Chapter 442

When Jackson and I come out of my room a little while later, in fresh soft clothes and all cleaned up, the party is in full swing. I laugh to see my family so heartily celebrating my homecoming, and my newly mated status, and Jackson’s addition to the family, and the end of the war.

But still, my wolf howls a little when it becomes immediately apparent that one little thunder cloud isn’t here, lurking in the corner and glaring around at everyone, pretending not to have any fun at all.

I sigh, leaning against Jacks and taking a long sip of my wine. He tightens his arm around my shoulder, looking down at me. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I say on a soft sigh, my eyes still moving over my wonderful, happy family. “Just…missing Junie. Wishing she was here.”

He hums his understanding and tightens his arm, sending a great deal of warmth and love and support down the bond. I smile up at him, truly appreciating that he doesn’t try to convince me not to be sad or worried for her. He just hears me, and understands, and wants to comfort in whatever way he can.

“Hey, I love you,” I say softly, my face breaking into a smile as I gaze up at him.

His own face breaks instantly from serious repose to happiness, such a drastic change that shifts his whole face from…well, frankly from terrifying to lovely. He grins at me, stroking a hand long over my still-damp hair.

“I love you too, tiny,” he says on a happy sigh. “Very much. Now come on, let’s go tell everyone the King of Atalaxia is dead.”

“You don’t think they know?” I ask, my eyes wide.

“It wasn’t on any of those tabloids,” he murmurs, ushering me into the room. “Who knows what the hell is going on. Let’s go find out.”

We join the warm, well-lubricated party and, to my great joy, four newcomers soon join us – two of whom I was expecting and two who are very much a surprise to me. I give Elias and Benny warm hugs and kisses, asking after Pippa – who truly is feeling her pregnancy at this point – before moving very quickly to the other two, curious about their presence. Jackson stays with Elias and Ben, wanting more details.

“Hi, Dr. Hank!” I say, laughing a little as I stand on my toes to hug the doctor, who is indeed quite tall for a human. “It’s so nice to see you! I didn’t know you were here!”

“Lucky coincidence, highness,” Hank says, returning my hug and giving me a warm smile. “I’m so, so glad you were able to return safe.” He steps back from me and turns a little, gesturing towards the young woman behind him who…

Well. Who certainly brings Juniper’s thunder-cloud energy, if perhaps with a slightly spicier vibe.

“You remember my daughter, Yes? Mary-“

“Maryam, of course!” I say, laughing and rushing forward to wrap Maryam in a hug.

“Whoa,” she says, laughing and stumbling back a step, hesitating before giving me a very slight hug in return and patting me on my back. “Enthusiastic as ever, Ariel. It’s nice to see you, I guess.”

I laugh a little, pulling away, a bit confused about this taciturn greeting from my childhood friend but…well, we haven’t seen each other in a long time, have we?

“How’ve you been?” I ask, beaming at her, a bit wide-eyed. God, Maryam sure did grow up well, didn’t she? She was always a bit of a plain kid, but now? With that tall, willowy figure that somehow also manages to have curves, and those dark, heavy-lashed eyes, and all that gorgeous hair flowing halfway down her back? Damn, is she a model now? I feel like I should be seeing her on the cover of every magazine.

“I’m fine,” she says, dry, giving a shrug. “Here under duress and protest.”

“Our beloved Maryam got suspended from her college for the rest of the semester,” Hank says, wrapping an arm around his daughter’s shoulders, mock proud. “She’s taking the time to think about balancing her priorities alongside her temper.”

“It wasn’t temper that got me kicked out,” Maryam says, leaning a little against her dad but keeping her eyes on me, her mouth quirking. “It was the institution’s inability to admit their complicity with genocide and pro-wolf politics at the expense of their human students.”

She gives a casual shrug as my eyebrows go up in surprise. But then my face breaks into a huge smile because as cold and critical as Maryam is…I don’t know! I just like her immediately.

