Oops… I Went Into Heat and My Alpha Daddies Claimed Me

Callum’s POV

"Tell me exactly what happened. I don’t want guesses or half of a report. If you came running into my home like this, then something serious has happened, and I need to know everything you saw before I make a decision," I said, stopping directly in front of the guard.

The guard swallowed and straightened himself. "Alpha, the patrol near the western border spotted movement outside the territory. At first they thought it was just travelers passing through, but they recognized some of the markings and equipment. We sent another group to confirm what they were seeing, and they came back with the same report. The Duskfen are there."

I stared at him. "The Duskfen?"

"Yes, Alpha. They’re not just passing through either. They’ve established camps close to the border, and our patrols have been watching them from a distance. There are too many of them to call it a scouting party, and they’ve been moving supplies into the area."

My expression hardened. "How long?"

"We don’t know exactly when they arrived, but the first patrol noticed them today. We didn’t want to approach them without your orders."

That was the right decision. I turned toward the hall just as Dane came through the entrance, his expression already showing concern from the urgency of the summons. He approached quickly, looking from me to the guard before stopping beside us.

"What happened?" Dane asked, his eyes moving between us. "I was told you needed me immediately."

I looked at him, already knowing there was no easy way to deliver what I had just been told. "The Duskfen are back."

Dane’s face changed. "What do you mean, back?"

"They’re outside our borders."

He stared at me for several seconds as though he hadn’t understood the words. Then his expression tightened, and he looked toward the guard. "How many?"

"We don’t have an exact number yet, Beta, but there are enough camps for us to know this isn’t a small group. Our patrol believes there are warriors among them."

Dane looked back at me. "We thought they had returned to their territory."

"So did I."

He dragged a hand over his face and took a slow breath. "If Cael has brought them this close, then he’s not here to negotiate."

"No."

"Then this is war." He sighed.

I nodded grimly. "That’s what it looks like."

Dane remained silent for a moment, processing the information. I knew exactly what was going through his mind because I had already gone through the same thing thoughts. We hadn’t been preparing for an army to appear at our borders without warning.

Dane finally looked at me. "How long do we have?"

I shook my head. "We don’t know."

He shook his head and began pacing a few steps across the hall. "Our warriors aren’t prepared for an immediate campaign. We’ve been maintaining the usual patrol rotations, but that’s completely different from preparing for a full-scale attack. We don’t have enough supplies stored for something like this, and if Cael has thousands of warriors with him, we’re going to be fighting with whatever we have available. This isn’t very good."

I followed him with my eyes. "Then we’ll use what we have and prepare the rest."

Dane stopped and looked at me. "Callum, if they’re already outside the border, we might not have enough time."

"I know that."

"Then we need to consider whether we should move Keisha and Nadia somewhere safer before anything begins."

That immediately caught my attention. "Keisha stays here."

Dane watched my face carefully. "I knew you’d say that."

"She’s safer where I can protect her. If we start moving people around while an enemy is already watching our borders, we’ll only make her more vulnerable."

He sighed. "I wasn’t suggesting we abandon the mansion. I’m saying we should reinforce it."

"We will." I turned toward the guard. "Get word to every patrol commander. No one approaches the Duskfen camps unless I personally authorize it. Double the border watches and have the messengers notify every section of the pack that we are preparing for a possible attack. I don’t want panic, but I want every warrior ready. Tell the kitchens and supply keepers to begin rationing immediately. We need to preserve what we have."

The guard nodded. "Yes, Alpha."

I looked at Dane. "And get the council informed."

His eyebrows lifted. "You’re sure?"

"They’ll find out eventually. I’d rather they hear it from me than from a frightened member of the pack."

Dane nodded. "I’ll handle it."

We left the hall together, heading first toward the armory.

Inside the armory, I walked between the racks while Dane followed, checking weapons and equipment with the same seriousness I felt.

"How much do we actually have?" I asked, running my eyes over the shelves.

Dane picked up one of the inventory records. "Enough for our current forces, but not enough to sustain a prolonged battle. If the Duskfen attack quickly, we’ll have to make every supply count."

"Then have the smiths work through the night. Anything that can be repaired gets repaired and anything that can be reinforced gets reinforced. I don’t care if they have to stay awake until morning."

Dane nodded. "I’ll arrange it."

I nodded. "Also make sure the medical quarters are stocked."

"They are."

"They won’t be if this turns into the kind of battle I’m expecting." I reminded him.

He understood immediately and nodded again. "I’ll speak with them."

From the armory, we moved toward the supply stores, where I checked the food that had been collected over the past few months. The stores were reasonable for normal circumstances, but war changed everything. A pack could go through food faster than anyone expected once hundreds of warriors were stationed around the borders.

I turned to the steward. "Starting tonight, reduce the portions served at every meal."

The steward looked startled. "Alpha?"

"Not enough to starve anyone, but I need it enough to make the stores last longer. We don’t know how long this will continue, and I refuse to let our food disappear because people are eating as though nothing has changed."

The steward bowed. "Understood. I’ll speak with the kitchen staff."

"Have them preserve everything they can. Nothing gets wasted."

Dane waited until the steward left before speaking. "This is going to be difficult. We could send people to nearby territories for supplies, but that creates another problem. If the Duskfen are watching the borders, anyone leaving could be intercepted."

"That’s why we don’t send anyone until we know exactly where they’re positioned."

Dane nodded, and we continued toward the warrior quarters. I wanted to see them myself.

Numbers on a report could tell me how many warriors we had, but they couldn’t tell me whether those warriors would stand when thousands of Duskfen came against them. When we entered the quarters, several of them immediately noticed us and the noise in the room gradually lowered.

I looked around at the faces gathered there.

Some were experienced. Others weren’t.

There were young warriors who had only joined the ranks the previous year, still carrying themselves with the eager attitude of men who hadn’t yet experienced what a real battle could demand from them. I didn’t underestimate them, but I couldn’t pretend they had the same experience as the veterans who had spent years protecting the territory.

I turned toward Dane. "How many active warriors?"

"Enough to defend the territory if we use them properly," he answered. "But we have to remember that most of the younger ones have been training consistently. They aren’t helpless."

I looked back at the room. "They’d better not be."

Dane folded his arms. "I’ve personally watched some of these men train. They’re competent. The younger warriors aren’t as experienced as the veterans, but they’ve improved significantly over the past year. If we organize them properly, they’ll hold their positions."

I nodded slowly. "I hope you’re right."

Dane glanced toward me. "You don’t sound convinced."

"I’m convinced they’ll fight. I’m not convinced I should have to ask them to."

We left the quarters and continued down the corridor. Neither of us spoke for several moments, but as we moved farther away, I began hearing voices behind us. The warriors hadn’t realized we could still hear them.

"They weren’t even supposed to be preparing for a war this year."

Another voice answered, quieter but still clear enough to reach me. "Cael has thousands. What are we supposed to do against that?"

"I don’t know. I just know I don’t want to die because somebody decided we were ready when we weren’t."

Dane looked at me and I kept walking.

Dane came to a stop beside me, waiting to see what I would do. I looked back toward the quarters, but I didn’t return. The warriors weren’t wrong. They weren’t cowards for being afraid, and they weren’t disloyal for questioning whether we were prepared. They were looking at the same situation I was looking at, and they knew exactly what it could cost them.

"We should have had more time," I said quietly.

Dane looked at me.

I turned toward him, my expression hardening again as I forced myself back into the role I couldn’t afford to abandon. "But we don’t have it anymore. So we prepare with what we’ve got."