Chapter 30

Gentry

The pack held its breath as Isolde went into labor. Her son would be the first of many pups that would soon call Hidden Creek their home. We all congregated outside the medical building, waiting for the good news. The Alpha unit and Isolde had been inside for two hours already, and packmates were growing anxious.

My unit sat next to Brielle—who was cradling her swollen stomach—and her mates.

“Whose seed do you think conquered her womb first?” Brielle asked Myla.

Myla’s face reddened as she held in a laugh.

“Goddess, Brielle. You’re not allowed to hang out with the guys at the shop anymore. You’re starting to sound more and more like them,” Theron joked.

“I will not be restricted from my share of low-value entertainment,” she quipped. “So, who do you have your money on?”

“My bet is on Alaric,” Bowen said shamelessly. “The commander has some serious stress to work off, and I bet he found the perfect place to do it. Plus, have you seen his stamina?”

“I can’t even begin to point out all the wrong things about that statement,” Valor said.

“Oh, please. It’s definitely Bishop. He probably sweet-talks her out of her clothes at least twice a day.”

“Are we attributing frequency to probability?” Ezra asked.

“Not you, too,” I said.

Ezra shrugged. “It’s a viable discussion, and if you think everyone else isn’t making bets on the same thing, you haven’t been by the Enforcer building lately.”

“I’m putting my money on Alpha Wynn,” Myla said.

“Why? Because he’s the Alpha?” Theron guessed.

Myla raised an eyebrow. “If you can’t bet on your Alpha, who can you bet on?”

“Fair point,” Silas said. “I’m voting with Myla.”

Bowen knocked his shoulder into Silas’s. “Kiss-ass.”

“Smart man,” Ezra murmured. “I’m siding with Brielle.”

“Great, there are two of you,” Bowen huffed.

The doors to the medical facility opened, and Korren exited, announcing a successful delivery. The pack erupted into cheers.

“Alpha Wynn wanted me to inform everyone there will be an official viewing of the pup in two weeks,” Korren said before heading back inside.

Everyone began to disperse, a buzz of excitement ringing through their hushed voices.

The birth reminded me of our own expecting mate. We would need to move against the Council soon if we wanted to keep the pups of our pack safe.

***

Alpha Wynn wasted no time gathering our forces. A week after his son—Izan—was born, he sent scouts to our allies. The white witches had arrived on pack lands, and we called for a meeting with warriors from all three packs. The Alpha decided he was tired of waiting for the Council to make their move. It was time to bring the fight to them.

The plan was simple: the witches would break through their barriers at dawn, Hidden Creek would lead the attack with Silver Fang, and Blood Moon would attack from behind, catching anyone who escaped. We had orders to execute the Council members and any dark witches we found.

While we took care of the Council, Silver Fang’s kin packs—Hollow Wood and Greyson—would lead their units and the rebels to the boarding houses and liberate the Omegas.

All rescued Omegas would get to choose which pack they wanted to join as fully autonomous shifters.

It was a huge undertaking, but with our combined forces, the Council hadn’t stood a chance.

The white witches descended on the Council facility like an army of avenging angels, taking out their security before attacking the building itself. The nano-hackers had helped us construct blueprints of the building, and the witches were able to pinpoint the Council’s chambers while cutting off their escape routes.

The white witches—aided by wolves wielding the prototypes of our power-silencing weapons—attacked the dark witches, and we picked off the officers scrambling to gain position.

The Council members were caught like rats in a trap as we moved in on them. The battle was over before it really began when we isolated their soldiers, making it impossible for them to come to their employers’ aid. Alpha Wynn and Alpha Declan secured each member, holding them prisoner until the fight ended.

They were to be held responsible for their sins before the entire shifter community—sanctioned and unsanctioned packs alike. The witches combined their magic and constructed an underground prison for them to await their trial.

The Omegas gathered with their liberators to decide their next steps. The younger children were trickier to place because their families could still be looking for them. We decided to create a database of Omega profiles and assigned a task force to assist in a reunification program.

The older Omegas were housed among three packs—Hidden Creek, Silver Fang, and Hollow Wood—but after the Council trial, they could join any pack they wished.

We returned to Hidden Creek with forty temporary packmates.

The next few weeks passed in stilted peace as the packs decided on a date for the trial. It finally happened on a cool autumn morning. The Alphas of all the shifter packs flooded the fields of Hidden Creek as the Council members were punished for their sins.

The executions were quick—their deaths a penance to the Goddess for straying so far from her path.

Afterward, the packs worked to reestablish society. Most favored going back to how things used to be, with a governing body of mediators for pack wars and societal issues. Each pack would still have a ruling Alpha, but they’d also nominate an elder as an intermediary. Votes were cast, and returning to the old ways won by a landslide.

The last order of business was the permanent relocation of the Omegas. Each Alpha unit had an opportunity to speak about their pack as the Omegas listened. The Omegas chose their new homes at the end of the showcase, and Hidden Creek gained twenty new packmates.

The past was finally behind us.

When we returned to our den, Myla was there to welcome us home, her smile as bright as our future.