Chapter 2 The Sly Brother

Asher's POV

"The world has changed."

"Has it?" He asks, pinning me down with his gaze.

I gulp, my nerves choking my throat. He is right. The world might have changed but ours hasn't, no matter the modernization we embrace.

I knew I would hear this conversation one day but had hoped to have it delayed. Not a chance anymore, I guess.

"You have a mate, right?" He asks, his eyes shining with curiosity and hope.

I hate to disappoint father so it isn't easy to shake my head when it feels like lead. "No."

"You have a girl in the pack you desire, right?"

I keep my snort to myself. As if I want any of those girls who think of me not as a man but as a means to becoming the next Luna of the pack.

"No."

He sighs but then the sad expression is gone as quickly as it came. "You have enough time to find a mate."

I suck in a breath, glad that I'm off the hook. I need years to myself before thinking of finding a mate.

"Thank you, father." I bow.

"You have to find a mate before the full moon in the next six months."

"What!" I screech as I jump off the chair and forget my lesson.

A look from father tells me he is also disappointed I lost my calm. I don't care. I am grateful though that my teacher isn't here. I can't deal with two pairs of eyes looking at me with correction.

"Too late?"

I scoff, this time not hiding how I feel. "Too soon."

"You have to find a mate by then." He says, ignoring my protests. "There are many beautiful ladies in the pack and the neighboring packs. All you have to do is find a mate that makes your wolf burn."

"But father-"

He raises a hand to silence my protests. "No more, son. It's tradition for the heir to be mated at eighteen."

Damn tradition. I sigh.

"I don't want a political mating."

"Which is why I give you my permission to find your mate in the neighboring packs, if you don't like the females here."

Is there a way to tell him that I don't want any female?

"You have till the next six months to do as I say or forfeit your position to Lucas."

I growl, my fists curling and my lips bared in a snarl as I thought of that happening.

Father takes a look at my face and smiles, feeling content with himself. "I thought as much. I guess I'm getting a daughter-in-law soon."

I don't have any female wolf I'm interested in but I would be damned if I let Lucas become the next alpha of the pack.

"Are you ready for the hunt, brother?" Lucas smiles as he walks towards him, his devilish grin betraying his dark heart from miles apart.

"I'm not your brother." I hiss, repeating the words I have always said from years but he never listens.

He loves to rile me up. The little bastard.

"Then what am I?" He flashes his teeth at me.

I shrug, flexing my shoulders and look ahead, pretending that he isn't there. If only it's that easy. Lucas doesn't like being ignored and doesn't take a hint.

"I'm your nightmare, brother." He whispers as he leans closer to me.

That he is.

"As you've always been." I hiss.

For the past eighteen years, Lucas has been a thorn in my flesh and worse than a nightmare.

Rule number three of the alpha notebook: Don't be controlled by your appetites.

If only my father hasn't flunked that rule, my life would be super great. Lucas was the negative in my life and the reason I hate my life at times.

If father didn't get drunk and sleep with someone else other than his mate, Lucas wouldn't have been conceived and I wouldn't have a half-brother that makes me want to beat him to crap.

It's worse that we are the same age.

"I hear father wants you to find a mate."

I growl. "Can't you see I don't want to talk to you?"

If he knows that father wants me to get mated, then he probably knows that he may get the throne I don't succeed. And I don't have any doubt that is what he is trying to say.

He chuckles. "When have you ever wanted to speak with me and when did I ever listen?"

I roll my eyes, hating how right the asshole was. That is Lucas, always doing as he wants.

He places a hand on my shoulder. "I really do hope that you find a mate."

"Fuck off." I say through gritted teeth.

He laughs. "You always make my day, brother."

"I'm not your brother." I repeat, getting tired of the words. Maybe I should start ignoring him.

"Good luck on the hunt, Asher. Make sure you don't get hunted." He says and walks away.

I snarl at his retreating figure and spit on the ground in annoyance. I'm the hunter, I can't get hunted as a stupid prey.

"Welcome, our friends from Vava pack." Father's voice booms from where he stands with the alpha of the other pack.

We have a forest at one of the borders of our land which has been used over the years for hunting, reminding us of the past when we shift and prowl like the predators we are and also to foster relationships with the neighboring packs.

At the moment, the forest is being used to have fun with the wolves from the Vava pack who paid us a friendly visit two days ago, and the game we are about to play is one that has been in existence since the time of our ancestor.

"You all know the rules." Father says, his excitement shining through. "The one who finds a deer first and brings it forward wins the game for his pack. Are you ready?"

"Yes, we are, my lord." Wolves from my pack and the other echo.

Father gives me a look and I know what it means. He is counting on me to win the game for the pack and make him proud. I nod subtly, letting him know that I won't disappoint him. He smiles in return.

The smile father gives me is the same the alpha of the Vava pack gives his son but I'm not bothered. It makes me more determined to win this game.

I know someone else from the Ulier pack can win the game and father will still be proud if Lucas brings the deer out but I want to do the honors. The game won by the next alpha of the pack is a feat that will make father proud and talk for months to come.

The whistle sounds and I smile as I shift, feeling my bones take shape as my smooth human skin disappears and fur covers me. I grin as my wolf fully take shape, loving the feeling of being on all fours and feeling stronger. It never gets old.

I stretch and shake my black fur to show how ready I am for the hunt.