34. The Heart of the Pack

34

The Heart of the Pack

FLOR

T he sounds of fighting outside the tent went on, but inside, it was quiet, except for our breathing. Stunned, Ralen stared across the room at us, then back at the sword that was stuck in place, halfway through the Enforcer's neck.

"Good job, Enforcer," I congratulated him. "Finish it, though."

"Finish?" He panted the word.

Daisy let out a tiny howl of joy and answered for me. "You got to cut the whole head off, ‘Forcer Ralen. That's what the Alpha Protector did, right?"She slipped her small hand in mine, and I smiled down at her.

"That's right. It's the traditional sentence for someone really awful. Someone who hurts their pack."

"Where did you learn that?" Ralen grimaced, but leaned over and used his knee to hold the body down, and his good arm to saw off the head.

Shrugging, I shooed Daisy away from the severed head. "Common knowledge." I didn't need to admit that I hadn't really known that until Sergeant had told me.

Sergeant. Suddenly, knowing where he was seemed vital.

I helped Christophe to a seat, listening to the fighting outside grind to a halt as a pulse of Alpha power surged through the very air. I shivered as it moved over me, then cursed as I noticed Daisy and Ralen were on the ground, bowing under the invisible weight.

Thank goodness I'd already gotten Christophe to a chair. All three of them stared at me like I'd sprouted wings or something.

"What you'll need, until Margarette can order a decent prosthetic, is a crutch," I muttered, looking around the tent for something that might work.

At that moment, Brand appeared in the tent, covered in blood, his chest heaving, Glen right behind. It sounded like the battle outside had ended. From the amount of blood coating my mates— mate, Flor. Only one is an actual mate, remember? —I suspected the two had slaughtered every one of the accused, and maybe a few extras who'd looked at me funny.

I hoped they'd taken care of the ones who wanted to burn the Southern witch.

"Are you all right?" Glen demanded, at my side in three huge steps. He cupped my face in his hands and stroked my hair back, assessing me. Then he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips.

"Ooooh," Daisy hummed, delighted. Brand just snorted, slapping the back of Glen's head as he passed.

Glen's hands moved to my shoulders. "You weren't hurt?"

I curled a lip. "By your asshole pack, who think reenacting the Salem witch trials would be a good time? Nah."

Not a second later, Margarette flew through the opening of the tent and skidded to a stop, a strange sword in hand that smelled strongly of silver. She pulled Daisy to her feet and gently checked her for wounds, then turned to face me once she knew the girl was okay.

"Flor, my pack is once again indebted," she said. "Thanks for killing these two."Margarette looked like she'd been in a fight herself, with blood spatters across her arms and clothing.

"I didn't do any of this. Your best Enforcers did." I nodded at Ralen and Christophe, who practically glowed with pride as Margarette reached a hand out to each man. I wasn't certain how she did it, but her touch seemed to free each of the lower ranked shifters from the Alpha's power that was still bearing down on us all.

I made a note to ask Brand about that later. I'd never seen any other Alpha Mates before, and didn't know what kind of power they might have. Although, I supposed the only other one left alive that I might meet would be Finnick's mom.

"Well done, Enforcers," Margarette praised. "All of you, please come outside with me. The Alpha has commanded the pack to bear witness to his judgment."

"I'm not going out there unarmed," I protested. Ralen wiped my sword clean on his pant leg and handed it back to me. "Perfect. Now Christophe needs a crutch—ah, thanks, Ralen." The one-handed shifter had draped an arm around Christophe's waist and was helping his friend hop to the doorway.

Margarette led Daisy out by the hand ahead of them. Brand, Glen, and I followed close behind. I had no idea what to expect, but what I saw shocked me to the core.

The Alpha stood in the center of the ring once again, but in his wolf form. I had never seen him shifted, and was impressed by his beast. His gray fur gleamed with blood. The blood of the shifters that lay all around him.

From what I could tell, he'd torn the throats out of all the first group of Enforcers. Well, the ones the unranked women hadn't taken care of. Another group of ranked males and females kneeled trembling in a line, Patrick and his men standing over them.

The unranked women stood clustered loosely around the Alpha, bloodied knives in their hands, eyes gleaming with rage and pride, like some kind of honor guard. The rest of the pack had gone completely silent, staring with bewilderment and fear at the group.

Margarette walked with Daisy, who didn't look at all upset by all the blood. In fact, she gave a vicious kick to one dead male as she went past his corpse, before stopping at the Alpha's side. The torchlight threw eerie shadows over the macabre scene.

Even the wind in the trees went silent as Margarette spoke. "Our pack has lost its way. Lost its honor." Moonlight reflected in her eyes as she glanced at me, then back at her mate. "Everything changes now."

Would it, though? I felt eyes on me, some of them friendly, many of them not. Brand and Glen stepped closer, forming a rank against the judgment. I set one hand on my sword and the other on my knife, and kept my chin up.

