Valkyrie's Revenge

Chapter 7

                The next couple days progressed with as little fanfare as everyone could muster, no one wanted to be the first to break the tension, but it was being felt by all. Thoren and Valkyrie had taken a hands-off approach during their time in the same place, after she threatened him for having her followed by the police. Looking back at the event she realized she could have handled it with more tact, but she was furious and needed him to understand to back off. She told him exactly how she felt the next day when she pushed him into a wall and held him there by the shoulders, using her most authoritative tone to say; “If you want to know what I do when I’m not here then you need to crawl out from under your rock and track me yourself. Stop wasting your, and the cities, resources on a job you should be good enough to do on your own.” Though she didn’t realize until after she finished her statement that he had his hands gripping her hips and they were closer than would have liked. Since that day she had made sure to keep her distance so she could focus on the needs of her pack.

                Christian had been trying to get information from both sides but neither of the Alpha’s were willing to give him any angle to work. Thoren and Valkyrie may not be ready to trust each other, but neither wanted to give any more power to Christian. He seemed like someone that would be able to use any information to his advantage in Valkyrie’s mind, and she knew she needed to remain guarded until she knew who she could trust. Thankfully she had been able to get word to more of her packs previous members about the run and the chance to get together, still unsure of what it would bring, but eager to see what could come. As she turned away from her classes for the day, she is eager to meet up with the twins and get things set for the run. While they had done everything possible to keep the location a secret from the other packs, she knew they needed to be prepared for possible intruders. As she waited in the commons for Ethan and Emery, she felt a presence near her and knew her mate had approached. With a sigh she turned to face him, as much as she did not want to admit it, he is a gorgeous man. She could tell from his level of confidence and bravado that he is from a strong bloodline, but she wanted to know more.

                “Thoren, what can I do for you?” She started, not in the mood to fight with him today. As he swiped his hand through his hair he looked to the seat beside her, then to meet her eyes, silently asking permission to sit. She looked around, then decided it is best to start to find some common ground and nodded her acceptance.

                “Hey, how are you finding it being back?” He started, sounding unsure how to do this so she would stay and talk to him. He knew she had been avoiding him the last two days, and he could not stand that she wanted nothing to do with him. He had always known he would end up with a strong and powerful mate, but this was more than he could imagine. He is also unsure how much she knows about her bloodline, and what her existence could mean, so he wanted to show he is on her side.  Huffing at his question she gave him a funny look, shocked that he had come to make idle chit chat. “Listen, I’m not good at this, ok? We are mates, we need to find a way to come together and spend time together and I genuinely want to know you. So, can you give me a chance here? I promise no more fights with your Beta’s as well unless they start it.” He finished with a smirk, which after a moment she returned.

                “We both know they will start it first, those two are impossible sometimes. When we were kids, they would constantly be looking for the biggest fight they could find.” She found herself sharing stories from her past without thinking about it too seriously. She wanted to know him as well, and she wanted to be able to trust her mate as well. When she was a kid, her parents taught her that your pack may be your family, but your mate is part of your soul, there is no person that will understand you better than that. After taking a moment to consider her next words she realized, just as he must have before approaching her, they need to get to know each other. “Being back has been a bit surreal, I remember what it was like to live here as a kid, but since the house is all new and everything has changed it doesn’t feel like the home I left. Raven is happy though, he seems to be having a time at the hospital, and I know he is glad he has come back.” She finished, thinking more about her brothers’ bright smile he has been wearing constantly. There is something he is hiding, but he has not given any information on that yet; once the run is done, she needs to confront him about it.

                “If it’s any consolation, my Beta Roman once walked into a human club and started a fight with five guys just because he had been turned down by a chick at school. It was a ridiculous fight, and it almost cost him his spot as my father didn’t think he would be responsible enough to be a leader.” He shared with her, as they both laughed at the irresponsible nature of their Beta’s. As they continued to chat the twins and Roman Carter came around two opposing corners to see their leaders talking closely and laughing. In an instance the three testosterone driven wolves saw an opportunity for a fight, almost instantly running at each other to continue what they started the other day. Before they could crash together Valkyrie and Thoren stood and stopped the imminent fight.

