Chapter 7

KADE

‘You must let it play out. They need to see his power,’ the Goddess whispered into my head.

Her words were not comforting because that meant that something was about to happen. I had to trust that my mate would be fine because the Goddess was not cruel. She brought us together for a reason, and that would not be to let us meet before we were murdered.

The Alpha family glared at my mate, obviously feeling left out. They had no idea who she was at all or that she had a direct connection to the Goddess. The ‘weak Omega’ that the little bitch chose to reject was anything but.

“You didn’t tell them?” I asked her with a smirk, amusement dripping from that simple question.

“They didn’t deserve to know,” she said plainly with her own amusement. Her eyes held mine, and I was a goner.

My respect for her just increased even more. I could guarantee that she put up with their shit, but they did not break her. It was impossible to break someone who held true strength within them. I did not mean physical strength because could be learned. The strength of her character exceeded what any physical strength could ever be.

The son jumped up from his seat, knocking his chair backwards. The guy pushed my mate behind him and blocked the son. The son looked murderous, but so did the guy. It was clear to see that he would rather die than let her get hurt. I was proud of my mate though because she did not look frightened at all and stared at him with a blank expression as if he was not even worth her emotion.

‘Don’t interfere. The Goddess said that we have to let it play out,’ I told my people. They knew how I got my gift in the first place, so they never questioned it if I ever had to convey something from her.

My throat constricted painfully as I fought against my instincts that were screaming at me to protect my mate. They howled and demanded his life as payment for even thinking about touching her.

Tyre paced back and forth, growling up a storm in my head. I just hoped that she forgave me when I explained later why I could not react. I would do whatever was necessary to earn that forgiveness even if it meant groveling on my knees.

‘Her wolf said that they were already told that we weren’t allowed to,’ Tyre explained. He was pissed with how she was being treated.

I was very thankful that our wolves could communicate despite us not having the mindlink. It was very helpful right now.

I swallowed hard as I watched the asshole’s fists clench at his sides. His entire body was coiled and prepared for an attack. However, I saw the hesitancy in it all. He would never admit it, but this guy scared him. He was taller and had more defined muscle than the Alpha heir did. If anything, it looked like the guy should have been the Alpha heir between the two of them.

“Back the fuck away, and give her to me,” he snarled.

The guy remained unaffected to the anger being thrown his way. I had no doubt that this was a long time coming, and my opinion of this guy was off the charts. He did not even waver in his goal of protecting my mate even though this was his pack leader and future Alpha.

“You’ll never touch her again. I’m through with your bullshit. The only reason that she accepted your rejection was because I begged her to. You didn’t break her no matter how much pain you put her through on stage when you wanted to humiliate her. It didn’t matter how many times you hit her or ripped at her because she would’ve kept it up until you died. You wanted her to suffer, but you were the one suffering. The funny thing was that you were the only one humiliated. You wanted to cause her pain, but you couldn’t even handle it yourself. You cried, but she didn’t shed a single fucking tear. None of you will touch her again. Not you, your family, or all the warriors that you protect. Here’s something that’s really going to suck for you to know. You doomed your wolf to an empty life all because you couldn’t see how fucking amazing she is. You said she wasn’t worthy to be your mate, but you got it wrong. You weren’t worthy to be hers. I’m glad that your wolf is still giving you hell. He told hers that he will for the rest of his life for taking his mate away from him. Her wolf will face no such fate because the Goddess granted her a new fated mate who will treat her like the Queen that she is,” he said.

My fists clenched hearing what he did to her. I glanced at the rest of my people who were struggling with that as well. To hear of anyone being treated like that was difficult to deal with. To know that he resorted to beating her in order to force her to accept the rejection was a whole different issue. Couple that with the fact that this was their future Luna then they all wanted was his blood.

I did not just want his blood though. I wanted to torture him in every single way that he tortured her because I could guarantee that this was not the only time he hurt her. The fact that the guy said that nobody would ever touch her again led me to believe that there were many culprits. I would find out who and would demand justice. This pack would never be the same again when I was done with it.

An Alpha was responsible for protecting each of their pack members. Alpha Andrew failed in that because he was focused on his status as the almighty Alpha instead of actually being a decent human being. I fully understood where his son got his shit attitude from.

