me.

“Besides mating, how do you claim?” I asked curiously.

“We shift and remove the scale from over our hearts. We replace it with our claims scale. When we shift back, it’s embedded in our chest for everyone to see.” Xander explained.

“Then I wonder what the wolf on Ayla’s chest means?” I wondered out loud.

“I don’t know. I thought maybe that was your claim.” Xander said.

“Mine will look like Ayla’s here. And I haven’t claimed her yet. She’s worried about me feeling her with Kaden if he gets her.” I admitted.

“She told me that as well. But we will do everything in our power so that doesn’t happen.” Xander tried to reassure me.

“I don’t think Kaden is capable of rape. I know him, even though we haven’t spoken in a few years. He was always respectful when we went out to parties. Even drunk.” Prince Chase informed us.

“People change.” I shrugged.

“But that’s a huge stretch. Being respectful one minute to raping the next,” Prince Silas defended.

“We won’t know unless we talk to him. But to be safe, we will protect Ayla.” Xander said, ending the discussion.

“Now, who wants to fight a wolf!” He nodded to me and I pulled off my shorts and shifted to Duke.

Duke made a point to growl at Prince Silas and I was having a hard time holding him back.

“Duke, calm down or I’ll shift back. He’s just being an a*s. We have nothing to worry about. Ayla claimed us.” I tried to reason with him. He finally huffed and he sat down waiting for orders.

“Damn, he’s huge,” Prince Chase exclaimed.

“Okay, shift back. Now you need to explain how we can beat a wolf in a fight.” Xander asked, and I shifted back, pulling on my shorts.

“So how do we beat a wolf?” Prince Silas demanded.

“I’m only telling you three this because we are going to be going up against a pack of wolves. But if any of you decide to use this against Duke, he’ll rip you apart. Understand?” All three of them nodded.

“Wolfbane. Coat all the weapons in wolfbane. It will weaken the wolf, forcing them to shift back. It also blocks our wolves from sharing their strengths with their humans. But it can become deadly,” I explained.

Xander spun around and walked over to the far side of the room. Great, I just gave this guy a way to kill me and steal my mate. I was cursing myself until he threw me something and I caught it. Looking at it, I wasn’t sure what it was. It looked like a CO2 canister, the small ones.

“First, we are going to test how long you can hold your breath underwater. And then I’ll show you how to use that. When you break it open, it will engulf you in an air bubble. You then have ten minutes to get to the surface.” He explained and I nodded.

“Seems like this guy is pretty decent,” Duke commented.

“Even if he does love, mate,” he growled.

Ayla

When I walked out of my room, I was greeted by a warrior. Was I now being watched at all times? There was never a warrior at my door before.

“Princess,” the warrior greeted me with a nod.

“Who are you?” I asked him.

“I’m Ryan, princess. Commander Xander has ordered protection for you.” He answered and I sighed. I wasn’t going to argue with someone who was following orders.

“Okay, Ryan. But please call me Ayla. And will you show me where the library is?” He nodded and motioned for me to start walking.

“How are you feeling this morning, Princess Ayla?” He asked me while we walked. I had to force my eyes not to roll at the use of my title and name.

“Much better, thank you. How long have you been working with Xander?” I asked him.

“Only a year before he went on his mission. He’s one of the best here, ma’am.” Ryan praised his commander.

“He’s the best.” I smiled.

Xander was always going to be my best friend. I know my life is a mess right now and I’m bonded to Nate, but that doesn’t erase everything Xander and I have been through. He’s always been there for me when I needed him and I may be just an assignment, but he will always be more than that to me.

I know I love Nate, that I’m in love with him, but I love Xander. Poor guy puts up with so much of my crap, it’s hard not to love him. And Xander has been my constant for the last two years. I know when this is all over he’ll move on with his life and I would with mine, but I hope we stay friends.

Ryan opened the door to the library when we finally arrived. The palace was massive and it felt like a mission to get anywhere in this place. Looking around, some of the bookshelves were still broken, and books we stacked up beside them. I sure made a mess in here.

“Princess Ayla, would you like anything? I could have someone bring you anything you’d like?” Ryan asked me.

“I’m okay right now. Thank you, Ryan. I’m just going to look through the library.” I told him.

I walked through the aisles of bookshelves, looking at the bindings of new and old books. I’m not sure what I was looking for but I was waiting for something to jump out at me. I was at the far end of the library when a book fell off the top shelf. I jumped and gasped when the book started to give off a blue glow. I didn’t mean literally.

I hesitated before I kneeled to look at the book. Before I could make out what book it was, the wall opened up. What the hell? I thought as I stood up, the book was now forgotten. I walked over the threshold into darkness. My eyes adjusted much faster than before, and my night vision was much clearer.

When I turned around, the door was no longer there, only a stone wall. I started to panic as I tried to replace a way out.

