Chapter 32 Gio's Gambit
Jolie pov
Ryder finds me in the garage after sunset. His expression tells me this isn't a social visit.
"We need to talk." He jerks his head toward his office. "Now."
I follow him through the compound, aware of pack members watching us pass. Inside his office, Cass is already waiting, along with Doc and Knox.
"Sit." Ryder gestures to a chair.
I sit. "What's going on?"
Cass slides a tablet across the desk. "Your brother's been busy."
The screen shows a news article from a wolf-run website. The headline makes my blood run cold: "Nightshade Alpha's Sister Displays Miraculous Healing Abilities."
"How" My voice fails.
"Someone from the pack leaked the secret." Knox leans against the wall. "Probably got paid well for the information. Word's spread through every pack within five hundred miles by now."
I scroll through the article. It paints Gio as the concerned older brother, worried about his sister who ran away from home and fell in with dangerous rogues. Claims he only wants to help me "reach my full potential" and bring me back to the family that loves me.
It's masterful manipulation. And it's working.
"The comments are worse." Doc takes the tablet and pulls up a different section. Hundreds of wolves discussing my abilities, speculating about bloodlines, arguing about whether rogues should be allowed to keep someone with healing powers.
"The Council's has taken notice." Cass's voice is grim. "Three Alpha families have already reached out to Gio, offering support. They're calling for a formal hearing to determine your custody."
"Custody?" The word feel hollow. "I'm not a child."
"In Council law, unmated wolves belong to their birth pack." Ryder's hands curl into fists on the desk. "Family blood takes precedence over pack bonds. Gio's using that law to claim legal rights to you."
The room spins. "He can't"
"He can." Cass pulls up another document. "According to this motion, the Nightshade Pack formally requests the return of their member, Jolie Rys, for purposes of protection and proper training in the use of her abilities."
"It's bullshit." Knox pushes off the wall. "Everyone knows what they did to her."
"Doesn't matter what we know." Doc adjusts his glasses. "Matters what we can prove. And Jolie never filed formal complaints. Never sought Council protection. In the eyes of the law, she's just a runaway daughter."
I can't breathe. After everything—the fight with Mara, Phoen healing, finally finding somewhere I belong—Gio's going to take it all away.
"There's one way to stop this." Ryder's voice cuts through my panic. "One way to make sure the Council can't touch you."
I look up at him. "How?"
"We complete the mate bond." He meets my eyes steadily. "Properly. With witnesses and ceremony. Once you're officially mated to an Alpha, family claims become void. You'd belong to my pack by law, not just by choice."
Marriage. Official mating. Permanent bond.
"That's" I can't find words. "We barely know each other."
"We know enough." Shadow flickers in his eyes. "And it's not really a choice anymore, Jolie. Either you mate me and stay here, or the Council gives you back to Gio. Those are the only options."
"When?" The question comes out small.
Cass checks his phone. "The Council hearing is scheduled for two weeks from now. We'd need to do the ceremony before then. At least three days prior to give time for the paperwork to process."
"Eleven days." Knox does the math. "That's not a lot of time to plan a mating ceremony."
"We don't need fancy." Ryder never looks away from me. "We just need it done. Legal and binding."
Everyone's looking at me. Waiting for an answer. Like I actually have a choice in this.
But the thing is—I do have a choice. I could refuse. Could take my chances with the Council. Could believe that somehow, truth and justice will prevail.
Except I've learned better. The world doesn't work that way. Power works that way. And right now, the only power I have is the one Ryder's offering.
"Okay." My voice sounds distant. "Let's do it."
Relief flashes across Ryder's face, quickly hidden. "We'll start preparations tomorrow. Keep it quiet for now—we don't want Gio getting wind of this before it's done."
The meeting breaks up. Pack members file out until it's just me and Ryder left in the office.
"You could have said no," he says quietly.
"Could I?" I turn to face him fully. "Be honest."
He considers the question. "I would have found another way. But this is the fastest and surest method."
"And you don't trust that there's another way that would work in time." It's not an accusation. Just the truth.
"No." He moves around the desk and takes my hands. "I don't. And I won't risk losing you because I wanted to be noble about it."
The honesty shocks me deeper than pretty lies would have. "What if we're making a mistake?"
"Then we make it together." He pulls me closer. "And we figure it out as we go. Same as everything else."
His phone buzzes as he glances at it and his expression hardens.
"What?" I ask.
He shows me the screen. Another article, this one from a Council-affiliated news site: "Concern Grows for Missing Nightshade Heir—Brother Pleads for Safe Return."
There's a photo of Gio looking devastated and worried. The perfect grieving brother.
"Eleven days," Ryder says again. "And then he can't touch you. Ever."
I lean against him, letting his solid presence ground me. Eleven days until I'm safe. Eleven days until I'm permanently bound to someone I barely know.
Eleven days until there's no going back.
"We should tell the pack," I say finally. "They deserve to know."
"Tomorrow." He wraps his arms around me. "Tonight, let's just"
His phone rings. He answers it, listens, then his whole body goes rigid.
"When?" A pause. "How many?" Another pause. "Get everyone armed. Now."
He hangs up and looks at me with an expression that makes my blood run cold.
"The Steel Serpents just hit our northern border," he says. "This time they brought friends."
"This is retaliation for what happened to Phoen." I grab his arm. "They know about me now. About what I can do."
"Which means they're coming to take you." He pulls away and grabs weapons from the cabinet. "Or kill you. Depends on how stupid they're feeling."
Outside, the compound erupts with the sound of engines and shouted orders. The pack mobilized for war.
And somewhere out there in the darkness, my brother is pulling strings and making deals, building a cage he fully intends to put me back in.
The door bursts open as Luna appears, out of breath.
"They're not just hitting the border," she gasps. "They're heading straight for the compound. We've got maybe ten minutes before they're here."
Ryder hands me a gun. "You remember how to use this?"
I take it, feeling the weight settle in my palm. "Yes."
"Good." He moves toward the door, then stops and looks back at me. "Stay with Doc. If anyone gets hurt"
"I'll do what I can." Even though the thought of using my power again makes exhaustion pull at my bones. "Go."
He hesitates like he wants to say something else. Instead, he just nods and runs.
Luna grabs my hand. "Come on. Doc's setting up triage in the medical building."
We ran through the compound together. Around us, the Iron Fangs prepare for battle—loading weapons, starting bikes, taking defensive positions.
This is really happening. War at our doorstep. And I'm somehow at the center of it.
The sound of approaching engines grows louder. And standing here with a gun in one hand and my healing power burning under my skin, I realize something terrifying.
I've become exactly what I never wanted to be—someone worth fighting over. Someone worth dying for. Someone who can't run away anymore. The first shots ring out as the Steel Serpents crash through our gates.