The Rejected Alpha's Vengeance

"Yes. if this is going to be hard on you, Rukiya, this is the time to get out. I know you think this is just us being maniacs again, but the white wolf has to be protected, and your mother is a danger to that. Trust me, if I am a risk to her, I would eliminate myself.

"If Mbali was, then she would eliminate herself. The rules are clear, and if you were the risk, then Hawi would have to kill you herself, given you made a blood oath with her and only she can break that connection. It\'s nothing personal, young Greyson," Malika explained softly.

She knew this wasn\'t going to be easy. Having one of them as a target was not something to toy around with and Malika knew that there were many others who would show up once Hawi took over officially as the white wolf.

If the seven were foreign to be a problem, then she needed to start finding out a way to them as soon as possible, otherwise they would be stuck in a loop of the impossible. That wasn\'t going to be an easy choice for anyone, and not at any time.

"I am not good at comforting people, Rukiya, perhaps that remains one of my \'redeemable\' traits. But I am telling you this early so that if you know that your mother died by my hands, you know why I did it.

"She is dangerous, especially if she can use her own child to try and thwart the fates. That is a really bold step and Hawi already lost her entire family to her. I can\'t let Hawi lose again. You are important to Hawi, so I won\'t let you die.

"But to do that… To protect my Mistress… I hope you understand and if you don\'t understand, then best believe me when I say it is nothing personal. I like you, but I have a duty to the white wolf and the realm," Malika added.

This was not going to be easy, but decisions had to be made.

"It\'s okay, I understand. What do we do about me? My mother thinks I\'m dead. What should we do about that?" Rukiya asked as she looked around. She could see the Greyson warriors with bowed heads, facing her memorial site.

She could see the silent tears falling down their faces, and it hurt her to know that they had to do this much before they got to the end of their path. Maybe there was a reason for this, a better purpose, something that could help her understand her mother.

Maybe she would find it when they got to the end of the road, right?

Hawi looked at her chosen mate.

She knew that this wasn\'t the easiest of choices for Rukiya and she wondered if it would have been easier for Rukiya if she wasn\'t bound to Hawi. There were so many complications and in moments like these, Hawi felt like she had ruined Rukiya\'s life.

"You\'re blaming yourself again, Hawi. Stop doing that," Rukiya said as she looked at her mate.

"No, I am not," Hawi said defeatedly. The woman she had chosen knew her a little too well and while that was supposed to be scary for someone like her, she felt like maybe, just maybe she finally belonged and someone cared just enough times.

"Don\'t blame yourself. I knew what I was getting into with the bond. Even if there was no blood oath, I still would have looked for you, Hawi. I fell in love with you, that\'s why I went looking. I wanted you for me, so don\'t you stand here contemplating the options.

"I made my choice, and I choose you. Whatever comes with that, I will accept. For better and for worse, sweetheart, always, and forever," Rukiya said as she gently brushed Hawi\'s cheeks.

They were cold but that didn\'t matter at the moment, as long as Hawi knew she didn\'t have to blame herself for everything that came by. They couldn\'t have that and they needed to get past that.

Granted, Hawi was always doing that, but then Rukiya had sworn to get her out of that blame cage, always.

And she was doing a better job with each turn of events.

"I love you too, baby," Hawi said, staring into her mate\'s eyes fondly, before kissing her forehead. Maybe she really hadn\'t made a terrible choice going in with Rukiya, yeah?

"So… about the blade that Rukiya was stabbed with, Hawi, you\'ll have to remove it, once we leave. That way, it will be easier to convince Razia that you did it on your own. That you saved her daughter and brought her back to life.

"She might not like it, but I bet she will do a good job acting. As for Mbali and I, we will build another camp, seeing as we told Her that the Clarksons are dead. The entire pack will be relocated, while we warriors will set up an invisible camp closer to Sicario.

"That way, we can use magic to investigate the warriors even more and trigger them to the worst of states,., not to mention we can see how Jer keeps stalling," Malika said and Hawi stared at her protector.

She had always known Malaika was loyal and ready to go over and beyond for her, but witnessing it was time made Hawi feel like she was loved. Malika was proving daily that Hawi was worth fighting for, and she was not alone.

"What are the Greyson warriors? They will need to know what happened," Mbali said after a long silence.

She had been listening and frankly each word that the trip spoke, made her want to seek out Razia Greyson and torture the information out of her. But then she wouldn\'t be that rash because of the stakes. Patience was something she wished she never trained for tonight.

"I will handle them. They trust Rukiya, so they will trust me. Besides, Ruru can tell them that I\'m the white wolf later on or tomorrow, it doesn\'t really matter when whatever happens, we can handle the Greyson warriors," Hawi said confidently.

She had been with these warriors to know how they thought and even if Rukiya wasn\'t here with them, she could have already figured out what to say to the Greyson warriors. It wasn\'t going to be easy, but they hadn\'t come this far just to quit.

"But Hawi… if Razia is one of the Seven as she claims… and we don\'t know who the Seven are or what they are capable of, other than the fact that they despise the white wolf… who\'s to tell that she can\'t see through the facade we are putting on?

"If she has magic, and it\'s that strong, is there a chance that she can see us here now? That she can feel her daughter\'s lifeline, or even know that we are pulling some prank here? I know I never worry about regular warlocks, but Razia is insane for this.

"It takes a special kind of madness to want your child gone in the name of a greater good that could probably mean a greater loss for you. I don\'t understand her and that\'s scary," Mbali asked the question that Rukiya had been having the whole time.

"Nothing can beat the magic of a protector, Mbali. Nothing. I let the blade pass and hit Rukiya," Malika admitted.