The cave was so much more than that, however, carving through and stretching ten stories in some places, with many chiseled windows and balconies overlooking a deep valley below, like a hollowed-out mountain. At the bottom of the lowest floor, terrain met the secondary entrance on the other side of the cliff face, where the Alpha and his family could roam in the protected, private woods that belonged only to him.
A human once likened it to a tunneling network for underground creatures, except designed for royalty.
For now, the halls were empty, and Ronan sat alone in a luxurious chair inside of his den, looking out at the moon. His room was far from aden, but it’s what the shifters called their private rooms for sleeping.
It felt wrong to be in there over a month after leaving Scarlet.
He needed to get back, despite the unease of his people inside of Warden. Rumors spread throughout a pack like a contagious plague, and his kin noted the absence of Rem and his mother. He had shared concerns about Enola, not divulging anything further than that.
Bringing an army north would not be an action he could take back. Was it truly warranted? He had stewed on it for the last month, wondering if his impulsive, ardent side overshadowed common sense.
Once Suna felt comfortable to lead in his absence, he would immediately depart. He could not leave without securing that, not without due cause. And as much as Erik could lead, a Warden needed to command the pack after such treachery.
Many were not pleased that he came back without at leastoneSilver. It gave him an appearance of weakness, standing in the queen's shadow.
Alliance or not, an Alpha stood in no one’s shadow.
A boundary that Enola crossed.
His body stiffened when he smelledherscent.
Through the doorway that led to his bedroom stood Jemma. Her warm, almond skin nearly blended with her deep, straight auburn hair. Her bright green eyes pulled his attention to her.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
She looked away, and he dropped his gaze to notice she wore a dress that came to her upper thighs, and all she had to do was bend over to reveal herself to him. Instead, she gently touched the mantle, dragging her lithe fingers across it. “You know, once you would have greeted me with much more warmth. Perhaps even bent me over to fill me with your scent… It would be easy. I don’t have anything on beneath this dress.”
“Why are you here?” he repeated, breathing shallowly, the warm lighting of the fires contrasting the cool air outside.
Her gaze moved in his direction. “I miss you. Is that not enough?”
He looked back at the moon. “I do not have the time nor the interest to deal with this,” he coldly said.
“Ronan… My moon—”
“Leave,” he growled.
“Let me at least help,” she offered, facing him fully. “Can I dosomethingwith everything that is going on?”
“You find out where Owen is, and then you and I can have a conversation for however long you want.”
It seemed that once the Callons got wind of Suna’s scent, they immediately fled. So far, Ronan was only missing Owen and three others, with Jackson, Gally, and thirteen Callons being caught right away. Gally knew very little, compared to her brothers, as apparently they worried she’d break before the rest.
And Jackson refused to speak, leaving Ronan in the dark.
Jemma homed in on the offer that swung on a thin thread. “I will do that if it’s what you need. Don’t know how I will, but if it lets me finally have a real conversation with you…”
He sighed and placed his head in his hand, his expression weary, slowly running his fingers over his eyebrows. “Why must you press this—”
“Do you really have to ask? You know I will be the best Luna, Ronan. Youknowthis.”
He didn’t look at her, not with that outfit on. “You act as if the Silvers don’t even exist.”
“Do you really want to mate with a stranger, to fill a foreign woman’s belly with your child? They are all weak humans who will takeyearsto become anything close to someone like me. Take a mate that will know exactly how to please you, one that you will enjoy coming home to…”
“You make a lot of assumptions.”
“I am not wrong, though. Those women aren’t worthy of you, and you know it. They’re not evenhere. They will always be tied in some holy battle, which is not what you need for a Luna. None of them matter, not compared to what we have built.”
