Nicolas POV
“This is absolutely absurd! How do you expect us to just hand over our Luna?” Ronan asked angrily. “He injected her with wolfsbane, leaving her in excruciating pain. What kind of animal would do that to another being? And he claims to be her mate? He would hurt her more if we gave her to him!”
Noah decided it was safer for him to leave Zara there in the hallway of the restaurant. There were too many humans around to put up a proper fight. He left through the back door of the kitchen, followed by Levi, who vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
Zara was completely unconscious when I attended to her. Her reaction to the wolfsbane was normal and not too critical to handle.
The local police insisted on taking Zara to the hospital when they arrived.
I tried to assure them that everything was fine and that the drug Noah gave her would wear off soon; however, they refused to listen.
Kyle quickly got on the phone and called his buddy, the police commissioner, and told him what had transpired.
Thank the Goddess that his friend was a wolf and understood the situation. After a few minutes, we had resolved all the issues and could proceed.
My mind flashed back to getting into the SUV.
Levi’s phone suddenly rang, and he hesitated.
“Kyle, help me with Zara,” I called him.
Kyle quickly opened the passenger door and helped me get Zara inside, while Levi pulled his phone from his pocket, looked at the caller ID, and his face darkened as he answered.
“Yes,” he hissed, anger and frustration lacing his voice. “Very well. I will keep her safe. You have my word.”
He cut the call, shook his head, and got into the SUV.
“What was that all about?” Kyle inquired as he approached the driver’s side.
“My father called again,” he said. “The rogue sightings had worsened. He is afraid that we will be ambushed if we return to Silverado Pack…”
“Then we will go to my pack,” I stated, cutting him off. “Inform your father.”
Levi nodded and made the call.
The road home was fairly quiet and quick. We encountered difficulties only at the final turnoff.
“Heaven!” Kyle gasped, surprised, as he slowed the vehicle. He estimated that fifty rogue wolves were blocking the road.
“There is no way we can go around them,” I stated, looking for a way out. “There is more coming from the back.”
“They were waiting for us,” Levi stated.
“Seems so,” Kyle replied.
The rogues seemed excited to see us and then slowly started to stalk forward.
“They knew we would not go back to the Silverado Pack,” I added.
“Someone must have ticked them off,” Levi added.
“I can just guess who,” I stated sourly. Noah must be behind these attacks. The only question is how deeply involved he is with them.
“What’s the plan?” Kyle asked.
Levi smiled as our gazes met.
“Let’s have some fun,” he said, punching his fist into his hand. “I need to release a lot of built-up tension, especially after witnessing what that asshole Alpha Noah did to Zara.”
“I agree,” I said, with a nod.
“What do you want me to do?” Kyle inquired, his hands firmly gripping the steering wheel.
“You drive. Take Zara back to my packhouse. Make her comfortable and take care of her.”
Levi loosened his seat buckle, his gaze pinned on the sunroof. He got out first, and I did second.
“We will try and clear a road for you,” I called back to Kyle. “Whatever you do, do not stop. Keep driving and get Zara to safety.”
Kyle nodded. His face was stone-cold.
I knew he would rather join the fight than be the driver, but I trusted him to do the right thing.
“I have linked Ronan,” I said before I shifted. “He had instructed the guards to let you in. They are waiting for your arrival.”
The moment I shut down the sunroof, I leaped forward and transformed into Ray.
Ray was burning to have a taste of the rogues. He ran straight into them, making them leap out of the way.
Silver wolves were powerful, so I assumed this was not the first time the rogues had seen two without fear.
Kyle stepped on the gas as soon as he saw an opening, and he flew past us.
At that moment, Ronan and a group of warriors arrived.
The fights were brutal. The rogues came from all directions. They had only one purpose-to kill.
An hour later we were done. Body parts were lying everywhere.
“How many?” I linked Ronan.
“Only two,” he replied. “Mac and Gavin.”
I nodded, feeling sad for the two warriors who lost their lives.
I gave the order, “Inform their relatives and ensure proper burial arrangements for them. They defended their pack and their Luna with honor. We will remember and honor their sacrifice for the pack.”
We arrived back at the packhouse soaked from head to toe in blood. Kyle met us outside. He was pacing up and down on the gravel road anxiously.
Beta Levi quickly ran to his side and embraced him.
“I was so worried,” Kyle said. “I thought-”
“I trained by the best, and it was an honor to fight alongside Alpha Nicholas,” Levi smiled.
His gaze met mine, followed by a genuine smile on his lips.
“I certainly wouldn’t mind getting some training from you, Alpha,” he stated. “There were some awesome moves you had.”
I shook my head at the comment; Levi was well-skilled and didn’t need more training.
“We have company,” Ronan suddenly said, and my gaze snapped toward a dust cloud coming from the mountains.
“Who in the Goddess’s name would arrive at this hour?” I muttered.
Five minutes later a council officer stopped and handed me a letter.
I opened it, hissed between my teeth, and shoved the paper back onto the officer’s chest.
“We will be there,” I sneered.
I guess Noah didn’t expect us to be alive after the attack. That must have pissed him off. He went straight to the council, claiming we were conspiring, and demanded we hand over Zara to him right now.
“Technically, Luna Zara and her Beta have lied about their mating,” the Elder answered Ronan, and the memory cleared from my mind. “Thus, the council has no other option but to weigh Alpha Noah’s claim.”
“Her mate, Alpha Nicholas, has marked her,” Ronan said. “Her scent called to him during her mating ceremony with Beta Levi.”
“Yet he made no effort to claim her,” Alpha Noah cut in. “I witnessed that myself.”
“True, we all did,” Ronan replied. “He needed some motivation.”
“So he didn’t want her,” Alpha Noah stated.
“Alpha Nicolas has lost his Luna and suffered from a broken heart,” Ronan hissed through his teeth. “He needed to come to terms with the fact that the Goddess granted him a second chance at happiness.”
“This is very convenient. Now he suddenly wants to claim what is rightfully mine!” Alpha Noah said.
“That is not the case,” Ronan cut him off. “Alpha Nicholas got to his senses, and when the next opportunity arose, he made sure….”
“But he didn’t want her!” Alpha Noah roared.
“Yet, neither he nor Luna Zara spoke the words of rejection,” Ronan argued.
“Order! Order!” The elder called out and slammed his gavel to quiet everyone down. “The council will take everything into consideration. We will now take a short recess and deliberate.”
What happened next was unexpected.
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