Don’t Poke the Luna Chapter 252

Xena’s POV

"Okay." I expected him to hold my hand as we walked inside, however, he came over and grabbed my thighs. Somewhat caught off guard, my arms went around his neck as my ankles locked behind him.

"That's better," he grumbled as he carried me inside. His tongue was remembering just how I liked it. Going down my neck, he left little nibbles. I was so lost in how good it felt that I didn't even realize we had made it to our room until he slammed the door shut and locked it.

No one was even here but it might have been out of habit or just in case.

"I'm sorry, this won't be gentle or slow. I'll make it up to you," Ryder tossed me down on the bed. He was standing over me, just looking at me.

"Good," I said. Sitting up, I pulled on his drawstring and let his shorts fall.

To say I was sore was an understatement. Ryder had delivered on his promise that this wouldn't be gentle. I didn't mind. The physical reconnection was something I needed. He was mine, and I was his. The only man I would ever let touch me. This intense reconnection wasn't just physical—it was spiritual.

We were just getting ready to head out. There was a lot to discuss but yet so little. After Logan had dropped that bombshell on us, the possibilities were immense. We needed to clean out Darkthorn Pack, get rid of any sensitive information.

Logan wanted to meet us there, have all the women take whatever they wanted from their houses. They could request to stay there or abandon it completely. We would all understand either way. If they had mates, they were required to live in the pack house, or until the men could show how to properly treat a mate. Ultimately, it was up to the woman to decide whether to stay or reject them. Everyone needed to receive some therapy to make sure they weren't being coerced. I had a feeling most, if not all, of the women would be requesting new housing.

Additionally, all women and men could choose which pack they wanted to join, and even had the opportunity to apply to join another pack. There were some packs in America whose Alphas had the same reputation as Wiley. I was concerned some women would leave to join those packs, taking their mates and children with them. Ultimately, I knew this wasn't something I could completely intervene in—it was up to the women's decisions. This sense of powerlessness frustrated my need for control, but I knew true freedom meant the right to choose, even the wrong choices.

Everyone had already been notified of these options, and when we arrived at Darkthorn Pack, we should have a good idea of who was going where, or at least by the end of the day.

"What did you do with the warriors?" I asked as we walked toward the car.

"They each fought with me, did several different training exercises," Ryder sighed.

"What about Darkthorn Pack's warriors?"

"They're being punished with whips and will be brought out in handcuffs. Either defend themselves or be killed. Their choice."

"Where are they now?" I asked through the mind link as we pulled out of the garage to meet Logan.

"Our warriors went to pick them up this morning and brought them over. They're already at the pack, chained to posts."

"This is going to be a long day," I sighed. "I hate this part of the job."

"Me too, sweetheart. Me too."

"So you've settled on that nickname for me?"

"Seems like we had that conversation a lifetime ago," Ryder chuckled. It really did feel like a lifetime ago. After all these life-and-death events, those small relationship milestones seemed both insignificant and precious.

"I know. I wish I could convince Logan to open the club tonight."

"I think he'd agree to it." I could feel a bit of excitement from Ryder.

"Is the community center construction finished?" I asked.

"Actually, it is. Finished last week. I've already arranged for the housing department to have them."

"When did you do that?" I asked in complete surprise.

"A few days ago. I got their email, and we needed more housing anyway, so it worked out well."

"It's nice when things go smoothly," I said, looking at Darkthorn Pack's walls. "I don't think I've ever been here before."

The border wall was completely brick, about eight feet high. Wrought iron metal gates opened for us, with very high-tech cameras at every corner. The trees had been dense all the way until we reached a clearing. Everything was dark. A dark gray pack house sat in the middle with a black roof. There were no plants or greenery anywhere. It was either concrete or metal. My heart immediately broke for those kids.

I finally understood the despair that the people living here had experienced. This wasn't a home—this was a prison. No life, no beauty, just cold control. It made me even more certain we were doing the right thing.

People were going in different directions. Piles of furniture, clothes, blankets, and almost everything else had been thrown out. I saw gasoline cans and torches on one side and knew their intentions. I wasn't opposed to this. What surprised me was seeing William sitting on the steps.

"What are you doing?" I shouted as I got out of the car. Even Ryder was confused.

"I'm not spending another day in that place. Men need fresh air," William tried to stand up, but Ama kept him firmly seated.

"Don't get up. You should be in bed."

"I have my wolf and am healing well. I'm just sitting here watching other people work," William laughed but winced in pain as he bent over.

Seeing William so stubborn, I couldn't help but smile. This need for freedom, I completely understood. Sometimes you'd rather endure pain than feel trapped.

"If you don't start relaxing, I'll drag your ass back to the hospital!" Ama scolded him, and the women passing by tried to hide their laughter. Ryder and I went up the stairs and into the depressing house.

The whole place was spotless but looked like something from a horror movie. The stained glass windows were actually beautiful in a terrifying way. I didn't want them destroyed, but I didn't want to keep any memorial of this place. However, preserving them and putting them in a women's shelter or something similar would be the ultimate "fuck you."

"What are you doing?" Ryder asked. I hadn't realized I'd stopped walking.

"Those stained glass windows. They're beautiful in some way. I'm considering whether I want to keep them, use them to design..."

"That's not your worst idea," Ryder interrupted, grabbing my right hand and pulling me down the hallway. The office door was open, and we could hear Penelope and Logan talking.

"...complete mess! A man who wants women to stay neat, and he's a pig!"

"I see things are going smoothly here," I said, not hiding my smile as I walked in.

"This is all yours!" Penelope had hair sticking up in all directions.

Seeing the strong Penelope defeated by a pile of files was somewhat amusing. She was always so organized, so in control—seeing her a bit chaotic actually made her seem more human.

"Big bad Penelope has a situation she can't handle?" I teased.

She put her hands on her hips and glared at me. This was something she'd never done before. "It was organized when you gave it to me. This is just..." she waved her hands around like a maniac.

"I'll handle this. I heard the kitchen needs help deciding what food to keep and what to throw away," I gave her an out.

"You know what!" She was getting a bit hysterical now. "I'll go do that!" She stomped out, and I could only look at Logan.

"She's a bit overwhelmed right now," he looked tired just from listening to her.

"We really do need your help though."

"I got it. You move," I said, pushing his chair away.

"Thanks, sis," Logan stood up and walked toward Ryder.

"You guys figure out who's going where and keep dealing with the warriors. This might take me a while. Get Ama in here when she's not yelling at William anymore."

"All the women are yelling," Logan sighed.

"I haven't yelled yet!" I pretended to be offended.

"'Yet' is the key word," Ryder muttered. I looked down slowly, then raised my eyes dramatically. Logan laughed and rushed out of the room, while Ryder just smirked but came over to give me a kiss.

"Get your ass out of here," I fake-complained as I started going through the paper files.

Working alone, I entered my focused state. Going through these files, I found everything. The paper trail of his attacks on our pack. How he planned to level it and what he wanted to do with the land. There were entire files about the different businesses he owned and what they did. Most of these would go back to the banks, and it would be up to them to decide whether to sell or shut down operations. If only I could have gotten all this information a week ago.

More than once I heard something from the window that made my curiosity burn, but the anger I felt from Ryder told me I actually didn't want to see. My instincts told me what was happening outside was serious, probably brutal.

Ama found several boxes for me, and she was putting files into them. I was finishing saving different content to flash drives before deleting everything else.

Eventually, the sun began to set and it was getting late. "How's it going?" Ryder and Logan asked as they walked through the door.