Filed to story: Owned by the Alphas Novel
“But we needed to know you could still do it after…everything,” Derik said softly.
I nodded. I got that.
“And you said you were angry at it. We had to make sure it wasn’t going to get angry back. That it was still going to do as you said,” Kai added as he took me through to our suite.
He laid me down in bed then grabbed the tray of oils from the bathroom.
My Alphas each took one and began massaging out my sore muscles.
I moaned and sunk deeper into the mattress.
“So, I passed the test?” I murmured.
“Eventually. Once you forgot enough about them to use them on instinct. It took longer than we thought to draw them out of you,” Derik said, his voice soothing enough for me to keep my eyes closed.
“You told me not to use magic. That it was the rules,” I reminded.
Kai scoffed. “Like that has ever mattered. If you had really wanted out, you would have busted out of those ropes within seconds using magic.”
I grinned in my half-dazed state. “That’s because I didn’t really want out.”
Brax chuckled as he moved to sit by my head, lifting mine into his lap so he could give it a massage.
They kissed over my oiled skin, let me massage them, soothed me, cared for me for hours. They even fed me.
It was amazing after the last few days to finally feel so relaxed and at peace.
Maybe we were at war, but it was nice to stop and take a second to enjoy the little things. To enjoy being mates.
I relaxed into bed with them, in our usual sleeping positions, ready to sleep off the rest of the day in bliss.
I should have known better than to get comfortable.
There was a quick rap on the door and I sat up, holding the blankets to my chest. My Alphas frowned at the door. Kai growled and Derik pulled me into him.
“What is it, Hank?” He demanded in his Alpha tone.
Hank opened the door, shirtless and damp. He had either been fucking off the last of the heat or on patrol.
Based on his worried, anxious gaze, I was guessing the latter.
Which never meant good things.
“I’ve been told to deliver a message,” he said, his eyes flickering to Brax.
I narrowed my eyes on him.
“Then deliver it,” I said warily.
“That Heather girl said that we either give Alpha Braxton Trux to them by midnight tomorrow or we all die,” Hank grimaced.
All our eyes went to Brax, but his were empty. And that was scarier than the ultimatum we had just been given.
31. The Countdown
Lorelai
“Don’t even think about it, Mate. I just got you back,” I snapped as we rushed to pull on clothes.
The pack was solid after the heat and had no intention of handing Brax over, which meant the real war, the one we had been waiting for, was going to start.
But Brax was closed off, not speaking, only thinking.
Derik had already left, chasing down the council so they could put in a formal request for a summit meeting with the rogues.
“They sound certain of our deaths, Spitfire. If I can avoid that by handing myself over–“
Before he could finish his sentence, Kai shoved him against the wall, his fist gripping Brax’s shirt.
Brax went wide-eyed then pursed his lips at Kai.
“Did you not hear our mate? We just got you back,” Kai snapped then let him go and dared him to argue with a scowl so fierce even I shrunk back.
So that was where the anger stemmed from? Kai had been worried about Brax too? He should have just said that.
But it didn’t matter now, we had to stop Brax from being a martyr.
“I didn’t say I was going to. Just that it has to be an option, even if it is the last one,” he said, tugging on his vest.
I shook my head, “No, it doesn’t. If they want a fight, then we fight. We do not give in to them.”
Brax said nothing, and that worried me. I eyed Kai, who was glaring at Brax.
His features softened when he looked at me, “Don’t worry, Little Luna, I’ll watch him and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid,” Kai smirked, kissing me.
We left the suite, and I went straight to the nursery.
Cain and Beenie were waiting there like I had asked them to.
Beenie looked uneasy as usual, but Cain was playing with Zale, showing him his magic. Enzi was still asleep. Alaric was watching, cooing in the only language he knew how to speak at the moment.
Kai and Brax left to start organizing the warriors into position. If we were going to be at war, we had to make sure we were ready.
Which I wasn’t sure anyone could be.
Especially since we didn’t have time to rescue the witches. Not if the rogues were really going to attack at midnight.
Then again, the emergency summit request could be granted.
That was our only hope.
Which is why I asked Cain and Beenie the impossible.
“I need you two to take the children for me,” I said.
Cain raised a brow but Beenie nodded. Like she was expecting it.
“I don’t want them anywhere near here when this happens. Take the children somewhere safe and don’t tell me where. But I need you to leave today, just in case.”
Cain frowned and stood from where he had been playing, “You think they will attack? That things will go that bad?” he asked.
I shook my head, “I have no idea if they will go that way. But if they do, I want to know the children are safe. Well, as safe as they can be. The rogues want them which means the witches do.”
Beenie sighed and stepped away from the window, “We’ll watch them,” she said.
“Thank you. I don’t trust the witches not to grant this meeting just to take advantage of the twins and Alaric being undefended,” I murmured.
I wasn’t sure if they would but it was a pit in my stomach that wouldn’t give up. It made me sure that things were not going to be easy.
That the peace and connection of the heat was the realm giving us the boost in morale and power that we needed before everything turned to shit.
If I was right, then our heirs couldn’t be involved.
“And the pack? If you leave to the summit, who will defend them?” Cain asked.
“That’s what Kai and Brax are organizing now. Hopefully it is enough to keep everyone safe until we get back,” I said, going to Alaric and picking him up. I kissed the top of his head then sat down on the sofa to hold him, feed him, cuddle him until I wasn’t going to have the chance.
“Why is Derik bothering with that fucking meeting? The rogues are working with the witches and the rogues don’t want a fucking solution,” Cain snapped.
“We have a plan and it is important, Cain. I promise,” I said.
We hadn’t told anyone else of our plan to rescue the witches. We hadn’t told them of the witches. We didn’t want them to be hurt or punished because of what we knew.
It was safer if they didn’t know.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?