After all, one rule breaker tends to quite like another.

“Cool!” I say, tucking my hands behind my back. “I left school for a little bit too. To like. Fight in the war and stuff.”

“I know,” she says, sighing and looking away like she hates to give me a compliment. “I think it’s…really cool that you infiltrated an all-male academy and kicked the assess of all the Alphas in there and also in Atalaxia. That was really badass, Ariel.”

“Thanks!” I say, perky, grinning at her.

She turns her face back to me, the corner of her mouth pulling up into a smile she can’t help. I wrinkle my nose at her and nod towards the room, inviting Maryam and Hank further inside.

The mood in the room stays high even as the conversation turns a bit, then, to more serious matters. The children, as they frequently do when they’re bored with us talking about politics and “adult stuff,” shift into their pup bodies and chase each other around the room, nipping and wrestling a little in the corners. I laugh as I watch them, not missing the fact that while Hank looks perfectly at ease with this, Maryam – sitting in the corner of the couch – watches with wide-eyed surprise.

Rafe settles next to her, offering her a drink that she just rolls her eyes at. He sighs and drinks it himself all in one go.

I snuggle close to Jackson’s side on a little loveseat, filling my family and friends in on all the details of my experiences in Atalaxia, which takes quite some time. Jesse, Ben, Jacks, and Elias jump in on the story too, elaborating with their perspective on the experiences. Dad and Roger listen closely to the close of the story, their glances at each other letting us know that they suspected that the King was dead but that they hadn’t had confirmation of it yet.

“Um,” I say, a little awkward, glancing down at my wrist. “Has there been any communication from…the royal family there?” I glance at Elias here, who likewise looks at my dad. “From Prince…um, from King Gabriel?”

“No,” dad says on a sigh, holding my gaze and then looking over at Elias. “Our army has the castle under siege but even without Gabriel’s magical ability to create a barrier they’re pretty effectively locked down.”

“Why don’t you just break in, guns blazing?” Jesse murmurs, sitting on the floor and leaning back against the armchair on which our moms sit, wedged in together. I smirk at Jesse, recognizing the languid way in which he’s talking, thinking that he’s sure enjoying his whiskey after so much yurt-life deprivation.

“Because,” Roger says, smirking at his son. “We’re not actually attempting to destroy Atalaxia or take it over. We don’t want to make it a part of Moon Valley, as was Atalaxia’s plan for Moon Valley if they won the war.” He glances at Elias here, who awkwardly hangs his head. Ben puts a warm and assuring hand on his back, making me smile.

“So, what are you trying to do?” Maryam snaps out. “Just…violence for violence’s sake?”

“Yes,” Jesse replies, baring his teeth at her for the fun of it. “We wolves just need blood – gallons of it every day –“

He stops and laughs when his mother scowls and smacks him over the head with the flat of her palm.

“We have plans,” my dad says, looking at Maryam with a soft smile, “to work with Atalaxia’s new King to establish better relations between our two peoples so that our nations can be mutually supportive in the future.”

“And the humanitarian crisis there?” Maryam asks, arching an eyebrow at the King, not backing off an inch. Rafe sits weirdly straight at her side, not looking at her, but every inch of him attuned to the conversation. I frown as my eyes pass over him because…why is he being so serious?

“We’re working very hard to solve that,” my mom says, her voice soft and pleased. All heads turn to her. “We’re sending crisis troops in now to help anyone who wishes to leave Atalaxia to do just that. But the ideologies under which Atalaxia exists are well entrenched; we can’t simply force people to see rights and culture the way that we do. They have to want to change.”

Maryam twists her lips to the side and nods, accepting this answer and the complexities it implies. She sinks contemplatively back into her pillows. Rafe, to my surprise, lets out a long relieved breath and takes another long sip of his drink – the one he’s refilled twice now.

My frown deepens as I study my brother because…honestly, why on earth is Rafe being so weird?