Chapter 94: Broken Royals

MADDOX

Everyone sat in silence. Everyone drank their bourbon. In silence.

The king looked like he had aged a hundred years. Everyone just sat in silence, in shock.

Keir had been defeated. It should have been a celebration. And yet we sat there mourning a life.

“I had a clear shot at him. I had a clear fucking shot at him, and YOU RUINED IT!”

Milly’s explosion snapped us all out of the trance we had been in. She was glaring at Wyatt.

“I ruined it?” he snapped. “I was protecting you!”

“Well, I can take care of myself. I don’t need protecting,” she scoffed, folding her arms.

“Nonsense! The male protects the female, and you will be queen someday!” Wyatt argued. Everyone just watched them. No one said a word.

“I already told you: I don’t want to be queen, and I don’t need a mate! I don’t want a mate!” Milly looked furious.

Diego blinked. “Wait, what? When did this happen?”

“Right before the failed ball,” Reign croaked out.

For a strong, ferocious family that always held it together, right now they looked a mess. Understandably so, but it was still a strange sight to see.

Freida hadn’t uttered a word since we all left the banquet hall of the pack house. Raphael was barely holding it together. Diego stared off into the distance every so often.

Even the twins—Levi and Lucas, I think were their names—came back from wherever they had been.

“So you think that just because you are mated to my daughter that you get to boss her around, is that right?” Diego snapped at Wyatt, who merely stared in response.

“Boy, if I were you, I’d answer. Because you see, I’m not the most patient wolf at the best of times, and I lost my only sister today, so I’m all out of the little ounce of patience that I had.”

Diego cracked his knuckles. Wyatt rolled his eyes.

“Right, because a wolf in his forties can take on a wolf in his prime.”

I cleared my throat. “Actually, he can. You’re forgetting that the Gray bloodline is not exactly ordinary. No disrespect.”

Frieda waved her hand, blowing her nose on a tissue.

“We have suffered enough loss today. We don’t need to add more fighting to it, all right? So both of you need to settle down,” she ordered.

Diego sat back in his chair, mumbling. Milly stood up and stared right down the table at Wyatt.

“Pull a stunt like that again when my family needs me, and mate or not, I will kill you myself.” She kicked her chair aside and stormed out.

I noticed Reign wince when the door slammed shut.

I stood up. “If it’s all the same to you, I am deeply sorry for your loss, but I need to take my mate home so that she can get some rest. It has been a long exhausting day for everyone.”

Reign just followed me silently. I realized about halfway down the hallway that I didn’t actually know where her house was, so I just led her to my quarters at the packhouse.

The pack was holding a candlelight vigil for the fallen wolves under the moonlight. I wrapped my arm around Reign. Holding her close, I led her to my room.

“You can take the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor,” I offered as she looked around. I’d have given anything to hold her, but right then was not the time.

“Okay,” she whispered, climbing into bed without changing. She curled up in a fetal position and just let the tears fall silently.

“Reign?”

“Mmm?”

“Did you want to talk about what happened today?”

“Not really. Not yet.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll be on the floor if you need me.”

I lay on the floor for what felt like an eternity, staring up at the ceiling. Realistically, it was probably less than five minutes.

“Maddox?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you lay with me, please?”

“Sure. I mean, I could, but we haven’t completed our mating, so it might not be the best idea.”

“Then maybe we should complete it.”

“Reign, now isn’t the time. You’re grieving, and you just lost a loved one.”

“That’s exactly why it’s the perfect time. I don’t want to wait anymore.”

I slowly climbed into bed and pulled her close. I couldn’t tell who was shaking more.

~Is this the right thing to do?~

~Will she regret this in the morning?~

We began to kiss and slowly sank into it. Everything about it felt amazing. It was like we could read each other’s minds and just knew what the other wanted.

We finished it off by marking each other and solidifying our mating bond.

Reign and I had officially mated…on the night she lost her mother and became an orphan.

A part of me felt guilty that it had to be that way, but as she fell asleep peacefully in my arms, I allowed the guilt to flow away and snuggled in closer to her.

Everything was about to change now. I just had no idea how much.