Page 24 of Into the Grasslands

“We’ll be crossing into the Grasslands Pack territory very soon.” Thorin projected his voice so that it carried to all the occupants of the bus as if he had a microphone attached tohim. “For those of you who are not officially members of the pack, you may feel a slight bit of discomfort when we cross the border.” He glanced down at my seat mate then. “I’m not sure if you remember anything like that from before, but there will be a zinging, electrical feel to your skin and it might raise the hair on your bodies as well. I wanted you to be aware, in case you had never experienced the sensation.”

“Thank you,” I whispered to him. “I completely forgot about it. Rather, I forgot that some might not have experienced it before. I should have prepared them for that.”

Janella grabbed my hand and squeezed. “You can’t possibly warn me of everything I might experience that will be different from the island. There will be too much.” She glanced up at Thorin then. “Please, have patience with me as I work my way through trying to be civilized for the first time.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Janella. You will be welcomed into my pack as if you are family returning to the fold. We are blessed to have a doctor that deals with wolves who have suffered great traumas. If ever you feel the need to confide in someone, or to try to work through what happened, or even attempt memory regression, I can get you set up with him.”

Janella shook her head. “I don’t want that but thank you for the offer.”

“It’s just something to think about in case you change your mind.”

“Her wolf is healthy and whole,” I explained because I didn’t want the Alpha of the pack to think less of my friend. She had been instrumental in keeping me alive on that island so that he could find us. For that, we both owed Janella a debt of gratitude - possibly even a life debt considering how she attacked that rogue in my defense.

Chapter 14

Devastation

AIDEN

I stoodin the middle of the biggest room in the house and stared at the two thrones that sat upon the dais toward the back. When I first took over as Alpha, the space seemed so important, powerful, and full of promise. I remembered thinking about how I would one day sit there with my moon-blessed mate and together we would make our pack the envy of all others.

All I could think about as I stared at those two chairs after everything that had happened in the past six months, was that I had the audacity to bring a bunch of females to sit upon that dais with me, as if they belonged there. It didn’t matter that I never allowed any of them to sit upon either throne. The whole place had been tainted by my actions. Despite the fact that I sent Nika away, so that I could continue to enjoy my harem, I no longer found joy or satisfaction with any of them. The only one who still approached me enthusiastically was Kyla.

The other harem women no longer seemed comfortable in their position after Nika was taken away. Her threats to never return to the pack didn’t sit well with them. Neither did the fact that Nika pointed out how they weren’t worthy to be with me. It was a cry that many of the pack had taken up. One of the women, Cassandra, finally had a dream of her mate last week. She toldme that she could no longer be a part of my harem as she refused to dishonor Selene’s gift of a mate to her.

I scrubbed my hands down my stubbled jaw as I remembered Cassandra in tears before me only hours later. She wanted me to proclaim that she had been forced to be a part of my harem, because without me admitting to that, her mate would no longer accept her. I had created the events that led to a fated pairing within my pack being destroyed. I wasn’t sure if I could live with that consequence.

Then again, I had plenty of warning that it would happen. Nika had said as much when she was here. Not only would I ruin the matings for the women who took part in my ill-informed harem, but I would lose her as my mate too.

The only thing that might make a difference in Nika’s eyes was that I had not been intimate with any of the women since I sent my mate away. It wasn’t for lack of trying on Kyla’s part, but she had become too pushy, and I refused to play into her power games.

Avery, my brother and second in command, came to me just a few days ago and told me how Kyla had been treating the other females. She lorded her close relationship with me over them as if she had already been named my Luna. Avery had warned me months ago that he thought Kyla had lined herself up to take that position. He felt it was why she had suggested the harem. It had been the easiest way to convince me that sex with her wouldn’t really mean anything too personal - nothing that my future mate could complain about anyway.

I scoffed at that. What had I been thinking?

I mind linked with Avery before my judgement was clouded again.

Aiden:We need to go to Mirage Island. Get the betas who will travel with us ready. We leave at dawn.

My brother’s response was immediate.

Avery:It’s about damn time. You better have an immaculate apology ready for your mate after all this time.

Aiden:I haven’t been sleeping with them since she was here.

I could sense Avery’s mocking laughter through the mind link.

Avery:She won’t believe you, and even if she can sense the truth in your words, you still left her on that island for nearly six months. Why leave her there if you weren’t messing around with your harem anyway? Then she’s going to know you left her there to teach her some lesson. We all know, even if you forbid the pack from saying anything, that you are the one who needed a lesson in humility and a few other things.

Aiden:Enough, Avery!

Those thoughts already ran rampant in my own mind. I didn’t need my brother to point out what I already knew. There would be an uphill battle to convince my mate that I was still worthy of her.

Unfortunately, the image of a sobbing, devastated Cassandra invaded my mind every time I closed my eyes. What if I was dealt a similar fate because of the choices I’d made? Would my mate truly be that spiteful as to doom the pack and reject our mating?

The only reason I held out any hope was because I didn’t think Nika would be able to leave our pack mates to the destiny that awaited them if I didn’t have my Luna at my side. There was the possibility of me choosing another mate if Nika refused to come back, but in that scenario, I would not be strong enough to head-up the pack and the idea of another harem to help with the power boost that would be needed didn’t sit well with me, so I doubted it would be accepted by my pack.

Our pack was too large and required both an Alpha and a moon-blessed Luna who hailed from an Alpha line. They were rare, a thought I’d never bothered to come to terms with whenI stupidly decided that what Nika didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her while she was away at college.

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