“And the resistance?”
“A single casualty,” Graeme says. “A very brave army defector.”
“And the affinitied alphas? Did you encounter them?”
“The ones we did were counted among the casualties,” he says, grim pride in his voice. “At least five of them. The rest disappeared in clouds of smoke, clearly seeing the writing on the wall.”
Saints, that means that a significant number of Soldiers were taken down, and alphas with affinities were removed from the fight to come. I thought their deaths would make me uneasy, would make me look at the resistance members and omegas differently, but all I feel is relief. Relief that we’ve diminished their numbers.
The newly freed omegas from Saint Galen’s are covertly taken to the castle and admitted within its chaotic magic. Many are frightened of alphas pointing scribes at them, so I cast the spell on each of them myself, introducing myself as I go. They marvel at their new home. Mai and I work through the day healing them and talking with them. Many chafe at the confinement of the castle but know the real dangers that exist outside of its magical borders. When we’ve tended to each, I assemble them together and tell them what my father’s intentions were for them.
Some gasp; many cry. The omegas who freed them are quick to take them into their arms. They swap horror storiesand sob together: a catharsis I alone wouldn’t have been able to grant them.
Ian offers to teach them magic, and while some are wary, most are interested in learning to defend themselves, in learning how to fight back. The omegas who freed them are quick to reassure them, singing my mate’s praises. I look out over the crowd of omegas and catch Ian’s eye with a tired smile. His answering smile is just as weary, but no less beautiful for it.
Aimee insists that I help these newly freed omegas with their affinities, and I immediately agree. I’ll work with any omega who wants to learn from me. Our army grows with every omega’s pledge, every omega’s desire to fight back and take back what was stolen from them: their lives, their spirits, their bodies.
They may be broken, but they’re strong.
Together, we’re all strong.
It takes more time to return the hostages to their homes. Due to the sheer volume of them, it takes a while to transport them, and many of the packs of parents don’t live in Canada. Without passports and identification, they’re temporarily stranded in Fairhaven. Gerard’s office staff are instrumental in housing them and working with the embassies to see them safely returned home. The hostages are weak, malnourished and frail, but we didn’t lose a single one. We got to them all in time.
As for Gerard, he appoints a new member to take the seat of Annette Claude, the councilor killed by the alpha with the ice affinity. They win back their control of the Council, but the margin is narrow still, the threat of Baphomet’s Prince lingering over all of them. He clearly has no compunctions about having councilors killed by his alpha Soldier lackeys. It takes a brave man to replace Annette. Gerard sees to it that security is more than doubled. Every sympathetic councilornow has a tactical team guarding them in their homes and in the Council chambers.
Still, we wait for the other shoe to drop. Baphomet’s Prince successfully got the army to stand down, a show of power that chills me to the bone. While many defected from the army and joined the resistance, many remained, taking orders from a monster.
As for the Prince, he’s in the wind. No one saw him at Saint Galen’s during the battle. It’s possible he was holed up somewhere within the consortium and disappeared in a cloud of smoke when the tide of the battle turned. Regardless, after talking to the resistance and the omegas, it’s clear that he wasn’t part of the fight.
A wave of fear licks through me at the thought of the Prince, rebuilding, just waiting to strike again, but I save that fear for another day.
Saint Galen’s has vowed to rebuild. With Pack Leclerc, we attend a press conference on the consortium’s steps where the headmaster speaks to students and reporters. We’re heavily guarded, Alpha and Bravo Teams stepping in to keep us safe as we attend the conference.
Fear bombards my affinity from Pack Leclerc and many of the assembled guests, some of whom were held hostage within the very walls the headmaster speaks of rebuilding. But there’s an undercurrent of strength among them, too.
While Cass won’t be able to start classes until the spring term, he is commended by the headmaster for his bravery in helping to secure the school from the Soldiers’ hands. He speaks of Cassian’s courage, of my courage and my pack’s courage.
We still bear the scars of our time as hostages, etched forever on our hearts and souls. But we’re healing.
Day by day, we’re healing.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Alyssa finally gets to throw me the mating party of my dreams, and it’s nothing like the mating party I would have had if I’d mated the alphas my father chose for me. It’s not a grand society event where I show off my new bites by baring my neck to rich, important alphas. It’s a much simpler affair. We celebrate with Pack Leclerc, Jeanie and Melissa and Ellie, and while it’s a smaller party, I’m filled with more joy than I ever thought possible. The Leclerc estate has been decorated in banners and baubles, and it feels like too much for me and my pack, but I know Bethany wouldn’t have it any other way.
Pack Leclerc bears the scars of their confinement as hostages with pride, but no small amount of fear either. Cass’s fathers stay close to Bethany, all within arm’s reach so Bethany never has to want for a reassuring touch from her mates. It’s exactly how I felt after my own confinement. I couldn’t be close enough to my mates then, couldn’t get enough of their scents and their touches. Cassian stays close to his mother and fathers, but the sharp tension in our bond is gone now, replaced by the greatest relief. While the packmay be frightened and vulnerable, they’re determined to celebrate with us.
After all, we have so much to celebrate today. We’ve all lived to fight another day. While we may be rattled, we’ve just enjoyed a triumph against Baphomet’s Prince and the Soldiers of Saint Aldous. And we have each other. I have a family in the truest, most beautiful sense of the word, all thanks to Cassian and his parents. I’ve never felt more welcome than I do in their home and their lives. They’ve embraced me like a daughter, and it’s all thanks to my first mating bite.
Now, three more bites and what feels like a lifetime later, I’ve cut all of my father’s puppet strings. I’m finally free of him for good. Still, despite the festivities, I spare a thought for him. Will he stay in prison, or will the Soldiers manage to free him using their connections in the Fairhaven PD? Simon has gathered enough evidence to bury him in a trial if it comes to that.
“You’re thinking hard about something,” the beta in question says, coming up behind me and setting a hand on my shoulder. I lean back into his touch and then take his hand and kiss it.
“Just… everything.”
“It’s a lot, kit-kat, but we’re here to celebrate. Not what we just accomplished butus.”
I squeeze his hand and leap up from the sofa where I was cuddled up with Luca. “Celebrations call for snacks!”
