Chapter 7
Merlot
He eyed the woman as he pulled Margo back into the safety of his arms. She immediately clung to him, making the woman’s eyes soften. Margo whimpered, and he stepped in front of her, blocking her view of everything around them. He tipped her face up before breathing his fire over her. Her body relaxed as she leaned against him. He kissed her forehead, holding her close as she tried to calm down. Once her heart rate slowed back down to normal, he pulled back a little to search her face.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
She nodded. “I’m scared.”
He brushed his lips over hers. “I will protect you.”
He took a step back, letting her go, before holding his hand out. She stared at his hand, hesitating.
“I know you have no reason to trust people, shifters especially, but I swear to you, my Luna, nobody will ever hurt you again.”
She swallowed before taking his hand. He instantly brought it to his lips.
“Thank you, baby.”
She gave him a shy smile. “If you mess up…”
He chuckled as he tucked her hair behind her ear. “I know, I know. You’ll kill me.” He turned his attention back to the woman, who stood watching his interaction with Margo. “Who are you? And what do you want with our mates?”
She glanced around. “Not out here. Even the trees have ears.”
Merlot’s gaze slid back to Margo briefly before nodding. “Alright. Rose will kill you if you try anything on the way to the packhouse.”
“Not likely,” Rose mumbled as she and Keith took spots on either side of the woman.
Merlot pulled Margo close to his side again. “I will be calling to the coven, my love. Do you remember what I said about my growling?” She nodded. “There’s going to be a lot of it. If you get scared, it’s okay if you want to walk with Jenna.”
“Okay.”
He looked into her eyes for a moment to make sure that she really understood before leading her to the gates. He wrapped a protection spell around Margo to ease the weight of his aura as it flared out to force obedience. The guards at the gate all rushed to open it while Merlot growled, ordering the men and women to the packhouse. The whole time they were heading there, his growls and aura got stronger, spreading out over the entire coven territory. When they got to the packhouse, he stood in front of the stairs leading up onto the porch, with Margo on one side and Jenna on the other, as Joyce went to collect the people inside the packhouse. He waited patiently while the coven filled the area in front of him.
Suddenly, Margo’s hand tightened around his and started trembling as she moved closer to his side. As he turned his head to speak to her, Jenna pressed against his other side, trembling just as hard. He followed their gazes to a man who stood in the second row of people, staring angrily back at them. He gently pushed Jenna and Margo behind him and stepped forward as he put up a mirror spell in front of the two terrified sisters so nobody could see them. Merlot marched through the crowd, stopping in front of the man.
Merlot drew back and launched his fist at the man’s face as Koda’s scales covered his arm while Kodak threw his strength behind the blow. The man collapsed unconscious to the ground before Merlot reached down, snagged his collar, and dragged him to lay in a crumpled heap at Keith’s feet. He turned back to the crowd with his teeth bared. When Joyce came to stand at his side again, he let out a loud growl that made most of the people gathered tremble as he stepped forward.
“My name is Merlot Lincoln, your new Alpha. This is Joyce Lincoln, your new Beta. This is Keith Lincoln, your new Gamma. You all recognize Princess Roselynn, the future Mother of Dragons. Your last Alpha, Lyle, I believe his name was, is now in the Deegan dungeons, and Alpha Sommer has a man named Harris in hers.” He rolled his shoulders back. “With that being said, there are new rules until I get to the bottom of what has been going on here.
Firstly, you are all to stay at the packhouse until you are questioned and your true loyalties are discovered. Joyce and I will be doing this over the next few days. After that, you will be free to go about your business. Secondly, there will be other members of my family that will be coming, and I fully expect you to welcome them and be at their service. Thirdly, Keith will begin training with the coven warriors. I want every able-bodied man, woman, and child over the age of 14 to train. The protection of the coven does not just lie in the hands of the warriors. Lastly, I can be a cruel Alpha, as you have already seen. Do not make me have to be one, and we will get along just fine,” he said as he slowly let his eyes move over the crowd.
He let the mirror spell fall and tugged a quivering Margo forward. “This is Luna Margo. She is my mate. You are to treat her with respect. If I hear anybody causing her any grief, it will result in their immediate death. I will not be the type of Alpha who allows their Luna to be mistreated.”
His eyes passed over the crowd again. “And another thing: for all the females here, let me make it clear that I am not interested in you.” Margo tried to pull her hand away from his, but he refused to let her go. “I know some Alphas keep harems and like to play with their packs and covens, but I am not one. Joyce is also already mated, so she will not be partaking in any nonsense like sleeping around either. With that being said, find a place in the packhouse and get comfortable. You have a long wait ahead of you.”
He turned back to the packhouse, where his parents now stood on the porch, watching him with pride. Margo didn’t turn with him, which immediately drew his attention to her. She looked up at him with tears on her face.
“Do you really mean what you said?” she asked quietly.
“Yes,” he answered, raising his hand to cup her face.
She pointed to a couple. “He is not a good man. He was with the men who came to our apartment,” she whispered. “He hits her.”
Keith was past them in seconds to grab the man. He put him on the ground next to the unconscious man while Merlot stepped closer to Margo.
“Who else?”
“That woman,” Jenna said quietly from behind him.
Merlot exchanged glances with Joyce, who nodded. She stepped forward, letting her aura flare out.
“Line up in neat rows. Leave space for them to walk between the rows,” she ordered. She waited for everyone to do as she said before turning to the sisters. “Please show us who else.”
Margo looked up at him fearfully. Merlot took her hand, kissing the back of it, silently begging her to trust him. She took a deep breath before nodding. Joyce and Merlot each followed their respective mates slowly down the aisles. Merlot and Joyce put the few people the sisters pointed out on the ground with auras. Margo slowed as she neared the end of the last row. Merlot squeezed her hand, trying to comfort her a little. She stepped in front of the last man and shakily raised her finger to point at him.
“Him.”
The man lunged at Margo with a dagger in his hand. Merlot shoved her backward, catching her in a spell as the blade in the man’s hand flew toward his stomach. Koda’s scales covered his body as Kodak surged forward, shifting into his tiger. Before the man could finish his swing, Kodak was on him, tearing him into pieces. The people around them all rushed away from the unequal fray in the hopes that they would be left uninjured. Kodak kept ripping the man’s body apart for minutes after he was dead, fueled by a fury he had never felt before. When he finally shifted back, there was nothing but pulverized bone, flecks of tissue, and a pool of blood. He waved his hand over his shoulder, making the remnants burst into flames. He rushed over to Margo, who immediately started running her hands over his abdomen. He pulled his shirt off to show her that he was uninjured. Margo threw herself into his arms.
“Don’t do that,” she sobbed.
He picked her up, holding her tightly as she wrapped herself around him. His aura came out again, stronger than ever before, making the rest of the crowd sink to their knees, crying out in pain.
“DO! NOT! TOUCH! MY! MATE!” he roared.
He walked back to the front of the group to stand next to Joyce. He met her eyes.
“I’ll meet you in the office in ten minutes. I need to get us showered. Get them situated inside.”
She lowered her head. “Yes, Alpha.”