Chapter 40 First Real Meeting (cont'd)
We move quickly to the main compound.
Mason insists on coming despite Dr. Chen's protests about over-exertion. "My family is threatened. I'm not sitting this out."
Rory stays close to me, her small hand gripping mine tightly.
From the lodge's second-floor window, we can see them.
Stella and at least thirty wolves—double the number from yesterday.
She's been busy recruiting.
"How did she get so many followers so quickly?" I ask Marcus.
"She's telling them Rory is an abomination. A threat to natural pack order. That if one omega can produce a child this powerful, it undermines the entire Alpha hierarchy." Marcus's jaw clenches. "It's effective propaganda. Lots of traditional wolves are threatened by what Rory represents."
"Change," Mason says quietly. "She represents change. Evolution. The possibility that the old ways aren't the only ways."
"And people fear change," I finish.
Below, Stella raises her voice, projecting it across the compound.
"Sage Mitchell! I know you can hear me! I've come to make you an offer!"
"Don't respond," Marcus warns. "Don't engage with her."
But Rory is already moving toward the window, toward where Stella can see her.
"Rory, no—"
"It's okay, Mama." She looks down at the wolves below with no fear in her eyes. "I want to hear what she has to say."
Stella's face lights up when she spots Rory. "There she is. The little abomination. The child who shouldn't exist."
"I exist just fine," Rory calls back. "And I'm not interested in your opinions about my existence."
Some of Stella's wolves laugh—a good sign. Not all of them are completely under her influence.
"Bold words for a child barely out of diapers." Stella's smile is cruel. "But boldness without power is just noise. And despite your little display yesterday, you're still just a three-year-old pup. Powerful, yes. But untrained. Undisciplined. Vulnerable."
"What's your offer?" Rory asks, ignoring the insults.
"Simple. Come with me. Let me study you, understand your abilities, figure out what makes you so different. In exchange, I'll leave your mother alone. Leave this sanctuary alone. Take my wolves and disappear."
"You want to experiment on me."
"I want to understand you. There's a difference."
"Not really." Rory leans against the window frame, looking deceptively casual. "You want to cut me open—literally or figuratively—and see what makes me tick. Figure out if you can replicate my abilities. Maybe even steal them for yourself."
Stella's smile widens. "Smart child. Yes, that's exactly what I want. Your power could change everything. Could restore the natural order with me at the top instead of weak Alphas who reject their mates for politics."
She shoots a venomous look at Mason.
"I'm not interested," Rory says flatly.
"Then I'll take you by force."
"You can try. But you'll fail. And you'll lose a lot of wolves in the process." Rory's voice carries absolute confidence. "I'm protected by sanctuary law. By my mother. By my father who's finally trying to be what he should have been all along. And by my own power, which you can't begin to comprehend."
"Big words—"
"Not words. Facts." Rory's eyes flash amber. "You want a demonstration? Fine."
Before anyone can stop her, she shifts.
Not into the normal wolf form she's been using.
Into something else entirely.
She's larger than yesterday—nearly the size of a full-grown wolf now. Her silver-gray fur shimmers with energy that makes the air around her crackle. Her eyes burn like amber fire.
When she jumps from the second-story window, landing in the courtyard below, several of Stella's wolves yelp and scramble backward.
"I am Aurora Mitchell," Rory's voice comes out layered, powerful, otherworldly. "Daughter of Sage and Mason. Alpha in my own right. And I will not be taken. Not by you. Not by anyone."
She takes a step forward, and the ground trembles.
Not an earthquake—something else. Something primal and wrong and utterly terrifying.
Rory is channeling power directly from the earth itself.
"You want to understand me?" Rory continues. "Then understand this: I am evolution. I am what happens when the old ways meet new possibilities. I am the future of our species, whether you like it or not. And the future doesn't bow to the past."
She releases the power in a wave that sweeps across the compound.
Every wolf in Stella's group staggers, forced to their knees by the sheer force of Rory's dominance.
Even Stella falls, her eyes wide with shock and fear.
"You have a choice," Rory says, her voice echoing across the sudden silence. "Accept that change is coming. Accept that I'm part of that change. Leave peacefully and build your own future somewhere else. Or stay and fight and watch your wolves die for a cause that's already lost."
She shifts back to human form, standing naked and unashamed in the courtyard.
Marcus is already moving, bringing her a robe.
Stella struggles to her feet, rage and humiliation warring across her face.
"You think you've won? You think one display of power means anything?"
"I think," Rory says calmly, "that you're scared. Scared of what I represent. Scared that your old ways are dying. Scared that you're becoming irrelevant." She wraps the robe around herself. "And you know what? You should be scared. Because I'm going to change everything. And people like you—people who cling to old hierarchies and outdated traditions—won't have a place in the world I'm building."
"You're three years old!"
"And yet I just forced thirty wolves to their knees without breaking a sweat." Rory ties the robe's belt. "Imagine what I'll be able to do when I'm older. Stronger. Fully trained."
The threat hangs in the air.
Several of Stella's wolves exchange nervous glances.
