Dark Times

Chapter Forty-One

The crowds were silent, staring in trepidation at where their Alpha laid dead. Their Alpha and the Alpha's sole successor were both dead. I met eyes with Amy, whose hand had shot up to the mark on her neck. It would start to fade into nothingness any second now.

"Your Alpha has been killed," Aidan announced. "Anyone left that wishes to fight, step forwards now and be delt with." No one moved. Like me, they sensed the deadly predator within Aidan. They knew better than to fight. Some fights just weren't worth it. "No takers? Then you now fall under the reign of the Fervidus territories."

He reached for my hand, pulling me forwards by it to stand in front of everyone. I stood there breathlessly, my skin hot.

"For now, you will continue to be managed by your previous Luna. By the end of the month, pack officials will be here to make adjustments." He clapped his hands together. "Let the party continue."

That was all it took for things to go back to how they had been before Igor arrived. Before any of this. It was all quite anticlimactic, to be honest. For so long, I'd been picturing this day. I'd thought blood would run down the walls, and there'd be outrage. Instead, the pack nodded at their dead- who it didn't take a genius to figure out they didn't like- and continued to go about their day. Some even turned to us with grateful smiles.

It was a bit much to handle at this present moment in time.

When everyone started chattering again, Amy waded her way over to us, her small and dainty hands buried in her pockets. She smiled, though there was an edge of cluelessness to the look.

"So, you'll let me step down from the Luna role here?"

Both of us turned to Aidan for the answer. He seemed to know what he was doing. I was still trying to wrap my head around the water bottle. "When we're comfortable back in my lands, further instruction will be given, but Lorrie and I will be taking control."

He flexed his fingers expectantly, waiting for my hand to join with his.

"You've done this before then?" She asked.

"Once or twice. I'm used to the process."

She sighed tiredly. "On behalf of everybody here, I'd like to thank you. Today has been a long time coming."

Yeah, tell me about it. I'd spent so long on this. What was I supposed to do now? Aidan expected me to go with him back to the pack. After today, I knew that wouldn't work out. I wasn't made for the pack world. The war was starting. Now would probably be a good time to make my departure. I'd gotten everything I needed to say off my chest. Could there even be a better time to do this?

"I often have people I believe I can trust with slightly more authority than other positions," Aidan told her with a kind smile. "I don't suppose you'd like to step down to a different position, Amy?"

"I'd love to, Alpha." She took my spare hand and his, giving each of them a supportive, grateful squeeze. "You two take good care of yourselves. Don't waste what you have. A lot of people would kill for it."

With that, she turned on her heel to a pack guard and started pointing at the bodies.

I watched her for a moment before turning back to my mate who was already beaming down at me. "Do you know what I want to do now?"

"Enlighten me."

His words were a deep, sensual breath at my ear. "I want to get you back to my pack, back to my bed, and mark the shit out of your neck."

"But...?"

He sighed deeply. "But, I should go look through Diego's office and files. Check on the pack's finances and little things like that." He let go of my hand, placing a chaste kiss against my forehead. "Enjoy the party, Lorrie. We'll be leaving tomorrow. I promise you'll have my mark in your neck before the week's up." He paused, kissing me again. "I love you."