Page 24 of Forced Alpha Bride (Wolfshade Brides-for-Hire #3)

I force myself to look closely at the faces of my fallen brothers, letting rage and grief rise within me. Clinging to Austin’s cold hand, I swear to him that his death will be avenged.

This is my fault.

“Damon,” Winnie says softly. She puts her hand on my shoulder, and I roughly shake her off.

This isn’t just because I hesitated to move against the Creek. It’s because instead of taking to the hills myself, I let my cock lead me after Winnie!

I close my eyes, my hand tightening around Austin’s. The pain ripping through my chest right now is worse than anything I’ve ever felt before. Even the loss of my mother.

I was fifteen when she left me with Uncle Leroy. When I stood over her grave, I was sad but also relieved. We suffered terribly trying to fit into the town that had so brutally rejected her. Leaving to be with Leroy was a relief, and I felt like my mother was finally beyond pain.

That didn’t stop me from wanting vengeance in her name, though.

Losing my brothers is an entirely different kind of loss. I’ve fought back to back with these men, lived through utter hell with them. Seeing them fall in this way—senseless, avoidable deaths—tears my soul to shreds.

“Damon,” Mitchell says. “We need our alpha now.”

I look up at him, my body rigid with fury. I expect Mitchell to be giving me a look that plainly screams ‘I told you so,’ but instead, he looks wounded, even sympathetic.

“I am sorry, Alpha,” he says gently. “I know what a shock this is for you. These men were your friends, as well as your personal guard. You were trying to do the right thing, and I appreciate that, but surely now you must understand the truth of Valentine Creek.”

The horrible pain inside me sharpens, a well of despair that shapes itself into a blade of vengeance. “I have to address the council!”

“Yes,” Mitchell says, his face somber.

“Damon, wait,” Winnie implores, grabbing my hand. I almost shake her off again, but I stop myself just in time.

I can’t blame her for this. She didn’t entice me home last night with offers of sex, even though that’s what I was hoping for. The distraction was mine alone.

Mitchell pauses, and I wave him ahead of us.

“What is it, Winnie?” I ask.

She glances over to make sure Mitchell has gone back to the others before she speaks.

“Damon, I know you’re hurting right now, but I want you to remember we really don’t have all the information.”

“What?” I ask, stunned. “Are you not seeing this?”

“Yes, I am,” she answers. “And my heart is breaking over it. My first instinct was to blame myself, but this is still awfully convenient, Damon.”

I want to deny her words, to ride the bloodthirsty wave of rage within me right into Valentine Creek and murder everything that moves. The pain inside me demands nothing else.

But what if that’s exactly what they want?

I remember Regina’s smug smile earlier when we were in the parlor and the way Mitchell seemed almost too sincere. Looking back at the bodies of my brothers, I realize that if I go out seeking revenge, I might never know what really happened.

And the bastards who killed your men would get away with it!

“You know I’m right, Damon,” Winnie says very gently.

“How can you be so calm?” I ask.

She shrugs. “I’m not. My guts are twisting right up into my throat right now. I was so shocked by all the blood and death, I was ready to sign the death warrants of everyone in Valentine Creek myself. But it was the way Mitchell spoke to you… as if he suddenly really cared about your feelings—”

“Yeah, that didn’t sit right with me, either,” I mutter.

“And the fact that Rafe and Austin were the ones we specifically needed to speak to,” she goes on. “Remember what Austin said. Would Valentine Creek really have enough strength to take out an entire squad of seasoned warriors?”

“I don’t know,” I sigh. “And that’s the problem.”

“Let’s go talk to them,” Winnie says, taking my hand. “We can’t rush off to war, not like this. It wouldn’t be right.”

I follow Winnie back to the courtyard, taking one last look over my shoulder at Austin’s face.

I will find who did this, I promise you. I will avenge you, my brothers.

When we enter the main courtyard, Regina has a group of her guards standing in formation. Mitchell is on the phone while Cora and Bryce are shouting at each other. From the direction of the manor, I see more warriors coming in. Some loyal to me, others to the elders.

Oh, fuck. This is about to get messy.

“Damon!” Regina yells, pointing at me. “My personal guard is ready. Mitchell’s is en route. The others can’t decide on who they want to send, but I don’t care. Assemble your men to join with mine, and we’ll leave immediately!”

I take a deep breath and squeeze Winnie’s hand. She still hasn’t let go of me, and I’m grateful.

