Page 27 of Forced Alpha Bride (Wolfshade Brides-for-Hire #3)

Very early the next morning, Winnie and I sit at the kitchen table, having a quick breakfast before we head to the manor. Both of us are formally dressed for the funeral, and even though our mood is somber, a crackling energy fills the air from how nervous we both are.

Anything could happen today. I have to be prepared for the worst.

I watch Winnie tap away at her phone, her mind so completely absorbed by the messages she’s sending that her face is twisted into a scowl.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” I say. “This is almost unprecedented. You know that.”

“I do,” she mutters, her thumb flicking across the screen. “But I honestly think we have a unique opportunity here. I’ve been worried all this time that you’d use me—maybe even hold me to ransom—but you didn’t think of this, did you?”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m not that imaginative or cunning. I think you’d make a better alpha than me.”

“Lucky I’m right by your side, then, aren’t you?’ she says, smiling as she looks up at me. She puts her phone down and grabs her coffee cup, taking a big sip.

“It’s done, then?”

“Yes, all taken care of.”

“How are we going to know—”

“I said to trust me,” Winnie says, cutting me off. “Don’t worry. I promise you it’s all going to work out.”

“I don’t like that you’re being so mysterious about this,” I say uneasily. “Shouldn’t I know exactly what’s going to happen?”

“Well, I don’t even know,” Winnie admits. “I’ve set up the pieces—all I can do is see how they fall. A lot of it depends on what the council does as well.”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “That’s true. We should get going, if you’re ready.”

“Completely,” she says, smiling again. “I’ve got your back, Damon.”

I get up from the table and hold out my arms, feeling a wave of joy when Winnie wraps herself around my waist and hugs me back.

No matter what else goes down today, we have each other, and that’s all that matters.

The drive to the manor is silent, and I can feel tension tightening all my muscles, getting worse by the second. I have no idea what the council will throw at me, and when it comes to making the big decisions, I don’t want to act out with violence unless it’s absolutely necessary.

I have to hope Winnie’s plan comes through. It’s all we’ve got.

The circular drive of the manor is filled with cars, as most of the pack have come to attend the funeral. We walk through the gardens to a wide plot in front of the vineyard where the machines worked through the night to dig the graves.

A large group is standing around the plot, and all the elders stand at the top. As I approach, the crowd parts to let me through. Even the elders move aside so Winnie and I can stand full center. I can’t read their faces.

They all look so calm… like everything has already been decided.

Nerves trickle through my guts, but I force the feeling away, looking up to greet the crowd and begin the ceremony.

“The pack meets today to farewell our fallen brothers,” I announce. “Brave warriors who died in their service to the pack. Let us speak their names.”

The crowd in front of me begins to whisper, and I pay attention to each and every face. There are members of my own gang, the personal guards of the elders, and families of the fallen. Every single one of them shares the same sorrow.

I can’t let another day like this happen.

Winnie continues the ritual, stepping forward to address the crowd. All the elders have their own words to say, and as each steps forward, I examine them closely for any falsehood.

They all appear sad but composed. Only Regina seems to wear a mask of barely concealed rage. Whether she is our hidden enemy or not, it’s exactly what I’d expect from her.

The members of the crowd come forward, tossing their flowers into the graves as they say their goodbyes. As the machines come in, the churning anxiety in my guts explodes, making my chest ache with an emotion I can only describe as fear.

I’m not afraid for myself. I’ve never felt such an unbelievable sense of responsibility before. Too many people are counting on me.

“I address the pack,” Regina announces, making the crowd turn to look at her.

Here it comes.

“We cannot live through this day without deciding our next move. The only thing that will heal our hearts is action against those who hurt us—Valentine Creek.”

There are angry faces in the crowd, and I know too many of the pack agree with Regina.

“Our alpha spoke wisely yesterday,” Mitchell speaks up. “But now we must have the strength to act. If our leader can’t take action against our enemies, then we need one who will.”

A leadership challenge.

Winnie squeezes my hand, looking up at me. I nod to her, knowing that we expected this to happen.

If all goes well, then the villain should be playing right into our hands.

“This is the truth!” someone yells from the crowd. “Yesterday, I was prepared to wait, but now that my brothers are in the ground, my heart demands vengeance. It’s time to wipe out Valentine Creek for good.”

Cheers sound through the crowd, and Regina turns to look at me, a cold smile on her face. Her eyes are bright, almost hungry, and I wonder what horrible fate she’s cooked up for me.

“Is this really the place?” Winnie asks. “We are discussing war over the open graves of the fallen warriors. We shouldn’t be talking about this now.”

“This is exactly the place!” Regina shouts, controlling her voice with great difficulty. “They would not have died if we had a strong alpha, one who had listened to the voices of his elders and taken rightful action against our sworn enemy.”

Not for the first time, I wonder what happened between Valentine Creek and Gryphon Eyrie to start the feud in the first place.

We’ll probably never know. What a stupid waste of life this has been.

“Rightful action?” I echo. “All I did was follow the law and request investigations be made before we risked ourselves—and innocent lives—in an attack.”

“And look what that has wrought!” Regina gestures to the graves, her anger spiraling out of control. “The deaths of some of our best warriors! I brought evidence to you, and you would not accept it. Your request for an unnecessary investigation led to this—you must admit it before the whole pack.”

I glare at Regina, hating her with a fierce and unrelenting focus. There are very few truly bad people in the world, and I’m utterly sure at this point that she is pure, self-serving evil.

