Filed to story: The Wolf Prince’s Fated Love
I promised her silently, then and there, that if I had to, I’d burn the whole damn council house down around their ears to fix this.
And as I watched a silent tear trail down her cheek, I vowed that I would never make her cry another if it killed me.
When she looked away, I cleared my throat and stepped forward. Every eye except hers turned toward me, and I spoke with conviction. “I propose that we request an amendment to the law to delay ODL action until the age of twenty. If we can’t get it overturned completely, that buys us time. But I also think we should add in a reading of the omega’s powers before action can be taken against them. Narcissa was the only omega to ever have the gift of war. She was a single grain of sand amid an ocean of wolves. It’s possible that if we can get them to agree to give exemptions to any omegas who have gentle gifts, all our problems could be solved.”
I rubbed my jaw, examining my pack mates’ reactions as I continued. “The weight of worry that would be lifted off our pregnant she-wolves alone would save lives. Stress adds to the mortality rate.”
“He’s right,” Brielle said with a nod. “There are plenty of studies on the impact of microaggressions and heightened stress on pregnant humans. It’s one of the few things that isn’t different for wolves. I would be willing to go on record that this has already negatively impacted our pack because of what happened to Gracelyn.” She shot a nervous look at Reed and Dirge, then continued. “She had a uterine tear, and it occurred very shortly after the Omega Defense League enforcers arrived at the great pack gathering. If my wolf hadn’t been able to repair that, we would have lost all three of them that day.”
Silence reigned, and Lucien was the first one to break.
“What do you mean, your wolf repaired it? Aren’t you a doctor?”
Brielle’s eyes went wide as she realized her error. “Umm, well, I…”
Kane stood, stepping in front of her and blocking her from Lucien’s line of sight. “It’s time we told you why this is so important to our pack. If everyone is in agreement?” he asked, looking around the room and waiting for each of us to nod our consent.
I locked eyes with Leigh as I nodded. Seeing the tension fill her baby blues made me want to step in front of her, like Kane had Brielle. But I knew that wouldn’t be welcome, so I held my position across from her.
“Brielle is an omega. The first known to have survived to adulthood in centuries, since the omega wars and the resulting hunt by the ODL. When she says her wolf healed the uterine tear, she means her wolf has innate powers that guided her to magically correct it. Her gift is fertility, and she’s been blessed by the Goddess that no pregnant females will die while she’s present, and no pups will be lost. Her gift is a threat to no one, except those who want to keep wolves oppressed.”
I watched Lucien’s face carefully as he listened, first shock, then awe, then confusion finally winning out. “That’s… incredible. But how did she not get murdered at birth? I thought it wasn’t possible to get past the ODL’s detection.”
Brielle peeked around Kane’s back, giving Lucien a kind smile. Her still-water scent perfumed the room, taking the edge off my mood even before she spoke. “A very powerful curse that drains my wolf’s powers and renders me weak enough to be undetectable.”
He blinked rapidly, and I didn’t envy him trying to process all this in a few minutes when the rest of us had gotten weeks to get through it. But to the man’s credit, he didn’t jump to conclusions.
Like I had.
I shot a regretful look at Brielle, feeling like an ass all over again for ever suggesting we turn her in to the ODL.
Now, my daughter was the next omega. The Goddess had a real sense of humor.
“So, as you can imagine, this isn’t a someday problem. This is a deeply personal issue to Pack Blackwater, and to me as high alpha,” Kane said, still watching Lucien closely.
“I understand, High Alpha. I’ll do my best, and I won’t say a word.”
“Thank you.”
Tension leaked out of the room like air from a pinhole in a balloon. After a few moments of collective processing, Reed brought us back around to the topic at hand. “I think petitioning for more time and for a test of the omega’s powers are great ideas, Gael. Does anyone else have more to add?”
Leigh was idly rubbing her stomach, her face troubled as she thought. “Is anyone else worried that the more attention we put on the omega issue-to outsiders, seemingly out of nowhere-that we’re actually increasing our risk of Brielle getting caught? She’s under the radar right now, but the more we push, won’t they push back and dig harder to find some kind of leverage on us?”
Shit, she had a point. A point that could bring a firestorm down on our baby too, if more scrutiny fell on our pack. Which was stress Leigh did not need. I dragged a palm over my stubble-I hadn’t shaved in at least two days, and it itched-and racked my brain for alternatives.
