Chapter 77

Chris

The medic tended to my wounds—or at least, whatever minor wounds were left—as the orange light of the fire flickered in the fireplace. Here, finally having returned to the Packhouse, I felt like I could breathe.

The Elders, watching from the sidelines, shifted uncomfortably where they stood.

“Well?” Elise asked. “Is our Alpha going to be alright?”

The nurse pulled back with a bewildered shake of her head, her fingers running along the spot where a knife had been plunged up to the hilt just a few hours ago. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” she murmured. “The wound is completely healed, save for a scar. By all accounts, he should be dead—or at the very least, still bleeding out.”

Elder Degas let out a soft snort. “I’ve seen it before.”

“You have?” Ava asked, cocking her head to the side.

The wizened old Elder leaned on his cane and nodded. “I have. Many, many years ago… a moondeer healed a schoolyard friend of mine who had broken his arm falling out of a tree.”

“It’s a rare occurrence,” Elder Fatima added, “but it does happen.”

I withheld my own snort. The more skeptical part of me didn’t want to believe that some special deer saliva had healed my wounds, but… well, now that I ran my fingers over the scar—the sort of scar that would have only looked that way after months of healing—I wasn’t so sure if this was the kind of place for skepticism anymore.

“The appearance of the sacred moondeer was no mere chance,” Elise said in a low tone. “Chris…”

She paused, her voice trailing off. But I knew what she was going to say before she even said it.

“Go on,” I said with a wave of my hand, standing and shrugging on the robe that the medic offered me. “Spit it out.”

Elise exchanged glances with the other Elders before she continued. “The prophecy, Chris. You were spared for a reason.”

“The Moon Goddess chose you to lead our pack,” Elder Bradley added.

This time, I didn’t bother to hide my snort. “In the same way she chose Elder Degas’ schoolyard friend?” I asked. “It seems rather random, doesn’t it?”

Degas shook his head. “It wasn’t random,” he said, slowly lifting his weathered old gaze to meet mine. “The friend I spoke of was your grandfather, Chris.”

My eyes widened. “My—”

“Your bloodline is sacred,” Degas said softly. “And the Moon Goddess is never… random.”

A heavy silence fell over the room as I processed their words. For a long moment, I felt like I was at an uncharacteristic loss for words, my brow furrowing as I looked around at all of the Elders. Finally, my gaze landed on Ava, who was leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes met mine, and they seemed to shine with a thousand unspoken words.

She agreed with the Elders. And I couldn’t blame her.

“With all due respect,” I began carefully, “you know I’ve never put much stock in prophecies or religious tales. What happened tonight in the woods was... well, nothing short of a miracle, I’ll admit. But I’m not sure if I’m ready to pledge myself to some ancient deity just yet.”

The Elders exchanged dark looks, their lips pressed into thin lines of clear disapproval. Elise in particular seemed moments away from erupting into a furious diatribe—but before she could speak, I quickly held up a placating hand.

“Let me finish,” I said firmly. “I’m not discounting what I saw, or discrediting your beliefs. Not at all. I’m just saying... I need some time to really process all of this before I make any decisions about… well, anything.”

I paused, sucking in a deep breath as my gaze shifted over to Ava again. Something softened in her expression as our eyes met, and for a moment, I felt as if I was back in that tavern—watching her lips move as she stood on top of that table, her sweet voice ringing out all around me.

That was the real miracle tonight, in my eyes. Getting to hear her lovely voice.

“That being said,” I continued, my voice gentler now, “while I appreciate the reverence you all seem to have for me after my encounter, I know what you’re implying: that I should stay here as Alpha. But I won’t be making any decisions until I’ve had the chance to properly consider my options. Does that seem fair?”

A tense beat of silence passed before Elise finally gave a curt nod. “Very well,” she said. “It’s only fair to allow you a few days to think. But I would caution against waiting for too long, Alpha. Your pack needs a leader.”

“A true leader,” Elder Claire added softly.

With that, the Elders and the medic filed out of the room, leaving just Ava and I behind. As the door clicked shut, I felt the rigid tension in my shoulders begin to bleed away. I sighed, sinking down into the armchair beside the fireplace, and rubbed the bridge of my nose.

“You’ve gotta admit,” I murmured, “getting stabbed in the gut was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to me tonight.”

