Page 111 of Empowering the Wolf's Heart

Fenbutt slid into the tent, his nose twitching. He came over to me and bowed, his eyes alight with humor and something ageless I could not name.

Alpha,said his voice in my mind.

Luna,said his voice to my mate.

She jerked as if stung.

Were it any other situation, I would have laughed. She stays still when being stabbed but jumps at a voice in her mind?

Another being walked through the tent door. She was as mighty as a destrier and as stunning as the sunrise. It was a timeless beauty, a wonder which could never be contained in any form upon this planet. And yet, here she was.

The dragon bowed her head and bent a knee, her graceful neck curving in a way I had never seen such a creature submit. It was wrong; and yet, it was right. My little luna had proven herself worthy of a dragon’s love and a werewolf’s loyalty.

A werewolf howled from outside the tent. Fen, Doc, his mate Madame Vika, Daisy, and other young and elderly werewolves I knew from my castoff pack entered the tent. They each bowed their heads to us.

“Alpha. Luna,”they said. Despite the pain, it warmed a frozen portion of my soul how they accepted Alia as my mate. Even though she was human, she was my Luna and Queen.

“We cannot overcome Command, but we can choose to follow the Alpha and Luna of our hearts,” Fen said, staring into my eyes with stark honesty as those behind him bowed to us. “Together, brother, we win or we die.”

My eyes were wide with shock. What were they doing? Theywoulddie if they tied their life forces to me and I was unable to break the Command.

“Ye took us in when we had nowhere else to go. We may be weak of bodies, but our spirits are strong. We stand with ye, sir,” said Daisy, the daughter of my old nursemaid who was cast out from the pack after years of service. Tears were in her eyes. “Don’t let my mama’s sacrifice be in vain.” Her eyes flashed with her wolf.

Should you fail to procure the heart of mine enemy, do not return.

The ultimate words of the Command wrestled control of my hands before my mind had time to fight. The blade sunk between my ribs?—

I was thrown back, the blade wrestled from my side by two dainty hands which should never have been strong enough to take me. Alia pressed her thumbs against the underside of my wrist with stinging effectiveness and my hand spasmed open. She grabbed the blade and took it from my ribs in one smooth motion.

“Fight it, my love,” she said, her voice a low, fevered growl as her eyes glowed with a mixture of tears and intensity. “Fight it for all of us. Foryourpack.”

I put my head in my hands and growled. It echoed from my chest, scorched the inside of my soul, and erupted from my lips in a promise. I was Alpha to a pack now. And that meant my allegiance to my previous pack was no longer required.

Did you…I did not even know how to ask if Lycus had called them.

It wasn’t me,he answered, pride in his voice.

Ahhh. But how did Alia… I could contemplate this later. For now, Alia had found me a loophole. It was time to become Alpha.

I accepted the links from the other werewolves. From Ran, Fenbutt, Fen, and the others who were here offering their strength to cut the bond so they could follow a new Alpha.

A shiver rose from the depths of my mind. Lycus howled in my brain as the combined might of a dragon, a pup, and many werewolves struck the Command at the source. It bent under the pressure and then it snapped, rebounding and coming for my soul to sever me from Lycus. To make me go rogue.

The werewolves were there. Mypackwas there. Shielding me, they whimpered in agony as the pain of the severance spreadacross all those in my pack. Tears welled in my eyes as those who were cast from my mother’s pack took the pain meant for me. I bowed my head, humbled beyond measure by their sacrifices.

A wave of pressure caused my sight to go black and I wavered before it eased and then disappeared.

And it was in that moment, I realized—Lycus was with me. The Command had snapped. I was free.

CHAPTER 39

Freedom

ALIA

Shen’s eyes met mine. I saw the moment he knew and the moment he decided.

His eyes pooled with emotion and a tear slid down his cheek as he watched his pack members writhe in torment as they all accepted his burden. I wished in that moment that I had it in me to do the same, to take some of his pain, but I couldn’t. I’d brought them here. It had to be enough.

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