AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She stares at me, her eyes wide, but I continue. "I was planning to call a meeting of the pack in just a few days. I intended to discuss this exact topic. I intended to declare my intentions to take you as my mate."
A gasp escapes her lips, but I gently squeeze her hands, urging her to understand. "I was never going to abandon you, Jenna. You are my fated mate, and nothing can change that. Not your humanity, not the pack's traditions. Nothing."
I let my words hang in the air between us. "I am yours, Jenna, and you are mine. Always."
The silence that follows is deafening, a heavy weight pressing down upon us all. I can sense the turmoil erupting amongst thepack, the outrage and disbelief crashing like waves against the unshakable truth of my declaration.
And then, like a dam bursting, the uproar begins.
Voices rise in a cacophony of anger and confusion, insults and accusations hurled like weapons from every corner of the room. Elder Thorne's face is twisted into a mask of rage, his eyes blazing with a fury that would once have sent shivers down my spine.
But not this time. This time, I am unmoved, anchored by the unwavering certainty that courses through my veins.
"A human?" Liam Blackwood's sneer cuts through the chaos, his eyes glittering with malicious glee. "Is this what our great alpha has been reduced to? Rutting with a pathetic, weak little human bitch while the rest of us uphold the honor of our pack?"
A feral snarl tears from my throat, and it's only Jenna's steadying presence that keeps my wolf from lashing out, from rending flesh from bone for such a vile insult. Liam's eyes widen fractionally, but the smug curl of his lip remains, fueled by his own twisted ambitions.
But before I can unleash the torrent of rage burning in my chest, another voice rises above the din, clear and unwavering.
"Enough!"
Marcus's roar silences the room, his powerful frame radiating an authority that few would dare defy. My beta meets my gaze, his hazel eyes alight with a newfound understanding, a silent vow of allegiance that steadies me like an anchor in the storm.
"Ryan is our alpha, our leader chosen by the moon herself," he rumbles, his voice carrying to every corner of the room. "And ifhe has claimed this woman as his mate, then we are bound by honor and loyalty to respect his choice."
A murmur of dissent ripples through the crowd, but it is swiftly quelled by the stern set of Marcus's jaw, the unspoken warning in his stance.
"But she's human!" The protest comes from a voice I don't recognize, tinged with disgust and fear. "How can we trust her? How can we allow one of them into our sacred pack?"
The words ignite a blaze of fury within me, my wolf howling its outrage at the insult to our mate. But before I can unleash the torrent of rage boiling in my veins, a soft voice cuts through the chaos, gentle yet laced with steel.
"Because she's kind." Chloe rises from her seat, her slight frame seeming to grow taller with each word. "Because she's compassionate and brave, and she's proven time and again that she cares for our pack just as fiercely as any of us."
The young she-wolf turns her gaze to me, her eyes shining with a quiet conviction that takes my breath away. "Ryan chose well. Jenna is a true mate, in every sense of the word."
A ripple of stunned silence spreads through the room, punctuated only by the soft murmurs of those swayed by Chloe's impassioned defense. But the battle is far from won, the air still thick with tension and uncertainty.
"My son Aiden has struggled at school," a gruff voice speaks up, and I recognize the burly frame of one of the construction workers, his calloused hand resting on the shoulder of a young boy at his side. "But Ms. Cooper, she never gave up on him."
The man's gaze meets mine, his eyes shining with a profound gratitude that pierces straight through to my core. "If that's not the heart of a true mate, I don't know what is."
A chorus of murmurs rises, a tide of agreement slowly swelling amongst the ranks of the pack. Hannah's eyes shine with fierce loyalty as she steps forward, her chin lifted in defiant challenge.
"Jenna is my best friend, my sister in all but blood," she declares, her voice ringing with conviction. "And if my alpha brother has chosen her as his mate, then I will stand beside them, always." Her gaze finds Jenna's, shimmering with a depth of love and understanding that seems to steal the breath from my mate's lungs.
As the voices rise in a swell of support, I can sense the shift in the atmosphere, the tendrils of doubt and fear slowly giving way to a fragile acceptance. But one bastion of resistance remains, a towering bulwark of tradition and prejudice that must be overcome.
My grandfather's eyes light up with an intense fury, his aged features contorting into an expression of outrage and disgust. "Would you dishonor us all for a human?" he seethes. "Do you not feel shame, boy? Have you overlooked the sacrifice of your kin, killed by the very creatures you now desire to accept?"
A hush falls over the room, heavy and suffocating. I can feel the weight of his words, the echoes of a pain that has haunted our pack for far too long. Jenna trembles in my arms, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, and in that moment, I know what I must do.
Cradling her face in my calloused palms, I pour every ounce of my soul into my gaze, baring the depths of my love, my conviction, for all to see.
"You're right, Elder," I rumble, my voice resonating with the echo of centuries of tradition. "I have not forgotten the sacrifice, the pain that has shaped our pack. I remember Aunt Carol, taken from us by the hand of humans, and the rift her loss caused within our family and the pack. But I will not allow that pain to rule me any longer."
Jenna's eyes widen, shimmering with a fragile hope that steels my resolve. I tighten my embrace, drawing her flush against me as I meet the Elder's withering glare head-on.
"Jenna is my mate, my partner in this life and the next. She is the other half of my soul, and I will spend every breath in my body cherishing and protecting her." A low growl rumbles in my chest, a primal challenge to any who would dare defy me. "This is my choice, my path to walk. And I will face whatever challenges arise with the strength and courage befitting an alpha of our pack."
