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“They’re gone,” I tell her, reigning in my anger as much as I can.
“It’s okay,” she replies, sounding surprisingly calm.
“We’ve come here for nothing. We’ve lost good wolves for nothing. They’re gone, and she’s alive. It was all for nothing,” I snap, then angrily kick another trash bin, sending it flying after the first one.
Alyssa comes up to me and puts her hands on my cheeks, forcing me to look her in the eyes. Her brown ones are shining with a silent triumph that I don’t understand.
“It wasn’t all for nothing,” she insists with a mix of determination and conviction. “As far as I can tell, we’ve delivered a fatal blow to their plans. If those are all the wolves that were on their side, then they have none left, and I’m pretty sure that the witches we’ve slayed were all coven leaders or high up in their hierarchy. It will take them forever to recover if that’s even possible. We did really good.”
Now that I think about it, the witch that attacked me wasn’t the only old one. If they were truly leaders of their own covens, it made sense that they didn’t know how to work together and attack us as one. It’s like too many different packs working together without knowing much about the other’s style of fighting.
Maybe our desire to exterminate our makers once and for all was misguided. Maybe we just needed to show them that we wouldn’t be pushed around without consequences. Maybe while they’re recovering, they’ll realize that if they leave us alone, we will do the same for them.
Maybe, just maybe, we haven’t failed.
Alyssa takes my hand in hers, our fingers intertwining. “Let’s go home.”
CHAPTER 15
Alyssa
Despite the losses we’ve endured and the mission we’ve half-failed, our return to the court is still somewhat triumphant.
The Grey Manor is on the way to the Lafayette’s, so Gavin agrees to pop in and say a quick hello to his mother before departing to go to the family he’s building with his wife. Malia offers to go straight to the camp to debrief our mother on the mission, which leaves me with no choice but to accompany Garren while he deals with his family.
Instead of the throne room or even the conference room, we’re being taken to a private and cozy little living room with three sofas that are all turned toward a big fireplace. Garren’s parents as well as Grayden and Graham are already waiting for us.
“You’re back,” Queen Grey exhales and rushes to hug her sons.
I step back, feeling slightly out of place as Gavin and Garren greet their family. Grayden must feel like he doesn’t belong there either because he positions himself next to me.
“Touching scene, isn’t it?” he asks with a hint of something in his tone that I can’t quite place.
“It’s been an emotional journey,” I reply, referring to the high possibility of dying that any one of us faced.
“I bet it was,” he replies, giving me a sideways glance. “What’s your plan now, Alpha? Aiming for the highest promotion? Queen, maybe?”
My head abruptly turns his way, and I narrow my eyes at him, not liking his tone. I want to tell him to stop beating around the bush and be direct about whatever he’s trying to insinuate. I don’t need to because he does just that.
“It was all well and good to accept you that first night because you saved Garren’s life or whatnot,” Grayden says, lifting his chin ever so slightly so he gives the impression of looking down on me. “Now that the fight’s over, and Garren has proven himself in our father’s eyes, he’ll be expected to ascend. I don’t see it in your cards to be his queen. In all our history, the nobility has never accepted a commoner into their ranks, much less bow to one and refer to them as their ruler.”
I clench my jaw, fighting against every fiber of my being not to punch this princely asshole and ruin his pretty face. I would sure love to see his dark eyes adorned with painful black circles. I would enjoy pulling his over-gelled dark curls and making him scream like a little girl.
Do it, my wolf says, just as angry at the stupid prince. He more than deserves to be put in his place.
I agree with her, and I’m tempted to actually do it. Then Garren joins us at my side, putting his arm around my waist and successfully cutting me off from all the anger as his love washes over me like a warm summer wave.
Garren gives Grayden a small smile, then turns to his family, most notably to his father, when he makes an announcement that I didn’t know anything about. “As you all know by now, Alyssa is my fated mate. I expect you all to treat her with the respect she deserves as my future wife.”
“She’s a commoner,” Grayden comments, causing heads to turn his way. “You can keep her. You can fuck her. But you can’t marry her.”
“I will keep her. I will fuck her. And I will marry her,” Garren replies sharply with a tone of finality. “Because of a comment like that, I will expect your bow to be the lowest, and you better not disappoint me, otherwise I’ll make your life a living hell. Are we clear?”
Grayden grits his teeth, his eyes flashing with anger. Just when I think that he’ll stubbornly disagree, he surprises me and nods his head.
“I need to hear you say it,” Garren tells him, still sounding angry. “Are we clear?”
“We’re clear,” Grayden says with a low, barely audible voice.
