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"How much time do we have before Pierce attacks Kingsrose?" I asked.
The young beta stood up. "I have a pack member watching the lodge in our absence. So far, Pierce hasn't returned yet, but I suggest we get there as soon as we can. If we can beat Pierce back to Kingsrose, we'll have a better chance of protecting everyone. Right now, I don't think he knows of Byron and our absence from the pack, but I know sooner or later he'll start to wonder why Whitney hasn't reported back to him."
"She was supposed to rendezvous with this Alpha Pierce after apprehending him," Roxanne said from where she stood on the porch. "This plan of Pierce's is true. I saw it in Whitney's memories. She was supposed to meet up with him in two days to confirm whether she has you or not."
Two days to meet up with Pierce. That meant we had two days to get our asses back to Kingsrose before Pierce suspects that something happened to Whitney. We'd have to leave tonight just to make it back in time.
"What do you want us to do?" Byron asked me.
I tilted my head in confusion. "You're asking me?"
"You are the one who's chosen by the Wolf Moon, aren't you?"
"Byron believes you'd be the one to stop Pierce and save our home," the young beta said, then fell to one knee again. "Alpha Rosie, my name is Thomas Bradshaw, and I pledge my loyalty to you. Please, give me your orders and I will obey them."
The other betas that came with Thomas all followed suit, bearing their throats in submission to me and pledging their loyalty to me. Even Byron did the same. I looked to my twins in bewilderment, wondering when I became their alpha.
"This is your pack, milady," Rowan spoke softly in my ear. "Lead them and take back your home."
My pack. I was their alpha. When I left, I thought it would only be me and my mates against all of Kingsrose. Now we somehow found ourselves with an army of betas who needed our leadership. My leadership. Rowan called me the Queen of Wolves; the Wolf Moon's chosen. I was born to be an alpha, the alpha of alphas. It was time for me to step up and be the queen they needed me to be.
I took a step forward and addressed them all. "I accept you guys' vow of loyalty. Though this was unexpected, I will do everything in my power to prove myself worthy of being your alpha. We will head back to Kingsrose tonight, and make sure Pierce and this rogue army never get their hands on our people. We will rebel against your former alpha and show him that his reign is at an end. We are the renegades of Kingsrose, and we will fight."
The betas howled to the sky in their agreement, followed by everyone else singing the song of our people. The renegades of Kingsrose; the Kingsrose Renegades Pack. I liked how that sounded. I looked to my twins who seemed ready to head back home. I then looked from Byron to Rowan, grateful to have their strength as well. I also had my brother and his pack for backup, and Sabina and Roxanne.
The Wolf Moon was steadily approaching, and I had a feeling it was going to play a bigger role than I suspected. I needed to find my missing mates before that happened. I needed to be ready for the upcoming threat. As I thought back to that dream that I shared with Joaquin, I recalled the wolf silhouettes of my mates, and the monster who hid in the far back. There was no question that the dream was Selene warning me that one of my mates would be the one to kill us all, unless I did something about it. Which brought on the most important question: which one of my mates had glowing red eyes, and what would happen to him that would make him spell our end?
"Will Joaquin be okay?" I asked Rowan once he laid him on the couch inside the cabin. His coloring was slowly returning to normal, but he was still unconscious. The marking of the Wolf Moon was still visible on his forehead, but the lightshow dimmed. When I felt my own forehead, I noticed the marking was still present. Rowan assured me that they'd fade over time until I used the gift again. Whether that would be the night of the Wolf Moon or not remained to be seen.
"He will," Rowan said. "His wounds are healed, but he still needs plenty of rest to restore his strength."
That was good. If that was all Joaquin needed, then I'd leave him be for now. I only hope he'd wake up soon.
"You did good, honey. I'm proud of you." Grandma pulled me to her side and kissed my temple.
Unfolding my arms, I wrapped them around her, needing to lean on my grandmother for that motherly comfort that only she could give me. "I'm glad to have you back, Abuelita."
"I'm glad to be back too, Rosalinda. You've done a great job getting yourself this far. Your parents would've been proud of you, too."
I wasn't sure about all of that. After all, Mom didn't want me knowing about the Wolf Moon's gift in the first place. If anything, this probably would've been aI told you somoment for her. Dad, I believed he'd be proud of me. Honestly, I hoped they both were. I wished they were here with us. I wished I had their guidance, their advice. It was hard trying to make all the important decisions on my own and hoped they were the right ones.
Adulting, am I right?
Backing away from Grandma, I walked over to Rowan. Before I had the chance to chicken out, I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. Rowan's widened gaze regarded me like I'd slapped him rather than kiss him.
"Thank you, Rowan. Your help has been a blessing for me."
It took another second before Rowan shook off the surprised look. "It's an honor and a pleasure to be able to help you. I think Marissa would've been glad to know that you were now taking her place as the Wolf Moon's Chosen."
I blushed at his praise. "I don't know about that."
"I do. I knew I spotted something special that night when I came to save you. I'll do everything I can to help you learn more about your abilities, and together, we'll stop this fated mate of yours, and take back your home."
I did not miss how his words made my stomach do a strange somersault, or how I wanted that kiss on his cheek to have been on his lips. I didn't know if he could potentially be one of my chosen mates, and I wasn't sure he'd want to be. He was definitely the oldest of my men, and I didn't think he'd be interested in someone like me. But there was also something between us. Though it was brief, I felt it the other day. Maybe there was a chance?
There was a very loud throat clearing sound that came from my grandmother, and I wanted to hide my head in shame. "Well, why don't you two step outside and figure out what those betas that came with Byron want. In the meantime, I'll clean up Joaquin, and start prepping for dinner. We got a lot more mouths to feed."
Shit, I forgot there were other wolves that came with Del, Kai and Byron. The added reinforcements helped cement our victory during this attack, but there was still the matter of why they were here in the first place, and how Pierce knew to look for me here.
