A sigh escaped me, because what the hell did it matter if we were the first or the last? All that mattered was this. And I whispered again, “I was such a dumbass.”

“At least you learned your lesson,” he said dryly.

I hummed in agreement. “At least I did that.”

Eli

“I think we’re owed an explanation.”

I scowled at Maggie May, wondering why she had to be such a pain in my ass, even though I loved that about her. She’d never let me get away with shit, but damn, sometimes, she asked for too much.

Not because I didn’t want to give my people an explanation, but because I didn’t necessarily have one.

Shoving my hands into the back pockets of my jeans, I eyed my pack, ignoring Maggie May, and taking them all in.

It was the first time we’d gathered since the hyena attack. The first time since I’d seen them all standing, looking like nothing had happened, even if, deep in their minds, I knew they were feeling the pinch.

We’d gone through a battle, and some of us were made for that, but a lot of us weren’t. Even if someone was beta-type, that didn’t mean they were okay with killing or being killed, so I knew the shifty looks and the way most of the pack were staring down at their feet was for a reason. These people worked in factories, had farms, lived behind computers and desks… They weren’t soldiers.

If wolves could have PTSD, some of them had it, and I knew that was yet another burden that was going to land on my mate’s door.

As omega, she’d be able to help, but I’d admit to feeling scared. One day, she’d wake up and figure out that this was just too damn much, and I couldn’t blame her.

It was.

Some days, it just was.

“Eli?”

Her voice was soft, soothing. Calm. I pulled one of my hands from my pockets and reached for her. She slipped her fingers into mine, her grip gentle, as silken as her voice, and she nuzzled into me, shoring me up as she murmured, “They just want an explanation.”

The trouble was, that was easier said than done.

The aggression we’d faced was something that I didn’t think any pack had seen since pioneer times. We lived in harmony, only fighting in one-on-one challenges. And we never, ever, had cross-species battles.

What we’d gone through had been unprecedented. How could I talk about that in any way that made sense?

Still, I was alpha, so I cleared my throat and tried to do my best. “Sabina’s family is a little unusual,” I started, then winced because that sounded like I was trying to blame her, when I wasn’t.

“Don’t worry, my love. All is well,” she whispered into my mind, and though the words were reassuring, they were also difficult to accept.

We were all a little traumatized by what had gone down. By the sheer stupidity of it.

When I found it hard to continue, unsure of what to say, unsure of how to give my people an explanation they deserved, I wasn’t altogether surprised when Sabina took over, stating, “My family is Roma. Gypsy to some. But one of the main reasons why I’m a strong omega is because of my roots.

“Each of my siblings had power. My brother was a wolf child too, and he was alpha-type, capable of things we don’t need to discuss.” Her smile was tight, and it made sense that she didn’t feel like getting into the fact that her brother had the power to force her transformation, a talent that was something only a leader of a pack should be capable of doing. “Lara has always been able to read people’s emotions, and Jana? She could get glimpses of the future from time to time.”

“Where is Lara?” That was Elsa. I scowled at her, because she should know not to stir gossip at a pack meeting when she could easily have asked us around the house. There had to be some perks to working for the alpha.

“I don’t know. She’s with her new mate,” Sabina explained calmly, and her answer lit up a whole flurry of interest which, thankfully, took some of the doom and gloom away from the meeting.

With them focused on that, they weren’t focused on the hyena attack.

“Who is her new mate?” Sarah Langley asked, her tone eager.

“Todd Choi,” I told her. “The Rainford alpha.”

Everyone’s brows rose at that, except for Maggie who, as always, seemed to know everything, but Sabina corralled them quickly by explaining, “Jana had a vision of one of her sisters’ mates being the reason for her death. She was mated to a hyena, and she used her position as leader of her clan to make a pre-emptive strike against us.”

“Is she dead?”

“Yes, Maggie. She’s dead. Todd killed her. I saw it with my own eyes.”

I cut her a look at that, hearing something in that final sentence that had my brow furrowing with curiosity.

She’d seen something else too.

Something she hadn’t shared with us.

“So she was right, then,” Elsa pointed out. “One of her sisters’ mates did kill her.”

“Yes, but she was the reason behind her prophecy’s fulfilment, because we’d have left her the hell alone if she hadn’t come and started a war with us.” Sabina cleared her throat. “I thought she was dead. Lara did too.” She hitched her shoulder. “There was no reason for her to come and attack us, but she did anyway, and a lot of people died in the process.”

“How did Knight bring us back to life?” That haunted question came from Marjory, the first wolf Knight had saved.

“We have no way of knowing the answer to that,” Sabina replied, but she squeezed Knight in a hug, gently patting his back as he carried on sleeping through the meeting. “He just did. I assume it’s because he’s Roma too.”

Whispers stirred at that, whispers that I knew brought peace to some, but would leave others with more questions in need of answering.

I couldn’t blame them.

What Knight had done was enough to make him a saint to the human’s Catholic Church. He’d done the impossible. Done the unforgettable.

And if anyone knew?

They’d come for him. Would want to harness his gifts, steal his powers.

I gritted my teeth at the thought, a fear that had been hovering at the back of my mind ever since Knight had reaped a miracle. “If I hear of any whispers of this from outside the circle, if anyone talks about Knight in my hearing, there will be punishments. I command you all to inform me of any chatter about my son. His safety depends on you all keeping this a secret.

“Honor his gift to you, honor your lives, something he gave back to you, by keeping him safe.”

Eyes widened at my hard tone, but Maggie nodded. “I hear anyone talking about it, I’ll bring them straight to you.”

Hushed whispers surged at that, but I sensed they were in agreement.

No one had thought about the repercussions of Knight’s gift, but it was my duty to see the pros and the cons to every situation. I’d just found a massive con.

There was someone out there who’d either want to monetize or weaponize my child, and that was never going to happen. Ever.

“That’s the only reason the hyenas attacked?” Maggie’s mate asked.

“No.”

The voice came from outside the circle and, brows high, I saw Todd and Lara standing there, the supernatural pack of wolves clustered around them in a loose open-ended semi-circle that was protective.