Word reached the pack that Alpha Kent Rickson had died of a heart attack at fifty one. Kevin was overjoyed. Finally, he could chase what he'd wanted since he was a boy. An alliance, a peace, an end to a war neither he nor Devon had asked to inherit. But underneath the relief, the ache in his heart twisted, sharp and unwelcome. With a hint of fear. His mate belonged to the enemy pack. He had his doubts. But the pain confirmed it. His mate was mourning. Their pack Alpha. The thought should have soured the moment. Instead it made his decision feel more right than ever. If his own mate lived among the Rickson's then peace wasn't just convenient. It was necessary. But was wanting it enough to undo centuries of blood on both sides?
He thought Devon would believe so- his friend had always been naive enough to believe in impossible things. But Kevin wasn't sure about the others standing behind him. Celine, Devon's sister, wore a permanent sneer like the mere existence of his pack offended her. But more than that he feared the White Demon with empty red eyes. People like that didn't want war to end. They want more of it.
Still, Kevin held onto the hope that he would get Devon alone long enough to talk. That would be enough to start. He was tired. Bone tired from years of fighting a war. And rogue attacks on both borders were increasing. If Nightshade didn't find allies soon, there wouldn't be a nightshade left to save.
The news spread through the territory. Some celebrated. Some mourned their families who died at the enemy Alpha's hand. Most simply carried on with their work, because his death changed nothing about the patrols routes, or hunger.
Kevin stood at the balcony outside his office, watching wolves move through the training grounds below. Young pups chased one another with sticks twice their size while the older warriors barked corrections from the sidelines. Beyond them, hunters returned with two deer slung over a pole, laughing despite the exhaustion etched into their faces.They looked normal. But sometimes the patrols returned with another report. Another missing scout. Another attack. News about another pack disappearing.
Their pack had been bleeding slowly for years. The outsiders won't notice. But every winter grew harsher than the last.
"Alpha."
Kevin didn't turn. His beta stepped beside him, folding his arms over the balcony railing.
"So it's true."
"It is."
"Killed by his own heart."
Kevin gave a humourless laugh.
"Funny isn't it? Fifty years of surviving battlefields only to lose to old age"
Noah snorted.
"A heart attack isn't exactly old age."
"For an Alpha?" Kevin shrugged. "Close enough. Battles age us faster."
Silence settled between them.
"You are thinking about him."
Kevin didn't bother pretending. Years of fighting together had made them trust each other with everything.
"Devon."
"I figured."
Still, Kent was dead. Devon would become Alpha. If there had been a chance to end the war. It was now. Kevin was done burying his pack brothers for this war. He intended to speak to Devon. If they could survive one last battle first.
A few days later it was just another battle on another stretch of rocky ruined plain. His mate was here. Kevin felt it the moment he stepped onto the field. It wasn't just wishful thinking. It was a certainty. Among the hundreds of White Lotus wolves waiting across the plain stood the person the moon had chosen for him. He had searched for years. But four hundred enemy wolves were simply too many faces to remember. Too many scents tangled together beneath blood, dirt and adrenaline. He never had the luxury of stopping long enough to search properly.All he had was the pull.Heavy and Restless.Whoever they were, they were strong. The ache rarely flared with serious injury.He only hoped he'd find them before this pointless war stole them from him.
Generations fighting over a grudge that belonged to some dead men.
Then Devon found him. The massive brown wolf charged over broken stone. Kevin met his attack halfway. Then Devon hesitated, their eyes met. Long enough for Kevin to understand. Today. They would end it today. A silent message passed between them.
Kevin lunged first and Devon yielded the opening. Their movements slipped naturally into the familiar rhythm they had perfected over years. Enough violence to satisfy the watching armies. Then something white flashed across Kevin's vision. He turned. Steven. His elder omega brother laid crumpled across the stone, already forced back into human form, blood staining the ground beneath him. And standing over him was the White Demon. A bolt of pain tore through Kevin's side. It was his mate's. But he didn't have time to care. All he saw was the Demon standing over the person he'd sworn he would protect.
Kevin ran as fast as he could. The white Demon didn't strike. Instead he staggered. Steven struggled to move beneath him. Then a snarl forced him flat. Almost akin to an Alpha's snarl. The white Demon backed away.
A brown wolf reached Steven. An Alpha's aura rolled off her fiercely. Steven stared. His voice barely audible.
"Mate."
Everything stopped. And Celine's expression changed in an instant. She undid her shift. Someone tossed her a cloak. She wrapped it around herself and took another for Steven. Then lifted him in her arms. She never looked away from him, not even once.
Kevin reached them just as Devon arrived beside him. They shifted and covered their bodies with cloaks their packs threw at them
Behind them, both armies had fallen silent.
"Evan," Devon said sharply. "I told you to stop being reckless. You'd have ruined any chance we had at peace."
The White Demon stood still in his wolf form. His crimson eyes remained fixed on Celine.
"Offer your peace, brother," Celine said quietly, adjusting Steven against her shoulder. "I'm taking my mate home."
Steven looked at her as though she'd hung the moon.Kevin almost laughed.
His elder brother had found his mate in the middle of a battlefield.Only Steven could manage something like that.Devon looked at him.Not as an enemy, as the boy Kevin had once raced with him through forests and laughed beside waterfalls.
"Please," he said.
Kevin looked across the field.
At Stephan. At Noah. At the exhausted wolves behind him.
"So," Kevin said at last, a tired smile tugging at his mouth, "you still haven't changed."
Then he glanced toward Steven, who was still staring at Celine.
"You expect me to discuss peace while my little brother is busy falling in love in front of two entire armies?"
Several wolves coughed into their paws which sounded like growls. Even Devon looked away for a second.
"Celine," he sighed. "Give him back."
"You can't make me."
"I can. I'm your Alpha now."
She rolled her eyes, kissed Steven's forehead anyway, then reluctantly helped him back onto his feet.Stephan was already there to steady him.
The three Nightshade brothers stood together once more.
Devon walked toward Kevin.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then Devon held out his hand wearing the same earnest expression he remembered. Exactly the same as it had been when they were children.
Kevin took it.
And for the first time in years, two armies walked away from the battlefield without adding another name to the dead.