Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

Lorcan

T he little wolf can track me through our half-formed bond. The realization sends a pulse directly to my cock. It’s an inappropriate time, considering she’s saying her goodbyes to the crowd as Anders and Sofia stand at her sides.

I vaguely wonder what’s happening with Cohen and the pretty but cold fae. Rogue seems just the type to chew up and spit out my dear friend, but I believe he would enjoy the process. And that’s enough for me to not intercede. Either way, Cohen is capable of looking out for himself, and knowing Calyx will be around is the added factor that allows me to calmly stay in the moment here.

Peeking at Ember, I see she’s still talking to two of the female wolves. That’s a good first step. I don’t know those wolves by name, but both have packs of their own at home. Their experiences here will surely filter to their men.

What’s that saying?

Happy wife, happy life.

A giddy excitement fills my chest. I’ve waited for what feels like an eternity to finally meet the person the universe views as my other half.

And she’s finally here.

I slide past Ember and the others to do a full sweep of the exterior. They’ll be leaving shortly, and I’d like to check for any dangers that could be lurking around.

I vaguely wonder if her dragon is back yet. It has to have been two or three hours since he left.

“Okay, just one quick stop wherever you think the males might congregate, and maybe we can head back to Anders’s house for a nap?” Ember strides out the door with Anders right behind her. “I feel like total trash, which is unusual, with the full moon only two nights away.”

“Why don’t we deal with the males another time, then?” Anders suggests with an optimistic, or possibly delusional, tone to his voice.

“Now is good. I don’t like putting things off,” Ember says, rolling her shoulders back. “Where the hell is Veryn? It feels like he’s been gone forever, and it’s starting to stress me out.”

“The dragon has a nightmare watching his back.” I allow myself to appear at her side. “He’ll be fine. Now, if I were a betting man, I’d check the practice rings. It’s where you’re likely to find Aimes’s remaining lackeys.”

There’s a very unique standoff occurring in the rings this fine morning.

Bryant, Toby, and several enforcers from Burke’s time as pack leader stand on one side of the ring. The other side is lined with assholes I recognize from their ability to follow Aimes about with their noses all simultaneously shoved up his arse.

“A few might have feelings about you stepping in before Aimes placed judgment on me,” Anders says in barely more than a whisper. “Technically speaking, until he killed me or stated my punishment…”

“Got it,” Ember says, appraising the crowd. The intricate braids I placed in her hair bounce as she tugs off the leather jacket. Several inches of bare skin is on display around the bottom of her tank top and above her jeans. I struggle against the unnatural urge to lick it. The partially formed matebond is pulling us together in all sorts of delicious ways.

Ember turns, rising on her tiptoes to give Anders a peck on the cheek. “I’m happy you’re alive, and I would step in again without hesitation.” She swivels to me. “All right, stalker. You get to give me a kiss for good luck.”

I chuckle and bend to brush my lips over hers as my hand lands on her tight ass to give it a squeeze. “Give ’em hell.”

Anders steps closer to my side as we follow the spitfire toward the ring. A wooden fence lines the approximately twenty-foot circle. The flooring is worn down to dirt in some places, unlike the lush grass outside of the barrier.

Ember hits the fence, using the bottom rung as a step to launch herself over the six-foot-high top barrier. She lands in a crouch as sand flies up around her feet.

“I’ve been informed some of you might have feelings about my actions last night.” Ember spins in a circle. “If that’s the case, I’d like to offer you this opportunity to make those feelings known.”

“Are you asking someone to challenge you, Alpha?” Toby calls out, running his hand through Kent’s hair. Toby is Sofia’s other living mate. I’d say the boy biologically belongs to Burke. Although, Anders has made it clear they don’t know for sure.

I believe I would also rather not know if our family pack ever chooses to procreate. It might be tempting to use my magic, but I believe I could hold out. Of course, it would become clear once they were older and took after their biological father’s nature, as all male children of omegas do.

“If any of you feel I didn’t earn my place as alpha…” Ember shrugs. “Then, yes, challenge me. If you’d like to spar, I’m open to that too.”