“No.”

My voice echoes around the stone courtyard, leaving silence in its wake. Regina and Mitchell gape at me in complete disbelief.

“Excuse me?” Regina says in a hushed voice, taking a step towards me. “What more evidence do you need?”

“This still isn’t evidence,” I answer firmly. “Where did the attack happen? Was the surrounding area swept? How did our scouts manage to get away and drag the dead bodies back here?”

“Some were injured, not dead, Alpha,” a boy steps forward. I realize it’s Bryce’s son.

He’s in his first year of pack duty. Smart kid, but no experience whatsoever.

“We were ordered to simply bring the message,” he says.

“But we heard the fighting. We were scared, sir. None of us can fight that well. By the time we got there, the other wolves were on the run—we never got a good look at them. These men were injured, so we brought them back with us. Couldn’t leave them there. What if the other guys came back?”

“And you found all of them there together?” I ask him. “Even my men?”

“Yes, Alpha,” the boy says. “All of them went down in the same fight, like they were hit as soon as they gathered in one group.”

That isn’t very comforting.

“We must act now!” Regina yells. “Before they get away! If you won’t give the order, then I’ll take my own squad right now!”

The energy in the garden shifts abruptly. Suddenly, the line between my men and the elders’ guards is real enough to feel.

I step back a little, and my men move behind me into a rough formation. Across from me, Regina and Mitchel face us, their guards assembling behind them. The tension in the air is as tight as a bowstring, almost ready to release the arrow.

“Damon,” Winnie mutters.

“I know.”

The situation is about to explode. Gryphon Eyrie will tear itself apart if I let this get out of control. And then I would have failed my brothers, myself, and all the innocents in this pack.

Regina glares at me with her pale, cold eyes, not bothering to conceal her hatred.

She put on a good show, if that’s what it was. Would she really kill her own men, just to take my position and have her way with Valentine Creek?

With a horrible, sinking feeling, I realize that I do believe she’s capable of it, and I can’t allow someone that dangerous to have this much power.

I could order my men to attack right now, and I think we’d win, but there would be heavy losses on both sides. It would change the Eyrie forever if I won my position through civil war. It would always be us against them, and I’d still have no peace.

“Warriors of Gryphon Eyrie,” I say, addressing the men behind Regina, “I appeal to you to look on your fallen brothers and ask yourself, does this honor them? If we fight now and stain this ground with more blood, does it punish their killers and bring their souls justice?”

The men begin to look around, and their ranks shift. A little of the tension goes out of the air.

“I order my warriors to stand down!” I state in a commanding voice. “We will not attack our own! No more blood will be shed this day!”

There is shuffling behind me as my men settle, some of them dropping their weapons. I can feel their anger and their need for action, but they also trust me and will always obey my word.

They didn’t follow me for years and help me ascend to the alpha position, only for it all to fall apart now.

When I arrived at the alpha challenge, I was ready to fight for my right to compete—go to war, if necessary—but now it’s different.

I am alpha, and every single one of these lives is in my hands.

“Listen to me!” Regina yells. “We have to move on to Valentine Creek now before they can do any more damage! Damon’s lack of action is exactly what led to the carnage you see before you right now! Do you want more bloodshed?”

“That is the question at hand,” I say softly. I step forward, my hands out, palms up. “We have lost so many brothers today. Do we want to lose any more?”

“I agree,” Winnie says, stepping up beside me. “We must honor the dead before all else. Would you leave your fallen pack members here in the yard, without the respect of a proper burial, to rush off to war?”

“They will be here when we get back,” Regina says brutally. “They aren’t going anywhere.”

I see more than a few of her guards shooting shocked looks at her.

That was monstrously insensitive, even for her.

Regina and I glare at each other, and I have to wonder just how much blood is on her hands.

If she is behind this, and she tried to manipulate me into action by capitalizing on my grief… I will have no mercy on her.

“Stand down,” I call, addressing the crowd.

“Please. Let us tend to the dead and meet tomorrow to discuss what we should do. I will organize a vanguard around the city so no one will be able to get into the town. If Valentine Creek does have assassins watching us, then let them see our solidarity and our respect for the fallen. We can send no better message.”

Imagine if they are mobilized out there and saw Gryphon Eyrie rip itself apart. What a way to lose a war!

Behind Regina, some of her guards begin to drop their weapons. She turns to them in shock.