Chapter 29 #2
“Are you going to stop her?” he asks.
“She’s proving her point,” I reply. “The Elites are shitting themselves. I didn’t think I’d live to see the day that the cunts didn’t know what to do.”
Lyall lifts her head and meets my gaze, her eyes brimming with pride and anger. She’s defended her pack and she’s still protecting the child behind her, refusing to let the Elites inflict the carnage that they’re used to imposing.
“Are you going to stop this?” one of them asks.
I smirk. “My Luna wants to know if you’re going to be good little boys and roll the fuck over?”
My pack hums in approval behind me and the Elites growl, uncertain and clearly unused to being mocked.
“Look,” the largest one says, stepping forward, “we came here to obey The Council’s orders. It’s pretty unreasonable to expect us to do anything else.”
Lyall’s ears prick and I sense her amusement in our connection. Nia’s wolf doesn’t give a shit that I’ve just lied and she’s reveling in the chaos we’re unleashing, delighted that we’re making the assholes who insulted her look like cretins.
“You could have listened,” I sigh, crossing my arms as Lyall rips a limb from a mangled body and chews on it like a stick. “It didn’t have to get to this.”
Lyall stops and her pure white fur of her face and neck is stained red. Her features are delicate and Lawson howls, desperate to meet his mate. She’s pretty and her proportions are elegant, concealing the brutal, savage protector lurking under her soft coat that disperses the magic of the moon.
The wind cuts across us and a russet leaf dances in its currents. Lyall’s eyes spark with silver and stardust as she tracks its movements and her body bounces, ready to play with it. She snaps at it and the leaf floats away, earning itself a playful growl as my mate chases a leaf like a puppy.
I sigh and smile, filled with adoration for the wolf who’s finally discovering her freedom. Lyall’s been denied these simple pleasures and she’s acting like an adolescent, experiencing the world for the very first time.
“What is she doing?” the Elite asks.
Lyall’s front paws land in unison and she jumps up, shocked that she’s discovered a new trick. She leaps and bounces, yapping with joy as she loses all sense of reason and descends into play.
“Bastan poisoned his daughter. Her wolf’s only just recovered enough to shift and she’s learning how to be a wolf.” I step forward, leaving my pack and walking toward Lyall as she rolls in the dirt. “As we all do the first few times we shift. They may as well be juveniles.”
“She’s not grown…”
I shake my head, answering his question as his voice trails off. “She’s still recovering. I imagine she’ll get stronger over the next few weeks. Maybe months.”
I stretch my hand out toward her and take pleasure as the color drains from the Elites. Lyall’s demonstrated she’s more than a match for them, and she isn’t even at full strength.
“We didn’t know she was a white,” he continues.
My eyebrow arches and I pretend I know what the fuck he’s talking about. “Bastan failed to mention that?”
The Elite swallows. “It appears he failed to mention a lot of things.”
Lawson howls again and his agony ripples into me. He’s desperate to meet Lyall and he’s growing frustrated, annoyed he has to wait until we’ve dealt with these assholes.
“I assume you’ve seen reason?” I ask.
The Elites nod in unison, staring at Lyall as she discovers she has a tail.
My mate curls her body around and snaps at her tail, chasing it and wagging it out of the way in a game that has her captivated.
Lyall’s joy flows into me and I reach for Nia, checking she’s okay before I let myself fill with pride, delighted my mate is finally getting what’s owed to her.
“Look, we don’t appreciate being manipulated and I’m sure The Council doesn’t either. But we’re going to have to tread carefully on this one. Technically, we’ve disobeyed a direct order and The Council said there was no appeal.”
I nod and the broad muscles of the Elite in charge relax a little.
“She is stunning, Alpha.”
I nod again and Lawson growls.
“And if she were my mate, I’d have done exactly what you did.”
“She isn’t your mate,” I snarl.
His hands rise, defensive and offering no resistance. “I meant no harm, Alpha. I assume that the pair of you are going to want to deal with her father?” His eyes narrow and darken. “You are going to take the fucker down, aren’t you?”
Lyall abandons her game and strolls over, sitting by my feet. My hand pets her head and she pants, enjoying what I assume is the first time she’s been petted.
I nod and the man walking toward me grins.
“We’ll let you help your Luna find her feet.
I’ll come back in a few days and we’ll talk about how we can help each other out.
” He pauses, watching Lyall as her tongue lolls out her mouth.
“Her father cost me several good men and I want my pound of flesh. You and your Luna are going to get it for me, Alpha, and in return, I’ll smooth things over with The Council. ”
He turns and walks away, leading the rest of the Elites toward the woods on the far side of the hill.
I keep watch until they disappear into its murky shadows and Elias tracks him, telling me he’ll make damn sure they leave my territory.
I nod and a frantic she-wolf rushes forward, grabbing her child who’s now playing with a stick.
Lyall barks and draws my attention back to her as she brushes herself against my legs. Nia isn’t the only one who has a praise kink and her wolf growls, demanding I give her the reward she thinks she’s owed.
I kneel and rub her face, bringing our foreheads together.
“You’re so special, Lyall. You’re perfect. So very, very perfect.”
She wags her tail as Lawson almost loses his shit with me.
“Let’s get away from the pack, just you and me.” I sigh and reach for Nia, telling her that everything’s just fine. “Lawson wants to meet you and I want this moment to be ours. I want it to be perfect. Can you do that for me, sweetheart?”
Lyall laughs. “Only if you hurry the fuck up, pretty boy.”