Chapter 221

Zane POV

For the next few days, it felt as though the world were holding its breath.

I was doing what I could to keep things functioning, and Operation Lieutenant was proving useful for so many things it seemed odd now we had created it only to deal with my family’s problems, which currently took second place to keeping rioters off the streets.

Several things helped, including a united effort by the media—mainstream and social—to stress that omegas had been forced into the secrecy of the Luna Temple by prejudice rather than by any ambition to undermine the other wolves or grab power. In fact, several pundits had pointed out that the temple had rejected many opportunities to take on more power than it currently held.

A number of peaceful protests, some of them in front of my gates, also let people feel something was being done to address, if not their outrage, at least their concerns. A few temples had been attacked, but the Territorial Guard had stood fast.

But still, as time passed, the shock was wearing off. I worried constantly about what that would mean.

Thank the goddess, I had my own personal support that helped me get through the hours of waiting and watching. When I woke up before the sunrise, Sarah was in my arms, her back to my chest, warm and soft and filling my breath with the scent of her. We’d fallen asleep in our clothes, too tired last night even to take off our shoes.

I just lay there for an hour or so, enjoying myself, when I felt the change in her that meant she was awake. Gently, I kissed her neck just above the collar of her linen shirt, and I saw her smile in my mind.

“Good morning,” I said softly.

“Good morning.”

“And thank you.”

“For what?”

“For coming into my life, for bringing my life back to me, for loving me and letting me love you.”

“You’re welcome, I’m sure.” She turned her head to kiss the arm I had over her shoulder. “Thank you for loving me and loving Chloe and giving my life so much purpose.”

“Of course I love Chloe.”

She shook her head. “There’s no ‘of course’ about it. You could have resented her; you could have hated me. You went through a parent’s worst nightmare and came out the other side strong and kind.

“Sometimes, I can hardly remember those days raising Chloe on my own, and other times they’re so sharp they seem to cut into me. I was so worried about her, so terrified someone would take her away or that I’d fail her. Some days, we didn’t really have enough to eat, or someone would call her names, or the other children would reject her, and I felt so helpless, so incapable.

“And now I have two children and a man I hope to mate, and I can barely believe this is really my life.”

“It hasn’t been idyllic for you.”

“What? Things like the temple wanting to breed me like a broodmare? Almost getting sold into slavery? The cave-in? Getting shot at?”

“Please stop.”

She laughed. “Mere trifles compared to being with you.”

I frowned, then leaned up slightly so she could turn to face me. I looked into her beautiful blue eyes and asked, “Really? I mean, you truly mean that?”

She put her palm against my cheek. “Of course I do. Could I stand for life to be a little less exciting? Sure. Could I stand to return to a life without you? Never.”

I kissed her, and a random wave of weariness washed through me. I laid my head on her shoulder and closed my eyes. The past few days ran themselves through my mind, but her arms kept me from feeling despair.

Two nights ago, the capital’s Luna Temple had chosen new leadership, and the new head Oracle was the acolyte who had helped Grace transform and heal herself from the rogue’s attack. The ceremony had been televised—Sarah’s brilliant idea—and some of the Oracles had doffed their hoods. The second in command had been a newly ordained beta.

“Let’s not send the girls to school today,” Sarah said. “Let’s stay home and wear our pajamas and have high tea.”

I chuckled. “Sounds like heaven.”

“I’m serious.” She hugged me a little tighter. “You need a day off. We all do.”

I thought about it. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Armageddon, most likely, but I don’t care. I want to pet the dog and watch garbage on TV, and I want you to do that too.”

I nodded and then leaned back up again to get the phone. I dialed the number and waited.

“Alpha Zane?”

“Travis, you and Alicia take the day off.”

“What?”

“Sarah and I and the girls and the dog are staying in today. The world will have to limp along without us.”

“Sarah’s idea?”

I frowned. “Yes.”

“She’s good for you. I’ll let Alicia know.”

“Good.” Smiling, I hung up.

We lay there together a while longer before getting up, donning our robes, and going to tell the girls they were staying home. They were so happy about it, I immediately felt guilty. I’d been sending them to school to show the world everything was normal.

I made up for it by helping Sarah make French toast with chopped fruit and coffee and milk. While we ate, neither Sarah nor I checked our phones, and after we put the plates in the sink, we went into the media room and watched the girls’ current favorite TV show.

True to her word, Sarah curled up on the sofa with Selene on one side and me on the other. The girls liked to flop on floor pillows and giggle at their show.

It had an odd premise. A trio of female alphas was living in a high-rise apartment, and across the hall lived three beta males, and they were all friends. Though the animation was a little unsophisticated, the humor often riffed on contemporary issues.

“Look,” one of the betas was saying, “I’m only telling the truth here. Muriel can’t go a single day without posting about something. It’s like her life doesn’t exist if she’s not posting about it.”

“You post just as much as I do, Jean-Paul,” Muriel said.

“Of course I do. I just don’t pretend I don’t. It’s like social media wants us to use it all the time but feel bad about it. I don’t feel bad, and it can’t make me!”

I confess I knew just what Jean-Paul was talking about. I felt restless and cut off without my phone, but I forced myself to sit there and enjoy my own life. Somewhere around lunch, the feeling I should be doing something else faded, and I looked down at my children and over at the woman I loved, and even over to the dog, and I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.