Chapter 29

I stood at the window of our room and stared out into the pack land. I could see Alpha King Rhys helping load cars and organize warriors for the raid. He had been at it for hours and the sun was just starting to come up. I knew he was gathering the best warriors we had and preparing for a potential conflict, but I wasn’t sure we were ready for it. I mean, I knew I certainly wasn’t, but that didn’t mean I could sit this one out.

The Alpha King, Beta Leon, Gamma Sawyer, Delta Damion and myself had sat in the Alpha King’s office for several hours after the Alpha King had declared that they would be raiding the Red Blood pack. Sawyer had helped me loop everyone in on what we had discovered while talking, and I could still hear Delta Damion’s voice saying that none of this was making sense. That was the point though, none of it was making sense, hence why we were now invading.

The plans were all drawn up. Who would be going, and where they would be stationed. Damion would stay behind, watching for any attack that they may counter with, and ready to call for reinforcements if needed. Beta Leon would stay just beyond the Red Blood pack’s border, so as not to lead them on to this being a direct attack. He could also be on the lookout for strange things. He could intervene if we needed him, or he could go home and help if they were under attack. He was our middleman. And that left me, Sawyer and the Alpha King to enter their pack. And yes, I was included in these plans. The Alpha King hadn’t given me a choice, which had left me stunned and insanely anxious. The Alpha King promised that I wouldn’t have to face anyone alone though, and I had begged him not to leave me there no matter what they found. He then touched my face, and looked me in the eye, and promised that no matter what happened, he would not be leaving me behind, and we were going to do this, together.

Now, everybody had their assignments, and I stared out the window feeling uneasy. I would be okay with never going back, but that wasn’t a choice. The Alpha King had told the maids to dress me like a true princess, and I felt severally out of place, even though I was in a palace. The dress was the finest piece of clothing I had ever even dreamed of seeing. It was a deep v pale blue lace dress that hugged my waist and puffed out. I hated that it showed my scars, but part of was proud of myself was being brave enough to show them off to the people who gave them to me.

“Come on, Grace,” The Alpha King’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. His hand was held out to me, and I wondered how long he had been waiting on me.

“Sorry.” I signed.

“No need to apologize.” He soothed, as he guided me out of the room.

He also looked handsome. His dark hair was combed off to the side, and he had recently shaved. He was wearing the same coat he had worn the first time he had come to my pack.

“How are you doing, Gracie?” He asked once we were in the car, and it was just us again.

I shrugged. I didn’t even know how to begin to explain how I felt. I felt like a mess. I felt like I could just explode with anxiety and grief and everything in between. Did that make me okay? Would I ever be okay?”

“Remember love,” He said gently, and my heart fluttered at the new nickname. “I am not sending you back to these people. I will not be leaving you behind. This mission to provoke your old pack and make them give us answers. I am not giving you back to them or giving you to anyone ever again. You are mine, okay? You are my bride. My future. My chosen mate. My maybe fated mate. We go together, and we leave together. Are we clear?”

I nodded, my heart racing at his words. That was probably the most romantic thing I had ever heard in my life, and it was directed at me. I wondered if he had had me dressed like a doll to make a statement. If this was his way of telling my old pack, “Fuck you, I made it.” I touched my hair subconsciously. Alana had put it into a fancy braid bun, but was it enough to claim practically princess?

“You look beautiful.” The Alpha King said, pulling my hand away from my hair.

I blushed at his words. Was this what it really felt like to be treated like a human? To have someone even sort of like you?

We fell into a fairly comfortable silence for the rest of the drive. The Alpha King closed his eyes for a while, but I knew he wasn’t sleeping. I’m sure he was trying to envision whatever we were going to run into and how to plan for it. I, on the other hand, stared out the window. The last time the Alpha King had tried to get answers from my pack, no one had been there. Would they try to do the same thing again? Would we find anything at all?

Soon, the buildings began to take shape, and I recognized the houses as a smaller version of the convoy passed through. Everything looked the same but felt different. I saw familiar faces. Several people stopped to stare at the convoy, and I had to fight the feelings that threatened to come out. They had bullied me. They had done nothing to protect me. I had just been a child when everything had started, and nobody had stepped up to help me until a stranger showed up on a random Tuesday. The pain I felt with that threatened to consume me, but to my surprise, so did the desire for revenge... I wondered which feeling would win as my sister and the packhouse came into view, and a part of me hoped it was revenge.