Rise of the Dark Alpha

Chapter 410 Happy Day

~ SASHA ~

She'd been so consumed with trying to soothe the females, talking to Mae about how to help them, listening to Kyelle's ideas on moving the females overnight, regardless of when the males went—so that they could travel separately—that she'd been completely unaware of any conflict outside until those god-awful snarls cut through the air.

And even though she'd never heard him make that sound before, she knew it was Zev. Something in her chest pinged and her breath stopped.

She turned on her heel, instinct driving her to go see him, to see what was wrong, to make sure he was safe. But she turned to find the crowd of females, so many of them still in anxiety or shock.

She had to help them.

But she had to know if Zev was okay?

She turned again, searching for Kyelle. She'd been there just a moment before, helping. But now Sasha couldn't find her.

Her heart began to race and her breath got shallow. She put a hand on the back of the female who'd just broken down next to her and she had to fight. She had to battle with herself not to just abandon them.

What the hell was going on today? Why was everyone suddenly losing control just when she needed them to be calm?

Sasha swallowed back her panic and looked back at Mae who had gone still and was frowning at the big window.

"Can you tell who it is? What's going on?" she said quickly.

Mae nodded, her eyes never leaving the wall of hides they'd used to cover the gap. "It's Zev. And Lhars and…" she blinked, her eyes widening. "Mates?" she breathed.

"What? Who? Why are they fighting? Mae—"

"Kyelle… she's… she's declaring for Lhars," Mae said.

Sasha's mouth dropped open. "Are you serious?"

The females next to her weren't paying attention and for a moment Sasha reminded herself that she had a job to do. She urged Mae to keep relaying what they were saying. But she was fighting a smile so she wouldn't upset the other females. Lhars and Kyelle? This was fantastic! Except…

"Why did Zev and Lhars fight?"

"They didn't fight. Zev stood in his way when he was searching for Kyelle—he hasn't possessed her yet. He's on edge. Lhars…" she trailed off, listening, then swallowed. "He wasn't challenging for Alpha. He thought Zev was stopping him from reaching Kyelle."

"Are they okay now?"

"I think so, I…"

Howls rose, eerie and haunting. Even Sasha caught the murmur of bodies moving—the wolf-pack celebrating Lhars and her heart sang. And she ached—she wanted to share this moment with them.

Then she realized she could.

Show me! she said in Zev's head. Show me what's going on.

And he did—immediately the image of Lhars, his arms wrapped around Kyelle, his eyes ablaze with pride and possession, her hands curled around his neck and in his hair…

And it all came with Zev's heart—his relief that his brother wasn't challenging, his joy for them that they'd found each other, and his love for Sasha.

Her cheeks heated as watching his brother kiss his mate fanned the flames in Zev's belly for Sasha. She had to swallow back her own bout of desire.

She licked her lips and had to think twice to answer a quiet question from one of the females.

Oddly, they hadn't seemed worried about the snarls from the males when they were fighting. They'd taken that with barely a flutter—yet, here Sasha was, trembling for it. But she made herself focus. Zev was safe—and Lhars too, that was the important thing. The rest would have to wait. Would they go on the Solitude now? But how could they? Perhaps in the Safe Place, but… how would they do that when everything would be in such turmoil and they'd have to be establishing an entirely new home…

Her mind spun so that she was slow answering questions and had to ask the females to repeat themselves sometimes. But then Kyelle was there, and the females from the wolf-pack rushed to greet her, to submit.

Sasha smiled, watching Kyelle, with tears in her eyes, accept all their salutes and submissions. She seemed very uncomfortable with the attention, and for a moment Sasha's nerves were up—was Kyelle uncertain of him?

But then the female turned to meet her gaze and she smiled and Sasha rushed forward to hug her.

"I'm so happy for you both," she whispered in Kyelle's ear as they embraced.

"Thank you. Me too."

This made them sisters now, right? Sasha was about to ask, but Kyelle cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. "You need to go talk to Zev," she said, sounding sheepish. "He's a little off-balance."

Sasha didn't argue. Reassuring the females that she'd return in a few minutes, she slipped out of the hall. But not before marking that Mae stood at the window, staring at the hides as if she could see through them. And Sasha suspected if she'd drawn a straight line from Mae's eyes her gaze would end at Chet.

Sasha sighed as she hurried down the stairs and into Zev's arms.

He pulled her up into a hug and kissed her neck.

"Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly. "That sounded so scary!"

Zev set her down on her feet but still held her. "I'm fine. He wasn't challenging for Alpha. He was agitated because he was so focused on Kyelle. He hasn't mated her yet and the bond is chafing."

He tipped his head to the side where Sasha saw Lhars standing in a circle of the males, accepting congratulations and sharing scents. He looked ecstatic. And very tense.

"Can we organize a ritual for them?" she asked.

Zev shook his head. "There's no time, and it would be too distracting. It's fine. They can just mate to complete the bond. Everyone saw their declarations, which is really the important part."

"What can we do to help them?"

"The best thing we can do is just give them some time together today. Tonight. As much as possible."

Sasha nodded, frowning. There wasn't going to be much privacy for them. "They definitely need some space," she said uncertainly.

"They aren't the only ones." Zev's voice was deep and rough and twanged in her belly. Sasha turned quickly to meet his eyes and found them aflame.

She smiled. Then it faded. "Time is the only thing we don't have right now."

Zev sighed and pulled her into another hug.

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