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The first cracks in Alistair’s confidence had appeared. “I didn’t… I was just… It doesn’t matter. My remark stands. One omega cannot defeat multiple alphas.”
“What bothers you more?” Rhene asked, his voice cold as ice. “That you and your cronies got overpowered by an omega? Or that it was an omega who came from your clan? One you have abused for years and years, not once even considering he might have magical abilities.”
Kerry threw up his hands. “That shows how little you know. Omegas don’t have magical abilities. They may have some whispers of magic, but that’s it.”
“I don’t know about that. I’ve discovered that some omegas in my clan have surprising talents in that area.” Fergal scratched his beard. “But, of course, I’ve only been king for two months, so it’s not like I know what I’m talking about.”
Baoth—what was he doing here? He wasn’t a commander, and he sure as fuck wasn’t a king—scoffed. “Omegas have no power. Their only purpose in life is to take care of alphas. Fulfill their every need. That’s it.”
Once again, the O’Connors kept their mouths shut. Erwan was dismayed to see Fergal had been right in his guess that they would abstain from taking a stand on anything. Cowards.
“Even if we did make an attempt to extract Prince Erwan from the wolf pack, and I’m not saying we did, but hypothetically speaking, we would’ve only done so out of concern for his well-being,” Kerry said.
What the hell was that supposed to mean? “My well-being?”
“Surely, you can’t expect us to believe you were there of your own free will and not under the influence of wolf magic. After all, our reports showed you were not only sleeping with another alpha but also submitting to him, allowing him to alpha-claim you, as the wolves call it. No dragon prince would ever choose that without being influenced in some way. And let us not mention the crazy rumor that your clan, though I am hesitant to call it that, has pledged servitude to the wolves. Dragons don’t serve wolves. We’re not equals.”
And there it was, the dirty tactics Erwan thought he’d been prepared for. Yet his cheeks heated at the mention of him accepting Rhene’s alpha claim, of him submitting himself to Rhene’s authority. He had, and it wasn’t something he should be ashamed of. Still, it stung to be painted like this, like a weakling, like he had to have been influenced unduly to make these choices. No alpha dragon would ever choose that life for himself, but Erwan had.
He had a choice now. He could let himself be bullied into feeling ashamed, or he could take a stand and be proud of the man he had become. The choice was easy, even if his insides churned. He took Rhene’s hand, and as soon as he felt his mate’s touch, calm washed over him.
“You’re correct, Kerry. We’re not equal to the wolves. They have honor. We do not. Not anymore.”
A gasp traveled through the room, but Gregor held up his finger. “Let King Erwan speak.”
“We made a blood pact with the wolves, a sacred, eternal alliance. And we broke it. We betrayed them in their hour of need, and that shame and dishonor are on us. So yes, to restore our honor, I did pledge servitude to the wolves. According to the Code, we owe them fifty months of service, and the True Doyle clan will fulfill that debt. If you think that’s shameful, it only proves how far you have sunk, how big the gap is between you and your ancestors who wrote the Code.”
Kerry jumped up and slammed his fist on the table. “Nobody speaks to me like that!”
Fergal flicked a piece of lint from his pants. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he just did.”
“It’s an affront to my honor. To all our honor!” Baoth said.
It was like a switch was flipped inside Erwan. A red haze clouded his vision, and everything came from far away, as if through a mist. “You don’t get to lecture me about honor!”
His heartbeat thundered in his ears, drowning out other sounds. “You tried to kill me. My own uncle, together with the man who sired me. You wanted me out of the way, just like you murdered my grandfather. And you dare talk to me about honor? The word has no meaning for you. You have no honor, no decency, not even a shred of humanity and kindness. You’re a monster.”
His uncle waved his arm, flinging magic at him, but before it could hit, Erwan raised his hands, blocking the spell, and then another one and another one and one from Cladhaire until Erwan whispered one word.
“Reo.”
Freeze.
Chapter Fourteen
They were going into their second full day of hanging out in the meeting barn. People only left to grab more food or bring in sleeping bags and mats, mattresses for the kids, and heaps of blankets. They slept on the floors, packed tightly, but no one complained. They were gone for mere minutes to take quick showers and change clothes, but they all kept coming back.
Delton felt it too, the pull to be here with everyone else. He wasn’t someone who enjoyed groups this large, but he couldn’t stay away. An invisible force kept him in place.
“It’s strange,” he said to Adar. “I don’t like crowds, yet I don’t want to leave. It’s like I know I’m needed here.”
“I think we all do.”
“Pack magic? Or clan magic?”
Adar shrugged. “Does it matter? Something is going on, and after a few years here in the pack, I’ve learned not to question my instincts. When my wolf tells me to stay, I stay.”
“True. Enough strange things have happened to roll with it.”
