Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 65: 65

Since the damned moment we met and mated, he emphasized every second that he had an entire pack depending on him and that death was not an option. Not even the ritual to remove the mark did he question.

"Because when Miss Catalina died, he was ready to go to war, even if it meant losing his life."

"Well... he must have been devastated, losing his destined mate..."

"No, no," she interrupted. "His honor and duty were on the line."

"What do you mean?"

"A male’s job is to protect his female and provide her with everything she needs. With Miss Catalina’s death, Mr. Fenrir went into mourning. He felt he had failed his main mission," she explained.

"After the laws changed and we were prohibited from entering other territories, it took him years to take on all his responsibilities as a leader again. He stopped attending council meetings and definitely didn’t go to the lust parties. Jax was the only one who came and reported to him what had been discussed, keeping him informed," said Alexandra.

I blinked, my eyes widening.

"Lucian said he mourned for fifty years."

They nodded.

"It wasn’t exactly mourning, but it wasn’t not mourning either. He mocks the time Fenrir was absent," Alexandra hissed.

"That’s kind of cruel," I whispered.

They laughed.

"You'll find out, Sava, that the older the alpha, the crueler they become. Our kind of males tend to behave this way," she countered.

They returned to carving the figurines, while I stayed there, watching them. I was no good with crafts; my skills were limited to cooking, and that was it.

I ran a hand through my hair, tucking a strand behind my ear.

"How did Fenrir and Catalina meet?" I asked after a while.

"He had just turned one hundred when he saw her at a Beltane. She and her family, along with Marilyn’s family, had just arrived to join the Dăneşti clan. They fell in love almost immediately," Nicoleta told me.

"Catalina helped Fenrir raise the pack, creating rules that would keep us in order," Alexandra said. "Despite her arrogant demeanor, she did a good job alongside him."

"Still, the Dăneşti don’t feel grateful for her?"

She licked her lips.

"Her death nearly destroyed our alpha. Some resent her for that, while others blame her for not telling him about Cosmin."

"And yes, she helped a lot, but she kind of demanded something in return for everything she did, you know? It was like people were obligated to have eternal gratitude for her," Mihaela murmured.

"And she also knew they wanted to please Fenrir, so she used her position as the leader’s mate to get them to do whatever she wanted," Alexandra huffed.

I rested my elbows on the table and placed my chin on my hands, exhaling a frustrated breath.

"I don’t understand why they were so offended by that damn dress."

"Because, as I just said, they always want to please the leader. And as long as the leader doesn’t show respect or consideration for you, neither will any of them."

"There’s also the fact that Marilyn and all her sabotage. She wants everyone to think you're a terrible person, not fit for Fenrir," Mihaela asserted.

Alexandra laughed scornfully.

"Because, of course, she’d be perfect, right?"

I laughed.

"I don’t care about Marilyn, or Fenrir, and I don’t want to take Catalina’s place in the pack. I just want to live in peace and deal with the rest of my days the best way I can."

"I don’t think that’s an option," Mihaela said with a pout.

I narrowed my eyes.

"What do you mean, it's not?"

Nicoleta turned to me, a rosy hue appearing on her cheeks.

"Everyone felt his roar," she whispered, her voice barely a thread. "It was... desperate. I started praying, begging for your lives."

"It had been fifty years since we felt anything like that," Mihaela hissed.

Alexandra nodded.

As much as I had been hurt, I didn’t feel it had been that bad. Or was I wrong? Well... I felt weak and thought I was dying, but Fenrir arrived in time, and it was enough to help me.

"It must have been my injuries," I commented, twirling a strand of hair around my finger. "It hurt a lot, he felt my pain."

"It was more than that," Alexandra cut in.

"It wasn’t just physical... it was emotional too," Nicoleta hissed.

I opened my mouth to protest but fell silent.

My chest tightened. I straightened up, adjusting my posture on the chair. I quickly grabbed a piece of wood, pretending to be very busy with it.

"Is he coming?" Mihaela whispered.

I nodded, still keeping my eyes fixed on the object in my hands.

The door opened, and Fenrir entered, followed by Anton and Andrei. They stopped near the table. I felt the weight of his gaze on me. He walked over to my side, placed his hands on the back of the end chair, and leaned in, examining the figurines.

"As much as I love Samhain, I prefer Beltane," Andrei commented.

"And who doesn’t prefer it?" Alexandra joked.

I glared at him, still ignoring Fenrir.

"Is the party better?"

He shook his head.

"Almost the same. I just prefer it because of the reason it’s celebrated. While Samhain marks the beginning of winter, Beltane marks the beginning of summer," he explained.

I raised my lips into a smile.

"Well, then I’ll prefer Beltane too."

"Because of the lake?" Mihaela asked.

"Was it that obvious?"

"Quite," Alexandra agreed.

They laughed.

I wasn’t to blame if the lake and the solitude of my presence were too comfortable.

"I had our borders isolated," Fenrir declared. "There are more guards watching, with orders to kill anything that isn’t human."

I swallowed and raised my gaze to him, meeting his eyes for the first time since he arrived. I noticed turmoil within them.

"What if it’s a wolf from another territory of one of the packs here?" I asked.

I understood that he was trying to keep the people safe, but innocent people could die because of it.

"Then we’ll have even more reason to kill it," he declared resolutely.

"No one has the right to wander around," Andrei commented. "If any wolf from any pack, other than the leader, comes to us, they know they’ll find certain death. It’s a disrespect to our laws and the elders."