Chapter 109

Elroy POV

When I was taking my position as Alpha, I spent months at a time on the march. Contrary to popular opinion, my ascent to Alpha wasn’t really a matter of taking my father’s place. For many reasons, some of which were not to be discussed, my family knew I was going to be Alpha practically from my birth.

But there had been contenders outside the family, power brokers and power seekers whose bonds I needed to break and alliances within and outside of the Pack that I needed to disrupt. There was a time I slept better on the ground than in a bed, and I spent as much time in my fur as I did in my skin.

But we wasn’t a teenager anymore, and while I was hardly “feeling my age,” having access to a hot food and a hotter shower seemed damn appealing after a few days in battle gear.

Sam watched as my aides set up a table in the middle of my tent and rolled out a map of the southernmost section of Eclipse Territory. We poured over the positions we had marked and were satisfied we had positioned ourselves optimally. Denis had brought his people together quietly, but many of our scouts had reported the increase in blank shields, and the Rogue wolves were obviously preparing themselves for an attack on the Winter Palace.

“That’s the problem,” I muttered to Sam.

“The attack seems too obvious?” he asked.

I nodded, and then I shook my head. I gestured to the map. “His people aren’t exactly where I want them to be, but he’s skirting just barely around, like he knows I know but he doesn’t want me know that he—” I cut myself off with an angry growl.

“You’re overthinking it,” Sam said.

I glared at him, and he nodded, but I knew it was a gesture that meant he was thinking more than that he was deferring to me. Of all the soldiers under my command, Sam was the only one I knew would never go along with my decisions just because I was Alpha.

I turned from the map in frustration and poured out some watered-down wine into two study goblets. Sam was right. I needed to stop mulling it over, at least for a minute. I passed a goblet to Sam, and we both sat by the tent opening to look out over the tents of my army.

Is Denis doing the same thing? I wondered. What does he know? What does he suspect?

Sam looked at his pocket watch and shook his head. “They’re late.”

“The Eclipse scouts?” I asked, only half-interested. We had sent them out to check on the reports of bandits nearby. At most, they would return with a few prisoners.

“Yes.”

Sam grew still in his chair. I looked at him and was surprised to see a look of hesitancy on his face.

“Sam?”

“Alpha, I wish to ask, but I do not mean to intrude.”

I waved a hand. “I’ll let you know if I don’t want to answer.”

“I was wondering, well, if you have heard any real news from Luna Olivia.”

I took a sip of battle wine. “She’s well, and the baby is doing well, though she claims she can feel it missing me.” I grinned slightly. “I think she just says things like that to make me feel more fatherly. She needn’t worry.”

Sam looked puzzled. “Alpha?”

I laughed. “It’s only right for a woman to worry about what sort of caretaker her mate will make for her child. The pup’s not even out in the world yet, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them. Nothing that comes to mind, in any event.”

Sam snorted softly. “I imagine not.”

“You’ve two yourself,” I remarked.

Sam nodded.

“Doing well?”

He nodded again. “And you’re right. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them, or for their mother.”

I knew Sam and his mate had separated. They’d never been fated, and it seemed her interest had turned to another. I wanted to ask him how he bore it, but I respected his privacy, as he respected mine.

Neither of us spoke for a while, but the silence was comfortable. I watched the fires the soldiers had set, though the night was warm enough, and my alpha vision made out the guards walking the perimeter in both skin and fur.

It occurred to me that I could, if I wanted, tell Sam about my difficulties with Olivia. He would never tell another, and even better, he would not try to give me advice. I could tell him about how I loved her, yet something held me back from her, something she sensed, something we needed to get past for our marriage to work.

I thought of telling him about Astor and the new accord we had managed between us. I thought of telling him that as proud and eager as I was to have a pup, I was also terrified I would be no better as a father than mine had been to me. Olivia’s father was no role model either. How would we find our way?

I thought of telling him that I was grateful to him for his service. I thought of telling him I wished sometimes we were simply friends.

But we weren’t friends. I was Alpha and he was my Beta. And so I said nothing, sitting there drinking weak wine, watching over my troops, and getting ready to pray to the Goddess to watch over my people when we met Denis on the field.

Olivia’s face came to me then, so clear in my mind’s eye that I tried to trace it back to its source to form a link to her. It would mean so much to feel her presence.

I frowned. Oddly, I did seem to sense her nearby, but that was impossible.

“Alpha!” Sam called out, standing, and I followed his gaze to the east, where three horses were fast approaching. The rider in the middle. Surely that couldn’t be who it seemed to be?

But then, yes, Olivia, flanked by Palace Guards, was pulling up her horse before our tent. I went to help her dismount.

“Luna,” Sam said softly behind me and bowed.

I looked into her worried eyes. “What are you doing here?” I demanded, but gently. It felt like a little miracle to see her, but my instincts were screaming that she had placed herself in danger.

“Councilman Lucas,” she said. “He’s betrayed you to Ravencrest and my stepfather.”

“What?”

A groom appeared, and she handed off the reins of her horse without looking at him. I noticed her hair was disheveled and her riding clothes were dirty. She had never looked more lovely, and I had to force myself to pay attention to her words.

“Louisa warned me there was a traitor at the palace, someone working with Ravencrest,” she said.

“Louisa?” I repeated, certain I must have heard wrong. “Your stepsister?”

She laughed and ran a hand through her hand, grimacing when her fingers tangled in the tousled strands. “I have so much to explain, but we haven’t much time. Lucas sent word to Denis about our plans before I could stop him.”

“So he did.”

Her eyes went wide, and my hand fell to my sword as the voice intruded upon us. As one, Olivia, Sam, and I turned to the wolf standing just a few feet away.

My wolf snarled even as I ground out between my teeth, “Denis.”

The wolf smiled. “No one else, dear brother.”