A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 7

Cole exhaled slowly, his eyes narrowed. “This isn’t going to be easy. Some of the council already think we gave too much in the negotiations. If they think you let sentiment or desperation make this decision…”

“It wasn’t desperation,” I said firmly. I can’t believe Cole of all people would believe I made such an important decision out of desperation. “It was strategy. If I refused, it would’ve collapsed the treaty on the spot. They offered an alternative, and I took it. I couldn’t afford to make enemies in that moment.”

Irene ran a hand through her hair. “Are you really ok with this?”

I looked at her.

“That doesn’t matter.”

She scoffed. “It will. Especially if the elders think she’s a consolation prize.”

“She’s not,” I said quietly, more to myself than to them.

Because even now, hours after the ceremony, my mind kept circling back to the strange calm in Faye’s eyes, the strength in her voice, the way she didn’t flinch when the mark burned into her skin. She hadn’t asked for this, but she didn’t run either, she brave.

She wasn’t Sage. And maybe that was the point.

Cole was still looking at me like I’d completely lost my mind.

If there was anyone, apart from Irene, who could speak to me without holding back, it was him…and not just because he was my beta. We’d been through everything together since we were boys. He didn’t need permission to question my decision.

“You have no idea what’s coming, Alpha Alexander,” he said, his tone sharp with disbelief. “The elders are going to flip. You made a decision they were supposed to be consulted on, and you didn’t even give them the courtesy of a heads-up. That alone is bad. But if this gets out to the pack…”

I didn’t respond at first. I understood where he was coming from, I had already thought about it all through last night after the ceremony. I met his stare squarely.

“I’ve mated with her, Beta Cole,” I said firmly. “The bond is sealed, and there’s no going back now.”

Cole sighed under his breath and shook his head like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. I turned to Irene, half-hoping she might see it from my side, but her brows were drawn together, lips tight. I guess I’m on my own.

“You know this isn’t going to sit well with the council,” she said. “They’ll see it as a broken promise…Sage was the one chosen, and even though Faye is her twin, that doesn’t change the fact that you were promised someone else. And then you went ahead with the mating without their blessing? Alexander, you know how they are. What were you thinking?”

“I know all that, Irene,” I said.

Irene exchanged another look with Cole. Neither of them seemed convinced.

“And like Cole was trying to say, even if you can get the elders to swallow this, you’re not thinking about the pack. If word spreads—and it will—they’ll see Faye as nothing more than a replacement. That’s not something you can control just by barking orders.”

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify