Chapter 171: Northerners
Ava took a step forward. "Every Northerner will return to their homes. Hug your children. Tell them the terror is over. That a new dawn has come. Until further notice, Alpha Lucas Raventhorn is now your Alpha King of the North."
The effect was instantaneous. Tension bled out of the air. Wolves began to shift back into human form with slow reverence.
But even amid the confusion, it was clear: they were glad. Truly glad. Not just that the Alpha King was gone, but that someone had finally stood up to him. Even if they weren’t yet sure what kind of king Alpha Lucas would be.
Ava watched them leave the castle gates. It was going to take a lot of work to fix what Herod and his ancestors had broken but if anyone could do it, it was Lucas. She had never known him to shy away from any challenge. Not since the moment she first laid eyes on him. The Silver Pack Butcher. Her husband, her mate.
She looked up and saw Kade emerging through the open castle gates. He wasn’t alone. In his arms was the unmistakable form of Dorian, bloodied and limp, noble even in death.
Kade’s face was ashen. His arms trembled under the weight of the man who had once towered over all of them.
No matter what Dorian had done, no matter how many times he’d hurt Ava, undermined Lucas, he had been Kade’s father. And that meant something.
Ava didn’t move, didn’t speak at first. Her heart tugged her forward, but her memory dragged her back.
From the first moment she and Dorian had met, they’d practically hissed at each other. It had been mutual loathing at first snarl.
But none of that mattered now. They dissolved in the wake of Kade’s pain. She stepped toward him slowly, careful not to startle.
"Kade..." Ava whispered as he approached, the silhouette of Dorian’s body still cradled carefully in his arms. He looked like a boy and a warrior at once. "Is there anything I can do?"