Page 18 of Bound to the Dragon (Wild Fated Shifters #3)

BLAZE

I have the healers look over Vigo and the other captives as soon as we return to the estate. Except for a bit of dehydration, there aren’t any serious injuries.

I order bedrest for them for the day, just as Madison would have if she were here.

But she isn’t. She switched sides. She’s working with the rogues now, or maybe she always has been.

I can’t wrap my head around that. Had she done it to secure Shadow Pine’s future, or for her own benefit?

I have no way of knowing, and I’m not going to venture back into Silver Glade territory to find out.

Madison hadn’t thought enough to discuss her plans with me, more secrecy lacing our relationship or whatever’s left of it. The yank of our bond remains, but so does the recoil of her betrayal.

I have to focus on my pack. It’s where I have to keep my attention and fixation. It should have been there from the beginning. I allowed this bond to compromise my judgment, and it almost cost me my Beta and the trust of the pack, if it hasn’t already.

The first thing I do is call a meeting with every available enforcer and pack member.

“The threat between the rogues and us is over. They won’t be back.” I hesitate to add. “And neither will Madison.”

Their dumbfounded expressions match mine.

Vigo asks the question that’s on everyone’s mind. “What happened to her?”

“She has made her choice.” That’s all I can offer without going off on a tangent. Or losing my mind entirely.

I also don’t have anything more to say. I wish I knew what the hell was going through her head right now.

No. I won’t let any more thoughts of Madison distract me. She’s already taken up too much of my time. It’s already consumed too much of me.

“From now on, we continue as we did before,” I tell my pack. “And as far as an heir goes, that is something we will have to deal with when the time comes.”

“And the alliance with Silver Glade?” The question comes from someone I don’t see, but it’s something I had considered before calling this meeting to order.

I don’t know what to say about it. For now, it seems moot, but I’m reluctant to admit it.

“Forget about alliances and treaties,” I order. “Let’s get this mess cleaned up and try to get the world back to the way it was before.”

I dismiss the meeting, but Vigo lingers back. “You make it sound so simple.”

“I know it’s not, but it’s all I can do right now. Madison put us in an impossible position.”

“Or she saved the pack.”

My eyes narrow. “Whose side are you on?”

Vigo seems startled by the question. “I’m always on the side of the pack, but you have to admit that was a pretty ballsy thing she did.” He raises an eyebrow. “Don’t you agree?”

I’m not so sure. “She might have done it to save herself. Especially if that’s where her heart always was.”

The Beta looks like he wants to say more, but thinks better of it. “I’m glad the matter is resolved, Blaze.”

I wish I felt better about it, but I know deep down that the yearning for my mate will never be resolved. I will want Madison until the day I die.

Unable to face anyone else today, I head back to my suite, determined to regroup mentally and have some alone time. It’s the best thing I can do for myself right now.

Before I stop there, I tell the enforcers in front of Lynelle’s door to set her free. “And make sure all of them are out of here. I don’t want a single Silver Glade shifter in this estate.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I’m too wired for a nap, even though my physical form is exhausted. Still, it might be the best thing for me to wind down.

As soon as I enter the wing, I feel her. Her spicy scent stops me in my tracks well before I reach the door to the suite, and my heart pounds.

No. She wouldn’t be that stupid.

Steeling my breath and my temper, I stalk toward my suite and throw open the doors. Madison sits there, staring out the balcony doors as if she belongs there.

“You can’t be serious right now, Madison.” I don’t even recognize my own voice, but I can’t deny I’m secretly thrilled that she’s here. The sight of her still takes my breath away, despite the conflicting emotions rushing through me.

She turns slowly, the regret in her dark eyes tangible. “Hear me out?—”

“Hear you out?!” I cut her off. “I can’t even look at you!”

“I was trying to help.”

“You could have avoided it all by being honest from the start.”

“I explained that.”

My head snaps toward her. “No. You made excuses. You deflected. You blamed it on other things. But you never once told me the truth about what happened.”

“Maybe I didn’t trust you enough.”

The words slap me in the face, and I’m rendered temporarily speechless. “I’ve never given you a reason not to trust me.”

“I never knew you before I came here, Blaze. How was I supposed to trust you? The week I came here, we were mated. Our bond snapped into place. I never had a chance to consider it.”

The disdain must be written all over my face, because Madison throws up her hands and turns back to look out the balcony windows. “I just came to tell you that I didn’t go to the rogues to betray you by choice. I was looking for a way to free Vigo and the others.”

