Chapter 226: Rest for the Alpha

The old wolf had stopped struggling against the wolves blocking him. He was staring at his son’s body on the ground, his scarred face twisted in anguish, and his whole body was shaking.

"Greymaw."

The elder flinched at the sound of his own name.

"You have until tomorrow to say your goodbyes to the pack." Calis’ voice was flat. "After that, you and your son leave. You are both exiled."

Greymaw sank to his knees, and a sound came out of him that was somewhere between a gasp and a sob. His hands pressed against the ground, and his head dropped low.

He didn’t argue or even say anything, and it surprised Tera to see him look so defeated.

Silence hung over the pack at the heavy air.

Even the wolves who had been defending Tera minutes ago were quiet now. The victory they had felt was gone, replaced by the heavy, complicated grief of watching something that had needed to happen but still hurt to witness.

Some of the younger wolves looked at Girruk’s trembling body with expressions that mixed relief with unease. A few of the elders had turned away entirely, unwilling to watch Greymaw on the ground.

Tera felt the heaviness in the air, and while she wanted Greymaw gone, she still felt sad.

Only a little.

Someone with his mindset was very dangerous to have around, but that wasn’t what mattered now. Calis was wounded.

Tera slowly walked up to him.

Blood was running freely down his forearm.

She reached for his arm.

"Let me see that—"

Calis caught her wrist gently, stopping her hand before it reached the wound.

Tera looked up at him, confused.

"I need to do something first," he said quietly.

- ※ - ※ - ※ -

Everyone had returned to the main area where the females had been left behind.

Greymaw and Girruk had been escorted to the far edge of the territory by a handful of wolves, and the clearing shifted its focus entirely to their alpha when he turned to them with a serious expression.

Tera stood near a tree, feeling slightly out of place as their attention shifted to her from time to time as Calis told them he wanted to be her mate, along with how he cared for her.

In another situation, it would have been touching hearing a male profess his love for her, but it felt sad.

But something had stirred in her chest as he explained it plainly and without apology to his pack. Calis did not have an ounce of regret as he revealed those things to his wolves.

The females were evidently the most surprised, while the cubs were looking around at the adults, were confused and baffled as to why the adults were so serious.

One kept tugging at his father, and when that didn’t work, he smacked him across the cheek. And even that didn’t move the father.

As Calis continued to speak, he did something that made even Tera’s chest tighten.

He offered to step down. If any of the wolves were opposed to his decision, and if him being with Tera was something the pack could not accept, he would leave.

The reaction from the pack was instant and fierce, much to Calis and Tera’s surprise.

The wolves pushed back so hard that several of them spoke over each other. They did not want Calis gone. The females were the loudest, their voices cracking with emotion as they expressed not just acceptance but genuine happiness.

The younger wolves were right behind them, and a lot of them were even now looking at Tera and giving her more thanks than she had ever gotten from them before.

And it was to the extent that her head was dazed.

Their lives had changed completely over the past few months alone, and in ways they had never even thought were possible.

This dazed Tera because she had barely even done anything for them. Were they going to worship her feet when she eventually built their shelters?

The elders were the funniest of the bunch. They shifted their bodies like shy high school girls about to deliver a love letter and mumbled about how their lives when they were young seemed bland compared to what they experienced now.

The whole pack, with barely any conviction, had wholeheartedly chosen their alpha, and were even happy to have Tera as his mate.

Calis stood before them, surprised but silently happy about their full support. But there was still a hint of sadness behind his eyes that hadn’t lifted.

- ※ - ※ - ※ -

The stream near the farm caught the moonlight in long, silver ripples.

Tera knelt beside Calis at the bank, her knees pressing into the soft earth as she carefully rinsed the bite wound on his forearm. The water ran pink as it carried the blood downstream, and Calis watched it go with an unfocused gaze.

He hadn’t said much since they left the clearing.

Tera wrung out a dampened strip of hide and pressed it against the wound, dabbing gently around the punctures. The bite had been deep, and the skin around it was already swelling.

"You should have let me take care of this quickly," Tera murmured, more to herself than to him.

She pulled a broad herb leaf from the system storage and pressed the flat side against the wound. The leaf was thick and waxy, and the juice from its surface would help prevent infection.

Calis looked at the leaf on his arm with quiet puzzlement but didn’t complain.

Tera smoothed the edges of the leaf down.

A faint smile crossed his face before fading into something heavier. The exhaustion was catching up with him now that the adrenaline had drained away.

Greymaw had been his mentor, and a close friend of his father’s. And it was also the same male that had tried to destroy him tonight.

He and his son had been scheming against him for weeks, and Calis hadn’t seen it.

Or maybe he had, and he hadn’t wanted to believe it.

Tera had a feeling of what he was thinking about, and she guessed the betrayal from Greymaw hurt that ran deeper than the bite on his arm.

She shifted closer and gently guided his head down until it rested on her thighs.

Calis stiffened with surprise.

"What are you—"

"Shhhh. Quiet."

Tera’s fingers threaded into his hair, and the first slow stroke along his scalp made his body melt.

Her fingers traced through his dark, shaggy hair, working through the tangles with slow, patient strokes. She scratched lightly behind his ear, and it twitched once beneath her fingers before going still.

"You did well tonight," she said softly.

He didn’t respond. Then Tera noticed he had already fallen asleep.

Tera stared down at him, genuinely shocked.

It had barely been four minutes since she had put him in her lap, and it was almost like the moment his head touched her lap, he was out cold.

She smiled gently.

The feather his father had worn was hanging in her hair, swaying gently with each movement of her hand.

She reached up and touched the one in her hair, and her chest slightly ached.

The wolves needed a break after going through so much. Many of the beasts here did.

[Host’s time is up]

[(?o?o?)]