Chapter 32
Colt
By mid-October, I had gathered all the wolves of Dalesbloom that had chosen to remain. There weren’t many of them. What used to be a pack forty strong was reduced to about ten, including myself and Kiara. Most of the wolves had been captured and relocated by Mythguard, had been killed, or had fled. The same was true of the Inkscales, except that none of them remained. Most worryingly, Kipling had disappeared after the ritual. There were no dragons left in our home, just the remnants of my once great pack. But we would become great again, alongside Grandbay and Eastpeak, and our packs would flourish. It would just take time.
The sun was shining on a clear Saturday morning when my pack gathered in the yard behind Hexen Manor. The surrounding forest had turned vibrant shades of orange and yellow in the advancing autumn, and the grass beneath our feet was brittle. Ravens fluttered in the boughs and cawed distantly while a gentle breeze carried a mixture of our scents through the yard. Not just ours, but the scents of our neighbors, too. Gavin and Billie stood off to one side with their packmates, while Everett and Aislin stood to the other with theirs. Kiara and I were standing at the head of the gathering, looking at our eight packmates. All three packs were here for the official declaration of my claim to Dalesbloom.
I took a deep breath, meeting their eyes one by one. “Thank you all for gathering here today. Each and every one of you will form the foundation of a new Dalesbloom, with brighter ambitions, benevolent and humane goals, and the proactive pursuit of a healthy, balanced integration of our existence as shifters among humans,” I began. It was crucial to let them know that things were going to be different now with me in charge. I wasn’t going to follow in the footsteps of my cruel father. “In this new era of Dalesbloom, we do not seek power over our contemporaries. We will not allow our neighbors and friends to suffer if we should see fortune. Dalesbloom, Grandbay, and Eastpeak are equals, and as such, we will work to lift each other up rather than use one another for our own personal gain. We will unite against threats and see each other thrive.”
I smiled confidently at the Grandbay Alpha and then at the Eastpeak Alpha, assured of the strength of our alliance after the ordeals we had all gone through together.
“Dalesbloom will be seeing some critical changes in the future. Through the mutual agreement of all packmates present, we will be selling Hexen Manor and, with the funds from the sale, purchasing the apartment block at 102 Main Street. This building will become the new centralized base of our pack operations, and any who wish to own a suite in the building are more than welcome. We will begin a monthly tradition of hunting alongside our neighbors in Grandbay and Eastpeak, and every two weeks, the Alphas will conduct a meeting, the location of which will rotate among our three towns. At every full moon, we will perform a singing ceremony in honor of the lives lost during David Hexen’s descent into madness. And, finally, in a break from tradition, each Alpha’s mate will be seen as equal in power to their Alpha. Gavin Steele and Billie Steele lead Grandbay. Everett March and Aislin Mundy lead Eastpeak. And I, Colt Hexen, lead Dalesbloom alongside my mate, Kiara Vale. Our unity and friendship will see a long, successful reign over the towns of Gunnison National Forest.”
The crowd abruptly broke into applause, cheering for this declaration of promised prosperity. All three packs joined in the triumphant ovation. Our way of life was about to be irrevocably changed for the better, and we would all fight to defend it from any who sought to upend us. I was determined to lead my pack better than my father had done before me.
That night, our packs mingled in a celebration of our alliance. Tables were set out with food and drink, a great bonfire was lit in the yard, and we sat and talked and laughed with one another, reveling in the bounty of our friendship. We relished our company as friends, and for the first time, I felt like I was truly equal to Gavin and Everett, like they respected me.
Kiara was holding a glass of wine and standing with Billie and Aislin, chatting amicably with the women who had become her friends in the wake of her mother’s death. I admired how she was willing to let them into her life, honoring her mother’s affection for them. Nursing a beer, I approached Kiara from behind and slid my hand around her waist. The girls’ laughter tapered into quiet smiles as they greeted me. “Did I interrupt something?”
“No, we were just placing bets on which of our beefy Alpha mates would pump us full of babies first,” giggled Aislin.
“Oh. Well, I guess I’m already disqualified. I’ve got a way to go before I’m as beefy as Gavin and Everett,” I laughed.
We all glanced across the yard to where Gavin and Everett were playing a game of beer pong with their packmates.
“You’re getting there, sweetheart,” Kiara said warmly, smacking my bulging bicep. “Ooh. So sexy.”
I flexed just for her. “So, who’s most likely to get pumped full of babies, then?”
Aislin was quick to reply. “Billie. Obviously. You wouldn’t believe how much she and Gavin f—”
“Ew,” I interrupted as Billie’s cheeks flushed bright red. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”
Billie shoved Aislin in the arm. “Have a little discretion,” she said, chuckling under her breath.
“Whatever.” Aislin rolled her eyes. “You can’t deny all three Alphas are getting it on the regular,” she said, pointing at me and then gesturing over at Everett and Gavin, who both roared with victory as they won their game.
“Well, I already know Colt’s going to make a great dad,” purred Kiara. “You should have seen the way he coddled that little dragon baby.” She glanced up at me with complete adoration. At the time, I hadn’t thought about how it would come off, me caring for the infant as much as I did. I supposed it might have tickled Kiara a little.
“Nefrit? What did Mythguard decide to do with her?” asked Billie.
“She’s currently being fostered by a Mythguard operative,” I said, “but Kiara and I have begun the application process to adopt her. Sure, she’s a dragon, but we both have kind of a soft spot for her. We think we could raise her right, instill some proper morals in her, in a way Lothair wouldn’t have been able to. We want her to know that as a dragon, she doesn’t have to be oppressed. She can still live a free life and not have to hide in the night. And maybe from there, she can lead by example.”
“That’s mighty generous of you,” said Aislin. “I hope it works out.”
I wasn’t sure if Aislin was being sincere, but I knew from Billie’s enthusiastic nodding that at least my sister truly hoped the application would go through. “You would give her a wonderful life,” said Billie.
“Yes,” agreed Kiara, “and I think it would give us both some closure to have Nefrit with us.”
Before long, Gavin and Everett joined us, each with a beer in hand—Gavin loud and rambunctious from inebriation, and Everett strangely smiling. The six of us ventured off into a different conversation, laughing with one another and making new jokes that would form the powerful bonds of our friendship for a long time to come.
These were my people. My friends and family, whom I would love for as long as I lived. And I, Colt Hexen, Alpha of Dalesbloom, would work hard to protect them and this new life we had built. For the first time in a long time, I was happy. We all belonged together, and we all saw that.
Bound in blood and love, nothing would tear us apart.