The side filled with Aimes’s supporters chuckles and whispers. My hearing is nowhere close to the level of a shifter. I’m unable to pick out exactly what’s being said, but Anders stiffens next to me. That, combined with the condescending tone, tells me all I need to know.

Ember nods, and something in her posture changes. “It’s okay. If no one is feeling brave, I’ll just leave you to it.”

One particularly foolish individual hoists himself over the railing. “I’ll spar with you.”

“I remember you from the cells.” Ember points at his chest. “I meant to ask, what did the other three prisoners do to end up in there?”

The massive wolf stays in human form, and he has to have half a foot in height on Ember. He doesn’t give any warning before slamming his fist at her jaw.

Ember immediately falls to a crouch, but his punch connects with her cheek when she doesn’t move quite fast enough.

Anders lets out a low growl, but it’s nothing compared to the roar that echoes around the clearing behind us.

What a lovely time for the dragon to return .

Ember’s head shakes, but my chest lightens a bit when she stands and propels herself backward several feet. It puts her out of the asshole’s reach. She leans to the side, spitting blood. But it’s the feral smile on her face as she begins to circle him that puts me further at ease.

She might have omega genetics hidden somewhere in there to temper the viciousness of her alpha wolf, but it’s nice to see the alpha side wins out under appropriate conditions.

I ache to stay close and watch over her, but the dragon approaches. Spinning around, I use magic to propel me at him.

Veryn looks quite dangerous, with his eyes glowing yellowy-green and his dragon’s claws at the ready.

My hands hit his pecs, but even with the significant boost from my magic, he doesn’t falter. I don’t even manage to shove his giant ass back a few steps.

Fucking stubborn dragon .

He growls, tilting his head predatorily.

I pull a hand up to swipe over the sigil on the top of my wrist. It gives us a bubble of silence.

Even then, I get close to Veryn’s ear before speaking. “You make or break her reign with what you do next. Either you calmly walk to the edge of the ring and offer her playful support as she proves she can handle herself, or you step in and undermine her authority forever. She’ll never be able to gain that respect back once it’s gone.”

Veryn’s head shakes as his eyes flash. Something similar happens to Anders when he’s battling his lion.

“Should I remove you?” I ask. “Or are you going to cheer her on? Knowing you have faith in her ability to protect herself will give her strength.”

“She’s not concerned. Neither am I.” Veryn stretches his neck from side to side, like he’s shaking off the bad energy he had upon arrival. He steps around me and stomps toward the arena. “Come on, baby. You got this. Kick his ass.”

Calling a gust of wind, I allow it to carry me to the edge of the fence as I deactivate the silencing sigil.

Anders watches with his chest heaving and his eyes glowing. Veryn glances between Ember in the ring and Anders, who might also need a pep talk, based on his current state.

“Don’t stress, man.” Veryn tosses an arm around Anders’s shoulders. Possibly to hold the lion back if he attempts to do anything ill-advised. “I’ve seen her take down a hellhound. She’s just playing with her food at this point.”

“He sucker punched her in the face ,” Anders growls.

“Yeah, assholes tend to do that when they know they can’t win in a fair fight.” Veryn chuckles darkly.

I’m so distracted by the two of them that, by the time I glance back at the ring, I do a double take.

Ember is on top of the wolf’s shoulders with her thighs wrapped around his neck. He throws himself backward toward the ground while attempting to pry her legs off his throat.

She slides around his front, using the momentum of the fall to land on top of him.

It’s slightly precarious, as one of her feet ends up pinned under his head, but she stays in a modified crouch and lands several vicious blows to the man’s face while using her free arm to deflect as he attempts to knock her off.

One particularly loud crunch fills the air, and his legs stop flailing. Hmm, I wonder if she managed to break his neck or simply knocked him out.

“Good job, Alpha Ember!” Kent calls out, peeking through the slats on the other side of the fence.

Ember pries her foot from under the man’s head and dusts off her knees before glancing at the rest of Aimes’s supporters.

“Would anyone else like to spar?” Her line of sight moves among the men slowly as she waits for each to look away from the dominance in her gaze.

It’s fucking impressive how quickly she manages to force their compliance.

The universe blessed me with an absolutely intriguing gift of a mate.