Page 99 of Pack Rage
“You’re an Alpha Mother,” Sergeant said. “What did you think that meant?”
Was I hyperventilating? I felt my mates send soothing waves of comfort through our bonds, and suddenly, I could breathe again. “I really didn’t know what it meant. I thought it was ceremonial, or something.”
Sergeant took a deep breath. “I was a member of the Moonblessed Warriors. One of the youngest, but I had the same training. One of the first lessons we were taught was about balance—that the moon gave us witchcraft and wolfcraft, Alphas and Alpha Mothers. But the truth is that all of it comes from one source, and it’s only our understanding of the moon’s power that makes it seem like there is a distinction.” He took his own empty coffee mug and a juice glass from the center of the table. Lifting a pitcher of water, he poured half of the water into one, and the rest into the other. “Is one of these coffee, and the other juice, just because of the shape of the containers?”
What was he saying? My mouth was suddenly bone dry, but I sure as fuck wasn’t going to drink either one of those containers of water.
I looked around the table at every one of my mates, and Margarette, and even Sergeant. They were all smiling now. “No. Not just no,hellno.” I put a hand over my heart, wondering if a shifter my age could die of a heart attack. “Not in a million years.”
Grigor! Get me out of here.I needed him; I didn’t think my legs were gonna work. The fucker just laughed in my thoughts, though I felt him grow nearer.
“Don’t fret, wildflower,” Brand murmured, stepping closer. “You don’t have to lead the Council. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want. You owe them nothing. The women and girls at Eastern, the rest of Southern, the Tenebris boys—they’ll be fine. Surely they’ll trust decisions made for them by strange males.”
He grinned as I bared my teeth at him. “And Grigor thinks you’re the role model? That was low.”
Margarette shook her head. “You all have to stand together. The Alphas won’t listen to a woman as young as you are, no matter how worthy or strong. How old are you, Flor?”
“Twenty,” Luke answered for me. “She turned twenty on July thirtieth.”
“Ah, wildflower. I missed your birthday?”
“We all did.” Finn stood and walked to my side, dropping to one knee. “I’ll make it up to you next month, if you’ll let me. I’ll take you out, and show you the best part of living this close to a city.”
I swallowed. “Take me out? Like, a date?”
“Dinner at my favorite rooftop restaurant, maybe the ballet, or the symphony. Dancing, if you like.”
I wasn’t sure why I was blushing. “A date. I’ve never been on a date before.” In the background, the other guys were groaning and cursing softly, but Finn’s green eyes had my complete attention.
“I’ll be honored to be your first.”
“I can’t wait,” I whispered, leaning forward to kiss him.
“Enough romancing the girl,” Sergeant snapped. “It’s time.”
Brand murmured into my ear as we walked down the hallway, his hand on my arm all that kept me from running away, “Remember, wildflower. I love you above all else. Everything is your choice.”
Pretty words, but I knew that sometimes the world made the choices for you.
Chapter 47
The Strongest Alpha
FLOR
Sergeant and Margarette led us out to the back of the Mansion, striding ahead of me and guys to the battlefield. The landscape had changed over the course of the day, thank goodness. There was almost no mud now, like someone had sucked the blood straight out of the soil. I had a feeling I knew who was responsible for that, since Grigor’s bond was practically buzzing with energy.
The Mountain and Northern shifters had taken on the task of organizing the dead. All the Russian corpses, including Ivan, were piled up on the far edge of the ring, on top of some wooden pallets. No one stood near them, or spared them more than a glance.
“So much for the alliance,” I muttered, feeling eyes on me from every direction. I would have stuck out my middle fingers at the dead Russian bodies, but I had manners. Not a lot of manners, but at least that much.
The dead Eastern Enforcers, with Aidan’s body wrapped in what looked like an old tablecloth, were in a separate pile, and their two dozen or so mourners were far fewer than I would havethought. Finn hadn’t been kidding about his pack not coming back to help, not even to send their own to the moon. I shivered at the coldness of their behavior, more than the chill in the air.
“Some of them are too frightened to come. Most of the ones who would mourn these are still in the lower levels,” Finn reminded me.
Ah yeah, waiting for judgment.My heart ached for Finn, but his jaw was clenched, so I stayed quiet. I knew how it felt to have a shitty pack. There was nothing I could say to make it better, but I grabbed his hand and squeezed. When he squeezed back, his shoulders dropped just a little.
The dead from the overseas visitors and the smaller packs were stacked carefully, with nicer cloths covering their bodies, and even some pine branches and a few hothouse flowers spread around the wooden platforms. Their surviving pack members stood by, anger etched in their faces, some of their fists clenched as if they were grasping at invisible swords. Anger surrounded them like an invisible cloud.
