Chapter 226

Theodore’s POV

The five of us sat tensely in a private room in a corporate looking building next to the Town Square in Darkmoon.

Riley and Violet were going over the finer points of her speech together. It felt like every day, we learned that kid had yet another talent that was proving extremely useful.

As we were in the middle of the first week of Dahlia and Kincaid’s honeymoon, the two others in the room were their seconds: Colby and Sinclair. Those two were focused on our surroundings, on the sounds of the amassing crowd outside, on the locked door assuring our privacy in this room.

But all of us were on edge after Violet’s hallucination a couple nights ago.

Speaking of Riley’s talents, it had been him who had heard Violet’s screaming and come running. Sinclair and Colby got to our bedroom eventually, after Violet had come back to us. When they had appeared in a calm rush at our bedroom door that Riley had left open, eyes quickly assessing the blood on my neck, on Riley’s belly, on Violet’s hands, I had only yelled at them.

“Get out!”

It had occurred to me in that moment that we hadn’t thought to tell them about Violet’s hallucinations before Dahlia and Kincaid left. That Lily was staying in Darkmoon to watch over Olivia. That I was the only here who understood what the hell had just happened.

But, like good seconds to their Betas, both Colby and Sinclair hesitated at the sight of all the blood.

“That’s an order from your king!” I bellowed. They finally nodded once and disappeared down the hall. I stood up to close the door, sagging against it as I slid back to the ground, all three of us trying to catch our breath.

Then I let myself process what had happened.

The way I had woken up to Violet strangling me in our bed, even as she screamed in terror. The blinding lights that flicked on overhead when Riley burst into our room, lunging to rip Violet off me. The snarl that escaped her as she swiped her wolf’s claws at Riley’s belly while I gasped to regain breath.

The terror in my mate’s eyes while I pinned her down, while she fought me in a panic that was the only thing giving me an edge over her, while she screamed unrelentingly, eyes unseeing as I yelled her name, yelled that I loved her, desperately trying to break through the hallucination that had sunk its teeth into her.

It was the first time it had come for her in her sleep. How the hell were we supposed to protect her from that?

That night, we told Riley everything about her unstable magic. He deserved to know why he had had to fight his High Queen off his King. And we needed another set of hands to help pull her out of any future hallucinations while Kincaid and Lily were away.

We never explained it to Sinclair and Colby though. Knowing that something had happened, that we were keeping something from them, had put a distance between us and our Beta’s seconds that was growing more uncomfortable with time. We hadn’t figured out how to fix that yet.

The day after her hallucination, yesterday, Violet donated the new, pale blue couch we had selected together for our bedroom to Mel Rimanea. She replaced it with a pale yellow one instead – one that I had expressed preference for previously. I worried she had made the replacement for me until I watched the haunted expression on her face as they hauled the blue one away.

I didn’t ask for a reason. I decided she would tell me if and when she wanted to.

That hadn’t happened yet.

“It’s time,” Sinclair said to Violet, one hand on his ear as if he had just received a message in his earpiece. Violet nodded and rose to her feet.

Hand in hand, my mate and I walked out into the crowded Town Square, Sinclair and Colby holding people back to form a path for us as we made our way onto the platform. Only Sinclair followed us up there, retreating to the background, while Colby monitored the stairs. Riley remained next to the platform, watching us from the sidelines.

Violet let go of my hand while she stepped up to the microphone, and I stayed a step behind her. She didn’t ask me to stay behind her, though there was a slight societal expectation that I would – mostly because all the High Kings that came before her were pompous, selfish assholes.

I did it out of deference though. She had earned this spot, and I didn’t want to ask her to share it.

She updated her people, who had been her people since before she’d been crowned, on the updates to the many projects she had started in Darkmoon: the roads, the libraries, and the Town Square in which we stood. She announced the launch of the Rogue Finder site for those who wished to reconnect with loved ones.

“Finally,” she declared, “as I’m sure you can all understand, I stand before you to announce the new Alpha of Darkmoon. I’ve worked very hard to develop a relationship with as many of you as possible here in my home territory. It was not lightly that I chose who would be its next protector and champion.”

I sent love and strength through our magical bond.

“Change can be challenging, but if you trust me as your leader, please trust my decision to appoint Olivia Bronson as your next Alpha and give her a warm round of applause as we welcome her to Darkmoon.”

Violet stepped back from the microphone as Olivia Bronson joined us on stage. In the background, Lily winked up at us from where she stood next to Riley.

Violet and Olivia hugged on stage to the sound of the audience’s applause, and I forced a smile on my face as I hugged Olivia next. Violet and I held hands again as we stepped into the background on stage while Oliva approached the microphone.

The voice I heard then was a voice I had never heard. Sure, it was Olivia Bronson’s voice, but it had lost the edge and venom I had known before. Her tone was grateful, her words humble, though her body language was just as elegant as it had always been.

She spoke of the great honor it was to follow in Violet’s footsteps, of the gift it was to have someone so wise believe in you. She spoke of childhood dreams to leave the world better than she found it, acknowledging her own imperfections and hoping to improve together as a pack.

She said many things, but most importantly, for the first time in my life, I believed every word she said.

Then she turned and reached back for Violet. My wife let go of my hand to clasp Olivia’s as she stepped up next to her.

“I cannot fathom,” Olivia’s voice boomed through the speakers, “how blessed by the Goddess I must be to have inherited such an incredible territory from someone leaving it to me in better condition than she found it. I will make it my life’s mission to serve all of you and to be worthy of my title as your Alpha as we continue Queen Violet’s legacy here in Darkmoon.”

Applause sounded at that, much louder than I was expecting. I hadn’t been sure how these people would respond to Olivia Bronson as their new Alpha. So far, they seemed convinced by this new version of her as much as I was.

“Starting with this,” Olivia concluded. “Welcome to the first ever Town Square Community Event. I hope everyone enjoys this important time to gather and enjoy life together.”