Chapter 34
A VALUABLE MATE
NIA
“Your wolf isn’t white, Nia. It’s the color of the moon herself. Your mark…”
Carl’s shaken. It’s fucking unnerving.
Elite Guards are assholes. Hard and ruthless. Cold as ice and calculating to boot. He’ll have killed more wolves than he could count in a lifetime and I doubt he has any intention of stopping now. He’s a fanatic, in a way. Sworn to severe The Council and the High Lords.
The ones who rule over us all.
They’re touched by the Goddess herself.
Ordinary wolves rarely meet them and live to tell the tale, so their claims of divine intervention are a legend in whose shadow we live. They’re beyond question and even The Council has little standing with them, afraid to challenge the authority of wolves favored by the Moon Goddess.
Carl’s hands tremble and Cole gets up, smirking as he makes his way to a cupboard and pours the poor man a large whisky. He places the crystal glass on the countertop and its clunk does nothing to ease the tension in the room.
“You’re blessed.”
Luke’s heart skips so many beats that I glance back at him, worried he might fall off his chair. When it decides to start again, it’s pounding so hard against his chest that it might break free from its confines and his breathing is as uneasy as mine.
I’m swaying. I’m trying not to but my weight’s swinging around as wildly as my thoughts and my balance is struggling to hold.
My head’s spinning and Lyall’s howls aren’t helping, my thoughts consumed by her cries as they mingle with Lawson’s.
My wolf’s running wild with Luke’s, and neither of us has them under control.
And we need to keep control.
I can’t afford to lose control and shift, or worse, fail to complete the transformation and get stuck on the kitchen floor.
Not when an Elite Guard is staring at me like he wants even more from me than he did when he arrived.
Not when Luke’s about to lose his shit, interpreting Carl’s expression as a challenge for his mate.
“It’s not…”
Carl’s hand moves horizontally, cutting me off. “I’ll show you if you turn around, Nia.”
Luke snarls and Carl’s hands rise defensively, as he leans back, his body language signaling he’s not aggressive without entirely submitting. The two male wolves stare each other down and Carl tips his head, finally giving in and offering Luke a concession.
I exhale, loudly. Too loudly.
“Turn her around yourself, Alpha,” Carl says, his eyebrows rising as his eyes look at me. “I’ll show you the mark the High Lords bear.”
Luke’s eyes blackened and I reach for him, worried that we’re about to face an obstacle we can’t overcome. This is a complication I never even thought was possible and I’m floundering, unsure what any of it means or how it could even be true.
“It’s okay, Nia,” Luke says, his voice no louder than a whisper but strong enough to dampen down my doubts. “Knowing is better than not knowing, and we’re going to have to face this, sooner or later.”
His hands grip my shoulders, steadying me as he shuffles me so I’m between him and Carl.
Luke’s still able to cut across any movement Carl makes, intercepting any attack, but they’re both able to look at my back.
They’re all looking at my back. All three of them, now that Cole’s decided he needs to see as well.
“Our Beta needs to know, Nia. He’ll protect you and protect this pack, but he needs to know why and what we’re facing.”
I nod and I hate it. I’m being put on display and it’s deeply unpleasant. It’s an intrusion I don’t like and I’m not prepared to forgive it easily, I just don’t know who’s to blame for this awful shitshow.
“There.” Carl pauses. “It’s that crescent moon that cups the northern star as it sits surrounded by all its phases. It’s resting on moonflowers, in case you wondered what they were. That mark tells the world that you belong with the rest of the High Lords”
I look over my shoulder and down my back, and I can’t quite see what he’s pointing at.
Luke’s fingers stroke the center of my spine between my shoulder blades and I moan, unable to stop the sound of pleasure as it rolls up out of my throat.
I turn and drop my head against Luke, shaky and unsure, and his arms fold around me, pulling my cardigan up.
“What if they want me to…”
“They’ll be unlucky, sweetheart.” Luke’s hand runs over my head, smoothing my hair. “You’re mine and I’ll be damned if I let you go. Not to anyone or for anyone. Not even a High Lord or all of them.”
