Page 50 of Pack Rage
Aidan’s eyes widened, and a hint of his own enraged wolf emerged. He did know, or thought he did. Finnick had told stories about his parents’ infidelity. Had Aidan been hurt by his mate’s behavior, all these years?
I crossed one leg over the other, almost lazily. “Are you considering keeping her in your dungeon? Sorry, lower levels.”
“Or killing her,” he admitted, his gaze taking me apart, looking for the lie in my words or behavior.
I shrugged. “Of course I would be against that, considering I’m stuck with her. And killing her outright will leave you with no leadership of many packs. The smaller packs could get ideas. The larger ones could attempt to become independent. Mountain’s power …” His gaze sharpened with greed as he considered that pack’s thousands under his command.Time to make him see.“Mountain could fall back into Samuel’s hands. He’s still alive. If you kill his son by executing his mate, even if she is a witch… well, you know how loyal those Mountain shifters are to their own. I’ve heard they may have a witch who lives on their packlands.”
He snarled. “You’re trying to find some way to keep her alive.”
“Of course I am. Look at him.” I nodded at Callaway. “Look at what happened with too much distance from a true mate.” Aidan’s glass stopped halfway to his mouth, though I was almost certain he was pretending his shock. “You didn’t know? He had a true mate and threw her out of the packlands to die, years ago. That’s why he’s so weak. Why he smells two seconds away from going feral. You don’t wantthatrunning Southern.” I gestured to Callaway, who was practically foaming at the mouth, proving my point.
“Do you know who she is, his true mate?” Aidan demanded. Callaway tried to answer, but he barked a command. “No, you stay silent. Luke, tell me about her.”
I had kept this information from Elina, even under magical duress. But now, I was almost certain this would only help Flor to survive. “Lily was her name, wasn’t it?” I directed the question at Callaway. “Flor’s mother.”
Aidan didn’t react, and I knew somehow he’d figured this out. “Do you know who she is?” he repeated, and I got it. Aidan knew about Callaway having a mate, probably knew she was still alive, since Callaway was. But he didn’t know who Lily was, where she’d come from.
“I know some, though it was a surprise to learn she came from the We—” I pretended to choke on the last word, like Aidan had, though I would have been able to speak of it now. I had no allegiance to this shifter or his packs. My only queen was Flor, and I was going to do whatever it took to keep her alive, no matter what that might be. Even if it meant speaking a promise I had no intention of keeping.
I cleared my throat, ducking my head gratefully when Aidan waved me to silence. “No need to share more now. We’ll speak of it after the Council meeting. Everything will change tomorrow.” I didn’t know what he meant, but he wasn’t wrong. Tomorrow would be full of changes for all of us.
A few moments later, with my hand on the law book, and Aidan’s greedy eyes on mine, I did just that. I made the vow to follow the Council’s rule under Aidan’s leadership, then stated, “My vow and full obedience is contingent on this: I demand to formally challenge Calvin Callaway for the leadership of the Southern Pack, tomorrow under the full moon. And that the Alpha challenge portion of the Council gathering will occur before any other decisions are made, so I can cast my vote as the Southern Alpha, at the side of the Council Head.” Aidan’s eyes narrowed, and I tacked on, “Your side, Alpha Aidan McDonnell.”
“It sounds like the perfect way to start a new chapter in our pack’s history,” he agreed, as Callaway twisted and fumed on the sofa, snarling, though he was unable to speak. “Your challenge will take place first. Then you and I will clear the way for a new era of leadership at Northern as well.” Aidan nodded at Niall, who had just stepped inside the doorway. He tossed back the rest of his drink, then gestured carelessly at Callaway. “Escort the old Alpha to a room and keep him there. Our guest and I will dine.”
His hand was heavy on my shoulder as he guided me to the formal dining room, and the atmosphere was tense during the meal, the servant girls obviously terrified of their Alpha. But I made it through dinner without breaking down.
When I reached my room that night, though, I slept, until an energy surge of terrifying proportions woke me in the night. It felt as if I’d been drinking from a garden hose that turned into Niagara Falls, but all I could do was open my mouth wider and try not to drown, until it suddenly eased off.
Hello, little brother,Grigor whispered, his voice in my head as loud as a ringing bell.
Before I could reply, another voice was there.Hello, mate.
Was that…Flor?
Her laughter rang in my soul.Well, it ain’t the Princess of Peoria.
Chapter 24
Names
FLOR
It took a hot minute to get everybody to stop trying to kill everyone else, and I was well past pissed when the cell finally got quiet enough to let them know it. “Honest to goodness, I never seen so many grown-ass adults throwing fits like it’s an hour past your damned naptime. Now y’all hush thehellup, before I start kickin’ your butts and blessin’ your hearts the old-fashioned way.” I stood on a chair, glaring at every one of the idiots who’d been wrecking the already messy room. At least the food was still mostly on top of the table, and not under it.
In the far corner of the room, Margarette was holding Bradley back from attacking Grigor—again—and agreed. “If you can’t calm down, Bradley, I’ll help her.”
“What does she mean by blessing our hearts?” Grigor asked Finnick, wiping a fleck of blood off his lip. He’d let Bradley get a few punches in, I was pretty sure, but they hadn’t fazed him. He was biting the inside of his cheek, trying to keep from laughing.
“You don’t wanna find out,” I promised, hopping down to check on Mama, who’d gotten agitated and started acting like her old self again, crazy and muttering. My heart sank.
“What’s wrong with her?” Margarette asked after a moment. “Silver poisoning?”
“I don’t know. She’s got silver in her system. But that’s what’s been keepin’ her sane. I thought, anyway. But when she was with my dad, she was clear-headed. Now… Yeah, this is the mate sickness she’s had most of her life, and all of mine.” I sighed as Mama pressed a hand to her gut, and another to her temple, like she was hurting in both places. She probably was.
“I’ve never met your mother,” Margarette said hesitantly. The last day I was in Northern with her, she’d more or less admitted she knew who I was, in relation to Callaway. “I thought she was…”
“Yeah, so did I.” I sighed, but relaxed a little when Mama seemed to settle. “Where are my manners? Margarette, this is my mama, Lily. Lily, this is Margarette Hillier.” I didn’t add their titles, since I wasn’t sure how Mama might react to me saying it out loud to Margarette.
