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I shook my head at his answer. It was far too easy to speculate when you weren’t in that situation. I knew better. “They knew the risk of going out. I sent and lost my best men trying to find Meira. But if I had uttered a hint of the truth to Vanya, she’d be gone, bullet in her chest or not.”
“He’s not wrong,” Leven agreed casually. Callum glared at his warrior but Leven was unrepentant.
“I know your stance,” Callum mumbled.
“Are all of you really out here gossiping about me?” Vanya asked as she walked up.
“Yes,” Leven answered. I swear she looked like the man handed her the world because he spoke to her and it made me angry all over again.
“I’d hardly call it gossip,” I said. She gave me a sad smile.
“No, you were probably defending yourself the whole time,” she said.
“I think we came to a bit of an understanding,” Leven added. He ran his hands thoughtfully through his beard. “I’m not happy with how he treated you but it seems we all have our faults around here.”
“We do,” she agreed. “And after the conversation I just had with Holt, I’ve come to a bit of a conclusion myself. There’s so much going on in the world that’s bigger than all of us and I don’t want to go into a battle wondering if my mates hate each other or me. Yes, my life was hell in the old pack and Torryn could have made it better. But none of that fucking matters now. This is his chance to change, in fact it’s a chance for all of us to change. Whatever we had before individually still stands, but our pack is changing and if we want this to work then we have to change with it. If we want even a chance of winning this war, then we have to be able to rely on each other. I already trust all of you, including Torryn, with my life. We all need to get to that point.”
We all nodded at her and I couldn’t help but feel a little chastised. But if that’s what it required for us to get over this bullshit, I’d fucking take it.
Leven shook out his body like it would help him escape the heavy conversation.
“Yeah, enough of this heavy, sappy bullshit. I’m sorry I was an asshole. I’ll do better. I was hurt and should have dealt with that instead of being a dick.”
“Sorry for the lies and the bullshit we left at the old pack,” I tacked on. “I’ll prove to you that this was the right choice.”
“I know you will,” she reassured me.
“I’m sorry I hurt you inadvertently,” Callum chimed in next.
“I think Holt was meant to be with us,” she said with a soft smile. Interesting. Apparently they’d worked through some of that tension as well. Even Callum’s eyebrows rose at her statement.
“I saw you guys have a laugh over some condoms but coming this far so quick?” he mused.
“Condoms?” Leven asked.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older, big guy.” She laughed. “And I think he needed us and pack life, just like Torryn did. Obviously on different levels, but I’m trusting fate here.”
“Aww,” Nyx cooed as he joined us. “Are you guys having a cute little moment?” Vanya flipped him off and the guys laughed, breaking the tension just like that. I was starting to see what she meant about everybody fitting well together. She had protectors, tension breakers, compassionate mates… I just hoped I lived up to the rest of them.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Vanya
Despite how the witches had reacted to us in Philadelphia, Chloe and Bianca came in like a wrecking ball. Within two hours the entire fence was protected with magic. It buzzed with an undercurrent of power and emanated a violent green light.
They didn’t stop there either. We were now the proud owners of hexed weapons and a few crates of spelled explosives. It was honestly a huge relief to have magic of our own to fight back. The playing field was now leveled and hope sparked amongst the pack.
By the next morning we had most of the compound functional. Even with Zoey’s pack arriving along with another.
The supplies were unloaded and we had enough food that Emma cooked up a huge breakfast. It was nice to see all of us coinciding and talking over a meal. It was still that military setup I detested, but at least it was temporary. Since this wasn’t the Bluffs, it didn’t bother me on the same level.
The conversation the guys had yesterday seemed to clear the air. They weren’t exactly besties having laughs around a campfire, but they weren’t exiling Torryn either, so I’d call that a huge win. The more Holt recovered and rested the more his personality was coming out. He had a bit of a funnier side kind of like Nyx, but for the most part he was more reserved than the rest of us. We realized very quickly how invaluable he was during strategy meetings. He was able to help plan several different attack models and the way he stared calculating at each one before putting them together gave all of us confidence in his answers. Between Antonio, Carlo, Grant, and Holt, we’d be able to take the safest route possible. The less bloodshed on our end, the better.
Torryn was also a lot more skilled at war planning than I thought. He was right there with us during the meetings. In fact, he’d put himself wherever he was needed and was earning respect from a lot of the packs. I had a feeling that he was trying to overcompensate at this point, but it was refreshing to witness. It was like my past had finally collided with the present and it was settling into a tentative harmony.
But even as we found a balance at the compound, there was still so much to do. We had to break up the Grave Pack for good, save the witches and wolves that were being held captive, Meira among them, then ensure the tracker was taken care of permanently. Even if the Grave Pack fell, he’d still be a problem. At this point we’d ruined his reputation and he’d be out for blood.
Grant’s voice cut through the quiet in the courtyard, beckoning us inside. Everyone who was interested in keeping up with our strategy meetings moved inside the main hub with us. The guys stood at my side as Grant and Antonio wrapped something up on the makeshift datacenter they’d created here. Finally they moved away and slapped a huge map in front of us. Four red circles stared back at us. Antonio held a tablet and glanced at Grant to start. They were making an amazing team so far, so I hoped they found the final piece we needed to strike.
