The Alpha King's Heart novel · Chapter 24 of 24
Chapter 24: In Her Hand
The old wolf stood at the head of the table at dawn, leaning on his cane.
The hall was so full that people stood on the stairs outside.
"I will say a thing now that I have not said for five years," he said. "Then I will vote."
The King sat with his hand open on the table, and I stood beside him, and through the bond I felt him brace.
"Wycliffe wrote that parley order in front of this council," the old wolf said. "Every one of us on the old side of this table signed a copy of it."
A sound went up from the gallery.
The white-bearded wolf did not lift his head.
"We knew the world would burn if it came out," the old wolf said. "So we needed a different villain. A human blaster, a man who could never answer back, was the best we could have."
My hands closed.
"The blaster died in the first raid on this town. I let the story be told about him after, because a dead man cannot argue. I wanted the story to be about him, not about us."
"And the town?" I said.
My voice did not sound like mine.
"We sent Strake to take it. We told him it was vengeance. He believed it. So did the town, until you."
"And my father?"
"Strake's wolves reached him that first night," he said. "I did not order that. I did not stop it, either."
Behind me, Mom made a noise I had never heard from a person.
I walked down to the floor.
I stopped in front of the old wolf, close enough to see the gray in his eyes.
He was not a big man anymore.
"He was alive for two hours," I said. "Behind the bakery. I held his head."
"I know."
"I shot him because no one came."
"I know that, too."
"What do you want me to say?"
"Nothing," he said. "I want you to hear that it was not your family that made this town. It was mine."
Keep reading free with an account. Start The Alpha King's Heart from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend