I wasn’t given much time to prepare for our departure. Kalus had simply announced we’d be leaving within the hour, leaving me to hastily pack essentials while he attended to final arrangements with Frost. By the time I’d finished, Kaius was already waiting by the door, his expression betraying nothing of his thoughts.
“Ready?” he asked, his amber eyes scanning me briefly.
I nodded, shouldering my small bag. “As I’ll ever be.”
Without warning, he stepped forward and lifted me into his arms. I yelped in surprise, my arms instinctively wrapping around his
neck.
“I can walk, you know,” I protested, though without much conviction.
“I know.” His lips curved into that half–smile that never failed to make my heart skip. “But this is faster.”
He carried me through the corridors of the pack house, ignoring the curious glances of pack members we passed. Outside, an impressive convoy awaited–sleek black SUVS with tinted windows flanked by a dozen motorcycles, their riders already mounted and ready.
“Your chariot awaits, Luna,” Kaius murmured against my ear before setting me gently on my feet beside an open car door
Iwas about to climb in when a familiar voice spoke from behind us.
“Alpha, I am glad to see you are all set; I didn’t expect you to bring her along.”
Thalia. I stiffened, forcing myself to turn and face the elder with as much dignity as I could muster.
Kaius’s expression hardened imperceptibly. “You will refer to her as the Luna, or my mate, Elder.”
Thalia inclined her head slightly, though the gesture held more mockery than respect. “Luna, we haven’t officially met,” she said, her ageless eyes meeting mine directly.
“I know enough about you,” I replied coolly.
“About the last time…” she began, but I cut her off.
“There won’t be a need to explain yourself; I’m sure you did that for the best, Elder.” My tone made it clear I believed nothing of the
sort.
A hint of amusement flickered across her face. “You don’t like me a lot, do you?”
“No, no, don’t.” I saw no point in pretenses. Thalia knew exactly how I felt about her, just as I knew she’d been in love with my mate for years.
Kaius’s hand rested at the small of my back, a subtle reminder of his presence and support. Thalia’s eyes flicked to the gesture, a shadow of something–hurt? Jealousy?-crossing her features before her mask of cool indifference returned.
“I’ll take another vehicle,” she announced abruptly. “We’ll continue our discussion when we arrive.”
As she walked away, Kaius guided me into the car, following after and settling beside me. The interior was luxurious–all supple leather and polished wood, with a privacy partition separating us from the driver’s compartment.
“That went well,” Kaius remarked dryly once the door closed behind us.
1/4
Chapter 116.
I leaned back against the seal, watching through the tinted windowss Thalia climbed into a car several vehicles ahead. ‘She started
it.”
A low chuckle escaped him. “So territorially protective of your position.”
“Shouldn’t I be?” I challenged, turning to face him.
His expression softened slightly. “Your position is not in question, Bowen. Not with me, not with anyone.”
The convoy began to move, the motorcycles roaring to life around us I watched them with curiosity. “Why do you need all those many bikes?”
“I did enjoy riding when I was younger,” Kaius replied, his gaze following mine.
“And now?”
“I don’t really see the need, not if I could run even faster,” he said with a hint of pride.
I studied the privacy partition, wondering how sound–proof it might be. “The driver… can he hear us?”
“No, why?” Kaius raised an eyebrow.
“I wanted to ask about the Ironvale Pack. With their Alpha gone, would the beta take over?… is there even a beta?”
Kaius’s expression darkened slightly. “My father had trust issues; he didn’t need a second in command, nor did he want a Gamma; he wanted to rule the pack all on his own. He feared that they might turn against him and threaten to take his position. I do have a plan for them. Each and every member of the Ironvale Pack was once our member; they had been separated from this pack, and maybe we could be one again.”
The idea of merging two packs that had been separated for so long seemed ambitious, even for Kaius. “What if the Ironvale Pack members turn against us? They believe you killed your father.”
“My father wasn’t really a lovable man–not saying that I am either; they would be honoured to be a part of The Ravenhollow Pack, but of course each and every one of them has an option to stay or join other packs–I would ensure that.” The confidence in his voice was absolute, as if the outcome he envisioned was already reality.
I turned to watch the landscape rushing past outside the window. We were leaving the familiar territory of Ravenhollow behind, heading toward the place that had featured in my mother’s nightmares for years. The place where she had been enslaved, tortured, broken.
And now I was returning there as Luna, mate to the son of the man who had caused her so much suffering. The irony wasn’t lost on
- me.
“What are you thinking?” Kaius asked after a prolonged silence.
“About my mother,” I admitted. “About what she endured in the pack we’re now heading to
His hand found mine, fingers interlacing. “That pack no longer exists Not as it was under my father.”
I wanted to believe him–that the cruelty and darkness my mother had described was gone with Alaric. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that places, like people, retained echoes of their history.