Ava rolled her eyes as she moved to sit in the chair beside me. “You’re unbelievable,” she chided. “Getting mauled half to death is a good thing now?”

Before she could reach her chair, I looped my arms around her hips and pulled her onto my own lap. Her cheeks flushed hotly, but she didn’t resist.

“I thought you’d be happy,” I teased. “That little miracle may just be the thing that will cause your precious prophecy to be fulfilled. And more importantly…” My gaze raked over her slowly, my index finger drawing lazy circles on the small of her back. “It reminded me of how beautiful you are when you sing.”

Ava’s eyes widened slightly, her mouth parting just a little at my words. She looked like she was about to protest, but then she quickly looked away with reddened cheeks.

“I mean it, Ava,” I whispered, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “When I saw you up on that table, singing…”

“It was just an old drinking song,” she interrupted, standing and crossing over to the fireplace with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“Still.” I stood, following her, and wrapped my arms around her from behind. My lips brushed her ear as I spoke—a sensitive spot that I had noticed was one of her favorites during that first night we had together. “I’ve never heard anything so lovely in my life.”

Sighing, Ava turned in my arms, lazily looping her own around my neck. For a few moments, nothing but a heated silence remained between us before she spoke.

“So you’ll stay?” she murmured.

I bit my lip, looking away momentarily. Staying meant that we might not be able to be together—the entire reason why I had wanted to give up my status as Alpha to begin with.

But what I had seen in that forest was also too tangible to ignore.

“Ava, I…”

Before I could finish, she closed what little distance remained between us, pressing her lips fervently into mine. I melted into her instantly, every rational thought evaporating from my mind as her hands slid over the nape of my neck, pressing her lips even harder to mine.

With a low, possessive growl rumbling in my throat, I dug my fingers into her hips and tugged her flush against me. She let out a soft whimper into my mouth as her hips bucked toward mine, heat radiating from our cores and mingling between us.

When we finally pulled apart for air, our hot breaths mixed in the air between our lips, our chests heaving.

“Chris…” she whimpered out breathlessly, “I thought I lost you out there…”

“You didn’t. You won’t.”

Without another word, I tangled my lips together with hers once again. Then, softly, but with all the fervor of a man who had nearly died, I picked her up and carried her to the bed. I laid her down gently, pressing my body into the soft planes of hers, sandwiching her between myself and the mattress.

Ava let out a soft, strained sound as I began peppering kisses along her jaw and collarbone, her hips moving beneath me. Her fingers began working at the button on my pants, and I didn’t stop her—I shrugged off the robe I was wearing, revealing the taut muscles beneath.

“We shouldn’t…” she murmured, but she made no move to stop unbuttoning my pants. I smirked as her delicate hand slipped down inside, carefully cradling the warmth that was waiting for her.

Stifling a growl, I propped myself up with one hand on the headboard and stared down at her. “You don’t want to?”

For a moment, her hand stilled, her big eyes blinking up at me; and for a moment, I thought she might say we should stopped. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she did.

But she didn’t.

“I do,” she whispered.

“Good.”

Without hesitation, I reached down and looped my arms around her slender waist, pulling her up to a seated position. I helped her lift off her shirt, revealing two perfect, milky white breasts that fit perfectly into the palm of my hands and around my tongue like they were made for me.

She moaned softly as I worked at her breasts, and then, with a forceful push, she shoved me off of her and began frantically moving at the buckle on her jeans. I helped her, carefully removing her jeans—and then my own, still stained with blood from the fight.

I carefully pulled down her panties next, letting my fingers run across her soft, wet lips. She shuddered but said nothing, biting her lips as I then worked my own boxers down.

A charged moment passed between us as we stared at each other, simply drinking each other in. Goddess, it had felt like so long—too long. I couldn’t wait any longer.

A low growl worked its way out of my throat as I pushed her back down into the mattress, positioning myself between her legs. My hands slid along the soft flesh of her thighs, pushing them apart with a slow, tender caress.

The heat between us was undeniable—like a physical thing waiting between our hips, drawing each other closer. I felt the tip of my member rub against her, and a shudder ran through her and connected with me.

“Ava…” I murmured, pushing myself inside.

She bucked her hips and dug her nails into my back.