Standing in the familiar foyer of the Pine Moon Pack House, I watch as Omegas run around preparing a simple breakfast for all the wolves here. Everyone knows Valor is dead now, they all felt it when he took his last breath.
Tristan, Ashton, Rune, and I had stood where we were, the alarms blaring while we took in the fact Valor and Tanya were truly gone. That no one else in Pine Moon would be left feeling scared and hopeless. Tristan had helped Rune off of Valor’s body while Ashton came to stand beside me, my friend making sure that I was not left unprotected. We were left alone to our thoughts. That is until Riley came rushing to us claiming that wolves from Pine Moon had woken to the chaos of losing their Alpha and Luna.
Rune waved off Riley, my Mate looking numb to everything around him. In the end, I was the one to order Riley to shut off the alarm and handed him a USB that contained a pre-recorded message Rune and I made before leaving Crescent Phoenix. With a task at hand, Riley rushed away one more and the alarms were soon replaced with mine and Rune’s voices telling Pine Moon wolves to gather in front of the Pack House at dawn as their Pack has been conquered.
With that done, I made my way down to Rune and was instantly pulled into his arms. His face was buried in the crook of my neck where his mark lays and I just stood there, letting him breathe in my scent.
“It’s over?” He asks, his lips brushing against my mark and making me shiver.
“It’s over.” I confirmed, feeling his relief through the Mate Bone. No one would ever threaten us again.
Once Rune had regained his composure, our group of four took our time climbing down the staircase to the first floor. No one dared to stop us, not with the scent of their dead leaders' blood clinging to our clothes. They know we are the ones who conquered the Pack. Know that we will now become the rightful Alphas of Pine Moon. It did feel weird having people staring at us as we passed as the last time wolves from this Pack stared at me, I was being banished from Pine Moon.
As soon as we reached the first floor, all of the Omegas that went to hide in the basement were already gathered. Many had various wounds and bruises that I knew came from Valor and Tanya and the wolves that supported them. It was clear from the happiness and hope filling their gazes that no one was sad to see these horrible wolves go.
“Will you be our new Alpha and Luna?” Sarah had asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
“Alphas.” Rune muttered out, pressing a kiss to my temple.
“Brynlee and I will become the Alphas of this Pack.” News quickly spread of this declaration as the Omegas began to work. Many volunteered to clean up the mess on the fifth floor that we made when killing Valor and Tanya and for that I was grateful. The rest went to the kitchen to prepare a large yet simple breakfast.
“I see everyone is quite happy here.” Turning towards the open door, I find Asteria, Gale, and Avery walking inside. Asteria has a mix of emotions in her gaze as she looks around the foyer.
“They are happy the power-hungry bastard that led them are dead.” I state, Tristan letting out a chuckle.
“I will say for certain that you two will have a long road ahead if you want to change Pine Moon.” Tristan muses, giving my shoulder a bump with his. I sigh, knowing that my friend is correct, and turn to look out the open Pack House doors. Without warning, a bottle of apple juice blocks my gaze and I turn to find Rune watching me, concern in his eyes.
“Dawn comes in five hours. You should rest.” His voice is firm and for a moment I want to protest but the way Rune looks at me makes me think I will lose this argument.
“Only if you rest with me.” I reply, taking the bottle of apple juice and drinking it in one go.
“There is too much to do, Brynlee. One of us needs to be up to keep everything running smoothly.” Rune tries to argue but I take none of it. Grabbing his hand, I pull him with me towards the small sitting room on the left. I can feel everyone’s amused gazes while Rune follows me without any resistance.
“Brynlee, I need to work.” He sighs out. I just roll my eyes and ignore him until we reach the large couch in the room. Turning to face my Mate, I give him a pointed look before pointing at the couch.
“Sit.” I order, not giving him a choice in the matter.
“If you want me to rest, then you have to rest with me. If not, then we both work on reorganizing Pine Moon until dawn.” I state.
“You wanted Brynlee to be your equal, Rune.” I hear Asteria chime from the entrance to the sitting room, amusement in her voice.
“That means you can’t expect Brynlee to do something you’re not willing to do.” She adds, walking into the room and plopping onto an armchair. Rune finally relents and sits back on the couch. He groans as he moves to sit but reaches out and pulls me into his lap where I happily snuggle into his arms. Now that the adrenaline is gone, my body is now releasing the soreness that this operation has left in my muscles.
Rune’s eyes are closed, his head leaning back against the couch as Tristan and Gale file in. Gale is the one to inform us that Caspian left to find Odette after the prerecorded message played and Ashton went to find Devlyn.
“Delilah is asking if we can send a wolf to the dungeons to help with something.” Avery calls from the door, a frown on her face.
“What for?” Rune asks, his eyes still closed and his fingers drawing small circles on my back.
“They found records of ‘wolves’ who borrowed the Rogues in the dungeons for their own benefits. We want to match names to the faces.” She replies back, her voice tense.
“Take Sarah. She is an Omega here and knows everyone.” I decide to answer.
“You can find her in the kitchen.” Avery thanks me before her footsteps fade away. With a yawn, I ask Asteria how long until dawn comes, smiling when she tells us we have five hours. Our coup d'état on Pine Moon only took an hour to complete.
“Think we have enough time for a nap?” Tristan asks, flopping onto the other end of the couch.
“I think we do.” Gale groans out. I open my eyes to find him lowering his body onto another armchair and chuckle. We are all exhausted.
“I will tell Holten to keep an eye on things for now. All of us should get some rest before we face the crowd in five hours.” He adds, his words becoming distorted with a yawn. I agree, asking if someone can set an alarm for three hours from now as the feeling of Rune’s fingers drawing circles on my back lull me to sleep.