He nodded, seemingly mind-linking someone before I heard footsteps and two Blood Moon warriors alongside a witch came, leading the young boy. He stared ahead blankly, and I crouched down before him. Instantly, several wolves from his pack tensed, and a few ran forward. I cast them one last cold glare before looking at the young boy.
“Do you want to come home with me?” I asked quietly, placing my hand on his shoulder.
“My home is in Puerto Rico,” he said emotionlessly, not looking me in the eye.
“You can start a new life here. If you want, I would happily take you under my wing. Kiara and I can take care of you. When you’re old enough, you can return to Puerto Rico and take your place as Alpha if you so wish. I can make sure you get to visit-”
“No, thank you. You have done enough,” he cut in bitterly.
He looked around at the ground that was covered in blood and bodies. I knew no matter what I said, he wouldn’t change his mind. I nodded and stood up, looking at the pack members.
“Before you leave, I need to make sure this pack takes care of him. Does he have family in Puerto Rico?” I asked, knowing that many of them had family they hadn’t seen in ages. The werewolves split as an older man walked through the middle, his face solemn. In his smart suit, he didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of us who were covered in injuries, blood, soot, and sweat. He held a cane in his hand.
“I vouch that the young master will be safe. He does have family and a pack that loves him. We were just bound to the devil without a choice. We will forever be indebted to the Lycan King and his army for defeating this monster-”
“We are not indebted. Let’s go home,” Enrique cut in, his eyes full of anger as he looked at me. “Killing isn’t the answer. The Queen Luna said kindness was the answer… but she was wrong, too…”
I frowned as he turned away and walked off through the group of his people, who parted, letting him through and bowing their heads to their future Alpha.
Violence wasn’t the answer…
No matter how much we did, there was so much more that needed to change…
The man bowed, passing me his card.
“We will keep in touch so you can rest assured the young master will be safe. Don’t take his words to heart, he is just hurting.”
“And you don’t seem to care that I killed your Alpha,” I remarked coldly, taking a bottle of water from a warrior who was offering it to me and gulping it down. Fuck, I was thirsty.
“He was far too gone to save, but I have never seen the young master as healthy as he was after being in your care. That in itself says more to me than anything you say verbally. Thank you for taking care of him and remembering that he is a child. I will look forward to your call.”
“Yeah, I will call you soon. If the pup needs anything, I’m here. If you need assistance in returning to Puerto Rico, I am willing to help. I will also want to ask a few questions regarding everything that happened and to the extent of what your people know,” I said. I would ask them if they knew about Dante’s truth, and if they did, I wanted it kept hidden. “As for the pup, even if it’s from the shadows, I plan to help in any way I can,” I added quietly.
“Thank you, Alpha King.”
“We’ll discuss this more when I’m a little rested. You can go, I have your number. I will call,” I said. My entire body was aching, but the moment that fucker died, I had a burst of energy that I had been deprived of, thanks to the fucking poison. He bowed his head before mind-linking his men something, and they all backed away, some carrying the dead and injured.
I turned back to my own people. Scarlett, already healed, was bent over Carmen’s wolf. She touched Carmen’s burnt wolf only for part of her body to crumble. She was burnt to a crisp, which meant we couldn’t move her.
“Someone collect the ashes of those we are unable to move,” I commanded, emotionlessly walking over to Carmen. I looked down at her, wondering if I ever told her that I did appreciate her and admired her skill? She was a good Head Warrior, brave, smart and skilled, but now was a tad too fucking late…
I turned away, searching for Maria. I spotted her standing to the side, her long black hair billowing around her, her arms wrapped around her slim frame. Rayhan was trying to talk to her, but she was refusing to listen to him.
“…tell me, not even once?” Rayhan was asking her.
“Not now, Ya Hayati,” she replied. Her voice was bleak, and it fucking killed me. As happy as I was that she was here, hearing her sound so defeated sucked.
“Rayhan, can you call home and make sure everyone’s okay?” I asked. He looked at me, hesitating for a moment, but I knew, for his mate, he would agree. Sure enough, he nodded, glancing between Maria and me before running off.
“Was this your plan?” she asked, hurt clear in her eyes as she looked at me accusingly. I sighed.
“No, it fucking wasn’t. I don’t even know who the fuck that guy was or how the fuck Leo and Rayhan were working together,” I said, placing my hands on her shoulders. She didn’t respond, staring at the ground, her bodytense. “Maria…”
She refused to look at me, her chest heaving as she tried to control her emotions. I sighed, pulling her into my arms and hugging her forcefully. She may have been strong as she tried to pull away, but I was fucking stronger.
“I’m sorry… I know you were looking forward to seeing him, but it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe Raf didn’t want you to do this,” I said quietly, not sure how to explain what had happened.
“I said goodbye… I was ready to meet him, I was so close and then… that chance was pulled away from me,” she whispered.