"Anyone who wants to leave Stella's group is welcome at the sanctuary," Marcus calls out. "We offer protection, training, and community without requiring you to bow to outdated hierarchies."
Five wolves immediately break away from Stella's group.
Then three more.
Then another four.
In less than a minute, Stella has lost half her followers.
Her face twists with fury. "Traitors! Cowards! You're abandoning our cause because of a child's tricks?"
"Not tricks," one of the departing wolves says. "Truth. She's right. The old ways are dying. And I'd rather be part of building something new than defending something that's already dead."
The remaining wolves look uncertain, torn between loyalty to Stella and the reality of what they've just witnessed.
Stella shifts, a massive blonde wolf intent on attacking Rory.
But Mason is faster.
Despite his weakness, despite the pain, despite knowing it could kill him—he shifts.
A huge black wolf interposes himself between Stella and Rory, teeth bared, a growl rumbling from his chest that speaks of absolute protective fury.
Touch my daughter and die, his posture says.
Stella skids to a halt, suddenly facing not just Rory but an Alpha wolf willing to die protecting his child.
Behind Mason, Rory stands calmly, no fear in her eyes.
"Last chance," she says. "Leave peacefully or face the consequences."
For a long moment, everything hangs in balance.
Then Stella shifts back to human form, her body shaking with rage and humiliation.
"This isn't over," she spits. "You think you've won, but you've just made enemies of wolves who won't rest until you're destroyed."
"Then they'll fail too," Rory says simply. "Because I'm not alone. I have family. Pack. People who love me and will fight beside me. What do you have? Fear. Rage. Hatred. Those are weak foundations, Stella. And they'll crumble the moment you face real opposition."
Stella turns and runs, shifting mid-stride, fleeing into the forest.
The remaining followers—barely ten wolves now—hesitate, then follow her.
The courtyard falls silent except for Mason's labored breathing.
He shifts back to human form and immediately collapses.
"Dad!" Rory runs to him—and I notice she called him Dad for the first time.
Dr. Chen is already moving, a medical team behind her.
"He shifted knowing it could kill him," she says, checking his vitals. "Foolish, brave, and completely expected."
"Is he going to be okay?" I drop to my knees beside him.
"Maybe. The shift took everything he had left. But the fact that he did it to protect Rory..." Dr. Chen looks up at me. "That's the kind of action that proves change, Sage. That's the kind of sacrifice that shows what someone values."
Mason's eyes flutter open, finding Rory immediately.
"You called me Dad," he whispers.
"You earned it." Rory takes his hand. "You put yourself between me and danger. That's what fathers do."
"I'd do it again," Mason says. "A thousand times. Whatever it takes to keep you safe."
"I know." Rory looks at me. "Mama, I think we should renew the mate bond. Not because he's dying. Because he's proved he's worth saving."
My heart pounds. "Rory, this is a huge decision—"
"I know. But I watched him choose me over his own life. Watched him shift knowing it could kill him just to protect me from Stella. That's not politics. That's not pack hierarchy. That's love." She meets my eyes. "And you taught me that love is the most powerful thing there is."
Mason's hand finds mine. "I don't deserve forgiveness. Don't deserve a second chance. But I'm asking anyway. Begging, if I have to. Please, Sage. Let me spend whatever time I have left proving I can be what you and Rory need."
I look at this man who rejected me three years ago.
This man who spent three years dying without me.
This man who just risked everything to protect our daughter.
And I realize Rory is right.
He's changed.
Not perfectly. Not completely. But enough.
Enough to deserve a second chance.
Enough to rebuild something from the ashes of what we lost.
"Okay," I whisper.
"Okay?"
"Okay, we'll renew the mate bond." I squeeze his hand. "But Mason—this is your last chance. If you fail again, if you choose wrong again, if you hurt Rory or me—"
"I won't. I swear on everything I am, everything I have—I won't fail you again."
Dr. Chen helps him sit up. "The bond renewal will have to wait until you're stable. Right now, you need medical attention. That shift nearly killed you."
"But I'll survive?"
"Probably. If you're very lucky and very careful." She signals her team. "Let's get him to the medical center."
As they carry Mason away, Rory leans against my side.
"You did the right thing, Mama."
"Did I?"
"Yes. Because everyone deserves a chance to prove they've changed. And he just proved it in the most dramatic way possible." She grins. "Plus, having an Alpha father who's willing to die for me is pretty useful."
I laugh despite everything. "Useful. That's your measure of good parenting?"
"Among other things." She takes my hand. "Come on. Let's go see what the sanctuary's chef is making for lunch. I'm starving after all that power display."
"You know you're going to have to explain how you did that, right? The earth-shaking thing?"
"Later. Right now, I want food and maybe a nap. Being intimidating is exhausting."
We walk back to the lodge together, leaving the courtyard where Stella's retreat marks a new chapter in our lives.
Two weeks to prove himself, I'd told Mason.
He's done it in two days.
Now comes the hard part: actually building a life together. A family. A future.
But for the first time in three years, I feel something like hope.
And maybe that's enough to start with.