Reign Of The King The Falcon Ridge Series Book 10

This whole place. This city, the people. All of it has my back up. These people have no respect for anything. They’re rude, insolent and barely tolerable.

I’m full of tension and I need to get it out. I’d run, but even my wolf hates this place.

So I’m on the floor of my suite huffing out sit ups like I’m about to face an army of thousands. I’m coated in sweat and my face is twisted in irritation. Nalas growling on the couch doesn’t help matters either.

“No, Nala. I’m not being ridiculous.” I say between sit ups.

Her tiger tilts it’s head and growls more.

“I said, lose the attitude.” I stop and rest my arms on my knees. “Shift if you’re going to talk to me.” I growl back.

She shifts from a tiger to a beautiful, Brazilian woman laying on my couch. Her large brown eyes find mine and she arches a brow. “What are we doing here, Zander. Clearly, you don’t want to be.” She sits up and places her long legs on the floor. She walks over to the table where she has her black robe and puts it on.

Nala Batista. My most trusted advisor and Beta. She’s also a Shape shifter. She can shift to anything she sees. She might even be able to do people. She won’t because she hates the human form.

My father found her as a child in Brazil. Being held against her will for what she was. The people that had her were going to kill her for being some sort of evil spirit. My father saved her and brought her to London. She’s been with me ever since. She’s pretty much glued to me as a body guard. Her skills as a warrior are fierce and she can show heart when she needs it. God knows, she’s kept me from tearing the world apart on more than one occasion.

If it wasn’t for Nala, I would have lost my mind years ago.

I stand and turn to her. “I need to teach these so called wolves a lesson.” I scowl wiping the sweat off my well formed chest with a towel. “It’s clear their insolence has gone on too long.”

One thing I can’t stand is insolence and disrespect. I was born a King. Raised to cause fear. Taught to rule with a heavy hand. I do. I have slit many throats for just causing me irritation. I’ve fought battle after battle with no mercy. I’ve spilled the blood of fathers, brothers and sons. I don’t care. I’m the High King. The Zeta Alpha Zander Maximus. My name roars across Europe. With good reason. A Zeta wolf is rare. So rare, my family is the only one in the world who can produce the Zeta male.

I’m ten times faster and stronger than any wolf in my human form. It’s even more when I call my wolf. I’m immune to silver, wolfsbane and mistletoe. My roar will stop any wolf in their tracks. I can also telepathically communicate with any animal on the planet. I can read the minds of any shifter in my presence and understand any language spoken in both human and animal.

Zeta are special. They’ve been regarded as royalty for centuries. Even the strongest of supernatural creatures don’t dare defy us.

She stands tall and eyes me. “Why? You could send your armies.”

“I feel like must make my presence known here. It bothers me that there’s a whole country who doesn’t have my name on their lips. I mean to correct that. I’ve heard things. I need to see for myself.” I fix my blonde hair in the mirror on the wall of my suite. My blue eyes find Nalas in her reflection. “What?”

“Are you sure you’re not hiding?” She says.

“I don’t hide from anything! How dare you even suggest it!” I growl and turn to her.

“Zander. You know you can’t hide your feelings from me. My intuition is too strong. You are running. Trying to hide.” She steps closer.

“You best mind your words.” I glare at her.

“As your advisor, I advise you quit fooling yourself.” Her voice is void of emotion, but I can tell she’s challenging me.

I puff my chest out and cross my arms. “Fine. What exactly am I hiding from, Nala?”

“Her.” She says.

I push my chin out and my face starts to heat. “She has nothing to do with this.” I grit my teeth.

“You treat what happened as a weakness, Zander, where you should treat it as a strength. Strength to survive and move on.” She tilts her head studying my face.

I turn back to the mirror and eye her reflection. “I have no weaknesses.” I arch my brow, frowning.

But I do have weaknesses. Mercury can slow Zetas down. Enough of it, can kill. Other than that, separate our heads is your best option.

We also suffer from weakness of the heart if we let it. Some Zetas avoid love at all costs due to the weakness it creates. The damage from a broken heart can be so severe, Zeta have been known to throw everything away and walk off to die. Our emotional stability depends on not loving someone who could hurt us. As long as we avoid it, we can focus on ruling. Let someone in and it threatens everything. Which I was foolish enough to do.

When I fell in love with a cosmic being, I didn’t think it would ever end badly. The universe said otherwise. Due to a series of rules against relations with mortals, my love left me. My heart was crushed. My wolf raged. He still does. My emotions rose to dangerous levels. My position as leader of the High Council was under threat. My position as King was being questioned. If I walked away, my kingdom would fall apart with no heir.

