A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 8

A knock at the door jolted me awake.

I blinked, disoriented. My muscles were stiff, my shirt rumpled. I must’ve passed out the moment I sat down, and the dimness in the room told me evening had already arrived. The trip had taken more out of me than I thought.

The door creaked open and Cole stepped in. “Alpha Alexander, the elders are waiting,” he said evenly.

I glanced at my watch. Shit…I’d meant to rest for ten minutes. Apparently, my body had other plans.

“Let them know I’m on my way,” I said, pushing myself off the couch.

Cole gave a small nod and exited, closing the door behind him. I stood for a second, willing my thoughts to align. Then I headed to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and splashed cold water on my face. I stared at my reflection for a moment, the water dripping down my jaw.

No time to dwell on anything now. The elders would be waiting with their arms crossed and their judgments sharpened like blades.

The Blood Crescent elders had to be the most petty, paranoid, and power-hungry council members you can imagine. Even my father, the previous Alpha—gods rest him—struggled to maintain control over them. But I wasn’t my father. I had my own way of keeping wolves in line.

By the time I made it down the corridor and entered the council chamber, I could already hear the low, agitated murmurs, and I wondered if gossip had already reached them that I returned alone.

The moment the door opened and they saw me, the noise died as if someone had flipped a switch.

“Alpha Alexander,” one of them greeted formally.

“Elders,” I acknowledged with a curt nod and walked to my seat at the head of the long table, and the rest of them took their seats too.

I didn’t waste time. “You all know the reason for my trip to Silver Hollow,” I began, leveling a hard gaze across the room. “I went to claim the mate promised to me since the alliance agreement.”

A few of them leaned forward, while others stilled, waiting.

“Upon my arrival,” I continued, “I was informed that the girl, Sage…had already given herself to another, which meant she was no longer qualified.”

The reaction was immediate.

“What?”

“How dare they!”

“That’s an insult to our pack!”

“So Alpha Damian spat on the agreement and thinks we’ll just accept it?”

I raised my hand. “Let me finish.”

The noise died, though I could see the tension, tightening jaws and clenching fists.

“In response,” I said, “they offered me the twin sister, Faye.”

An elder, Brayden, scoffed. “So we were insulted, then mocked. They offered the spare…what a joke!”

“They dared assume we’d accept a lesser offering?” snarled another.

I remained composed. I’d predicted this word for word, so I wasn’t even surprised, or bothered in the real sense of it.

“This is beyond disrespect,” Brayden added, his voice rising. “This severs the alliance.”

Cole, standing just behind me, spoke up, his tone even. “Perhaps the Alpha should be allowed to finish.”

“Unless he’s about to say he burned Silver Hollow to the ground, I don’t want to hear it,” muttered a wolf named Garrick.

I’d had enough. “There will be no war,” I said sharply. The room went quiet.

“No retaliation,” I added. “Because I accepted the offer.”

Silence took over the entire room.

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