She doesn’t care who gets hurt, so long as she gets her way.

“I admit I followed pack law,” I say. “I was within my rights to investigate.”

“I disagree!” Mitchell yells, directly challenging me. “You were presented with evidence you did not pursue. This is an act of treason.”

“No!” Winnie shouts. “I contest this! Damon was following pack law—”

“A vote on it,” Regina declares, almost smug. “May the elders and council now decide. Did Damon act outside the law?”

She wants the leadership challenge. I wonder which lackey she has set up to fight against me.

Unsurprisingly, the elders all vote with Regina, while Winnie and my counselors vote against. When the decision comes down to Isla, she sides with the elders, and I know I’m fucked.

“The pack has spoken,” Regina says, trying to hide her smile. “You are now formally charged with treason, Damon Mackay.”

“Then bring it on, Regina!” I roar, stepping towards her.

“Obviously, you weren’t paying attention the last time I was in the ring.

I demolished every single challenger, one after the other.

Let’s see who you have to throw at me this time.

Because I guarantee you, none of your warriors can defeat me. ”

“It’s gone far beyond that, I’m afraid,” Mitchell says. His tone is so full of malice, I glance at him in alarm, expecting him to come at me.

“Guards, step forward,” Regina announces, finally letting her mask slip. Her grin is an expression of cruel, twisted glee, and her eyes burn with excitement like a mad dog tearing into an innocent bunny.

I’m no bunny, bitch. Whatever you’re planning, I promise you I’ll find a way out of it. Then I’m coming for your throat!

The elders’ personal guards step out of the crowd, and the civilians hurry to get out of their way. My counselors try to surround me, but I tell them to stand down.

“Yes, Damon,” Regina says icily. “Keep your mongrels out of the way. We wouldn’t want anyone else to get hurt, would we?”

“No,” I state, glaring at her. “Whatever you’re going to do, go ahead and do it. But you might want to send the civilians away.”

“We can’t do that,” Mitchell protests. “We need the first families gathered for this.”

My anxiety increases sharply as I look over at Winnie. Her eyes are wide and frightened as she shakes her head, clearly not understanding what Mitchell means. She tries to hold on to my arm to stay by my side, but I push her towards Krista as the guards surround me.

“Take the traitor to the courtyard,” Regina orders. “We will assemble there to try him for his crimes.”

“A trial!” Winnie screams. “You can’t do this—it’s against pack law! Damon should have to fight a challenge—”

“The time for that is passed,” Mitchell says. “We asked for a vote, and the pack gave their decision. Damon is to be put on trial to answer for his crimes.”

“What crimes?” Winnie demands.

“For conspiring with Valentine Creek, of course,” Regina says. “It’s obvious that he’s been working with them from the start, attempting to tear us apart from within. He planned to betray us all, and his evil plan almost succeeded.”

“This is ridiculous,” Winnie spits, trying to push through the guard. “I won’t allow this. I’m the luna—”

“You are nothing,” Regina hisses so quietly that only those of us closest can hear her.

“Winnie Ramses has been a victim of this horrible plan,” she says to the pack.

“Once Damon’s fate has been decided, Winnie can be absolved of this marriage.

So long as she did not conspire against us, this horrible dark stain can be removed, and she’ll be free to marry a good wolf. ”

Winnie stares at Regina in disbelief as the guards surround me, shoving me to force me to walk.

The elders go ahead of us, and somewhere behind me, I can hear Krista talking to Winnie, telling her everything will be alright.

The first families and counselors follow us to the courtyard, which has finally been cleaned of decorations from the failed evening party.

The elders take their seats on the stone benches, and I say a brief prayer of thanks that they didn’t force all of us underground to the sacred chamber. Whatever happens next, I’m glad to have the sky overhead.

The guards surround me, keeping me in place as the first families gather behind the elders. Regina clearly can’t hide her smile, confirming all my worst fears of her.

“I hereby open the trial,” Mitchell announces. “Alpha Damon, you are here to be judged for your crimes of treason—assisting the enemy, killing our own, failing to protect the pack, and betraying our loyalty. If you cannot satisfy the elders of your innocence, you will be executed where you stand.”

Winnie gasps, fighting to get free of Krista, but her friend holds her tight, stopping her from joining me. I stare at the elders, numbness flooding through me as I realize exactly how fucked I am.

I’m not even going to get a chance to fight! They’re just going to kill me!

Sweat breaks out all over my body, and rage and fear collide in my guts. Dying in a fight is one thing. Standing still while someone cuts my throat is another.

“Damon!” Winnie calls, wiping tears off her cheeks. I meet her eyes, wishing I could say the words I’ve been too afraid to say.

I love you, Winnie.

“Let’s begin,” Regina says, lacing her fingers together. The glee on her face tells me my fate has already been decided, and the trial is only a show for the rest of the pack.

That’s when I hear a faint howl in the distance, so far away, the voice is impossible to recognize. The elders react with shock, looking around at each other in confusion.

Another howl sounds from a different direction, closer than the first. The first families begin to turn around and look towards the hills. The guards around me close ranks.

I find Winnie’s face in the crowd. She has her hands clasped together, a smile of triumph on her face.

The howls get closer, each one coming from a separate direction and seeming to bounce off each other as the two wolves sing in harmony. The sound echoes from the closest ridge, flowing into the valley, and I recognize it for what it is—and so do the elders.

It’s the call of the alphas!