Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

RIVER

S trider and Cherry took River to her room, and the twins followed closely behind. But when they reached the door, her mom slammed it in their faces.

River groaned. "Mom, you're going to cause an all-out war between them if you don't calm down."

"Me? Me? Why should I calm down? For that matter, why aren't you pissed as hell? They let you get shot, River. I thought I taught you better than that."

River sighed and sank into the large bed. How did she begin to explain to her mom what it was like to be pulled in two different directions by two different men? How the burden of having to choose between them is like asking her to rip part of her soul out and throw it away. How when she was with Ares she couldn't think of anything outside of him. And when she was with Apollo, she could see herself raising a family and being happy. Two opposite parts of her life. Both pulling her apart.

"I am pissed," River said. "I'm pissed that I've been put in this position. I'm pissed that I want both of them. I'm pissed my wolf wants both of them. And I'm pissed that I have to choose between them. But there it is. This crapstorm called my life."

Cherry growled. "If you had gone to Jape's like I wanted you to-"

"Then what? I wouldn't have a mate? Children. I'd never feel the touch of a mate truly meant to be mine."

"Trust me, those things aren't everything." Cherry's eyes flicked to Strider, and he walked to the window and looked out. "Just because someone is fated to be your mate doesn't mean they are right for you. Your dad was my fated mate, and my wolf wanted him, which meant I wanted him, but we were never right for each other. And we both knew it. I had my life, he had his, and we both had you. But…" She looked to Strider's back. "Loving someone is different. Yes, most fated mates fall in love and find never-ending joy. But it's not like that for everyone. Sometimes the one your heart wants and the one your wolf wants are two different people."

A strange sensation rolled over River, and she looked to Strider, who hadn't turned from the window. For the first time, watching her mom watch Strider, she saw it. Love. Her mom loved Strider. Really loved him. She'd never once seen her mom look at her dad like that. But in that moment River understood. Her dad had been Cherry's fated mate. But Strider had been the one she had chosen before her dad. There was so much she didn't know about them.

"I heard you have to choose between them," her mom said. "I can imagine how hard that is. But my question is, are either of them what you want? I decided to follow what my wolf wanted instead of what I wanted, and the only good thing that came out of it was you. If I knew I could still have you and Bianca, I would have changed my decision."

Cherry's words stunned River. She was the only good thing to come out of her mating? If someone ever told her that her mom said that, she never would have believed it.

A knock on the door pulled River's attention. Cherry looked at the door and growled.

River wanted to chastise her mom, but how did you chastise a woman who literally said you were the best thing that had happened to her?

River walked to the door and opened it. Ares stood with Apollo behind him, leaning against the wall across the hallway.

"Hey," said River.

Ares lifted his hand but then looked over her shoulder and dropped it. "The Council would like to speak to you."

"No," said Cherry. "River needs to rest. They can wait."

Ares looked from River to Cherry and back again. "If you would like to wait-"

"Let's get this over with."

River didn't like being summoned like a servant. And even more than that, she didn't like that they summoned her to see if Apollo had been the reason she'd been hurt. So if they wanted to talk, she'd sure as hell talk.

"I'll be back in a minute," River said to Cherry. "Do you two have a room?"

Cherry nodded.

"Good. I'll find you in a bit then." River stepped out the door.

"River?" Cherry called.

River looked back.

"Remember who you are."

River nodded. She knew who she was and sure as hell would make sure the Council knew as well.

River entered the same huge dining room she had days before. The entire scene mimicked the previous one. All Council members sat on one side of the table, and Ares, River, and Apollo took up residence on the other.

Ares and Apollo both pulled out her chair for her, and she sat.

The two groups looked at each other briefly, and then River spoke.

"Why have you summoned me like I'm your assistant?" She couldn't help the annoyance in her voice.

The Council looked at each other and then back at her.

"We heard about your attack, Highness, and we wanted to get some specifics on how that happened," said Osmodius.

"So you thought that gave you the right to order me and Apollo to return here so I could give you a play-by-play of what happened? Why? Are you four the King of the Lycans?"

"No. We are the Council," Osmodius said patiently.

"And that means what? You make the laws?"

"No, we-"

"You enforce the laws?"

"No, we-"

"You rule the Lycans and shifters?"

"No-"

"If you don't do any of those things, who does?"

"The king."

"Right. So Apollo or Ares."

Osmodius's jaw clenched, and then he nodded. "Yes, Highness."

"Do you usually call in Omegas from Lycan packs and ask them how they got hurt? Do you personally oversee every dispute between packs? Call them in over every squabble. Make a decision who is at fault?"

"No."

River nodded. "Again, I would like to ask, what gives you the right to summon me to come here and speak to you about anything?"

"Because you are to be the Queen of the Lycans. What happens to you is a matter we all take very seriously."

"Right… so if I were to say… be walking down the stairs with Ares and trip over the carpet and fall and break my leg, I would need to recount that to you?"

Osmodius didn't reply.

"Or if I go out and I'm in a car accident, again, I need to give you a reenactment? And what if I wasn't driving? Say Bennett's driving. What would happen to him?"

"Your mate would deal with him," said another council member.

"All right. Why am I conversing with you about it and not my potential mates?"

Osmodius opened his mouth, but River held up her hand to stop him.

"Look. I get it. You guys have been helping run things because there is no crowned king yet. You've given guidance, doled out punishments, and interpreted the laws. But as the future Queen of the Lycans, I'd like to clarify something. I will not, under any circumstances, be beckoned to explain myself by anyone but my mate. If I am injured due to someone else's negligence, I will handle it; if I cannot, my mate will handle it. If I have questions or need guidance, I will go to my mate. If my mate, who will be the King, wants to ask you for guidance, good for him. But for me, I'm me. I will always be me. And I will not be told what to do, where to go, or where to show up by anyone except my mate. If that is a problem for anyone in this room, I suggest you speak now before we go any further."

The Council looked at each other, but no one spoke.

"Good. We all understand then. I am not to be treated like a child or a porcelain doll. After suffering an almost life-ending injury, having a bullet removed from my shoulder on a kitchen table, and then spending hours in a car uncomfortably trying to get back here." River nodded. "Now that we have that settled, I have a question for all of you."

"What can we help with, Highness?" asked one of the council members.

River sucked in a deep breath and then clasped her hands in front of her. Her next question wouldn't go over well, but she needed an answer.

"What happens if I can't decide between Apollo and Ares."

"You have to," said Ares. "You have to choose."

River looked at him. His pained expression made her gut twist.

"But what if I can't? If I won't?"

Anger flashed across Ares's features, and then his gaze saddened.

"You need to decide, Highness," said a council member. "We need a king. We need a queen. We need the royal line to continue."

"Relationships are tenuous at best right now," said Apollo. "A king is needed to reinforce those relationships. To ensure peace between the packs."

"River, this is more than just picking a mate," said Ares. "This is a decision that will affect the future of our societies."

"Exactly," she said. "That's a lot of pressure. I don't know that I can do it."

"You must." Ares pounded his fist on the table.

River jumped to her feet and growled at him.

"River." Apollo took her hand and squeezed it.

She looked at his passive expression.

"Even though I know it might mean I do not get you for myself, Ares is right. You have to choose one of us. Either that or walk away from both of us."

River's heart beat so hard she feared it might give out.

She would have said Ares without a thought if asked to choose four days ago. But now…

She looked between the twins.

She couldn't figure out how to live without one of them.