They came prepared. To hurt our kind.
That means they know of our existence. We have to do something.
“We need to call a meeting with Cyrus Savage,” I decide on the spot. “We need that alliance.”
Liam clears his throat and coughs, “What about Ana, Theo?”
I stare at him forlornly. “She'll have to be forsaken. We can't survive these threats if we're not allied.”
Liam gulps hard, slowly nodding his head as he processes the magnitude of my dilemma.
It's not what I want to do. It's what I have to do. My sister will understand. Goddess! I pray she'll understand.
If Cyrus agrees that Mia can be my bride in exchange for the alliance... But she's an Omega, and he'd care less if I took her. The alliance needs to be stronger than that.
Ana would have to forsake her happiness for the sake of the pack. It's something I'd have to do, but is falling on her now.
I'd get my happiness. Anastasia won't. How can I live with that?
I feel powerless without choices.
“Just let me take care of the rest. I'll figure something out. For now, the alliance is a priority.”
“On it, Alpha,” Jarrod agrees with a salute.
I turn to Liam with a raised brow. He relents with a sigh, and salutes reluctantly.
“I trust you, Theo,” he says as he turns to leave.
I place a hand on his shoulder. It's dominant, commanding him to hear the Alpha when it says, “I will do whatever it's in the best interests of the pack.”
“Naturally,” he concedes with a nod before proceeding to leave the facility.
When I'm alone with the hunters in the dungeon, I have a moment to think. We need them as collateral, we’ll keep them here. At least, until Cyrus arrives.
It will give me the upper hand. That way, he might accept a different Nightwalker she-wolf instead of Ana.
It's my only hope.
Hope that seems to be fizzing out like the end of a wave. I know Cyrus has ulterior motives.
So how far is he willing to go?
It's a waiting game right now. In the meantime, I'll spend every waking minute with my fated mate. And if fate pulls us apart through the alliance, at least I felt it.
The fated mate bond.
Chapter 11
MIA
Standing on the balcony of my bedroom, I tuck my hair behind my ear as I hear noises below me. I get onto my tiptoes, leaning over the rail to peek at the ground below.
Just as I expected, Theo and his crew of close packmates emerge from the front entrance. When they’re outside, he glances up and throws me a wink.
I can’t help but smile as heat crawls over my cheeks. Theo catches me blushing and smirks with satisfaction before turning back to his friends. I watch him intently as they disappear into the shadows.
But he steals one last glance at the ingress of the woods before rushing off.