Chapter Thirty-Seven

Ellie

I had thought we’d be heading towards the council territory, but we didn’t. Instead, we found ourselves in a convoy of vehicles, crossing the river ford into what was once Zagan’s territory.

I was in the back of one of the vehicles, sitting next to Seth. Up front were two of his top warriors. One was driving, the other was riding shotgun. Clayton had dubbed them ‘The Royal Guard.’

As if I needed a guard. I’d just torn the heart out of an Alpha and tossed it into the river we were now crossing.

I felt my body tense as we left the river behind. Memories of the last time I was here—with Sammy—flooded my mind.

I looked out the back window, taking in the people trailing behind us.

Sammy’s voice echoed in my mind.

~“Come on… we're nearly there. We can’t stop now.”~

~“I, Samuel of the Blood Fang pack, reject the pack and accept rogue status.”~

~“Come on, let's see if we can find some shelter.”~

A single tear slipped from my eye, and I felt Seth squeeze my hand.

“Memories?” he asked.

I nodded and quickly wiped the tear away with my hand.

I heard Seth growl. I knew he could feel my fear, my sadness. I knew he’d seen my memories. I wondered if he was jealous that I was thinking about Sammy, not him—my mate.

Seth wrapped a strong arm around me and pulled me close. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

“I could never be jealous of Sammy. He was like a brother to you. I’m just angry that you had to go through that, and that the memories still haunt you,” he whispered.

I rested my head on his chest.

“I’m so glad I found you...so glad you’re my mate,” I whispered.

I lifted my head and looked into his eyes.

“Once this is over, I don’t want you to be my consort. I want you to be king. I want us to be equals and rule together, side by side.”

Seth chuckled.

“Already changing the rules, are we?”

I nodded.

“There’s never been a hybrid queen before, so it's a new era. A new era calls for new rules.”

Seth chuckled again, the vibration from his chest making me love him all the more.

He gently grabbed my chin and tilted my head to get better access to my mouth as he captured my lips with his and plundered my mouth with his tongue.

The Blood Fang pack house was closer to the river than I remembered. Not surprising as we had been injured children running in fear.

The rest of the Crescent Moon pack was camped out not far from the pack house. A couple of vehicles were parked nearby. I guessed that Joel had decided to use a vehicle instead of shift.

I didn’t want to be like him. If the rest of the warriors under my dad’s and Clayton's control were going to approach the council territory in wolf form, then so would I.

I may be a Royal werewolf, but I would lead from the front. My grandfather would have expected nothing less.

I stepped out of the car with Seth by my side. He was glancing around, already going into full-blown protective mode.

He was staring down some of the Blood Fang pack members. I recognized a few, but as soon as I looked at them they dropped their gazes to the floor.

Guilt seeped out from their pores, and the scent of it almost overwhelmed me. I had been right. They had lived under a yoke of fear. All too scared to challenge their Alpha and Beta for fear of repercussions.

For fear that what happened to me and Sammy would happen to them.

I glanced across at the other vehicles and watched as Dad and Clayton stepped out. I shook my head. This was wrong. I knew that there was a hierarchy.

That Alphas and Betas were elevated above the rest of their packs. That everyone obeyed the Alpha and Beta commands. I knew that this was required.

Right now, though, I needed everyone to know what sort of Alpha Queen I would be.

I quickly clambered onto the hood of the SUV and then onto the roof.

“Listen to me,” I yelled, using my Alpha command.

All eyes were suddenly on me. Even my mate, my dad, and Clayton.

“Some of you know me, and some of you know of me. Some of you feel guilty about what happened in the past. Don’t. Don’t avert your eyes for something that wasn't your fault.

“You lived under a yoke of fear, but that time has gone.”

I took a deep breath as the eyes that had been staring at the ground rose up. Their eyes met mine.

“What many of you don’t know is that I am the direct descendant of the Alpha king of old. Alpha Joel was the assassin who killed my grandmother, the queen.”

