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I will see you again.
I love you to the moon and back.
Dad x
My eyes water as I read his letter, going over the words again. He was right, as always, I did return to the pack. He was the one person who always knew me well, sometimes even better than I knew myself.
“Alpha,” Joel starts, stepping forward and taking some of the attention off me as I struggle to keep my tears at bay. “Is there somewhere we can rest and get our strength back before we leave again?”
Realising that he’s completely ignoring protocol by not greeting the two most senior guests first, the alpha shakes his head as though not believing his slipup, especially when one of those alphas was responsible for keeping his pack safe for months.
“Alpha Green, excuse my rudeness. It’s good to see you again. Of course, we’ve got an empty cabin you can use. Make that two,” he corrects himself, seeing Luna at my side. His eyes flick over me and straight to Syn on my other side, who is watching with a smirk.
“Alpha Syn,” he greets reluctantly. Syn doesn’t have the greatest reputation amongst the packs, thanks to his history of working for the council. He was also known as being volatile and carried around the weight of his disgrace after he made a mistake that resulted in members from his pack being killed.
The alpha finally moves past Syn and comes to a sudden stop. “Nicolai,” he gasps, looking as though he’s seen a ghost. He appears surprised, clearly not recognising his old third-in-command without his werewolf scent. Not that I blame him, we were all told that Nicolai was dead, and from the state he was in last time anyone saw him, he looked only moments from death.
A concerned frown pulls at his brows, and he blows out a long, slow breath, gesturing to the cabin behind him. “I think we’re in desperate need of a catch up before you rest, if you’re up to it. Clearly, there’s a lot that’s been happening that I don’t know about.”
“Not before I get my hug, you don’t!” a female voice shouts out, causing Luna and Atlas to jump, not hearing the older woman walk up behind them. “Oh, move out of the way. Laelia, your mates are very pretty, but can you please tell them to let me through?” The small figure attempts to push through the wall of muscle my mates have formed between us.
“Selena!” A watery smile pulls at my lips as my eyes well. “Let her through, she’s family.”
As soon as my mates step aside, giving the odd female a couple of strange looks, she practically throws herself at me. I don’t blame them for being cautious, as Selena doesn’t give off stable vibes. She’s the closest thing to old that I’ve ever seen on a werewolf. Although she won’t tell me exactly how old she is, I suspect she’s close to a hundred and fifty. Thanks to her werewolf genetics, she looks middle-aged. She enjoys playing up to the idea of being old though, dressing in clothes you see human grandmas wear on TV.
“Oh, my girl,” she coos, crushing me in her arms and rocking slightly, her voice cracking with an unusual show of emotion. “You’ve got one hell of a story to tell me.” While many would think the comment is perfectly innocent, I know better. It sounds more like a threat when it comes from Selena.
“Always the gossip,” Nicolai teases, crossing his arms over his chest and grinning as she jerks back from me in shock.
“Nicolai?” she exclaims, joy lighting her eyes before she sniffs the air delicately and wrinkles her nose. “What happened to you, boy? You smell like you stuck your finger in the electrical socket.”
“I died and the goddess brought me back as a witch.”
She frowns suspiciously, giving him the once-over. “Is it catching?”
Nicolai just laughs and shakes his head. “I think you’re fine, Selena.”
I’m unable to hold back my snort of amusement as I watch the two of them banter, which seems to remind her why she hurried here. “Oh, how I missed you both.” Her expression slowly shifts, the smile dropping from her face. “You heard the news about your father?”
My stomach ties itself in knots, and I nod my head, trying not to let the true extent of my concern show in my body language. “Yes, we were about to update the alpha on what’s happened. Why don’t you come in so I don’t have to repeat everything later?” I tease lightly with a smile I don’t feel. Really, I want her there with me because she’s the closest thing to family that I have here, but I don’t want to ask aloud. Plus, she will only ask me the same questions later. Thankfully, she doesn’t make me ask, striding straight into the alpha’s cabin without waiting for an invitation.
We spend the next couple of hours telling our story and being updated on what happened with the packs.
Selena and the alpha explain that my father was freed from the trial but locked away because they thought my escape was organised by him. It was soon realised that I was taken against my will, since I never would have left my mates behind. Joel’s pack and mine melded together for a while to keep safe, especially after Joel and Scott were taken, but after a time, they wanted to return to their own pack grounds. Several of Joel’s wolves came with them to help them settle, and from the sound of it, they might stay and make a life for themselves here.
It’s then our turn to explain how I was taken and who those witches were. Selena and the alpha are both shocked at the news of a half-brother and my being mated to a witch, but they quickly move past that when I explain about my mate sickness and learning to use my magic. Their expressions turn thunderous as I speak of the witch queen and how I was forced to complete challenges. Finally, I tell them about the attack on Haven, Bates, and how we escaped.
A few ideas are thrown around, but none of us have anything concrete to go on, so the alpha dismisses us and lets Selena guide us to the cabin we’re going to spend the night in. We dropped Luna off at the small cabin beside ours, making sure she was happy and comfortable before walking over to ours.
On the very short walk between cabins, Selena links her arm with mine, pulling on it gently to slow our pace. My mates get the idea and spread out a little, giving us the illusion of privacy. Of course, most of them have werewolf hearing, so they’ll be able to hear us anyway, but we can pretend otherwise.
“So, you’re a goddess,” Selena says lightly, as though this was something she always suspected.
Rolling my eyes, I give her a pointed look. “Hardly. I have the blood of a goddess, it’s different.”
We’ve reached the bottom of the short staircase that leads to the cabin entrance. All of my mates other than Syn are already waiting inside. Pausing, she pulls me to a stop and stares at me. “Mm-hmm, whatever you say, your holiness.” Clearly not believing me, she leans forward and wraps me in another bone crushing hug. She releases me when Syn snorts with amusement, glaring at him for interrupting. She raises her brows as she takes in his bad boy exterior, winking at him cheekily. “Get some rest, we’ll speak again in the morning before you leave.”
Giving her a kiss on the cheek, I unwind my arm from hers and walk over to Syn, taking his hand and leading him into our home for the night.
