Page 138 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

He stared into my eyes for a long minute. “I suppose you’re right about that.”

As upset as we’d been with each other when I left, the connection between us was still powerful. It was a binding force no amount of fighting could sever.

I put a hand to his cheek, the rough stubble rasping under my fingers. “Fate put us together, and we are stronger together. You and I can conquer anything. I’m sorry for how I left,” I added. It was the first time I’d apologized for it, and it was necessary. Shame overwhelmed me, and I pulled my hand away. “If I hadn’t run out like a big baby, I wouldn’t have been kidnapped. I made you worry, and I could have gotten myself killed—”

Jace silenced me with a kiss. I sighed against his mouth, enjoying the taste of him, the feel of his tongue as it gently slipped between my lips. God, I’d missed this. With our fight now officially over, we could turn all our attention to our true enemy. Eren.

Too soon, Jace pulled away and pressed his forehead to mine. “I can’t say I like you being caught up in the middle of all this. If I had my way, I’d lock you up in a vault somewhere out of danger, but Langston is right. We’ll need you for this.” He ran a hand possessively up my thigh. “I’ll promise you this, though. I will risk everything to make sure you stay safe. With God as my witness, I’ll make sure you make it out the other side unscathed.”

Reaching up, I put my hands on his cheeks and gazed into his eyes. “I’ll do the same for you. We’re in this together. Forever.”

Chapter 10

Jace

The other alphas texted me to let me know they’d be back the next day to discuss how to take Eren on. A simple challenge would likely not be enough. In fact, I had a sneaking suspicion Eren would end up forgoing the challenge altogether. If he was crazy enough to torture children, he’d have no problem flipping off the other alphas if they tried to get him to step down as the alpha of the Scottsdale Pack.

We’d scheduled the meeting at the town hall, which had been fully repaired after Eren’s smoke bombs. A good airing out and a fresh coat of paint, and it was as good as new. Two couches and some office furniture had to be discarded because of smoke damage, but overall, the destruction had been minimal.

When Waylan and I arrived, the other alphas were already there, speaking with Langston and Abigail. Reese stood with a few of the members of their entourage. They’d all brought their own council members. Things were getting serious. My nerves were ragged. War was truly on the horizon.

“Morning,” I said, walking toward the small conference table at the center of the room.

We never had large meetings like this, so the room wasn’t quite equipped for this number of people. Most of the council members had to sit or stand along the wall.

“Has anyone come up with any ideas?” I asked. “I’m fully open to whatever thoughts or plans anyone may have.”

A bigger shifter with broad shoulders and a thick black beard raised his hand.

“I’m Peter,” he said, and nodded toward Ivy. “Pack enforcer for Goldstone. Ivy’s my alpha.”

“Go ahead, Peter,” I said.

He looked at Ivy, who nodded subtly. He cleared his throat. “Eren has lost his mind. Who knows what else he has planned. My thought is we hit him fast and hard before he has time to think. A full-frontal assault. Storm his territory and take him down.”

“Whoa, hang on,” Langston said. “That might not be best. An ambush like that might work, but the people in his town won’t know what’s going on. Too many could get hurt in that scenario.”

Peter sighed. “If they wanted Eren taken down, then they should have risen up and brought him down. I mean, he killed their pack enforcer. And they still did nothing? Just cowered in fear? To me, that just says they’re complicit.”

“Wait a minute,” Noah said. “I don’t know if that’s entirely accurate. They’re terrified of the guy. The fact that he killed the enforcer would make it even less likely that they’d revolt.” He looked at me. “We heard what that kid said. He’s torturing people—children—to turn them into ferals. Plus, he’s got his loyal betas. There’s that big slab of beef Poli and all the pricks who run around him. For all we know, he has informants within the community. No one would know who to trust.”

Ivy placed her hand on the table, palm down. “Yes, but at this point, he needs to be taken down, no matter what.” She heaved out a sigh and tapped one finger on the table. “I don’t like it any better than you do, but a few harmed innocents might be better than the next scenario: an all-out war against him and whatever ferals he has. Not all our packs are as big as his or Jace’s. I only have fifty members. Noah, you’ve got, what, thirty?”

“Forty,” he grumbled.

She nodded and pointed toward Hollis. “How about you?”

Hollis sucked on his teeth for a second before responding. “Had a baby born last night, actually. That brings us up to sixty-eight.”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Ivy said, turning to look at Dustin. “Your pack is the next biggest. Do you even have over a hundred members?”

“We do,” Dustin said. “Hundred and nineteen.”

“We don’t have the numbers you do, Jace,” Ivy continued. “Out of our members, maybe half that number can fight. The rest are children or the elderly. Crestwood is the biggest pack in the state. Eren is a close second. For us to have a chance, we need to use our numbers as best we can. Peter and I believe that the best way is through a sneak attack with all our fighters.”

Waylan spoke up. “What if we tried to do things a bit more covertly?”

Ivy eyed him. “Go on. I’m listening.”

---