Chapter 193

Chapter 193
“Lightmoon will spare Bloodrayne, permanently, once Bloodrayne swears loyalty to Lightmoon, as a bonded clan,” Marian ended calmly.

The hut and the surroundings were deathly silent as the red wolf stared down the Bloodrayne Alpha.

“Nonsense!” Tobias snarled, “Impossible!”

“The only thing impossible, Uncle, is that we fight this night,” Reyland rumbled, speaking out loud.

“My brother is injured,” he continued calmly, “we will take him now.”

“Please, tell your dying warriors to remain where they have hidden themselves, otherwise their leader here will be the first to die,” he said slowly, nodding toward Eaden.

The Head Protector did not flinch, but his face hardened.

“I know death does not bother Bloodrayne. But a useless death is…well…useless…no?” Reyland continued patiently.

He gestured, and the six wolves moved forward, toward the hut. Only two could enter. The others gathered outside the entrance.

The two who entered lifted Dorien by the arms and carried him out. They were mindful of the injury to his shoulder.

Once outside the hut, one moved behind the limp heir while two others scanned the young wolf’s body to see how they could assist in moving him.

Dorien’s eyes were closed.

His face was bloody.

His mouth was bleeding.

There were cuts and other injuries on his exposed chest.

He was fully clothed, but his shirt had been ripped.

“Carry him,” one whispered, and another of their number shifted into wolf form. The heir was placed on his back.

Just before the shifted wolf took off, with the five others running at his side in human form, Dorien’s eyes opened.

He stared up at Reyland, who glanced briefly at him, then away, and Dorien’s eyes closed.

The six, with their brother, their friend, the Noble heir, headed off.

The remaining shifters stared at each other.

No Bloodrayne shifter visible or hidden, moved.

Tobias’ wolf was rumbling.

“Your people will be returned to you. Tomorrow, ten a.m., across the river,” Reyland commented evenly, repeating the terms of the exchange.

“As for –” he continued.

“I don’t want it! I don’t want her! I will never bow to Whitehall, or their dogs! My son comes with me, now!” Tobias snapped.

“That is not the agreement,” Marian replied quietly, almost bashfully.

“You think I am a joke?” Tobias snarled.

“Even if only one of your people leaves here alive, that one would most likely be your son. And we can’t have an enemy sleeping in our bed,” Marian replied brazenly, her voice lowering at the latter part.

Misha’s eyes widened.

He stared down at Marian. His heart racing, no longer able to control himself.

“You cunt!” Tobias spat, taking another step forward.

“Don’t you dare!” Alpha Dax snarled.

Tobias’ eyes shifted to him.

They were still inside the hut. Marian and the others were still outside.

“We come with terms, accept them or not! Do not dare to insult my people! Or have you forgotten the rules for negotiations?” Dax pushed back indignantly.

“Bloodrayne does not hold negotiations. What we want, we take! You, and all your people, are cunts!” Tobias spat, again moving forward.

“Uncle, do not let your anger make you forget,” Reyland cut in smoothly, “you are free to think about this.”

“Tomorrow, at the river, send your reply. If you need more time, let us know.”

“In the meantime, your son –” Reyland continued, backing up Marian’s words.

“My son will leave this place with me! NOW!” Tobias boomed. It was an explosive force.

One that shook every shifter, including the Lycan.

For the first time, a true Alpha Cry was heard by most of the gathered shifters – those hidden and those in plain view, from both Lightmoon and Bloodrayne.

Only two were familiar with the sound – Alpha Dax and Beta Brock.

However, there was something far more powerful than any shifter could ever hope to be, at least not in that thing’s presence.

A deep growl started in Reyland’s chest.

His eyes were locked with Tobias’. His white eyes.

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Earlier that evening, before the meeting that night, Marian had met with Reyland. It was again one of those times Misha had fallen asleep.

They had kept a respectful distance between each other. Reyland still had no scent, so it wasn’t transference they were worried about.

It was something deeper.

They had met in Reyland’s house.

The Gamma was around but not within sight.

They had been discussing, for over an hour, how to release Misha peacefully, how to trade him for Dorien, and how to get the Bloodrayne Alpha to withdraw the bloodthirsty group he had surrounded Lightmoon with.

Reyland had told Marian about the Bloodrayne shifters he had seen on the outskirts of Lightmoon, who were watching their lands, and she had told him about Misha’s words and advances.

They both agreed that their pack was in danger, both within and without.

They had agreed that Misha, however endearing he was, could not be trusted. Not because he was Bloodrayne, but because he was Misha Drakin.

Marian had seen firsthand what he had said and done during the ambush his people had launched on Reyland and the others.

She had seen his control over the wolves in the dungeon.

He was the son of a shifter she had fought. A shifter who, in hours, had found how to harm her.

There was no way he was a simple creature whom anyone could easily control.

Marian had no illusions about this.

They had agreed that he had to go, but understood that he would not leave willingly. Not with all the promises he had made.

Marian had told Reyland about the meeting in the forest when she had taken Dorien to bargain for information from Bloodrayne.

The way he and his father had related to each other.

They had come up with a plan on how to make him leave, on his own, or, make his father take him away by force.

For the wolves stalking their border, they had determined that the Bloodrayne Alpha needed to take them away as well, of his own volition.

They had agreed on a strategy to make the Bloodrayne Alpha think he had forced their hand and made all the decisions himself.

Once that had been settled, Reyland had been comforting Marian, in his own way, about letting the Bloodrayne prince go.

Reassuring her that they could release him, given that he could not do more than he already had.