Fuck.
“Let him go.” Rys handed off Xen to Talis and calmly walked towards us. His eyes flashed, giving him away. “It’s over.”
“It’s not though, is it?” Frost sighed, the warmth of his breath unwelcome against my skin. “It doesn’t matter who killed Faris. My beta is dead and I’m due compensation.”
“Or…” Rys said, coming to stop a couple of feet away. “We could hand the whole thing over to the paranormal police and let them deal with it.”
Frost tsked. “I can’t do that. I’ve already lied to my pack when I agreed to Xen’s deal. When the truth gets out, they’ll demand I take what I’m owed. By the old laws.”
“You can’t be serious?” Rys rolled his shoulders. His injuries from fighting with Xen still healing, there was no way could he take on Frost.
“He is.” Myla walked towards us, blood dripping down her chin and a nasty gash on her shoulder. I didn’t see any sign of the guy who’d wrestled her into the car. “Some of our pack would love nothing more than to return to how it used to be.” She stopped next to Rys. “And that needs to change.”
“Myla.” Frost’s claws sunk deeper and I hissed. “Be quiet.”
“No.” She glanced at me, eyes full of apology, and I really hoped she wasn’t about to make him madder than he already was. Not while he had the tips of his claws buried in my neck. “I’ve been quiet long enough. I should never have agreed to this in the first place.” She glanced over at Jake. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t strong enough to stand up to him. To all of them.” Facing her dad again, her voice softened. “I know deep down you’re doing this to protect me, because you think I can’t handle our pack on my own. And maybe you’re right, but we won’t know unless you let me try. You want me to be strong enough to be alpha, but how can I be if I let you dictate how I do it and who I do it with?” She held out her hand and Izzy appeared at the edge of the tree line.
Fuck me, Rys was going to have a heart attack at all these shifters invading his space.
“But I won’t be on my own.” She clasped Izzy’s hand when she was close enough. “I’ll have my mate.”
“You can’t possibly expect me to allow—” Frost spluttered.
“Oh, but I do.” Myla turned to smile at Izzy. “You see, you’re not the only one who’s been reading up on the old laws. We’ve been looking for a way out of this since you urged me to marry Faris. There’s an old pack law for almost everything.”
What the fuck was she talking about? Surely she wasn’t going back to challenging Jake?
“What do you mean?” Frost’s grip on me tightened. Blood trickled down my neck and whatever they were up to, I wished they’d get to the point soon.
“One of the laws states that if the alpha is unfit for rule, then the next in line can challenge him. Or they can nominate someone to fight for them.”
Frost staggered back, pushing me away from him.
Rys wasted no time in grabbing me and pulling me behind him.
“You’d challenge your own father?” Haylen’s voice was full of disbelief. “Myla?”
Tears filled her eyes. “Yes. Because you left me no choice. You made it seem like I had no say in my future, that your way was the only way, but if I’m going to make changes in our pack, if I’m going to make adifference, then I need to start off as I mean to go on. Like you said, who’s going to trust me as alpha if I can’t even bond the right way? And forcing someone into it is never therightway.”
“You won’t beat me,” he said, voice soft.
Myla shrugged. “I know. I’m hoping it won’t come to that.”
“But you’re willing to risk it?”
“I am.” She held her head high. “Either way, I won’t be part of this any longer.”
I held my breath as the silence stretched out, not daring to believe that this could actually be over.
Then Frost reached out and gripped her chin. “It’ll be so much harder doing it this way. They’ll resist you every chance they get.”
“I know. But I’m stronger than them.”
Izzy stepped up behind her. “We’restronger.”
The tension in the air seemed to dissipate. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chylath slumping against Syl as he held him up with an arm around his waist. Wyn stood on his other side, close enough that their thighs brushed.
“Now what?” I asked, needing someone to clarify what had just happened. I was pretty sure Jake was no longer engaged. But I needed it spelled out.