There were gasps, not only from the Blood Fang pack but from the other assembled pack members as well. Most of Clayton’s pack wasn't aware of who I was. My dad’s pack wasn’t, either.

They began to lower their heads again, bowing before me.

“No,” I growled. “Do not bow before me. I am not like the kings of old. I will not hide away in a palace in the mountains. If there is to be a fight I will fight with you. If we ride, we ride together.

“If we run on four paws, then I will run with you, and if we march on two legs, then I will march alongside you. I will fight alongside you.

“Our next fight will not be easy. We will face the Council’s Elite Guard, but we will face them together and we will be victorious.”

I paused and my heart clenched in my chest as a roar of cheers went up from the warriors who were assembled.

I raised my hand to silence them.

“Once we have defeated the corrupt council who think it is ok to kill their royalty, just because they don’t fall into line with their malignant designs, the council system will be disbanded.

“We will tear down the borders and the were-world will coexist with the human world once more. The transition will not be an easy one, but it is a necessary one.

“There will be a new order of peace and mutual respect.”

They all mumbled approval. I could lead these people and they would follow me.

“Now we march!”

I jumped down from the SUV and landed with a thud on the ground.

Seth shot me a grin.

“You sure know how to give a speech, don’t you?”

I found myself grinning right back at him.

Dad and Clayton came over, both looking a bit taken aback.

“Ellie, are you sure about this?” Clayton asked. “It’s a long way to the council’s land.”

I nodded firmly.

“If I’m asking the warriors to march, then I should be marching too.”

Dad chuckled, looking at me with a proud smile.

“That’s the spirit of a true leader. Murdoch would be proud of his little warrior.”

“He is.”

I spun around to find Murdoch standing there, a grin on his face.

“Shouldn’t you be…”

Murdoch cut me off with a smirk, extending his hand towards me.

“Livvie insisted I come with you, and she gave me this to give to you.”

He dropped a locket into my hand.

“Open it,” he encouraged.

I fumbled with the clasp for a moment before finally getting it open. Inside were pictures of two beautiful babies, one in each half of the locket.

“She had the babies?”

Murdoch nodded.

“Two boys, Elijah and Samuel.”

I gasped, blinking back a tear. Only Olivia could make me simultaneously curse her and love her.

“She wanted to make sure their godmother stayed alive long enough to meet them. And as you know, no one can say no to Olivia and live to tell about it,” Murdoch said with a smirk.

I closed the locket and slipped it over my head, a smile spreading across my face.

“Well then, we better get moving. I wouldn’t want to keep Olivia waiting.”

***

I would never regret the speech I gave, but by the end of the day, my body was starting to question my decision.

We hadn’t shifted. We had marched, with a few cars trailing behind us. They weren’t filled with people, but with spare clothes in case we needed to shift.

The only information we had about the Elite Guard came from Murdoch.

When he and Emma were working for the council, they had access to all the information about the strength of the warriors in all the council-controlled packs.

That included the Elite Guard that was assigned to protect the council members.

It was more like a small group of elite warriors assigned to protect the council members than a mini army. But there was a rotation so that the council could be guarded at all times.

Murdoch estimated that there were probably between eighteen to twenty members of the Elite Guard. Usually, only six were on patrol at a time.

Even if we had to fight all of them, we would definitely outnumber them.

The Elders probably wouldn’t put up much of a fight, but we had to be prepared for sneaky tactics like what Joel had used on my grandfather.

They would have definitely felt his death, as well as Zagan’s. There was a chance they might have run away. I hoped not, because that would mean they could cause problems in the future.

There was also the risk that they might rally the Alphas of the smaller packs. I’d like to think they had more sense than that.

There had been no sign of the warriors from the other packs when we reached the Blood Fang pack house. I assumed they had retreated.

Hopefully, they went back to their own pack lands, and not to strengthen the council’s defenses.