Maybe not everything would change, or at least, not all at once. Prejudice and fear were hard to cut out, even with a thousand swords and steak knives. But change had begun.

Some of the changes Margarette warned about happened fast. She read out the crimes of the accused to the silent crowd, then used the silver blade to dispatch the remaining few criminals, her mate beside her.

No one complained after she announced their crimes. A few of them cried. One or two vomited.

Then Margarette called the unranked females to stand with her and made an announcement that did raise a few eyebrows. "Our most vulnerable members have been wronged for too long. We meant to protect them, but instead, left them vulnerable. They are the Heart of the Pack."

The way she said those words made them seem like a title, and a feeling that reminded me of the magic Grigor had used rushed over my skin.

Huh. I knew Alpha Mates shared in their mate's dominance, and that the Alphas could grow stronger if they mated a powerful female. But could they also use the Alpha power and command?I packed the thought away and focused on Margarette's speech.

"...so the Heart of the Pack is kept protected. From now on, these women and all the unranked shifters and children will live inside the Lodge. They will be guarded at all times, and the adults and teens armed as well. They are to be treated with the same respect that you give me, or the Head Enforcers. Raising a hand against one of them is the same as raising it against your Alpha himself."

I glanced to the side and saw Glen smiling sadly at his mom, while Patrick stared with anguish at Kristin.

"There will be a complete restructuring of the pack hierarchy, and every member of Northern is commanded to report here tomorrow at midday. No one may leave the pack grounds. Once the Heart of the Pack is safely inside, every ranked wolf will help us burn the bodies of these criminals and clean up this mess. No questions. Get to work."

The next few hours were a buzz of activity. I helped Margarette get the unranked women into their new quarters. Ralen and Christophe chose Enforcers to help guard the Lodge, ostensibly in case the Russian rogues attacked. But I could tell they were worried about violence from within the pack as well.

Margarette called me into the family room again after the Heart was settled, asking me to listen to the changes she was planning to make at Northern. As she laid out the new pack structure for me to approve, I found tears stinging my eyes.

She and Alpha Hillier weren't just changing a few things. They were remaking the entire structure of the pack. I almost couldn't believe what she had planned, but she'd written it all out.

"Flor. Do you think it's enough?" She held out the pad of paper with a trembling hand. She was exhausted and grieving.

I took a seat and scanned the paper, swallowing hard. "Rank will be decided by a group of the most vulnerable."

She nodded. "As of today at noon, no one in the pack besides the Alpha's family, and Christophe and Ralen, will have any rank at all. The Heart of the Pack will hear the remaining Enforcers' and Alpha Hillier's suggestions for who should be elevated. Those women's wisdom and experience will help us make certain no one who should not have authority is given back that power to abuse."

"And you'll let shifters leave if they want? Travel to other packs to find their mates, maybe even move?"

"Yes. Bradley spoke to Brand, and he assured us that Mountain pack at least will allow our wolves to visit outside of the Conclaves. He can't promise they'll be welcomed into the pack permanently, but given more time there… Well, who knows? If they decided to come back home, they'll be allowed to do that as well."

"Like dual citizenship," I murmured. "Maybe Glen won't have to abjure Northern after all."

Margarette sighed heavily. "The children of Alphas, especially the Heirs, are not allowed to leave their packlands outside of foster stays or official duties, by order of the North American Council. Bradley already called Acting Council Alpha McDonnell and asked if Glen could have a temporary foster stay at Mountain. He declined the request."

"That fucker." I held my face still at the bombs she'd just dropped. One of them, I'd known. But that Alphas' children—not just the Heirs—couldn't leave their own packs?

Margarette grimaced. "You should meet his mate. She's a thousand times worse. So when Glen leaves home, he can only do so as a rogue. That means he can be hunted and killed with impunity, and should not be welcomed in any of the North American packs, unless the Council changes that law."

"He won't be allowed to enter the Mountain packlands?"

Margarette shrugged. "There is some leeway given. Brand's father can choose to incarcerate him, and send a request to the Council for directions."

"Not a good option."

"Not ideal, no. Glen could enter the packlands in secret and not declare himself, staying if Samuel chooses to look the other way." She allowed herself a small smile. "Brand's father detests the Council's meddling, and Finnick's father even more. Samuel is the ultimate authority in Mountain, and he has a soft spot for you, Flor. If you ask him to let Glen stay, to let you stay, I'm sure he'll allow it."

To let me stay. I took a drink, wondering if she knew, or suspected.

"I thought it was just Alpha Heirs that couldn't leave their own lands, except for Conclaves and foster stays," I said after a moment. "So Patrick and Glen both are tied here?"

"Yes. That law was decided long ago by the Council, to keep strong wolves from setting off on their own to carve out their own packs, or take over neighboring lands."