                “Down boys, nothing to fight about here, we are just talking.” Valkyrie said, stopping the guys in their tracks. Thoren had done the same to his Beta, who had yet to take his eyes off of the twins. Valkyrie turned to Thoren having stopped the boys from starting the next great war, feeling a bit dejected that their conversation had been cut short. In a moment of inspiration, thinking with her heart instead of her mind, she decided to do something out of character. She saw his phone in his pocket and she reached in to grab it from his pants, which shocked everyone in their group, then grabbed his hand and unlocked this phone. This was not her attempt to snoop, but to give him the opportunity to reach out to her. Opening his messages she started a new one and typed in her number, then texted herself from his phone.

                “We have to go, as we have an event we have been planning, but here is my number. Message me later and we can continue talking about whose Beta is more embarrassing.” She said with a smile, as she put his phone back in his pocket. He looked down at her hand leaving his pocket, then back to her and he could not help but smile at her very bold action. Her actions had proven she is every bit a perfect mate for him, and he could not wait to spend more time with her.

                “What’s the event? Is it something we could join you at?” He asked, he did not want her to know he already knew about the run. He had given permission for any wolves that wanted to go and hear her out or go back to the Grace pack, since he knew they would all end up as one pack again. After he had taken the time to contemplate it all, and consult his father, he knew this was the best course of action. He had however kept the news from his Beta, since he knew that he would run to his mother and let her know what was happening. Roman had been his best friend since they were kids, but he knew in the last few years something had changed, he had seemed like he was trying to get ahead and would tell his mother anything.

                “Tonight, is for Grace Wolf pack only, but message me, or call later tonight, we can talk about a chance to get together.” She said as she turned away from him and pushed the boys away as well. They did not want to walk away, seemingly eager to get their hands on the other Beta. Neither knew why they did not like him, but they felt like there was something hidden there. What they could not decide was if it was just Roman, or if Thoren was in on it as well.

                Later that evening the four young wolves were standing on the edge of a private beach, land owned by their family. As they waited for any that wanted to come to see what their return could mean, the nerves of them all were obvious. Valkyrie knew that not only did she have to show that she is capable to be an Alpha, despite being female, but also that she is ready to reclaim her pack and take revenge on those that had taken everything away from them. As they wondered the beach, they chatted about who may come, who could have survived, and possible numbers; all things they had no idea about yet. Suddenly, their attention was drawn by a rustling in the trees, and they turned to see Oliver walking through the trees with some others behind him. Over twenty minutes fifty wolves joined them, shocked to see the kids in front of them. Some of the wolves they recognized, others they were unsure of. After a short while Oliver told them that this would be it for today from Thoren’s pack, as others stayed back with kids or to see what it was all about before showing themselves out in the open.

                “Thank you for coming, even seeing one old face would have been a treat but seeing so many of you brings a real warmth to my heart.” Valkyrie starts. “You would all remember me as a precocious and mouthy kid, not someone you would see as a leader, but now we stand here on a new moon. For those that do not remember, I am Valkyrie Grace, your new Alpha.” This brought come grumbles from the men in the group, some questioning why one of the men behind her is not the Alpha.

                “I am Raven Grace, you all know me, many having heard of my return from Elias. Yes, I am the older child, and yes, I am who you would have expected to see as your Alpha. Let me make this clear, Valkyrie is not just the best leader for this pack, but the rightful leader. Let her show you how we have known this to be the case since we were kids.” Raven finishes, looking back to his sister. As he does, she nods to him, then without care of her clothing shifts into her wolf. The gasps and comments from the crowd show they are as shocked as was expected, they had no idea she would turn to a work as black as the night. In the light of the new moon her fur is so dark she almost disappears against the night sky. With a growl she forces all the wolves there to show their loyalty and submission to her strength, then they start to shift. Once everyone has shifted, they take off on a run to bond them together as a pack again. They were all acutely aware that no one from Christian’s pack had joined them, but for now all they wanted to do was come together again.

                None of them had thought to see who could be lurking in the shadows, having not done a great job keeping their return and this run a secret. Anyone with any information on the Grace family could have found this location and had. Deep in woods they were watched by a sentry that had been sent to keep track of the Alpha’s return. While he had missed seeing the shift from human form, he knew that the Alpha was who they needed to keep track of. The bloodline needed to be stopped, and by stopping it they could finally end the disgusting mutts that were taking over the world. With a few more pictures he took off to report what he had seen, he knew they had not seen him, but he knew if he is here there could be other spies as well. This is not the time to be caught by the enemy, and they are not ready to show their hand yet.