Page 142 of Soul of the Chaos

The thunderclouds parted under my mate’s sure hands as she plucked my breaking heart and cradled it close. My wolf howled in relief. “So you’ll stay?”

“How could I leave you now, alpha?” She pressed a tiny kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Your beast just punched a hole in my chest and stole my heart. Better tell that brute to keep it safe.”

55

A NEW DAY

Silver

It was time to mark the end of the Chaos and the pack was gathering in the back courtyard.

Stepping slowly into a new dawn, after surviving the Bone Crushers MC’s attack, was surreal. Now that the nightmare was over, the Blood Moon Goddess surrendered her bloodthirsty hold on the world as she sank into a much-needed slumber. The sun, emboldened by its brief respite, clawed its way back over the horizon to greet the remnants of our pack, dragging us into a new day.

Sasha’s slender hand was clutched in my left palm while the fingers of my right were laced lovingly through Mongrel’s. Her left hand was held firmly by Grimm.

The mating bond tying our four souls together thrummed. A gentle song which kept time with the swaying trees. It felt different to the pack bond. This bond was softer, sweeter. It whispered of potential as-yet untapped. Our four-way mating was its own entity and our little alpha its fierce keeper.

I knew our love was safe in her hands.

Despite the aching absences, the pack bond felt more alive than ever. It pulsed as the whole pack stood, human and wolves side by side, united and firm of purpose. Our faces were tipped to the sky as sunlight streamed through the dappled canopy and kissed our cheeks.

Grimm, our uncontested alpha, stood easily at the apex of our arrow. A new and weighted peace filled his frame. Quiet satisfaction radiated from his pores even as he carried the memory of every soul we’d lost and owned the deaths we’d claimed in return.

Sasha shared that burden with him willingly, facing her future with a new optimism I couldn’t get enough of. Her scent was sunshine and a dewy dawn, all bottled up in the quiet knowledge that she was right where she was always meant to be.

Bulletproof stood by our Prez’s other shoulder, limping but standing proud as Vice President, his ever-present mates flanking each side. Viola was just behind Sasha, then Benji and Addy, with Talia squeezed protectively between the two wolves. Mongrel bathed my back in his strong heat. Carbon stood with Winter’s help behind us. I could feel Popcorn and her girls close by, and even Narcissa had joined the group.

This was a new era for the Soul Reapers MC.

The first bruised dawn marked by the return of the Chaos. Mating bonds had been forged. Leadership and loyalty had been tested to its limits. Bonds had been broken and reformed, stronger than ever.

The blessings of the Blood Moon Goddess had rained down on us in this time of turmoil and our pack had been enriched more than we could have imagined.

I caught Grimm’s eye as he turned to survey the faces of his pack. He nodded to me, but I could see the possessive gleam of his wolf peeking out from within. Trouble was brewing with his beast and it had my animal pacing in concern. Still, I couldn’t let on that he had me ruffled, so I winked at my feral leader. His stern look melted into a devilish smirk which only grew wider by the second as his sly gaze slid to Sasha. He tugged my mate’s hand suddenly from my grip and spun her in a wide, laughing arc to crash against his chest.

Our mate settled into his solid form and grinned up into his face which softened in delight. Reverently, he cupped her cheeks in both hands as our Prez kissed his old lady senseless. Our pack hooted and hollered before losing themselves in their own celebrations.

Mongrel stepped in, wrapping himself firmly around my back, while I pouted and drank in Grimm and Sasha’s happiness. I imagined sidling up and joining in their affection but I could already feel my alpha’s hackles raising at the mere thought of my approach. Instead, I sighed and leaned back into the chest which rumbled at my back, soothingly.

I tried to reason away the sting of being purposefully left out. To reassure myself that this would only be a small drop in a lifetime spent worshipping our vibrant star. But my wolf knew better as he whined anxiously. Our alpha was a stubborn son of a bitch when he wanted to be.

I didn’t miss the goading look Grimm shot my way when he was done kissing our mate senseless. Sasha’s cheeks were all flushed and her hair was a wild, raven-black halo in the sunlight. My fingers itched to soothe out those tangles while my lips nibbled on her happiness.

Our fierce little alpha didn’t miss her jealous mate’s antics, either. She cuffed the Prez of the Soul Reapers MC round the ears. His victorious smirk melted into a sheepish shrug as he allowed Sasha to scold him and shove him back into the clubhouse.

With a laugh, I spun in Mongrel’s arms and climbed him like a tree, laying a big smacking kiss on his waiting lips. Then I poked my tongue out at Grimm over my beta’s shoulder. The alpha narrowed his eyes at me—oh, the battle was so on—as he was manhandled away.

Mongrel pinched my ass for the theatrics but I whined and pulled him in for a deeper, more grateful kiss.

No. Not all of our skirmishes had been settled. But a compromise we could live with would soon be reached. Sasha would accept nothing less.

* * *

ONE WEEK LATER

Our mate was supposed to be clearing out the last of the cobwebs in her new place of business—renamed Sasha’s Den—before tomorrow’s soft open. Instead, Mongrel and I had enticed her upstairs.

As soon as word had gotten around that there was going to be an alternative to living on the Soul Reapers compound, all of the apartments had been quickly snatched up.

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