I will be back

Aleida’s POV

Everyone is gone; only my pack members are left. The mood is tense, and everyone is ready for a brawl at any moment. It doesn’t matter how many times I tell them not to interfere once King comes to take me. I know they’re going to fight for their queen and alpha anyway. Although I wish they wouldn’t. I’ve ordered them not to delay the inevitable, but not that they can’t fight. There are limits to what I have the right to command and not. Denying them the right to protect what they consider necessary is such permission I can’t take away from them. My greatest and final desire is that they ultimately choose to protect themselves instead of me. Considering it’s a dead-end when it comes to me anyway. I must be the one to take down King; no one else is strong enough to cope with it. My power is strong, but I’m not the most powerful creature anymore; it’s King who is. Besides, I can’t just plunge headlong into it first without thinking. Such an execution like this requires an infinite amount of planning and tactics. If I get into this and start solely from my ability or strength, it’s clear that I won’t be the one who walks out of there alive. King may behave like a magnificent pig and be both one and the other things. But stupid is such a thing he’s not. If I voluntarily go with him, he’ll hopefully also let down his guard a little bit because all I need is for him to relax a little to overpower and then kill him. Leadership between vampires and werewolves isn’t much different. When the leader dies, it becomes a weakness because no one else leads the group and decides what to do. It takes a long time to recover after such a thing, which gives me an advantage if I manage to kill him. Then the vampires won’t attack me aimlessly. It goes against their nature as well as ours. None of the species lives individually; we don’t work without others of the same kind. Very few survive on their own. We’re herd animals or what you prefer to call us. Our instincts tell us to stay together with our group no matter what. The problem with my plan is that I don’t know what to do if I get bitten by King. A vampire bite is dangerous for a werewolf and vice versa. A hybrid bite can have all sorts of side effects. Since there have only existed a few of that species over the years, there’s also not enough information to take note of. So, I don’t know if I can die, turn into a hybrid, or become a vampire instead. None of the three options appeal to me, and I also have no plans to find out. It’s not knowing what to expect that scares me. If I die, I can at least comfort myself that I perished to protect my people and those I love. Michael is sitting with me in my office. He hasn’t said much since I ordered everyone present yesterday. Like several others, I guess that my best friend feels betrayed that I chose to command them over the only thing they want to be able to do. He’s my best friend, and that’s precisely why he can’t interfere. I don’t even want to think about what my life would look like without him. It’s difficult to remember at all what my world was like before he appeared in it. If I allow him to help, he’ll undoubtedly do something stupid and get himself killed. I know he wants to offer to take my place. But King won’t ever agree to it. He wants me to give birth to his puppies, be his mate, and his wife. It’ll be challenging for Michael to give birth to something at all. He gives birth to disgusting farts from time to time, but I don’t think that counts.

“I don’t agree with this, you know, that, right?” Michael asks me with annoyance, crossed arms over his chest.

“I know that you don’t. But what other choice do we have here, Michael? I can’t sit around and watch as my people die because of me. That’s why I will take their place and make sure that no one gets hurt,” I explain in a calm tone, trying to make him understand.

“But someone is going to get hurt, you! He will take your freedom away from you,” Michael exclaims.

“That may be so. But at least I chose this,” I answer, and Michael rises with a frustrated growl and paces in the room—angry muttering swears and growls.

I understand how he feels, but he also needs to understand my responsibility toward him with all the werewolves in the world. They don’t deserve to walk around and be afraid when I can end it all by surrendering to this sick motherfucker. Why should they pay the price for me when I can do that myself? Michael doesn’t understand because he doesn’t want to—he thinks I have given up, that I don’t fight because I’m pessimistic and think it’s no point even to try. But I can’t tell him the truth about my mission either. He’ll try to stop me and say it’s too dangerous. What no one realizes is that it’s at its most dangerous place now when no one knows how it’ll end. Once King comes to pick me up, I will know the rules of the game.

“Michael, I am begging you to please understand! You wolves cannot pay for something that King shouldn’t involve you in from the beginning...” I plead with him, begging him even.

“But you are fucking giving up!” he roars. “You aren’t even trying to fight this. Instead, you submit to a creature that isn’t even our breed! Is that how you want your boys to see you, as someone who gives up and submits because it’s easier than actually work on a solution?”

