Reuben POV
Dressed in armour, I was downstairs now on the decking with a large map in front of me, a map of the entire borders of the Silver Moon lands, and shit they were vast.
Everyone was on high alert, frantically trying to find maps, online satellite pictures…anything to help form a war meeting. Something that my office was prepared for but not this peaceful Lake House. This was a place designed as a retreat from the very thing we were now doing here.
Evelyn was showing me her lands on the map, pinpointing particular weak points that offer a small level coverage for intruders. She has guards already on patrol, her mind-link to her pack close enough to speed up communication. She groans slightly as she cuts off another mid-link conversation.
“Cassandra says Pierce is on his way down, and he’s angry.” Evelyn’s voice enters my mind, yet she continues to talk to Noah and Nate about possible strategies.
“Good, perhaps it will hit home to her was she has done.” I retort back in the mate mind-link.
“I mean he is angry with you…” She responds but not just.
“You bastard…” I don’t get much of a warning from Evelyn before Pierce pulls me by my shoulder, spinning me to face him and punching me in the left eye. He punch completely takes me by surprise, my eye socket stinging and already swelling up from the impact.
“Pierce…watch it!” I growl a warning to him to keep his emotions under control.
“She can’t heal, she’s still bleeding…”
He grabs my armour at my neck, pulling me into him. I want to hit him back but I know he is hurting and me attacking him wouldn’t solve anything right now.
“Then she should have thought more about her actions.” I push him off me, I didn’t have time for this. Time to worry about a spoilt teenager who has no experience in our world, and who would think so selfishly.
Only worrying about herself, her guilts. Does she not think that I worry about my soul, about when the time comes to reunite with the moon goddess? Whether she’ll think I am worthy of being in her afterlife realm. Or whether my soul is doomed for the decisions I have made in the past, for the way I have treated my own mate in the past? Of course I have my own guilts, I’m just willing to do what is necessary to keep my family and pack safe. Regardless of my eternal soul.
Two men, two men were dead because of her. Children that would no longer see their dad’s and mates that had so cruelly had their mate bonds ripped from them. Too soon, all because she couldn’t handle a guilty dangerous man meeting a fate that he deserved.
“I’m taking her back to my pack after this…I should have listened to my gut from the word go.”
“I hate to tell you mate, but she can’t feel the mate bond. Or if she can, she’s twisted enough in the head to fight it. I wouldn’t waste my time on her.”
Bang, another hit to my eye. This time the already slightly swollen area has now split open…I could smell the blood. Maybe they were suited, both didn’t like hearing the truth.
“Well, not all of us are so easily able to shun our mates…” He growls at me.
“Pierce!” Evelyn reprimands him, as my wolf roars at his words.
“Keep going…I’m happy to show you why I am the Alpha King…” I’ve had enough now, he’s gone too far.
He was angry but his anger was misdirected. Sure I didn’t mean for her to get hurt, but this wasn’t helping right now. We didn’t have time to waste.
“Like I keep saying, you are no King of mine.” He smirks in my face, but I could already see his eyes starting to soften. I think he just needed to throw a few punches at me, to get some inner anger out.
“Pierce… Reuben…we don’t have time for this. Settle your spat later, or take your anger out on Malcolm and Vicky. I’m sure they are already planning something.” Evelyn scolds us both.
I ignore Pierce, his actions have pissed me off even more and I felt like a bomb waiting to explode. I could feel my eye now healing, the slit vanishing and my eyesight becoming more vivid again. Prick!
It doesn’t take us long to agree on a strategy, my men back at the Red Stone Pack would remain and be on full alert, locking down the pack as much as they could. But we all knew Vicky expected Evelyn to be at the Silver Moon pack. Which is where we needed to send all the men, but a few.
I had no intention of letting Evelyn join me at Silver Moon. I couldn’t put her life in danger like that, knowing Vicky would make Evelyn the grand prize.
“Reuben, I think you should go make peace with Liberty…” Evelyn’s peacemaking voice enters my mind again.
“I don’t want to discuss her anymore.”
“Reuben she acted out, she’s young and sheltered. She didn’t know what would happen. She saw a man in pain and wanted to help him. If anything it shows her Luna side, how caring she’ll be. She isn’t your father, she didn’t do it deliberately to hurt you.”
“Not now sweetheart.” I grip her chin with my thumb, lifting her eyes up to mine before kissing those voluptuous lips of hers.
“She needs to stay.” My wolf whimpers in my mind, backing my own thoughts. Not that I need his approval.
“I need you to do something for me?” I ask as I pull away from her lips, just. My lips are still touching hers as I talk, tingles dancing on them.
“Yes?” She seems dazed by the kiss, intoxicated even. I love how the mate bond affects her, how I affect her.
“I need you to stay here…”
“Reuben…no!”
“Evelyn, you know it’s not about your ability to fight, you’ve proven that. You need to be here for the children, they won’t survive losing you.”
“And they would you?” She tuts, irritated by my choice of words. She can complain all she likes but it’s the truth.
“You’ve been there for every moment of their lives, every year…every breath. I promise to come back and be there for them always but they need you more than they need me.”
“I can’t abandon my pack..”
“That’s what she’ll think, she’ll head straight to the alpha house searching for you.”
“Reuben I am an alpha with a pack to command.”
“I know sweetheart but please, entrust your warriors to me. I’ll command them in battle. I’ll treat them as my own.”
“Reuben…”
“Evelyn, I can’t lose you. Not again, please do this for me.” My hands now cup her face, signalling my desperation in her staying here at the now safe house.
I understood her hesitation, it’s not something I could do. As an alpha you were designed to lead from the front, or at least I was. Evelyn was the same, she didn’t fear battle but I feared losing her, of the children losing her so young.
I needed to protect them as much as I needed to protect her.
“Evelyn, my men have found rogues south west of your lands.” Pierce reports having cut off a mind-link from his warriors.
“How many?” Evelyn asks closing her eyes, already dreading the inevitable answer.
“Enough to cause a fucking bloodbath.”