Nala prevented that. She has a way of calming me. I’m not totally sure how it works. She doesn’t either. But she speaks and her words send me to a place where the anger and heartbreak can’t find me. She blocks it somehow. I’m thankful, but some days, I wish she’d just let me have it and let it consume me.

She won’t though. She says I’m needed. I’m wanted. I’m important to this world.

But I question that thought. If I’m so important, why do I sit in a city of wolves that’s never even heard of me? This question just aggravates me more. It’s clear, I have work to do here.

“You have weakness, Your Majesty. Your strength is built on accepting that. Choosing to let the weakness run you, that’s the real downfall of the King. ” Nala says with her face stone and brow arched.

I shrug on my black and gold council robe. “What happened with her does not run me, Nala. Now. Drop this subject or I’ll drop your head.” I growl.

She glares at me and changes back into her tiger. The tiger growls low.

I glare back. “You’re lucky I need you.” I turn and open the door. “Don’t ever threaten me again.” I watch the tiger walk out as it growls more.

At the Falcon Ridge Unit, I’m escorted to Bastian Coles office.

With my chin out and my head high I walk in with Victor Conti at my side. Victor is our second oldest member of the High Council. Being the father of Isabella Vinelli, he felt he should be at this meeting since we are here because of her.

My concerns of what I have been hearing coming from the wolves in this country were forefront in our discussion. Their actions threaten many things. Our secrets are being exposed and I cant have that.

Our exchange was interrupted by a knock on the door. I allowed the interruption. I really shouldn’t have.

The woman who stood at the door, made my blood boil. Her blatant disrespect of me was drawing my wolf out and having him beg for her blood.

I eyed her poor fashion sense. She was wearing a shirt that hugged her form a bit too tight. Her jeans sat a little too low on her hips for my liking. It exposed too much of her tanned stomach, but it was her full, pouty lips that really pissed me off.

“His Highness? Now, I’ve heard everything?” She snorts.

I stand from my seat with fire in my eyes. “You dare insult my title?

“Whoa, slow down, Alpha. I’m just playing with ya. Geez, someone get this guy a massage or something, if ya know what I mean.” She chuckles and looks around the room.

“YOU INSOLENT, DISRESPECTFUL, LITTLE BI….” I growled loud.

Alpha Whitney, the human liaison, jumped between me and this maddening woman. “Your Majesty. Just calm down.”

The woman with silky, sun-kissed light brown hair and large, brown eyes stares at me from behind Alpha Whitney.

“Easy there Mr. Tall, dark and easily irritated. Geez, who pissed in his cornflakes?” She chuckles.

This only infuriates me further. My shoulders heave and my nostrils flare. I can not believe the audacity of this she wolf.

“Shut. Up.” Alpha Whitney says over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Ricky doesn’t know about the decorum you expect in your presence. She doesn’t mean to be disrespectful.”

My eyes flick to his then back to hers.

She smirks. “Decorum? Are you kidding? This guy?” She points to me.

I am now on my last nerve with this mouthy, little brunette. “Get her out of my sight before I tear her to pieces!” I grind through clenched teeth.

“Alright! I’m going. God, you’re even touchier then Gideon. Bastian, what did you want?” She asks looking over Alpha Whitney’s outstretched arm. His face is full of panic, but he carries a nervous smile.

“Yes, while we’re…figuring this out and Gideon is temporarily being held, can you work on the code. You know it just as well as Gideon.” Alpha Cole answers.

“Sure thing, big man.” She eyes me. “See ya later, King.” She smirks. She gives a little gun salute, clicking her teeth and tossing a wink as she walks out.

Watching her turn and saunter out had my body so heated, I raged on the Head Alpha.

“Is this the people you allow here!” I yell, throwing my hand to the door.

“Well, not specifically, but we don’t hold a strict regimen on personal behavior. We’re quite relaxed here.” Alpha Cole says.

I puff out my chest. “Too relaxed.” I eye the room. “From this day forward, you will report everything to me, Alpha Cole.”

“Ok. I can certainly forward my reports to the high council.” He nods.

“No. Me personally. To my office here.” I dig my eyes into his very soul.

“You..you don’t have an office here, Your Majesty.” Alpha Whitney says.

“I do now. I’m taking over this unit. I will mold it to where I’m satisfied and only then will I think about handing it back.” I demand.

I order them to get me an office. If that woman is representative of the people here, then I’m staying for as long as I need to. No packs under my rule will behave in such manners.