“As the high alpha, I have a bit more leeway on bringing issues that affect all wolves to the council without personal scrutiny, but I can’t deny that there’s risk. If we want to operate within and change the laws, though, we don’t have much choice. And Brielle’s training as a doctor makes her uniquely poised to address the effects of that added stress to all our females.” He shot a mournful look at Brielle. I could tell it was killing him to put her in any danger, and I felt that to my damn bones.
If I could lock Leigh and Petal into a tower Rapunzel-style and guarantee the ODL couldn’t get them? I’d do it in a heartbeat. Not that she’d consent to being locked away. But I’d be willing to deal with her hatred if it kept her and our child safe.
“We can keep the focus broad. I think Kane’s right, though, knowing what I do now,” Lucien said. “Does anyone have anything else they want added to the petition?”
“Penalties,” Shay blurted, and all eyes turned to her. “There should be penalties put in place against the ODL and a formal review process to handle things like what happened to Gracelyn at the ODL. They shouldn’t get to harass us with no recourse. Right now, they’re above the law, and that’s not okay.” She lifted her chin even as she stepped closer to Dirge’s side, as if she could hide from the attention.
As everyone discussed the various ways we could and should ask for review or removal of overzealous ODL agents, Leigh excused herself and stepped out of the room.
Everything in me wanted to follow her, but I’d already left her two notes and a credit card. Following her was definitely not giving her space. So, I gritted my teeth and stayed put as my heart walked out the door without me.
FORTY-EIGHT
Leigh
Aweek after our meeting, the Council did indeed come back and say there was no wrongdoing found on the part of the ODL during their investigation. Lucien immediately submitted the new petition we’d put together.
Another three weeks had passed since Lucien took the petition to the IGC, and it had been oddly quiet ever since. We’d all fallen into a strange sort of rhythm. I was-carefully, with Bri’s and Oli’s approval-leading daily runs and yoga classes for pack females who wanted to join me. Shay was working daily on her fae powers and getting better at being a human battery for Bri, and using it defensively with Dirge and any cocky Caelestis Pack males who were willing to play crash-test dummy. Oli was thriving with our pack and always bringing up some new medical tidbit she’d learned at dinner.
She was also making eyes at Lucien every time he came to dinner, but we were politely pretending we didn’t see it. Anytime someone brought up his name, she blushed, the curse of the redheads. It was adorable.
But all the while, we were in limbo. The men had daily meetings, Lucien gave us slow-as-snail updates, and in between, we waited.
The topic of flying back to Alaska had come up once or twice, but despite all of us being restless, we agreed that staying close to the council was for the best. Eventually, they’d want to see us again, and we needed to be available at a moment’s notice so they couldn’t throw out our petition again.
It was infuriating, much like buttoning my shorts these days. Gael’s credit card lay on my nightstand, where it would have gotten dusty if housekeeping didn’t come in daily to clean this room. But soon, I would need new clothes.
My workout stuff was stretchy, but anything cutting into my stomach made me crazy these days. I was officially in the second trimester, and the nausea had finally, finally gone away for the most part. In its place was ravenous hunger. If food wasn’t nailed down, I was going to eat it. Which wasn’t helping my clothes fit.
Which was part of the reason I was currently standing in my room post-evening-workout, staring down at my nonfitting jean shorts, desperately trying to get the button to close the distance. It didn’t stand a chance. I was over an inch and a half shy, because Petal was officially making her presence known to everyone. I had a real-life baby bump, and that was the fifth pair of shorts in a row that wouldn’t button.
I sighed in defeat and pulled a sundress out of my closet. It was high waisted and loose, covered in sunflowers, with sleeves that hung low and showed off my shoulders. Just looking at it made me happy. My boobs were straining at the ties up top, but that was more socially acceptable than having my stomach hang out of my unbuttoned shorts, so it would have to do.
When I stepped out into the hall, I immediately scented Gael. His typical pine scent was stronger than usual, the ylang-ylang and masculine musk heavy in the air, as if he’d been sweaty when he’d walked through the hall.
It had been happening every day, and I suspected that he was running himself ragged in the gym, just like I was with my outdoor runs, to keep his distance. And like every other day this week, my mate’s scent had my core soaked in two seconds flat. Which was especially irritating because my panties were also starting to get too small, and I hadn’t worn any just to run down to the kitchen for a late-night snack.