The shitty Alpha and Luna were watching this entire display with hatred in their eyes. They hated that anyone was standing up to their son. However, they were not getting involved because I could guarantee that they were terrified of this guy as well.

“Are you to tell me that you’re her second-chance mate? That shit doesn’t actually happen. Call yourself that all you want if it makes you feel better for taking what she gives out for free,” he scoffed.

If this little bitch did not stop talking then I was not certain that I would be able to hold back much longer. My claws extended and cut into my skin to keep me focused on something other than seeing how quickly I could kill him. I should rip his throat out for what he was spewing about my mate.

“I would’ve been fucking proud to claim her as my mate, but she’s only ever been my best friend all these years. And free? Is that what you want to call it now? She’s never given a damn thing to anyone, but it’s acceptable because we’re only Omegas to you. We’re less than human. We can’t even look up at you without getting beaten. You allow your warriors to do whatever they want and expect us to take it with appreciation. You want us to worship you for the blood you whip from us. What did you do when she wouldn’t react to your family’s petty bullshit after the rejection? You tortured her this entire past month because you couldn’t fucking break her. Ever wonder why it’s been thirteen years and still haven’t broken her? You’ll never know because she’s right. You don’t deserve to know. Just know that you all sincerely fucked up with the wrong person. She was someone you should’ve never touched.”

Both Tanya and Apollo had a restraining hand on me to hold me back because I wanted to just destroy the entire pack right now. Tyre had his hackles raised, snarling at the family, and I was surprised that it had not passed through my lips yet.

What they did to her was completely unacceptable. How many times did they let her be abused and hurt like this?

I did not care whether the Alpha allowed it because her friend would be coming with us if he wanted to since he would surely die if he was left here. I was appreciative that she had him all these years because he really did protect her, and I would never be able to thank him enough.

Alpha Andrew rose from his chair and slammed his fist on the table. Long gone was the overenthusiastic Alpha trying to make us like him. That ship sailed long ago. I highly respected her friend for not even blinking with the anger tossed at him from the Alpha family. They were weak and did not scare him one bit. He was completely unaffected by the Alpha just as he had been by the son.

“Tell me why,” he demanded with the full-force of his Alpha command.

Her friend looked him directly in the eye and smirked. Amusement danced in his eyes, and I could tell that he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. One simple word was uttered which meant so much, “no.”

This was the power that they needed to see. This was what the Goddess meant. He could not be commanded by his own Alpha. That was a nifty ability. I looked at him closely but could not see that he was a gifted wolf. Where was this ability coming from then?

“Move away from her,” he snarled with his command as if it would work the second time when the first time failed so drastically. He was not the brightest.

“Not going to happen. Her special secret gave me this very special quirk of my own. You can’t command either of us. You haven’t been able to for about eight years now. Highly surprised you fucks hadn’t figured that out with the fact that he couldn’t command her to accept the rejection.”

That was where it came from. The Goddess must have anchored it to him as well. He was not touched by the Goddess like she was but still had her blessing. This was the first time I had ever come across something like that. It was truly fascinating.

‘Now you may interfere,’ she said into my mind.

I stood up from my seat because I had been antsy just sitting by. However, that ability did need to be seen because it reaffirmed that my mate was not what they thought she was and what they treated her as. My mate was a badass.

I straightened my shirt to give off the appearance of nonchalance. This was all a powerplay right now, and they would quickly see that I would be calling all of the shots from here on out.

“I was told that I had to stay out of this until now, so let me make myself very clear,” I said as I walked around the table and stood beside her friend to show solidarity. “Anyone who touches my mate will declare war with our pack. Trust me that you don’t want to go to war with us because yours would be decimated before you could blink. We have additional teams stationed close by just in case we needed them. Your pack is severely lacking in the strength department, so each of my guys could take out four or five of yours without breaking a sweat. Keep that in mind. Also, anyone who touches …” I trailed off for his name.

“Gabriel,” he said without removing his eyes from the idiots in front of us.

“Anyone who touches Gabriel will also declare war with our pack. Now, why don’t you back up so that we can be on our way,” I said.

That infuriated the idiots more. Both son and father looked enraged at this point. I would be enjoying this little tiff greatly if it was not for the mate behind me. She was my priority right now, and I did not want anything to happen to her.