I nodded, like I wasn't panicking.

I could never, ever let anyone find out who my biological father was.

I let out a breath, trying to keep my heart rate steady. "We need Finnick's dad to step down."

She nodded once. "Bradley will have to go to the city, prove that he is capable of retaking the seat as Council Head, and call an official hearing with all the packs' leaders in attendance, to change the law."

"Will he be able to do all that?"

"He should. He's well now, and well respected."

"When's he going?"

Margarette slumped onto the armchair beside my seat. "It'll take a month, at least. We have to rebuild our pack from within, repair our defenses, and schedule a meeting all the Council can attend. And Flor, we don't know what to tell them about Glen's reason for leaving to follow you. Everyone knows you're Brand's mate. The idea that you have more than one mate?—"

"They're all going to want to burn the Southern witch, aren't they?" I ground my teeth. "It would be one thing if I actually had magic. Hell, I can't even shift into my wolf form."

"You've tried?"

"Every damned day."

"Then that's another concern," Margarette pointed out. "There could be some connection between your problems shifting and your… unusual mating situation. We're hoping that the library at Mountain will reveal some answers as to what perverted the bond." She swallowed when I stood to leave. "Changed it, I mean. Flor. My own collection of books has almost everything our kind knows about mate bonds. Yet there's nothing in any of these books that even hints at why this happened. How it could have happened."

She crossed the room and poured a glass of water, staring out the window. "A lot of our collected knowledge was lost in the war, of course. Libraries burned, whole packs—" She started choking and took a quick sip of water. "You should research your lineage, Flor. You might find some answers." Her gaze was assessing. "Do you know who your father was?"

Margarette knew I was hiding something, and I had a feeling she at least suspected who my father was. But if I told her outright, if she knew it definitively, I was afraid she would have to tell the Council who I was.

And that I would have to return to Southern. I would, someday. My wolf was restless, insisting that we needed to go back to Luke soon. I wasn't ready to return yet, or to share all my secrets, and while I could do a lot of things, I couldn't lie straight to Margarette's face. "I need to go." I jumped up and headed for the door, forcing myself to move slowly, trying not to make it obvious that I was running away.

She exhaled heavily, but let me duck the question. "Go where, Flor?"

"I haven't slept in days, it feels like. I need to rest."

She stood and followed me to the door. "I heard you gave your bedroom to Kristin Star." Her lips pursed as she said the name.

"Yeah. She deserved it. Nice sturdy lock on that door. I'm going to sleep outside."

"Outside?"

I shrugged. "We've moved the ranked males out of the Lodge, and Brand's wolf was throwing a tantrum when he thought he'd have to sleep far away."

"Where is he now?"

Just outside the door, Brand cleared his throat.

Margarette echoed my grin. "I see. Go to the western edge of the lake. There's an old cabin there, a few hundred feet from the water's edge. I spent more than one night out there with Bradley, long ago. I'll ask someone to make sure you're not disturbed. We'll find you another bedroom for tomorrow night."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Margarette. I need to go to Mountain, as soon as possible, and then back to?—"

"To Southern, yes." She gripped my arm. "I'm glad. You're needed there as well."

"Yeah, I have to check on…" I didn't let myself say his name, but I rubbed my chest where the pain was sharpest.

"I'll miss you. Our pack needs energy and discernment like yours."

I met her gaze, hoping she would listen and really hear what I was saying. For all that she knew she needed to change, Margarette had some deep-seated prejudices to fight.

"I think you already have a woman with the same qualities. A natural leader, no matter what's around her neck." I flicked my ear tag, then waited until she nodded. "Kristin's lived through hell, like I did. You'd do well to listen to her advice."

"I will." She stepped close and extended her arms for a hug. "Someday, if you come back to Northern, I hope you'll see a better pack. That we learned how to be the pack, the refuge, you deserved." I let her arms enfold me, and it was like I was back at Southern again, with this woman giving me the love I'd never known from my own mother.

Only now, I knew that Margarette was almost as flawed as my own mother had been. Still, she was trying to redeem herself. For all I knew, someday I'd fuck up royally and be the one asking for forgiveness.

So I let myself sink into her as she whispered, "I hope you'll love my son enough for his family and pack. He'll need you, Flor. Please… give him a chance."

"I will," I promised as she escorted me through the doorway where Brand waited for me.

"Take good care of her. The rogues may come back," Margarette cautioned.

"I will. Thank you for the supplies." He held up a picnic basket and two pillows.

"Good. I'll set a guard to be sure no one interrupts your rest," she said, then arched a brow at Brand. "I'm glad you're finally honoring the moon with your mate. Shifter pups don't make themselves, you know."

We both blushed, but Brand muttered, "I do know that, ma'am," before we fled the Lodge, laughing as we ran.