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“And I knowher,” I say. “Trust me—the New Crusades did horrible damage to my family. The Heavenly Host’s armies killed most of my family, and separated me from my niece. But Arden…I can’t deny the will of the mating bond. You should know that.”
“I don’t believe in forgiveness for something like that,” Arden snarls.
“Maybe you’ll understand one day when you find your own mate,” I say.
“IfI find my own mate.”
“Fine—if,” I say. “The bottom line is that she’s staying. If you want to challenge me on it, you can, but I’ve already spoken with a few other alphas and you know they’re on my side.”
“So I don’t have a choice in the matter,” she says.
“You have the choice to stay and come to terms with it, or to leave the den,” I growl.
I pause, shocked by my own words. I’ve never fought with someone in the den like this—rarely had my own ideas about how the den should be led, my own opinions on who gets to stay and who has to leave. But now…
I have a family of my own to take care of.Tildais that family. Arden didn’t want Charlotte and Elijah here either, but she pushed back less since Elijah hadn’t been on the other side in a long, long time.
No matter how hard I’ve tried, I’m going to run the den the wayIsee fit.
Maybe Will was right and my wolf has more power over me than I thought.
“There’s just one problem with that,” Arden says with a cruel smile. “Her people know she’s alive, and they’re going to want her back.”
I stop myself from lunging for her, from taking her delicate neck in my hand and gripping it tight. “You told them?”
“No,” she says. “I didn’t have to. They’ve been out surveying the den—caught sight of a man and young woman watching from their horses last night. I think it’s her sister.”
Enid…I should have known this would be a problem. If Tilda is so strong-willed, her sister can’t be much better.
“Shit,” I say. “Just the two of them?”
“For now,” Arden says. “I followed them back to their little town, though, under the Curtain. There’s at least two hundred of them there, and they have guns…lots of them. Now that they have an inside man, they could probably tell how few wolves we have. And with only ten alphas…”
“They’ll fight for her?”
Arden grimaces. “All we have is each other nowadays,” she says, her Cockney accent rough. “Wouldn’t you fight for someone stolen by the other side?”
She’s right; we’re going to have to deal with this sooner rather than later. And now that Tilda and I have bitten each other, I can’t give her back—she’ll be able to sense me just as much as I sense her.
“We should go talk to them,” I say. “See if we can make peace. I’ve set up a connection in the city who can get us a steady supply of medicine, and I know they need—”
“You’re a fool, Reyes,” Arden interrupts. “These people arenotour friends. They’re Crusaders.”
“They’re just trying to survive, like the rest of us.”
“They fly the Heavenly Host’s flag over their encampment,” she says. “If you think talking to them is a good idea…well, I might not have to supplant you after all. If you go there, you’ll die.”
I cross my arms over my chest, lifting my chin. “They’re inourterritory,” I say. “The Host has abandoned them. We can bring them over to our side, and then…”
“You can try,” Arden says. “But when they kill you,I’mtaking over the den.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
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TILDA
It feels different to walk the corridors of the den officially as Reyes’ mate. I don’t balk at the prospect of walking alone now, even though I keep company with Peaches and Suyin. I go to get breakfast on my own, chatting with Peaches at the big, empty table as hungover lycan stagger out of the den after the night’s partying.