Alpha Andrew crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, throwing a sneer my way. He was not intimidating at all. The only reason they controlled anyone in this pack was because they were pussies who beat anyone that did not follow their every whim. He was not a true Alpha. He was a despicable bastard that needed to be replaced by someone that was not of his own line.

“You can leave, but you aren’t taking them. You don’t have a claim to her. We all witnessed my son and her finding out they were fated mates. This just seems awfully convenient because you don’t want to see the little bitch cry,” he accused.

“You might do well to hold your tongue,” I said as Tyre pushed out his aura to them. It did not affect them quite as strongly as it did his warriors, but it clearly showed that I was the threat right now.

He wanted to be an ass, but now I would show him why I would always win no matter what. I pulled the phone out of my pocket and scrolled through my contacts until I got to the one that I needed before putting it on speaker so that everyone in this room could hear. Normally, I would call a private number, but I did not want my true relationship with them to be known just yet.

“Coverstone Council. How may I help you,” a woman answered immediately.

“Hello. This is Alpha Kade of the Nightshade pack. We seem to be having an issue that I need immediate assistance with. We were asked over to the Blue Crest pack for a treaty talk. Upon coming here, I found my fated mate. They are refusing to allow her to leave with me after my pack and I witnessed them verbally attacking her and trying to physically attack her. I am her second-chance mate, so they are refusing my claim on her. However, I happen to know that you have a Council member who can verify mate-bonds,” I explained.

I kept eye contact with Alpha Andrew this entire time because he would sincerely regret the Council coming here. He should not have interfered with me taking them because the Council did not allow rape. It was a safe assumption to think that my mate was not the only one in that boat. They also did not allow for torture of pack members. Punishment for actual crimes was acceptable but not torture. The way that they treated their Omegas also would not fly one bit.

I was purposefully trying not to think about my mate being raped. That was a horror that I hated for anyone to go through. I hated that my mate was treated that way even more. I would do everything I could to protect her from this moment on though. She would never again know the pain and horror that she had while in this pack.

“Council Member Thompson does and would be more than happy to come and verify. Do you need additional members as well?” she asked, typing away.

“Yes we do, ma’am,” I said without elaborating why. The Council would find that out when they got here.

If looks could kill then I would be very deceased by now. It was a lucky thing that it did not work that way. I would do anything to protect my mate even though we still had not been properly introduced. Hell, I still did not even know her name. I really hoped that she could tell that I was nothing like them and would never let anyone hurt her again. I just wanted her to be safe and happy.

Our pack had mutual respect for each member. We were a very large and extensive family. Each and every individual worked together for the betterment of the Nightshade pack. She would be loved and respected by her new people. I could tell that she was a fighter, and that was what our pack needed. She would make a very strong Luna.

“They will be there in one hour. Am I on speaker?” she asked.

“You are,” I said.

“She is his mate until it’s verified otherwise. Alpha Andrew, if anything happens to her even as far as being called a derogatory name, the Council will show no mercy for you. I suggest that your people leave the room until the Council arrives at your border. When they show up, they are to be escorted immediately to the packhouse. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes,” he growled before throwing the nearest chair at the wall. His family snarled and left.

“Thank you for your assistance. We’ll await their arrival,” I said before hanging up.

Getting the Council involved was our best and safest option for everyone. It would put the pack under scrutiny, and I had no doubt that the Council would require changes to be implemented and upheld underneath the scrutiny of a microscope if the Alpha family had any hope in keeping their titles. This would help the rest of the pack long after we left.

The Coverstone Council was a group of five Alphas who realized that every Alpha should be held accountable for their packs. They did not go around poaching for potential threats, but they did react when they were contacted or had intel that their involvement was needed just like tonight. The five packs merged into a conglomerative pack known as the Coverstone pack where they worked and ruled together. It was established thirty years ago, but there were already two additional Councils set up other places in the country since it had been such a huge success with this one.

I had a feeling that Gabriel and my mate would have no qualms about airing the dirty laundry out to the Council. Alpha Andrew and his son fucked up when they went after my mate. He fucked up even further when he refused to let them leave with me. Now, he would finally see why it was very idiotic of him.