Carl coughs abruptly and its dry, dark sound contrasts with the tension in the room. “She is your mate, Alpha. No other male could ever give her that, even if you’re not a High Lord.”
I don’t know if he’s referring to the mark on my back or the warm burst of arousal that pulsed through me. Lyall sure as fuck doesn’t care either, and she bares her teeth, deciding she’s had quite enough of the arrogant, insolent wanker sitting in our kitchen.
“There hasn’t been a female High Lord in centuries.” Cole stumbles into a chair, still staring at me. “You should consider whether you wish to stay here or join the other males.”
Carl picks up his glass and necks his whisky, still staring at my back. His breathing turns heavier as he sucks air between his teeth, and the scent of trepidation creeps toward me.
“It explains a few things,” he says, swirling his glass as his eyes follow the drags of whisky as they swirl around the crystal.
“It’s why your wolf survived the wolfsbane and silver.
She’s not like other wolves, Nia. She’s stronger, faster, more ferocious.
You’ll make a wonderful mother, in case you’re worried. ”
“I wasn’t,” I hiss.
He smiles, briefly meeting my gaze before his returns to the oranges and ambers spiraling around his glass.
“Bastan told The Council that Luke had taken you to breed you, and that you were far too weak to survive him. Your father knows a lot of secrets, Nia, and he used them to blackmail members of The Council, forcing them to invoke the covenants and send us to retrieve you.”
Luke’s hold tightens and his anger explodes. He’s enraged at the suggestion he’d hurt me and I sink my head into his chest, trying to stop myself from thinking that was exactly what he intended when he took me.
“I didn’t think you were my mate.”
“I know, but it doesn’t change what happened.” I pull back to meet his gaze and his eyes are as stormy as his emotions. “You took me. The Elders told you and you didn’t care.”
“We agreed to draw a line under this.” Luke’s pleading with me as much as he is insisting that this needs to stop. “You hurt me too, Nia, and we said we wouldn’t bring things up to score cheap points.”
“This isn't scoring points.”
A low growl rumbles from Luke, his chest vibrating as his head lifts and he glares at the werewolf who’s intruding on us.
Carl’s not done, and both of us know he’s barely begun explaining what is going on.
Our wolves howl in agreement, falling silent only when the Elite sitting opposite us takes another deep breath.
“Your father isn’t actually an Alpha, Nia.
He used to be an Elite Guard. One of our best, as it happens.
It’s how he knows so much about everyone and it’s why he’s a formidable Alpha.
He fell in love with your mother, but she’d already found her mate and she was devoted.
But her mate died suddenly and it was all rather tragic until the Moon Goddess gave her a second one. ”
“My father?” I ask, my voice trembling.
“It can’t have been your father,” Luke says, his voice dangerously low in tone. “My father was her second chance mate. That’s why he was there that day and it’s why he wouldn’t leave your mother. You don’t get gifted a mate if you already have one, Nia.”
My eyes dart to Carl and beg him to tell me that there’s been some mistake, that it’s possible that she could have had two. I’m praying for a second miracle when I know there’s none to be had, certain that even the Goddess herself couldn’t intervene and make this right for me.
“Given what we know, it’s not that hard to put the pieces together,” Carl says and his expression changes until there’s only an apology. “I am sorry, Nia.”
I stare blankly wondering what it is that everyone else knows.
“Your father killed your mother’s mate to claim her, Nia,” Cole says, looking pained as he decides it’s kindest if he breaks this news.
“Someone skilled enough to use wolfsbane and silver could easily pull off shadowfrax. Your mother would have been convinced she was his mate until she found her true one.”
Luke’s hands stroke my back and I stutter a sob, too stunned to do anything else as my world disintegrates.
“Your father knows you’re powerful but I doubt he realizes you’re blessed by the Moon Goddess, Nia.
” Carl’s tone is far too careful, and he knows he’s pushing it.
“You’re his only heir and he wouldn’t be giving you away so easily if he knew how precious you were.
Alphas would be fighting over you if they knew of an available and unbonded female High Lord. ”
I shake my head, surrendering to the madness sweeping through me.
Lyall’s running wild and her aggression has been unleashed without a target to hand.