I growl loudly at him. He looks ashamed of what he says and hangs his head in submission.

How dare he!?

Take it easy, Lisa. He doesn’t mean it the way it sounds.

It doesn’t matter; he talks about our puppies like he knows something!

I mean it, Lisa. Drop it!

Kill him!

Lisa! For one goddamn minute, listen to me! Relax; he’s upset and doesn’t think before he talks. This is our best friend, for crying out loud... Please, don’t do this.

She growls but shuts up and walks away in our common mind space.

“Please, alpha, forgive me. It isn’t my place to say such things,” Michael says in a small voice.

“No, it certainly isn’t. That doesn’t stop you, however... I know that you think all of this is insane, and I don’t blame you because so do I! But I’m asking you, not just as your alpha but also as your friend, to please let me handle this in my own time and way. There’s not something anyone except me can do about this anyway. It may be hard to accept that; yet, it’s the truth. You want to save me, and I love you for it. But this time, you won’t be able to,” I explain sadly, and my words make him whimper.

His eyes are glistening with tears, and I walk up to him to put my arms around his body tight. He melts and hugs me back in the exact same way; we don’t release each other. If we do, we’ll have to talk about tactics regarding a situation the both of us would rather forget, even just for a moment. Slowly his body begins to relax, and sadness replaces the anger. He looks me in the eyes before putting his lips on mine. I back away from him with big eyes and my mouth wide open. What the hell is he doing!? I touch my lips with my fingers and am trying to understand. Don’t tell me that—.

“I don’t only love you as my friend anymore, Aleida. My feelings for you are much stronger than I would like to admit. I know that you have two mates and also children; still, my heart beats strongly every time you look at me. Maybe it changed when you came to get me before we traveled here or before that; it doesn’t matter. I love you, and I need you more than I need to breathe. My heart will break if you die. I can’t continue to live if you aren’t here with me. It doesn’t matter if it’s as a friend; I would be okay with that. As long as you don’t leave me behind in this cold, godforsaken world alone...”

I don’t know what to answer to that. Michael, my most loyal friend in the whole world, loves me in a way he shouldn’t. What the hell am I supposed to do about that!? I can’t force him to go against his own heart, that isn’t possible, and even if it were, it would be extremely cruel of me.

“You don’t need to say anything. I just wanted to tell you that,” Michael says and kisses my forehead before leaving me behind in my office; but why does this feel like goodbye?

Michael’s POV

What the actual fuck am I doing!? How can I be so foolish? She won’t talk to me ever again after this! If I only kept my mouth shut and don’t tell her about it, the problem wouldn’t arise. She might tell Kian and Miliano about this; I would if I were her. Oh, my goddess, they’re going to kill me! They already see me as a traitor because I didn’t tell them about Aleida’s plan and then left with her. This is... Oh boy, this is going to be a big problem. I’m not really afraid of them; if they kill me, that’s fine. What scares me is that Aleida never will look at me the same again. She might banish me for this or kill me herself! Why can’t I make it easy for both of us and just see her as a friend as I should? She has never tried to flirt or behave inappropriately since I met her. This is all me. But I want her, and I need her. She will be mine! I just don’t know how yet... Why am I thinking things like that!? It’s not real! Please tell me that this isn’t real... I have had trouble with thoughts like these for months without determining if I’m thinking it or not. What if I’m evil inside without knowing it? What if, in the end, I’m the one that hurts or, even worse, kills Aleida!?

Shh... Everything will be all right, Michael. You love her, don’t you?

Of course, I do! How can I not?

Then it’ll not be too hard for you to kill Miliano and Kian when you get the chance, right?

Wait, I don’t think things like this! This isn’t me!

Oh, but it is you. Aleida is your biggest desire, and you need her. But you won’t have her until her mates are gone. Deep down, she loves you in the same way. She just doesn’t know it yet.

I can’t do something like this! They have puppies together, and I’m friends with her mates.

They aren’t your friends! Don’t you see that!? They want her all to themselves when she should be yours. You’ll be the new father for her puppies and create more. Isn’t that something you wish for, hm?

My wolf agrees with the voice inside my head. All he wants is to put puppies in our beautiful queen. My last barrier breaks, and I resolve.

I agree. What do I have to do?