Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 41: 40

POV Savannah Bowen

My wolf was an animal, just like the wolf of each of them, pure and complete, but I could feel what she felt. She purred every time that son of a bitch was nearby, except for the last few days, since she sensed he had slept with Marilyn and began to despise him, thank God.

I cleared my throat and placed the glass on the table.

“She was satisfied,” I replied, half-lying.

The long-haired alpha let out a laugh.

“Satisfied?” he mocked. “I thought wolves were in ecstasy.” He placed his hand on his chest. “But I understand, it's not every day someone has the misfortune of mating with Fenrir Dăneşti.”

I opened and closed my mouth, not knowing how to react.

There was a certain... irony in his tone, as if he were doing everything to provoke Fenrir. I thought they were friends, all of them.

“At least, she’s still alive,” Fenrir shot back, giving him a fleeting smile.

The other alpha growled loudly, causing me to flinch, my wolf reacting to the fury of an alpha. And not just any alpha. He was powerful, like everyone else in the room.

I knew the dominance of an alpha, after years of living with my toxic father, but... not even him, Hunter, Caspian, or anyone I’d met, compared to anyone in that room.

Fenrir lunged forward at a dizzying speed and threw an arm around me, as if he wanted to protect me. It was a natural reaction of his body, something he did without even realizing it.

He bared his teeth, growling back.

The room fell into a deathly silence, all pairs of eyes on me and Fenrir, with a certain... curiosity and surprise.

The alpha who growled let out a booming laugh.

“And look at you, looking cute defending your female,” he mocked.

Slowly, Fenrir turned back to his chair but kept his arm around me. His eyes were fixed on the alpha in front of us, the golden glow reflecting in his irises but not taking them over completely, as it sometimes did.

“Lucian, behave yourself this instant,” hissed one of the elders. “How dare you threaten the female of one of our alphas, what disrespect is this?” He seemed furious.

Lucian shrugged and lowered his gaze, showing respect to the elder.

“I didn’t threaten... her, but rather, Fenrir,” he retorted.

“We will not admit, nor tolerate, actions like this again,” snarled the other, looking just as furious as the first.

More silence.

The contact of Fenrir’s skin against mine was... comforting. He was warm and smelled so good. My wolf was delighted he defended us. I held my breath, ignoring his closeness and how I felt... different, pleasantly so.

“Savannah, what can you tell us about Hunter?” asked the other alpha, with blonde hair. “By the way, my name is Konrad.” He smiled.

I chewed on my cheeks.

“I... I don’t know,” I confessed, licking my dry lips. “Hunter was one person throughout all the years we spent together. He only showed his true face on the day of the wedding. I have no idea who he is.”

This was one of the things that bothered me the most. No matter how much of a bastard Fenrir was, I knew him more than I knew my ex-fiancé. Fenrir was what he was, and that was that. He didn’t hide behind a mask to deceive anyone.

“Why does he want you back?” asked the other alpha, who was beside Fenrir. “And, I’m Jax, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He sounded sincere and polite.

“Revenge. Hunter killed my entire family when I managed to escape. He wants me back to finish his plan.”

The elder without eyes let out a sigh.

“This is a risk we cannot take. Now that you are mated to Fenrir, and your lives are intertwined, Hunter has become a huge problem.”

“You need to kill him, Fenrir. Him and anyone who dares betray you,” ordered the elder without ears.

“And what about you,” continued the elder without eyes, turning to the others as though he could see them. “It may not be a problem yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t become one. The invading wolves could reach your territories and kill your wolves.”

“I’ll increase my security,” said Konrad, throwing a look at Fenrir. “If you need anything, I’m available.”

“I’ll do the same,” agreed Jax. “None of them will dare step foot on my lands, and if they do, they’ll suffer certain death. Also, because of this affront, my dealings with any of the packs are over, no heat suppressants or other medicines for them.”

Oh, so the herbs belonged to his territory.

“It wasn’t even an affront to you,” hissed Lucian.

Jax shrugged.

“But it was an affront to Fenrir, and as my friend, the affront extends to me.”

Only then did I realize how comfortable Fenrir felt by his side, very different from how he acted when in front of the others. The guy never took his eyes off Lucian and Konrad, as though he feared one of them would attack me at any moment, but he didn’t act that way with Jax, he didn’t even look at his friend.

Just like with Anton, Alexandra, and Andrei, Fenrir trusted Jax.

“Alright, my son,” agreed the elder without ears. “The early death of the little wolf was an affront to all of us. Although it happened in Fenrir’s territory, it still affects us, after all, a pack attacked one of us and deserves to pay with death.”

I ran my palm through my hair, pushing it behind my shoulder.

I wanted to feel something about it, anything at all. Nausea, disgust, sadness, melancholy. I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. They were ordering the death of my pack, the packs I grew up in and spent my whole life with. And yet, I didn’t mourn.

I didn’t mourn the deaths of those who surrounded me my entire life because they didn’t deserve my compassion. Unfortunately, they were mirrors of the alphas who commanded them, and nothing could be done about it.

That was why they threatened to rape me while dragging me to Hunter; that was why they killed little Ruda, because no life was important enough to them.

Fenrir pulled his arm away but dragged his chair closer to mine, sitting so close that our shoulders touched.

I grabbed the wine glass and took another sip, feeling a little less nervous than before.

“Eat something, dear Savannah. Do you have a preference?” asked the elder without eyes, sounding kind.

I smiled in gratitude and picked up a piece of bread, feeling overly watched. All the alphas had their attention on me, and it wasn’t very comfortable.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Help yourselves, pups, the food will get cold.” said another elder, extending his arms. “I’m glad you’re all here, as well as the respective mate receiving her due respect,” he added, giving Fenrir a sidelong glance before turning to me with a friendly smile.

They treated the alphas like their pups, with love and care. I also noticed that the alphas respected them above everything else. The feeling was mutual; there was as much affection from the elders for the alphas as there was from the alphas for them.

For a few minutes, the only sounds were of cutlery and chewing, as we ate the banquet they had served.

I took as little as possible, feeling mortified. As if he had noticed, Fenrir placed more food on my plate without saying a word.

He was acting differently, perhaps dominated by his wolf with so many powerful alphas around us. It was his way of marking territory over me.

Salazar kept walking around, filling the empty glasses.

I finished the dinner feeling satisfied and much less nervous. The elders weren’t what I had expected. They were kind, caring, and helpful; they loved the wolves and their packs, caring for them and their well-being.

“Savannah, do you like sweets?” asked the elder without ears.

“Yes,” I confirmed, wiping the corners of my mouth with a cloth napkin before placing it next to my empty plate.

He smiled and snapped his fingers. Salazar immediately left the room.

“I had some chocolate desserts prepared for you. I heard females love chocolate.”

I blinked, surprised.

“Thank you.”

Salazar returned to the room carrying a golden tray with several small dessert plates. He placed them one by one in front of me.

“As we didn’t know your preference, we made one of each,” said the elder without eyes.

I felt... moved. It was one of the first truly kind gestures I had received since arriving in the Carpathians and getting involved with the wolves.

“That’s very... kind. I’m really grateful,” I whispered, my voice barely a breath through my choked throat.

“Don’t you serve sweets to your mate?” Lucian mocked.

Fenrir snorted and ignored him.

“At least, she’s an easy wolf to keep happy—just serve a little chocolate,” joked Konrad.

I picked up one of the plates made with chocolate and biscuit, resembling a salami. It had some walnuts on top, making it even more delicious.

The last time I got a sweet from someone was the birthday cake Selena stole for me. My throat tightened as I thought of my sister, and an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia hit me.