42. NEPHELINE

42

NEPHELINE

We file into the packhouse, Asani and Mateo catching onto the fact that I’m fading before anyone else. Well, Darius noticed but he wasn’t as pushy as the two Alphas. Mateo swoops me up in his arms and carries me into the living room before each of my mates disappear for much-needed showers.

Darius helps me change into something that isn’t covered in blood, Dr. Ellis staying long enough to hold Celeste. He checks her over one more time before saying that he’ll be just across the crystal forest. I slump into the middle of the couch, wiggling my fingers for my baby girl, Darius making sure she’s secured on the cushions.

Each of my mates filter in, sitting around the living room at random, exhaustion creeping in. Locke lays alongside the edge of the couch, almost as if in protection. I know it’s an instinctual thing, some part of his wolf needing to be on alert at all times. I can’t imagine how tiring that is.

“So, that’s it?” I ask, a little confused. “A greedy Alpha did all of this shit just to have an Omega? It doesn’t make sense. It’s a little over the top,” I muse.

Locke bristles, looking up at me with sad eyes. Greed corrupts good people, Nepheline but it destroys bad ones. Our father made a lot of promises he couldn’t keep but he tried to do good in the end. Jacob was never an option. He was ousted from the pack for several infractions. Why he ever thought you would be his is beyond me.

There’s some disappointment in his voice as I reach across the cushions to run my fingers through his coat. “It’s not your fault. I just don’t understand—”

“We may never understand,” Asani cuts in. “We’ve seen it with many Alphas but one taste of that serum made them feel invincible. Hell, Nepheline, you took that serum and thought you could take down every Alpha that betrayed you and killed your family.” He chuckles, shaking his head. “And you managed to do just that without the serum.”

“It just feels like a waste,” I push out, a yawn following. “That Mother Nature and fate or whatever else would test us like this. Why harm so many people to prove a point?”

Maverick moves closer, grinning down at me. “Or maybe she was weeding out the bad ones. I won’t say that the way the magic went about it was right but I will say that the darkness is gone. Mostly.” His gaze flicks to Mateo and then to Asani, something I don’t quite understand brewing between the three of them. “Her agenda isn’t ours, though. Tomorrow we get to start the first day of the rest of our life, with your brother now part of the family, and Celeste guiding our future.”

I snort, shaking my head. “Locke is the pack Alpha of the Redstones.”

No, Nepheline. Not anymore. I cannot nor would I want to lead like this. My human form is gone and with that many of the human emotions that would make me the pack Alpha I need to be. I’m content to be here, at your side, serving you and your Alpha. Nothing would make me happier than finding a future as a Nightshade.

There’s so much conviction in his voice that I don’t push. I’ll ask later. For now, I’ll let myself rest. My mates are safe aside from a few healing wounds and my brother is alive. I can’t ask for more than that.