I can’t help but feel a spark of hope at the revelation, but I’m still not sure how much I can believe what she’s telling me. Is she still playing double agent, or is this her way of forewarning me?

Her next words clarify it. “I need help.”

I step closer, surprised by her plaintive plea. I don’t need to be told that she is displaying an uncharacteristic vulnerability with that ask, and I am willing to do whatever she wants in this moment.

But I still can’t get over the pain of her betrayal. “With what? It seems like you have it all figured out.”

She pivots back. “I don’t. At all. All I had in mind when I left earlier was getting our pack back and ending this once and for all. Now the rogues think I belong to them, and if I don’t stay with them, they’ll come for Shadow Pine again.”

A wave of protectiveness for my mate washes over me. “Not if I can help it. There’s always a solution.”

Her huge brown eyes stare up at me imploringly. “How? I’ve wracked my brain over and over for a way out of this, but I can’t figure it out.”

I take her hands. “The same way I keep telling you. We have to work together. If you had stopped fighting with me from the beginning, we could have avoided this altogether.”

She relaxes under my touch. “You’re not mad?”

“Oh, I am,” I promise her. “But I’m angrier at the rogues for putting us in this situation than I am at you. One way or another, we’re going to figure this out.” I ponder the dilemma. “We need to call a meeting, all of us together.”

She stares at me blankly for a moment. “You mean…”

“I mean the rogues and Shadow Pine.”

A grimace forms on Madison’s lips at the suggestion, but she doesn’t turn it down immediately, probably because she doesn’t think of a better solution.

“What will you say?” She’s nervous, and rightfully so.

I also haven’t planned that far ahead, but it’s either a forum or more bloodshed. I’d much rather have the forum.

“Let me worry about that part. Can you arrange it on your end?”

She swallows and nods slowly. “I think so.”

“Good. Let’s get to it.”

It’s decidedly uncomfortable for everyone involved, but we all sit in the Shadow Pine packhouse civilly, even if there are suspicious glances from all involved. My enforcers are on high alert, fully expecting an attack, but I’m getting a different vibe from the group entirely.

“What is the purpose of this? We’re not trading back any more of our shifters to you.” The leader is adamant about this, and I shake my head.

“Madison doesn’t belong to you,” I tell the silver-haired leader. “She’s mine. Madison told me how you lost your land, and for that, I am sorry. But you will not take my mate from me.”

My mate gasps aloud at the blatant confession, her eyes locking on mine.

The speech is carefully rehearsed, but I hadn’t shared it with her beforehand.

I hold her eyes steady, waiting for her to counter my proposal as the leader turns to her.

But the indignation that they’re waiting on doesn’t arise from Madison’s dark eyes.

“Well?” The leader spits out the word. “You’re not going to say anything?”

“He’s not wrong,” Madison utters the words without shame, my presence emboldening her, and I exhale. I had been worried she might decide not to go through with it under all this pressure.

But our mate bond is too strong.

The admission hangs over the group. Madison goes on. “I only came here with the intention of peace. I misled you all, but I am not one of you. I belong with my mate. I want to be with Blaze. But that doesn’t mean I want more conflict with you. How can we resolve this? Peacefully.”

There are low murmurs that don’t quite reach my ears, but I don’t have to make sense of them. They’re looking for a resolution, too. No one wants to keep doing this indefinitely. This has to end sometime.

“What will you offer us?” The leader looks at me, and that is a fair question.

“We will not stop you on your quest for retribution as long as you understand that it has nothing to do with Shadow Pine or my Luna,” I state very clearly. “You will not stage any more attacks on us. Ever.”

A slow nod of consensus rocks through the group.

“And no one touches Madison. She was a child when her father and Granger contrived their plot. If you have a grievance with anyone, take it up with Granger and the pack that now lives on your land.”

The room stands still at my latest command, but I feel the approval.

“If anyone comes at her again, we will be at war.”

Fear washes through the group of rogues, and it’s tangible. My point is made, and I know that no one is going to come for my pack or mate again.

“Then I think we’re done here.”

I stand and extend my hand toward Madison.

Then I turn my eyes to the rogue leader. “I don’t expect to hear from you again.”

“You won’t, Alpha.”

I have no choice but to believe her, but only time will really tell from here on out.

Hand-in-hand, I lead my mate out of the packhouse, leaving my enforcers with the rest of the rogues to ensure that they are dealt with accordingly.

“Do you think they will get their land back?” Madison turns her dark eyes on me as we retreat to my SUV, and I don’t speak until we’re safely inside.

“I do,” I tell my mate confidently.