238

~Zegulf~

Walking over to the man who’s not handling the prisoner, I reach out my hand. “I believe you’re Alaric?”

“That’s me,” he says, his eyes flitting from me to the other men in the room as he takes my hand and nods his head at them.

“Zegulf,” I say, and give him a firm shake.

From the way he shakes my hand, I like him already. It’s firm, no sloppy handshake with him, and no power games. I can feel the respect he’s earned from his men and the respect for me.

I pull my hand back. “I want to thank you personally for assisting us.”

He smiles. “Thank you as well, from me and the pack.”

Good, now is the time to ask what he wants in return for offering us help. So, I do, but his reply gets my chest to constrict.

“Respect, Protection, and acceptance.”

Is he kidding me?  He seems like a loved and well-respected man. The loyalty from his men drips from across the room.

“I don’t understand,” I tell him.

“I have a son. He's a teenager. I want a union that will seal his fate as being untouchable.”

I clear my throat stiffly. “I don’t think I follow, Alaric. I do not have a daughter yet. Heck, I don’t even have my mate with me.”

Alaric turns to Declan and Dion, “I believe your Alpha does.”

Thick silence envelops the room. The only female child of Gaston Howling is the little girl, Oona, and I would rather cease to exist than even imagine trading her to a stranger for the sake of my own needs.

“No,” my voice sounds. “Not going to happen.”

Declan is already glaring at the man. But Clifton surprises us when he asks, “And what does my niece stand to gain from a family like yours?”

“Loyalty.” Alaric replies. “My generation will forever be loyal to yours. Your niece will be treated with love and respect. We will fight your battles, celebrate your wins, protect you from outside the walls of your pack-”

“What do you have?” Clif asks, interrupting him.

“Lands, wealth, power, loyal warriors-”

“And can you state this offer of yours to my Alpha?”

“Yes.”

Declan spins around to glare at his brother, but the latter taps his arm gently. From the look in their eyes, I have no doubt they’ve shut the rest of us out of whatever conversation they're having via a mind-link.

After a moment, Declan tips his head at Alaric, “Will you still be able to help with our mission if I tell you that your proposal will be received and given immediate attention by my Alpha?”

Alaric nods. “I can help until it becomes too long.”

I'm unable to understand why these men would want to consider such a ridiculous proposal. Not when it's quite obvious Alaric is doing neither of them any favors.

“Clifton…,” I call him, and before he can reply, I drag him away from others toward the entrance of the room.

“What the fuck! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

“Listen, Landerman, my brother and I can't offer much help from within these walls because we can't afford to be seen or recognized out there.  Your presence here is already raising concern as it is, and Golem Warssung has sent words across to the WVW council. Gaston is holding it down for you at the moment. So we need to wrap shit up, get your mate, and get out of here before shit blows over the roof.”

“Still, that doesn’t mean you should put your niece's future on the line.”

“I'm not.” He replies. “Gaston has the final say. I will speak to him, and if the proposal doesn’t sit well with him, then we’ll offer Alaric something else. Gaston's instruction to us is to do whatever it takes, and that is exactly what we’re going to do. After what your Beta told us happened last night, and then the death of Golem Warsunng’s son, you have very little time to wrap things up before Golem’s men come swarming like flies.”

He's right. But then, I feel a lot better that he's not making promises to Alaric without a set contingency plan.

 I groan internally, shutting my eyes as it dawns on me how much the Howling brothers have accepted me. It makes me speechless. I spot the shock on Brody and Xavier's faces as Clifton and I return to them.

When I turn to Alaric, He doesn’t cower under my gaze. At this point, I'm now seeing him as a man desperate to seal his son’s fate in the uncertain and unstable world we live in.

Sadly, I doubt Gaston would agree to such an arrangement. Who wouldn’t prefer their child to find their own mate and be with them? Unless I'm missing out on something, then I'm certain this request of Alaric’s is going to be thrown out the window the instant it's perceived.