She’s full of fury and rage, ragging like a wounded creature hellbent on revenge, and the only person she wants to rip limb from fucking limb isn’t here.
I’m not doing any better and my emotions collide with each other as my thoughts blow me around like a ragdoll hurtling through a hurricane.
I’m distraught, I’m livid, I’m sad and I’m grieving all over again.
I don’t know what I am anymore and the world seems to fade away as I retreat into my shell, stepping back from the pain of it as it wounds me yet again.
Part of me screams I need to run away, that this is too much, even for Luke. Even with him. But there's a fire inside me that won't go out and it burns for him, determined to stay alight, no matter how dark and cold the nights around us.
And it's insistent that I stay.
“I’ve got it from here, sweetheart,” Luke says, doing everything he can to help me as he reaches for me. “Just hold on for me, pretty girl. We’re almost done and then everything else can wait. It’ll be just you and me, and whatever it is you need. Just hold on for me.”
“Nia’s a High Lord, and that ought to help with The Council.
” I hear Carl shift as his fingers drum on the stone.
“But they’re not going to be thrilled about any of this, and it’ll be tricky to prove what Bastan did.
It’s all just circumstantial. Even Nia’s poisoning.
He could blame it on someone else and he’s got enough influence to get away with it. ”
“You think we should cut the head off the snake, don’t you?” Cole asks, his voice as sharp as any sword.
Luke’s fingers find the crescent moon which cups the northern star and I sink into him, relaxing a little as his touch takes the edge off my anxiety.
“That’s a little convenient, Carl.” Luke’s snarl sends a shiver rolling down my spine, and there’s nothing veiled about the threat he’s making.
“You’d have your revenge without getting any blood on your hands, and without any risk of repercussion.
I assume you’d be angling for Bastan’s position when the dust settles. ”
He laughs, its sound as sharp as nails scraping down a blackboard.
“The thought hadn’t escaped me, Alpha. But I’d make sure you and Nia were in the clear.
The Council decreed there would be no appeal, Luke.
Not for any reason. A female High Lord is a valuable mate and others might hope she would be gifted a second chance if anything untoward… ”
Luke’s fist slams onto the marble and my tears start falling as I cling to him, shaking like the leaves Lyall chased around the garden.
I’m on the verge of collapse and the thought of losing him is too much.
It’s all too fucking much. It’s another injury in a lifetime of hurt and I want to crawl into a hole and stay there, sinking into the earth until it buries me whole.
“Kill Bastan and you can tell whatever story you like,” Carl continues.
“The members of The Council he has under his thumb will be grateful that their secrets have died with him. I’ll even offer you an indefinite alliance, sworn on the Moon Goddess, once I’m Alpha—and all you have to do is kill the fucker who hurt your mate. ”
“He’s also her father,” Cole says, his voice another threatening growl in a room filled with angry men. “And an Elite, as you delighted in pointing out.”
A chair scrapes and I assume Carl’s getting to his feet, excusing himself from the carnage he’s created.
“Nia’s a High Lord,” he says, his voice laced with cruel amusement. “I’m sure she’ll have it covered if you don’t, Alpha. Protect your pack, Luke. Protect your Luna.”
Cole and Luke growl in unison and I hear Cole’s footsteps edge away as he walks toward the kitchen door.
They’re heavy but not nearly as heavy as the weight pressing down on me, and my sobbing grows a little louder as I fail to contain the flood of emotions.
Its waters are breaching the dams that held them back, and I’m standing in a pool of rising water, certain I’m about to drown in its dark and murky depths.
“Take care of our guest, Cole,” Luke barks.
I’m not sure what Luke’s order means precisely, but his tone is a damn clear sign he’s not fucking around. Venom laces every word and the Elite who walked in here and told us some harsh and unforgivable truths hasn’t been rewarded with his trust or friendship.
Not yet.
Not until Luke’s sure I’m safe. Until he’s sure Carl’s not a threat.
His hackles rise as Cole ushers him out and I stammer and spit my cries out as I fight to hold them back.
The front door slams and his arms hold me steady as I collapse onto him.
Our wolves are feral and my thoughts run away with me, leaving me hysterical and clinging to the only thing that matters.