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Creek threw up his hands. “There you go. Fate didn’t put us in this situation to be miserable, Dean. She did this because it’s the way for us to have the ultimate joy. The crux is, you have to surrender to it. You have to leave your ego at the door and let it happen.”
I checked my watch. We were officially late for work. “Look, we have to go, but I just wanted to tell you something in case you were wondering. She misses you. Even the happy moments have this streak of sadness. You can see it in her eyes. She scans the area and out the window almost every second, hoping you will come into view. She loves you.”
He blew out a huff through his nose. “And that doesn’t bother you?”
Creek began walking away. “No. Her love for you has nothing to do with her love for me.” He stopped and turned. “Do us all a favor, Dean. Get your head out of the game and let your wolf decide. He doesn’t put all of the bullshit barricades in the way our human side does. He knows what he wants and he will lead you to it. If you need help with this monstrosity of a house, let us know. We are happy to help you.”
I didn’t need to say anything else. I walked away satisfied. We’d laid out the truth.
Now it was up to Dean to decide his fate.
Chapter Fifteen
Shane
“You’ve got to come here.” I was walking along, minding my own damned business in between lunch with my mate and returning to work when Jerad appeared out of nowhere and, for lack of a better word, dragged me toward the alpha’s office. My first thought was I was in trouble or had missed a summons—something. He was frantic, his face was reddened from neck to forehead.
“What the fuck?” I asked, stopping dead in my tracks and wrenching my arm from his hold.
“Come on, they might still be there.”
Dead gods above, he was acting like he’d snuck into one of those boy band concerts and was trying to get me to follow him backstage, unwelcome and uninvited.
“Who?” I grabbed his collar gently, not as a threat but to get the wild-eyed man to focus for five seconds and tell me why he was dragging me along.
“The guys who keep coming here about Jillian. You have to hear this.”
Okay, now he had my attention. I walked in front of him and stopped just outside of the alpha’s door. I could scent a stranger, someone not from this pack, but my wolf didn’t view them as a threat.
“So, just so we’re clear, what exactly are you…demanding here? I am the alpha of this pack and she is one of my pack members. We have kept her here as promised.”
I heard one of the men step forward. It wasn’t the heavy, drawn-out steps of the alpha. I would know the sound of those in my sleep. These were lighter and lazier. “And who exactly did you promise?”
The alpha cleared his throat. I put my head against the door, concentrating on every sound, every movement. They were clearly having a meeting about someone in our pack, and my nerves and my heart hoped to the gods that it wasn’t my mate.
“I promised a woman. I don’t know her name. She showed up with Jillian as a toddler. She told me above all to keep Jillian safe. She told me that one day someone would come for her, from both sides of the divide in the kingdom. That’s all I know.”
“And you just took this woman’s word on it? That sounds like the most ridiculous story I’ve ever heard of.”
The alpha growled and I would bet my ass that Light and Lazy Steps had bent his head at the power emitted from our leader. “I trust my wolf’s extinct above all. This woman was honest. She handed me a tiny girl with cuts all over her. I had no idea she couldn’t speak at the time. I took care of her like she was my own until she was ready to be hidden away. It was earlier than I wanted but even when she was a girl, there were the bad ones roaming. I heard the whispers from other packs. And now, you are here telling me to just give her to you like she’s a bracelet or a crown.”
The stranger blew out a breath. “It’s funny you say crown since she is our queen. We aren’t just coming to fetch a bucket of water. She’s the queen of our kingdom, not just a pack. No longer would she have to be holed up in some semblance of a home in the woods. She would be surrounded by the finest things and revered as she should be—as an alpha queen should be. At least let us speak to her, allow her to make the decision. She has family there—she could know the story of how she came here and how she lost her voice. We can give her everything you…forgive me, Alpha, but we can give her everything she’s been denied.”
My heart thumped in my temples so loudly that I thought I might pass out. I’d never passed out, but the edges of my vision were getting blurry and began to fade.
“I told you,” Jerad mocked me. “They want to take her somewhere else.”
The alpha spoke, “It’s her choice. I will give her the choice. But the thing is, you’ve already been here and she said no. That sounded like her answer to me.”
Anger flooded under the door and seeped into my body. The rage was palpable, so much so that it shook me. “You can’t hold her like this. She isn’t a prisoner. She has a people to rule and a real home to live in. We will go to the council about this. Mark our words.”
The alpha huffed out a laugh through his nose. “Go ahead. Get the council, get the military, get whoever you feel like you need to, but the fact is that Jillian isn’t leaving here unless she consents. Period. Oh, and by the way, you now have to get through three of her mates as well. Think that over before you return to my pack and insult me as you have. Now get out of my fucking face and off my lands.”
Damn, he didn’t scream or yell or even give a hint that he would raise his voice. He was collected and knew exactly what he wanted to say.
If I was in there instead of him, there might’ve been blood spilled.
I had to tell Jillian and Creek and Dean.
