Page 95 of The Alpha's Mates

I heaved a breath of relief when huts came into view. Being back at this village meant we were one step closer to being home. Now that our quest was completed, I was anxious to get back and check on my pack. Not to mention I couldn't wait to see my grandparents. It'd been almost impossible to resist asking Shroul if he could bring my parents back with him when he returned Tenala. I knew for a fact it'd taken all of Calder'swillpower to keep his mouth shut, as well. We both missed our parents terribly, but it had been their time to die. They'd sacrificed themselves for their families. They deserved their eternal rest with Drennen.

Tenala was different. She'd sacrificed herself and stayed all those years because Lyas had asked it of her. In return, she was going to be able to live out the rest of her life here, with her daughter. My mate's mother was an incredible woman and I'd always be grateful to her for protecting Reese. Not that she'd needed a deal with a Goddess to do that. The love between them was palpable. Even now, they were walking with an arm looped around the other, comfortable in their silence as they traveled together.

No, the sacrifice was that Tenala had to stay and endure the abuse from Haron for eighteen years, then gave her life in exchange for her daughter's. Something about being raised in that adversity had been needed for Reese to become who she was. So Tenala stayed. And now she was free. They both were.

We walked into the village and I grinned when I saw Jessu, Relay, and Nero coming forward to greet us. The smile slipped off my face when the three stopped dead in their tracks. Relay's mouth was hanging open, but the other two looked so wary I almost expected to turn and find Arune standing behind us. The others must have felt the same way because Calder cast a suspicious look around.

"Tenala?" Jessu choked out.

My brows shot up as I looked between the three alphas and Reese's beta mother.

"Jessu!" Tenala ran forward, tossing herself into the stunned shifter's arms. He caught her up in an embrace that looked like it would crack a rib or two. "Relay, Nero," Tenala whispered, turning to them and hugging them close as soon as Jessu let her go.

"She knows them?" Atlas asked, confusion stamped across his face.

"They're her fated mates," Lyas answered, a smile playing over her face.

We all gawked at her. There was no other possible reaction.

"Excuse me?" Reese squeaked.

Lyas sighed, her eyes full of remorse. "I needed Tenala to produce offspring with Haron," she explained. "In order to bring you into this world. It was the only way. So, I set it up so that he'd see her in a neighboring village."

"You made him kidnap her?" Reese asked, eyes narrowing.

"Of course not," Lyas replied, sounding indignant. "But...I knew he would. He could have been a good mate to her. Could have given you both a wonderful life. Even though she had others who were her fated mates, her life with Haron didn't have to be all bad. He just made that decision because, at the core, it’s who he was."

"I don't think Haron had the capacity to love anyone but himself," Reese stated.

Lyas shook her head. "No, you're right."

The group of reuniting shifters seemed to finally remember we were there. They stepped closer. Jessu's eyes were on Lyas, but then he looked at me. "How?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but Atlas beat me to it.

"It's kind of a long story. So, condensed version. Reese rescued Lyas." He motioned to the Goddess. Relay's eyes nearly bugged out of his head at being in the presence of our one true Goddess. "Lyas propositioned Shroul and got Tenala back." Atlas cocked his head, thinking about what needed to beinthe condensed version of this story. "Fighting, fighting, golems. Gods. And here we are." He bared his teeth at them in a wolfish smile.

To their credit Jessu and his cadre mates only blinked at Atlas as they digested his version of things. Not that it made any sense when given that way.

"You were dead," Jessu stated, looking at Tenala like she might disappear at any moment.

"I'm not anymore," Tenala said with a smile. "I'm here now."

"How do you even know each other?" Calder asked.

It was Reese who answered. "Mom came here looking for anything she could find out about alpha females."

"Actually," Tenala corrected. "That's what I told you, because I had to say something. I came looking for information about Lyas and how to help her. Not that I didn’t gather every scrap of information about alpha females also, but it wasn’t the only reason."

"Tenala was the one who convinced me to help Vera and the others with the ancient text," Jessu offered.

My brows had been up nearly this whole time as one thing after another was revealed. "Wait." I looked over at my mate's mother. "So you know my grandmother?"

Tenala smiled. "I do. I'm looking forward to seeing Vera again."

“You’ve met Vera?” Reese asked.

“Once,” Tenala said. “She traveled here to study the Verulian Text with us. She offered to take me back home with her, to shield me from Haron, but I couldn’t go. I had to go back to you.” She smiled over at Reese.

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