Page 30 of The Alpha's Betrayed Mate

“Close to a week,” he admitted, and she saw him bracing himself to be yelled at. But all she could bring herself to do was stare. “You needed it,” he said quickly. “Sorely. None of the lorekeepers knew how you even survived, with the injuries you took.”

She cast her mind back to the dark, turbulent night that was the last thing she remembered. A flash of fading light, a comforting blackness rising up to swallow her even as she fought tooth and nail to finish the work she’d been born to do… her heart leapt into her throat. “The demon!” She grabbed Belmont’s arms, shook him. “Belmont, the demon—”

“It’s dead, it’s dead, it’s dead.” He put his arms around her, and she realized her whole body was shivering. “You did it, Venna. You killed it.”

“Are you sure? You can’t be sure.”

“After you lost consciousness, the pack stepped in. I promise you, that demon was dead. Torn apart and dismembered, and a few stayed back just to make sure it was rotting. Even its talons were gone by dawn—to Rylan’s immense disappointment. He wanted a trophy.”

The drum of his voice through his ribs was soothing. She smiled softly, her cheek pressed against the warm fabric of his shirt. “He got his revenge.”

“He sure did.”

“For Tetra,” she said softly, into the solemn silence between them. “For Marroc, for Korvi.”

“For all of them,” Belmont said softly. “And for you, Venna. I know how much that thing hurt you, while it lived.”

“I don’t think they do live,” she admitted, shifting back so she could look at him. “We live. Whatever they do, it’s… something else. They grow, maybe. Like mushrooms. Or mold. But you’re right.” She grimaced, looking down at the bandages. “A few more scars to add to the collection, I guess.”

“The last,” Belmont said firmly, smiling down at her. She realized, all at once, how unusual this level of physical contact was. “What’s wrong?”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. “Are you holding back on some awful news or something? Is Raske on his way over here to accuse me of having a damned tea party with the demon?”

“Quite the contrary,” Belmont said. She could get used to that smile, she thought faintly, feeling suddenly lightheaded as she looked at him. Weird as it felt to see him look so happy, it made him even easier on the eyes—if that was even possible. “A lot’s changed while you’ve been sleeping, Venna.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” she muttered.

“I know. There might have been Lorekeeper interference, on that front. Syrra and Raske conspired to develop some kind of enchantment for your bandages—a little like that trick he used to play when kids tried to steal the practice weapons, remember?”

“He put a knockout spell on mybandages? That monster. And Syrra helped?”

“Syrra added magic to accelerate your healing,” Belmont said. “Your wounds were going to take a month to heal, and we knew we wouldn’t be able to keep you in bed for more than a day.”

She ground her teeth for a moment before reluctantly acknowledging that they were right. “I think Raske might have saved my life,” she admitted after a pause. “When I passed out, when the demon had me… I think—I don’t know. There was this light that sort of—pulled me back, suggested I stick around. A voice, too. Sounded a lot like yours.” Belmont was looking at her with such undisguised affection that she barely knew what to do with herself. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she demanded weakly.

“Because I nearly lost you,” he said. “I wasted so much time not telling you how I felt, and I nearly lost you before I got the chance. And then I didn’t, and now you’re here, and I—am struggling to reconcile how one person could deserve so much happiness.”

“That’s the most you’ve ever said out loud about the way you feel,” Venna pointed out. “And all of it wasnice. So I will ask again—who are you?”

“I’m Belmont. I’m the Alpha of your pack, the father of your child, and your soulmate.”

Venna looked at him for a long, thoughtful moment. “They let you stay Alpha, huh? That’s a surprise.”

Belmont burst into laughter, and before she could react he’d lifted her bodily off the ground and swung her in a circle. She couldn’t help but laugh too, gasping for breath when he set her down, and with his face so close to hers what could she do but kiss him? He responded immediately, fiercely, his whole body seeming to thrill to her slightest touch, and she broke away to catch her breath, knowing that if they went any further down that road she wasn’t going to get any answers to the rest of her questions for a while.

“Mypack, you said.”

Belmont nodded, his face flushed and his eyes bright. “The day after it happened, we finished your trial.”

“Without me?”

He chuckled at her indignation. “You’d already given your testimony, we didn’t need you. The unanimous decision was made to restore you to full membership of the pack. The terms of your exile have been overturned.” His expression grew somber, the smile fading a little from his eyes. “We’re all well aware an apology is only the first tiny step on a long, long road to making up for what happened, Venna. But let me start by telling you how sorry I am. If I hadn’t let you down that day…”

“Don’t go down that road,” she said, as gently as she could. “The what-if game doesn’t do anyone any good. Trust me, I played it plenty. The world we’re living in is the only one that counts.”

He nodded agreement. “True enough. And in this world, I intend to dedicate the rest of my life to never letting you down again. You’ll hear something similar from the rest of the pack, no doubt. Raske in particular will not rest until he’s personally atoned for every single day you spent in exile.”

She considered this for a moment. “I think I’d prefer him trying to prove I’m in league with demons, is it too late to go back to that?”

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