“Help!” I yelled, banging on the stone, but it was useless. No one would be able to hear me in here.

With my heart pounding in my chest, I turned around and looked down the pitch-black corridor.

“I guess I’ll have to replace another way out.” I gulped, walking slowly. If this was a horror movie, I would be the first one to die. Yes, Ayla, let’s wander into a dark room. I cursed myself for being so stupid.

It wasn’t long until I came to some stairs, descending into more darkness. My night vision was better than before, but I don’t know if I want to encounter what could be hiding in the dark.

A cold breeze blew, causing goosebumps to cover my body as I shivered. I had a bad feeling about this, but there was no other way out of this place.

“Please, don’t let me die in this place.”

Commander Xander

I was surprised when Nate gave up a wolf’s weakness. He must really want to protect Ayla if he is willing to give up information that could hurt him. With him being honest, I decided to share a way he could stay under the water longer.

I pushed my own feelings for Ayla down so I could focus on keeping her safe. But I was surprised she was able to mark him. I think I underestimated how strong this mate bond must be.

“Come on, Beta Nate, let’s get you in the water,” I told him, grabbing some spear guns off the weapon wall in the training room.

“Can you shift in the water?” Prince Chase asked him as we walked to the pool at the back of the palace. This pool is for training purposes and it should be empty.

“I’ve never tried before,” Nate answered with a shrug.

“It’s something you can try. I’m not sure how useful it will be, but we can see how Duke fairs in the water,” I told him.

“With the b***d in the water, are you not afraid of sharks?” Nate asked and I chuckled.

“Sharks will attack if you are bleeding, but when it comes to us, our b***d is different when we are shifted. You might have noticed when you saw the bodies. It doesn’t attract sharks but yours will.” I explained to him.

“Good to know.” He said as we came to the pool.

“Alright, Wolf Toy, let’s see how you fair in our playground.” Prince Silas taunted Nate before he stripped off his clothes and jumped into the pool.

“Don’t let him bother you. I think he’s still having a hard time dealing with Ayla’s charm.” I told him and he looked at me confused.

“Charm?”

“It’s a defense we have, it draws in a threat, distracting them enough so we can kill them. It doesn’t work on members of the same pod. And with Ayla not being a member, her charm has affected us all.” I explained to him.

“Did you not see her shift?” I asked him, when he still looked confused.

“She did, but I didn’t feel any more distracted by her than usual. Maybe it doesn’t work on mates.” Nate said.

“I’m not sure, but it can be intense and the sensation can be hard to shake,” I told him and he nodded.

“Alright, should we get in the water?” I asked him, changing the subject. I didn’t need him asking me about how her charm made me feel. I’m better at hiding my emotions than Prince Silas, but I still get lost in Ayla when I look at her.

Nate removed his shirt and jumped into the pool. Prince Chase followed behind him. I sat down on the edge with my legs in the water with a stopwatch in my hand.

“Let’s see how long you can hold your breath,” I told him and he nodded. He took in a deep breath and dropped below the surface and I started the watch.

“Prince Silas, you shouldn’t make it so obvious,” I told him, while he swam over to me. Prince Chase was on the other side of me, in the water.

“And what am I making obvious?” He questioned. And I sighed.

“We know you like Princess Ayla. But she has made her choice, so stop being a d**k.” Prince Chase shook his head.

“It’s the charm. Her charm is strong, the strongest I’ve felt. What you are feeling isn’t real.” I reminded him. It’s to protect her from someone trying to kill her.

“And is that how you are feeling?” He scuffed and I pushed my lips into a line.

“My feelings are irrelevant. She’s a princess and she has a mate.” I told him as Nate breached the surface, gasping for breath. I stopped the clock.

“Four minutes, that’s pretty good,” I announced, as Nate swam over to us.

“f**k, I wish I could breathe underwater.” He gasped and we all chuckled.

“It would make this easier,” I chuckled.

All the humor was lost as Ryan rushed over to us looking panicked. He looked terrified as I watched him.

“What’s wrong?” I demanded as I stood up. Ryan was out of breath as he tried to speak.

“Princess, library. I don’t know what happened.”

“Where the f**k is Ayla?” Nate growled out beside me. He must have climbed out of the pool and I noticed he was shaking.

“Commander, I took Ayla to the library and once in the library she just disappeared.” Ryan finally managed to get out.

“Did you leave her at any time?” I demanded and he shook his head.

“No, sir. I was standing by the door the entire time. No one entered and she didn’t leave. I don’t know what happened, but she isn’t in there now.” He explained.

“Organize warriors to search the island. Nate, follow me.” I commanded.

“Yes, sir.”

“Is there another way in and out of the library?” Nate yelled out as we both ran in the direction of the library.

“None that I’m aware of, but we will replace her. They couldn’t have gotten far.”