Chapter 256

Chapter 256: Theo Kieran was bouncing around in my mind, itching to be let loose, as we watched them disappear. More than anything, I wanted to go with them. Apparently Dasha did, too. But we couldn’t. Not yet. We had business to finish.

Ayla and I turned our attention to the other pack leaders.

“Alphas, Lunas,” I addressed, “I believe the demonstration can be considered a success. As such, this has provided Ayla and I with a renewed sense of urgency on the matter of the Moonstone. It is our belief that the Moon Goddess requires this from us.

We are ready to take a vote.”

“All those in favor of Alpha Theo and Luna Ayla reconstituting the Moonstone...” Kingston announced, raising his hand.

The rest of the pack leaders followed suit, lifting their hands in agreement. Save for Alpha Trent. The rest looked at him sternly.

“Alpha Trent,” Alpha Harden growled softly.

“I’ll agree to this on one condition,” Alpha Trent insisted. “Before you do this, you have to provide all of us with the same ritual that broke the Moonstone in the first place. I think we all deserve a failsafe if you go back on your word.”

“I don’t think we’re going to be needing that,” Kingston replied.

“But we’ll provide it all the same,” Ayla stated. “You all will be able to review it by the ceremony. After that, it will be kept with the Moon Haven Order. Able to be accessed by all packs.”

Alpha Trent sighed. “Fine.” He raised his hand.

“Then it’s settled,” Alpha Harden said judiciously. “I think it’s time we all returned home. We have a lot of preparations to do before the solstice. And we’ll have to inform our packs of the changes that are coming.”

“Of course,” I said. “We will keep everyone up to date on ours as well and all lines of communication will be open for the interpack arrangements.”

“We will leave you two to yourselves,” Luna Victoria said with a smile before taking Alpha Harden’s arm and guiding him away.

The rest followed, except for Kingston.

“Will you be leaving as well?” Ayla asked him.

He gave her a gentle smile. “I have one more visit with our friend Lloyd,” he said, “but yes, it’s time for me to head home. Pierce has held things down long enough. Besides, I have to retrieve the rest of the stone. Can’t do much without that.”

“Yes, indeed,” Ayla laughed, “all of this would be pretty pointless without it.”

“It’s safe, right?” I asked. “Do you think you need extra protection getting it here?”

“It’s in a safe place,” Kingston confirmed. “I should be okay getting it back. After all, we didn’t disclose that I was actually still in possession of it. They believe both pieces are still here. So, you may want to prepare for possible interference. And hey, you need to open that da mn box first. It would be even less conducive if the other half wasn’t even in there.”

I had almost forgotten about that, but I wasn’t worried. After everything that had happened, I didn’t need to see what was in there to know. Ayla didn’t either.

“We’ll get it taken care of,” I said. I started walking back toward the packhouse, my arm wrapped around Ayla. “Did you manage to get anything out of Lloyd in all your time with him?”

Kingston stiffened a little. “Not what I had hoped,” he replied.

He had seemed very distracted lately. He wasn’t present much outside of the required meetings. He had reportedly been spending a lot of time in the cellar, both questioning Lloyd and researching. Ayla had previously voiced concerns about his behavior. I had assumed some of it had to do with being here away from his pack and around me and Ayla together.

But even I could tell there was something else weighing on him.

“Nothing more on Grogan?” Ayla probed.

Kingston gave her a tight smile. “Nothing I can do anything with, unfortunately,” he said evasively. “Now that Anderson and Malcom have been taken down, it’s likely he’ll go underground. I’ll keep searching, though. I’ll find him someday.”

“You know we’ll help you however we can,” Ayla urged.

“He’s still a threat to us,” I pointed out, “whether he has the Waar Pa k baking him or not.”

Kingston nodded a little absently. “Yes, I suppose he is. But he won’t get far. I’ve already started speaking to some of the other Alphas to help track him down.”

“What if he hides in rogue territory?” Ayla asked.

“That is very possible,” Kingston agreed. “Since the nearest rogue territory is along our borders, we can assume he would be there if he is. We can use that to our advantage at least. Speaking of... I would like to help supervise the Moon Haven transfer.

They’ll have to travel directly through rogue lands. It’s a good place for an ambush.”

“Do you really think they would attack them?” Ayla asked. “What threat do they pose with us having the stones?”

“They have knowledge,” I offered. “And a lot of it. Sister Mona said we’ve only begun to explore what they have to offer. I can imagine there is a great deal of information Grogan would love to get his hands on... and/or keep out of ours.”

“Yes,” Kingston agreed. “The last thing we want is Grogan finding a way to manipulate some prophecy or text against any of us.

The sisters need to be protected. I’d like to ensure that happens.”

“I think that would be a big help,” I said. “Run it by the other pack leaders. They may want to offer their assistance as well. The more people we can put on this, the better.”

Kingston gave me a tight smile and a nod. “Of course,” he replied. “Well, I’ve got some packing to do. And I know you two are dying to try and catch up with your pack mates. So, I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thank you, Kingston,” Ayla said sweetly.