Knotted By The Three Feral Alphas

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: She Died As A Warrior

I turned to Rylan and nodded giving him the go ahead to kill him.

Rylan gave a wild grin and his axe came down chopping off the head clean. The warrior stopped moving.

The fight around us faltered. The northern bastard warriors saw their leader fall and broke, fleeing into the rocks. We lost five men but a great number were injured. They lost seventeen. We burned the remaining camps and took every map and supply we could carry. The ride back to Frostfang was quiet, the horses’ hooves the only sound against the grass.

We reached the gates as the sun climbed higher. Garrick met us in the bailey, his face grim as he saw the blood on my cloak and the empty saddles. The pack gathered quickly, eyes on the maps and supplies we carried.

I stood in the center of the bailey and unrolled the largest map. "Listen up wolves, we have their main camp location," I said. "The northern triad is there with the bulk of their force. We strike again before they can regroup."

The pack cheered, the sound raw and fierce. I stood there with the blood still drying on my cloak and the kings at my back and felt the keep shift beneath my feet. The northern triad had drawn its line.

We would draw ours in steel and fire.

Back in the chambers the children were waiting. Lila ran to me the moment I stepped through the door, her small arms wrapping around my legs.

Thorne and Elara crawled across the furs toward me, their knees and elbows working in determined little circles. They were more active every day, their babbles turning into strings of sounds that almost sounded like words. Lila pointed at them and said, "Mama, they try to stand again. Like me."

I knelt and pulled all three of them into my lap. Lila climbed higher, resting her head against my shoulder. Thorne pushed himself up on wobbly legs, hands gripping the edge of a low bench.

He looked at me, eyes wide with surprise, and took one unsteady step. Then another. Elara saw him and pushed up beside him, her tiny feet finding the floor. She took three steps before dropping back to her knees with a delighted squeal.

Lila clapped her hands and cheered. "Yayy mom, they walk in bits now! They try to walk like me!"

I opened my arms and let them tumble into me. Thorne fell against my chest, laughing. Elara crawled the rest of the way and grabbed my braid with both hands. I held them close, their small hearts beating fast against mine, and felt something loosen in my chest that had been tight since the last raid.

The kings joined us a few minutes later. Darius knelt beside me, one hand on Thorne’s back. Kane sat on the floor and let Elara climb all over him. Rylan stretched out with Lila on his chest, his fingers brushing my knee.

The bond between the four of us felt steady and warm. The strike had been fast and brutal, but we had come home with the information we needed. The twins babbled louder, their voices overlapping in excited sounds. Lila asked again about the bad wolves, her small face serious.

I held them close and let their warmth chase away the cold of the ride.

The northern triad was coming. But we would be ready.

***********************

I walked the lower corridors with the kings at my sides, the stone still carrying the faint scent of herbs and healing salves. freēwēbnovel.com

The families of the fallen waited in the smaller rooms off the main hall. I entered each one without hesitation, the weight of the last battle still fresh on their faces.

A mother whose son had died protecting the supply wagons sat with her hands folded in her lap. She looked up when I stepped inside and spoke before I could. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

"He always said the queen would make the North different," she said. "He believed it enough to ride out with you."

I knelt in front of her and took her hands. "He was right. The North is different because of him."

She squeezed my fingers once, her eyes wet but her voice steady. I stayed with her until she was ready to let me go.

In the next room a father whose daughter had fallen during the raid sat with his head in his hands. He did not speak at first. I sat beside him and waited until he was ready. When he finally looked at me, his voice was rough.

"She wanted to train with the women. I told her it was too dangerous. She went anyway. She died protecting the children in the outer tents."

I rested my hand on his shoulder. "She died as a warrior. The keep will honor her name in the new laws we make for the women who fight."

He nodded slowly with tears flowing from his face. The kings stood silent behind me, their presence a wall of quiet support. We moved through every room, every family, every story. The weight of the losses settled into my bones, but it did not break me. It reminded me why we had ridden out in the first place.

When I returned to the main hall the gammas were already gathered for council. Calder sat near the front, his face tight, but he kept his mouth shut when I spoke about the new laws.

The pack listened as I laid out the terms. Shared patrols. Trade routes. Mutual protection if another threat rose. No one challenged it. The older gammas who had once whispered against the new laws now nodded slowly.

The victory and the diplomacy had eased the cracks inside the keep. They were beginning to see the strength in what we were building.

After council I walked the corridors with the kings. The keep felt alive with purpose. Wolves nodded as we passed, their eyes sharp, their steps purposeful.

The new laws on shared resources had eased the tension in the outer farms. The gammas who once whispered against the changes now nodded when I spoke. The victory over Vespera had shifted something inside them. The diplomacy ride had sealed it.

We returned to our chambers as the sun dropped behind the western ridge. The children were waiting on the furs, the nursery women having brought them up early.

Lila ran to me the moment I stepped inside, her small arms wrapping around my legs. Thorne and Elara crawled across the furs toward me, their knees and elbows working in determined little circles. They were more active every day, their babbles turning into strings of sounds that almost sounded like words.

Lila looked up at me, her small face serious. "Mama, the bad wolves from the north. Are they coming for my brother and sister?"

I knelt in front of her "no baby, they can’t. Your fathers and me would burn the entire lake at the overpasses before I let them take any of you."

I knelt and pulled all three of them into my lap. Lila climbed higher, resting her head against my shoulder. Thorne pushed himself up on wobbly legs, hands gripping the edge of a low bench. He looked at me, eyes wide with surprise, and took one unsteady step. Then another. Elara saw him and pushed up beside him, her tiny feet finding the floor. She took three steps before dropping back to her knees with a delighted squeal.

Lila clapped her hands and cheered. "They walk! They walk like me!"

I opened my arms and let them tumble into me. Thorne fell against my chest, laughing. Elara crawled the rest of the way and grabbed my braid with both hands. I held them close, their small hearts beating fast against mine, and felt something loosen in my chest that had been tight since the last raid.

The kings joined us a few minutes later. Darius knelt beside me, one hand on Thorne’s back. Kane sat on the floor and let Elara climb all over him. Rylan stretched out with Lila on his chest, his fingers brushing my knee.

The bond between the four of us felt steady and warm. The diplomacy ride had opened a new path. The western packs were watching. They respected the victory we had won. Now we would turn that respect into something lasting.

I spent the rest of the evening in the war room with the kings, planning the next steps. The Gray Hollow alliance was secured. The next pack to the north would hear about it soon.

We marked the routes and chose the escort for the next ride. The children stayed in the nursery, their laughter drifting down the corridor every so often. I let the sound anchor me while we worked.

Thorne and Elara were beginning to babble real words. Lila was becoming more vocal every day. They were the reason we planned these rides. They were the reason we would not wait for the next threat to find us.

By evening the plan was set. I walked the corridors with the kings, checking the guard rotations one last time. The keep felt alive with purpose. Wolves nodded as we passed, their eyes sharp, their steps purposeful. The pack had chosen to stand with me after the last battle. They would support these diplomatic rides now.

We returned to the chambers as the sun dropped behind the western ridge. The children were already asleep in the big bed, tangled together in a pile of limbs and blankets. Lila had one arm flung over Thorne. Elara curled against her brother’s back. I stood in the doorway for a long moment, watching their small chests rise and fall.

The kings stayed close behind me.

We would ride at first light tomorrow and we would begin the work of securing the peace we had won.