Page 6 of The Awakened Wolf

Kiana finished with a majestic swoop of her arm in my direction, and the newborns cowered as if expecting fire to shoot from her fingertips. They were no less brave than their shivering mother sitting plastered against the wall and clutching a teenage pup’s hand for emotional support. But when I imagined how terrified I’d have been if I were in there suddenly ill-fitting shoes, my brain rebooted and my focus returned.

I swung my eyes to Evan, who’d positioned himself before the group, a devoted big brother to my second sprawling litter. Legs akimbo and arms loose, he’d made himself ready to fight—to protect them if he’d had to. Though my heart filled with love and pride for my first bite, I knew I couldn’t let it come to that. I had to get ahold of myself and the whole situation.

I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to speak for myself, but Kiana charged back in, saying, “I was with Elyse when the Goddess Leto came to us. She told of Elyse’s gift and role, as well as mine. I’m here to protect the Promised One from harm as it’s inevitable that there will be those who want to destroy or control her. Who knows? Perhaps that was the aim of the One-Eyed Man. But I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen. That’s why Elyse can’t be the Bronx Alpha, or any Alpha at all. She would be too exposed.”

She makes a good point.

What? How can you think that after you’ve pushed me to be Alpha all this time?

Who wants to be Alpha? There’s more time for mating without a title.

I’m rescinding your right to vote on what we do for the foreseeable future.

“Those infernal hippies said nothing of the sort!” Max threw up his hands and then cringed, grabbing at his injured arm. “If this is truly a power given to Elyse by the Gods, then they’d want her to use it openly, not hide in the shadows. To me, this is all the more reason for her to take the role of Alpha.”

“You can’t be serious,” Kiana growled, going nose to nose with Max, or at least, nose-to-chest given how much taller he was. “I’ve trained my whole—”

“I’m dead serious,” Max snarled, and the SecPack soldiers stepped closer.

“Hey!” I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the tingles of sleep shooting through my ankles. “Can I speak, please? While I appreciate your concern, Max, there’s no point to arguing about whether I should be Alpha. I’ve… accepted Sebastian’s claim and intend to stay in Manhattan. Kiana is the Bronx Alpha by right.” I paused before adding, “In every way.”

My sister’s chin tucked—a movement so slight that most wouldn’t have noticed. For someone who’d known her since birth, it was a tell. She was pleased. Not just that I’d ceded the position in public, but that I’d added the last part. It was my olive branch. My nod to all the sacrifices she’d made to prepare herself for the role.

“What?” One of the SecPack soldiers behind Max smiled. “That’s… great news for Sebastian.” He elbowed several peers who startled, drawing their attention from the shifters behind Evan to me and my bedraggled body.

“Congratulations to you both, Your Grace.”

“May your mating bring many healthy pups.”

Their faux respectful tone may have passed Max’s vibe check, but Sebastian would have knocked the whole troop on the floor, same as he had those creeps who accosted me the night we first met. Sudden tears blurred my vision. Had my hero even been the same male as the one who left me on today’s bloody battlefield? Did Sebastian have his own evil twin who’d quietly replaced him after we mated?

Max eyed me strangely as the murmurs spread among the Manhattan shifters and on to the Bronx pack, who’d been waiting, tense but constrained, for the word from Kiana. None had moved to protect her without permission, even when she’d been toe-to-toe with Max and five of his strongest soldiers. Now the room full of battle-worn warriors turned to us with genuine grins and best wishes for me on my future mating, and for Kiana on securing her position.

“Thank you, everyone,” I said, relieved that future nuptials were so effective at breaking up a near gang-fight. “But I think the most pressing thing is finding a safe place for our new… brothers and sisters to rest and recuperate. Alpha Max, I’d like to bring them to the Plaza so Evan and I can work on… acclimating them.”

“Absolutely not!” Max reared back, waving his good arm as if to ward them all off. “I’m already tripping over hippies every time I turn around. There’s no way that we can keep all these—”

“I’ll take them,” Kiana interrupted. “As I said, it’s my responsibility to protect Elyse and any new shifters born from her bite.”

“No,” Max barked. “Elyse needs to come home with us. We have affairs to arrange once Sebastian and Yara are located.”

My future father-in-law gave me a look so pointed I actually wanted to take a brief vacation back to the Bronx rather than deal with the truth about why Sebastian left me and might no longer be planning on making what we did last night official.

“Of course, Max, but these new shifters need me—”

“That won’t be necessary, Elyse.” Kiana’s jaw clenched, biting right into my heart. I’d given her everything she’d ever wanted, except Sebastian, and she still didn’t want me around. “Far be it from me to stand between the fated.”

Finally, someone understands! My wolf crowed. Her sarcasm detectors apparently offline with the rest of her brain cells. Take me home!

Ignoring her, I forced a smile for Kiana. “Thank you, sister, but with all due respect, I’m not sure the Bronx is equipped to deal with the emotional needs of two dozen wolves who were totally human when they woke up this morning. I think they’re going to need their…”

“Mother?” Kiana smirked. “I’m sorry, but as Sebastian’s mate, you’re under Max’s rule now, and he wants you home, so home you will go. But if it eases your mind, I’m happy to take him along.”

She gave Evan an appraising look that made my blood run cold… or was it hot if my fangs crowded into my mouth with a possessive growl? Kiana’s eyebrow shot up while Max’s scrunched down, and Evan grabbed my elbow before I could do something even more dangerous.

“Let me go, Elyse,” he said. “I’m the one who knows what they’re going through.” He looked up at the gathered crowd. “I was her first. This can turn out just fine.”

“Her first,” Max mumbled, his eyes growing cloudy. “Yes. This will be good.”

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