Page 96 of Alpha Reid

“Mom?” he interrupts, leaning forward to stub out the joint on a stone coaster on the coffee table. He looks back at me over his shoulder, chuckling wryly. “Yeah, it’s fucked up, isn’t it?”

My jaw goes slack. Even though I know what I heard on the battlefield yesterday, hearing him confirm it makes it a lot more real. And that also means I’m partially responsible for Chase not having any family today.

“I… I’m sorry, Chase…” I stammer, struggling to find words. “She was getting ready to attack again, and I…”

He shakes his head as he flops backwards on the couch, chuckling lowly again. His head is buried so far in his hoodie that I can only see the tip of his nose and his lips. “Don’t be sorry,” he growls out, his icy tone sending a shiver down my spine. “I’m glad the bitch is dead, and I’m glad you’re the one who did it. Only thing that would’ve been better is if I killed her myself.”

My mind is reeling. I have so many questions, and they start pouring out of my mouth like word vomit. “Do the others know? Did you know she was part of the shadow pack? How long was she with them?”

I hear footsteps from somewhere behind me and Chase shakes his head, glancing in the direction of the hallway that Reid and the others disappeared down earlier. “Some other time,” he mumbles, snatching the champagne bottle from me as I turn over my shoulder to see Reid, Cy, and Rob emerging. As they draw closer, I watch Rob’s eyes go from the stubbed out joint on the coffee table to the bottle of champagne in Chase’s fist disapprovingly, but he doesn’t comment. Good thing, too, because Chase is on one today.

“Can we go over some things for your dad’s services?” Rob asks him.

Chase heaves an annoyed sigh, muttering “fine” before slumping further back onto the couch and chugging the rest of the champagne out of the bottle.

“You ready to go, babe?” Reid asks, and I immediately pop up from my seat on the couch, eager to remove myself from the awkward tension in the room.

“Yeah,” I breathe, spinning back toward Chase and holding out my fist. “I’ll see ya later?”

He gives a curt nod, bumping my fist with his own.

I could tell him that I’m here for him, or to call if he needs anything, but he already knows that, and he won’t. He’s still in the initial stages of wanting to drink and smoke away the pain, and I can’t say that I blame him. I remember how those first few days felt after my parents and brothers were killed; how the pain felt like it was too much to bear. I wish I’d been able to numb it with drugs and alcohol. Instead, I sat in that cell and wished that I could die, too.

If I’m being honest, this has started to slice open some old wounds for me. My throat gets tight as the faces of my own parents flash in my mind, but then Reid’s hand comes around mine and a sense of calm and comfort washes over me. He just has a way of making everything better.

We say our goodbyes and Reid, Cy, and I head out, piling in the car to head back to Stillwater.

“So how is he?” Reid asks as he pulls away from the packhouse.

“Shitty,” I reply, darting him a glance from the passenger seat. I feel bad that Cy’s stuffed in the back, but he insists on letting me ride shotgun. “What’d you guys figure out for the funeral?”

Reid blows out a breath, flexing his fingers on the steering wheel. “Rob’s gonna try to set it for the day after tomorrow.”

I cringe inwardly, already dreading having to attend.

“And speaking of,” Reid continues, pulling out onto the main road. “We’re going to have to help out with funeral arrangements for members of our own pack.”

“Yeah,” I agree, staring out the windshield.

Reid slips a hand onto my thigh, giving it a little squeeze as I turn to look at him and he slides me a glance. “Guess we should probably call them together to tell them you’re their Luna, huh?”

In all the craziness over the last few weeks since we met, it somehow never even occurred to me that we still hadn’t officially clued the pack in on our mating. How did we not think to do that?! A laugh bubbles up inside of me, slipping past my lips.

The corner of Reid’s mouth turns up into a half-smile as he looks my way. “What?” he asks, and I just shake my head, still laughing to myself.

“We probably should’ve thought of that before now,” I giggle.

Reid shrugs, taking my hand in his. “Maybe it’s good we waited. This way, we have some good news to share after all the bad.” He brings my hand up to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the back of it.

“Guess that’s true,” I muse, still chuckling to myself. I glance over at Reid again and his eyes meet mine, so blue that they’re practically sparkling.

“They’re gonna love you as much as I do,” he murmurs, giving my hand a squeeze. “My Luna.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Reid

“Damn, Red,” I growl, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe of our bedroom as I peer inside at my mate. She’s standing in front of the full-length mirror, fussing over her appearance even though she’s a total knockout.

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