The Stargazer's Alpha

Ch. 29: Hero's Welcome

Blake nearly dropped me when the words so, I went to this bar left my mouth.

"You are an idiot!" he yelled. Then, even louder: "I'll disembowel Reed!"

I bumped his shoulder. "And orphan your nephews and nieces? Blake, please...there was no danger."

He growled, changing his hold on me to a more comfortable one. "No danger, she says...then why are my hackles raising?"

I glanced at his enormous neck, and he was right: the hair at the back of it was standing up. "Well, there was no danger at first..."

I filled him in, interrupted here and there by his groans, growls and threats to burn the Muck's to the ground. I finished my tale with, "So you see, if I didn't go, the rogues would have snatched me well before your return, while I was fruitlessly searching for my wolf."

"That you didn't find it," he said in a deadened tone, "doesn't mean the search was fruitless."

Oh, I found her, Blake, beyond the Moon Arch you forbade me to cross. Only, Blake had nearly died defending me and I was melting in his embrace, dizzy with his scent and warmth. For once, I wanted to avoid screwing things up and to use womanly wiles like my rival.

I threaded my fingers through his mane, crumbling away dried blood from it. "Blake, Scarlett is wicked and you can't mate with her. She'll ruin you...she doesn't like you, let alone love you..."

"Speaking of the devil," he growled like a grouchy bear—because he no longer seemed capable of speaking in any other way—and I reluctantly unglued my forehead from his clavicle sticking out of the soft bristles of his fur.

We were on the hotel's grounds—already!—in the garden, next to the stupid gazebo I had to scrub till it sparkled. The full Moon returned to its normal silver color after the eclipse. Untouched snow glittered on the flowerbeds. It seemed empty, but my nose caught what Blake'd sensed a split second before me.

Scarlett, yes, but also... "Goddess, no!" I wailed, as the garden lit up with a myriad of fairy lights and dozens of werewolves popped out of the gazebo, from behind the shrubbery and poured out of the service entrances.

"Surprise!" they hollered, unfurling a Welcome Home! banner.

Blake set me down, while transforming into a human. I took one look at him and gasped. There wasn't an inch of his formerly top-of-the-line clothes that wasn't torn or stained with blood. It rattled me far more on a man than it did on a fierce werewolf. I reached for his face. "Are you—"

He caught my hand and lowered it gently. "I healed."

Irritation washed over me—Goddess forbid anyone would see my tender touch! He was still maintaining the ruse that I meant as much as any other Omega to him—but I obeyed. Making a scene seemed like a wrong way to announce our fated match to the pack.

Scarlett glided down the path, flanked and followed by her biggest admirers. I glanced around—and sure enough, most everyone here was Scarlett's crony, save for Reed and Mie.

Happy with the stage and Blake's shift to a less towering human form, Scarlett stepped out into the bright light.

She opened her arms wide, to show off her white sable coat. Her fluffy hat was made of the same fur, sitting on her raven locks like a crown. Her cheeks glowed innocent pink of apple blossoms, her lips only had lip gloss, and her eyes sparkled with red joy. A pure snow-maiden's appearance, and a heart as black as any evil queen. But the werewolves couldn't see hearts. They saw the gilded surface.