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He nodded. “Then at least open my eyes and tell me whyyoudon’t mind them joining us. I know you’ve visited them and even healed one of their wolves.”
“Did Julius give you any trouble?”
Seth shook his head. “No, he left just a few hours before dawn.”
“Did he leave alone?”
“Yes.”
Tears started to flood her eyes again and Blake pulled her closer. “He left his mother,” her voice was a mere whisper.
Blake handed her another tissue. “He would’ve left even if you didn’t heal him. It’s not your fault that he left his mother behind.”
She nodded and looked at Seth. “The wolf that I killed, his name was Chayed. He was one of their most ruthless and most respected warriors.”
Blake saw Seth’s confusion, but he knew where Niev was trying to go with this.
“He was also beating his mate. He clawed her, not once, not twice, but over and over. She’s here now and you as her future alpha can show her that she’s safe again. Her old pack knew what that man did to her, and they stayed silent, but you can help her regain her trust. You can give her a life in which she feels protected again. She didn’t hurt you or anyone else. She deserves to have a pack that loves her and cares for her.”
They fell silent while Seth seemed deep in his thoughts. After about thirty minutes, Lyliann returned with Darron in her arms.
“We should leave before we end up being the last ones arriving.” Her tone was still distant, but she seemed to have calmed down a little.
Niev quickly got to her feet. “Do you mind if I use your bathroom one more time?”
Lyliann gave her a warm and knowing smile. “Of course not.”
Not even two minutes later Niev returned, and they all left the house. As they walked north toward Selene’s tree, Niev and Lyliann started a conversation about their upcoming trip to the mall. Niev seemed quite excited to go shopping for the baby, and Lyliann seemed to share her excitement.
As they passed the village and walked into the woods, Blake felt Seth’s hand on his shoulder. He seemed to want Blake to slow down.
“Lyliann doesn’t want the Skadu Pack merging with ours. She doesn’t understand that I don’t have a choice and have to follow Father’s wishes. She wants me to stop him, but he is stubborn and won’t let me talk him out of it. She thinks I’m not trying hard enough. I think bringing Niev into this upset her because she thinks I’m changing my position. But I’m not I just want to understand Father better, you know?”
Blake was surprised that Seth talked this openly about the whole situation. As children they’d been close but after Blake’s consecration they had drastically fallen apart. “I believe she’s not the only one.”
“I know, but father has commanded it and there is no way of changing his mind.”
“By the time you become alpha it’ll all be settled.”
“Hopefully it is,” Seth sighed and ran his hand over his tired face. He paused for a moment and studied Blake from the side, as if he was unsure about next words. “Is what Niev said the reason why you’ve tried so hard to separate yourself from us?”
“Yes.”
Blake could see that in his mind Seth was connecting the dots, as if he could finally see a clear picture of something he’d been struggling to see before.
“We all thought you hated us.”
“I don’t hate you, but it did pain me a lot to be around you. Because of that and the others believing I might want to take your place, I secluded myself. I didn’t want anyone to think I was a threat to you.”
Before Seth or Blake could say anything else, Niev and Lyliann turned around and waited for them just a few steps ahead.
“Niev just told me that she hasn’t seen Selene’s tree yet. I thought that’s something you two might want to share.” Lyliann took Darron’s hand and walked further without waiting for Seth. Seth sighed and followed her, she was clearly still mad at him, and Seth knew it too.
Niev took his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. “What is so special about this place?”
“It’s our connection to Selene because her greatness manifests here. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll understand once you see it.”
He walked her a little further down the path that they’d been following. The closer they came to breaking the tree line, the stronger he could feel Selene. As soon as they walked past the last trees and walked out onto the clearing, Niev inhaled a long, awe-filled breath, her eyes widening in amazement.
