He groaned. “That’s worse. We will lose our wolves, our magic, our pride. Everything. Demi, we are over ten thousand strong. If we die, that’s on you!”
What? They would lose their wolves? Ten thousand… that was a ton… way more than Sawyer or anyone knew about, I was sure.
“I’m getting…” I held up my left hand and showed him the ring. “Married.”
He frowned. “You don’t understand. We are the lasttruewerewolves. Magic runs through our veins. We can turn other people into werewolves by biting them. We claim our pack with pack bonds. We’re…real. Not like these fake and weak watered-down shifter wolves.” He gestured to the door where Sawyer slept.
“Be careful how you talk about those that I love,” I growled.
He sighed, shaking his head. “And what of us?” he growled. “Don’t you love us? We’re yourrealfamily. Astra is your pack. If what she says is true, you’ve already claimed her. That means you’ve already taken on your position as alpha. You must come home and prove yourself before our magic bleeds into the sky and we become worthless humans!”
Holy shit. Was he serious?
“That’s a lot to… digest,” I said, wondering what the hell I was going to do about it.
“Demi!” Sawyer’s voice called frantically from the bedroom, and Arrow started for the window of my office.
“Come home. Make Run proud. We need you.” Arrow, his eyes wide, looked at me for the first time with vulnerability.
“In my studio!” I called to Sawyer so he didn’t have a heart attack and go on a rampage.
“I’ll think about it…” I told Arrow. He leapt out onto the open window ledge and looked back at me.
“That man that saved you from your fall,thatwas your grandfather. Please tell me he didn’t die saving someone that was tooselfishto help her people in a time of need.” Then he leapt out the window and took off running the second his feet hit the ground.
His words cut right into my chest, making my soul bleed. It was my grandfather, just as I expected.
“What are you doing?” Sawyer called from the doorway, and I froze. He would be able to smell the male in the room and I didn’t want to lie to him. Starting a marriage on a lie was sure to turn into a shitshow of a life.
I spun around, a tear slipping free from my cheek. Sawyer looked at my tear, the open window, and then my wolf, and gripped his heart. “Who was here? Tell me you aren’t cheating on me, Demi.” The broken vulnerability in his voice killed me.
“Ohmygod no!” I rushed forward and then plopped down at his feet and patted the ground next to me. Sawyer took a seat, watching me with a pale complexion and untrusting gaze. I didn’t blame him.
“Sawyer… my real dad… wasn’tjusta Paladin,” I breathed.
His entire body clenched and he sniffed the air, no doubt smelling a male Paladin wolf.
“He was also the alpha.” I dropped the bomb and waited.
The poor guy had no idea it was coming. His entire face fell, mouth going slack. I swallowed hard. “I met a Paladin wolf named Arrow on my journey through Troll Village. He just came by to ask me to—”
“He was here in our house!” Sawyer stood, bolting from the room.
“Sawyer, wait!” I took off after him, yanking his arm.
“Demi, there could be more. They could be about to attack!” His hand was on the front doorknob to alert whatever guard stood outside this door.
“Sawyer,listento me. I’m trying to tell you something important. The Paladins aremypeople, they aren’t going to attack us!”
He froze, body going limp at my words and he spun from the closed front door to face me with the most hurt expression I’d ever seen. “Your people? What does that make us?”
Fuck. This was not a position I wanted to be in. “You’re my person and Sage and your people are my people too.” I threaded my fingers through his hair and he closed his eyes. “I just have… a lot of people … and I don’t want to be forced to belong to one group. It doesn’t feel right.”
“What did he want?” he growled.
I sighed. “For me to go to the Paladin lands and… I dunno, be their alpha I guess. He said they needed me or their magic would die out.”
He barked out a laugh, but my glare stopped him.
