Alliance of Shadows, Book 5: LEIF

Roots Reclaimed

Then came the day we finally got to talk with him.

I was sitting across from Dre, the two of us half-laughing through wedding details—colors, food, whether or not cake smashing was a dealbreaker—when Kaden walked in without knocking.

“You guys want the good news or the bad first?” he muttered, one foot kicked up against the doorframe like he’d been standing there debating it for a while.

“Daddy! Papa!” Conner barreled in from the backyard like a sugar-comet, birthday cake smeared across his cheeks and nose, glittering icing crusted at the corners of his mouth. “Uncle Neil is here, and he brought the Howlers!”

I stood up, already shaking my head as Dre stifled a groan. “Let me guess—that was the bad news?”

“Yeah, it was,” Kaden said, letting out a crooked laugh. “But the good news is even better—Akita’s gonna start dating me!”

Can you say kid in a candy store? Because I can. Kaden lit up like someone handed him the moon, and for half a second, the stress lines vanished from around his eyes.

Dreson was the first to shake off the chaos. He leaned to one side and peered toward the hallway. “You brought more than just Logan?”

“He refused to leave his pack behind,” Neil said as he stepped into the doorway, scrubbing the back of his neck with one hand like the trip here had drained him. “So I brought my Gamma and Beta to corral Wynter and Colt’s kids. Figured they’d start an uprising if they were left behind.”

Logan followed close behind, small and silent, half-tucked into Neil’s shadow like he could disappear there if he needed to.

He didn’t say a word—just whimpered softly, the sound barely audible but enough to make the hairs on my arms stand on end. His fingers twitched at his sides, fists opening and closing in slow, stuttering movements like he wasn’t sure what to do with his hands. His gaze darted from face to face, never landing anywhere for long. The kid was trying to hold himself together with nothing but silence and tension.

And I knew that look. That barely contained fear. That need to stay small, unreadable, invisible. I’d worn it once too.

Breathing deeply, Neil bit his lip as he watched Maria tug Logan gently through the doorway, their hands still clasped. “Hell and back, guys—but that kid? He’s one tough cookie.” His gaze stayed locked on the door for a beat longer. “Dre, what do you think of him?”

“He’s doing well,” Dreson said, leaning back in his chair with a low sigh. “Especially for someone who walked through a shitstorm not that long ago.” He glanced toward me, then back at Neil. “Any concerns from the other ranked members?”

“None officially, but…” Neil’s brow furrowed, voice dipping. “It kind of creeps me out how he’s always watching Lorne and Izaria. Not in a bad way—it just feels... off. I guess I’m being paranoid, but it almost seems like he’s guarding them.”

Dre nodded slowly, lips thinning with thought. “I don’t think it’s something to worry about. Leif, have you noticed anything?”

“Nay,” I said, sipping from my mug, the warm tea grounding me as I considered the boy. “The lad’s got his mother’s heart. Morals, values... he carries ’em all, plain as day. Nothing worth frettin’ over, Neil. ’Sides, if he’s keepin’ close to Izzy and Lorne, it tracks. He watches out for the kids he’s close to—likely terrified of losin’ another mother figure. If it gives him some peace, let him have it.”

Neil paused and sank into the armchair closest to him, the leather groaning softly under his weight. From the yard, we could hear bursts of squealing laughter—high-pitched giggles followed by the unmistakable crack of a balloon popping and Conner’s triumphant shout. The scent of icing and fresh grass drifted in on the breeze, a reminder that life kept moving, even when your heart felt frozen in place.

Neil’s shoulders eased slightly as the weight of my words settled in. “I didn’t think of that. You’re right, though.” His voice had dropped, softened under the echo of distant laughter. “You didn’t see him in the hospital, but… Dre, it was like someone held up a mirror to my past and—”

He trailed off.

He didn’t need to say more.

One glance at Dreson told the rest. His face had gone slack and pale, the same way it did when old wounds crept up without warning. The sudden bang of what might’ve been a party popper made him flinch just slightly before he exhaled.

“Yeah,” Dre murmured. “I remember. You were hollow. Withdrawn. And you got violent for a while… until me and Kaden grounded you again.”

Another squeal rang out, followed by the sound of little feet thundering across the deck. A high, sugar-rushed “Tag, you’re it!” bounced in through the open window.

Neil blinked hard, then nodded slowly. “It was your friendship that helped keep me sane. Goddess, I wish Dad had let me and K take that bastard out a long time ago... but then again, if we had, Logan might never have been born.”

He looked down at the floor, lips twitching into something like a smile. “And my Mate? She adores the hell outta that boy.”

There was a long beat of nothing but noise from the yard—the sound of joy left unchecked. Children squealed in delight, little feet thudded across the deck, and someone let out a dramatic “No fair!” as a game shifted momentum. It was the kind of noise that could only exist in places still blessed with hope.

Then Dreson nodded slowly, gaze distant but warm. “That’s her Druid soul, Neil. She’s naturally nurturing, like most Druid mothers, but she’s more than that. She’s fierce. Already a Luna in all but name, the way she protects and dotes on the pack’s pups. And that school? That changes everything. No more Child Trade. A centralized system. Her ideas took our old ways and turned them into something stronger—for all of us.”

I gave a quiet chuckle, voice going softer than I meant it to. “Ye spent years lookin’ for your Mate, and Dre his cousin... yet the moment she’s found, everythin’ shifts. Feels like everythin’ came full circle, as they say.”

Lana knocked on the door, her eyes shimmering with happiness. “Alpha King, your young charge wanted to know if it was okay that he and his friends join Conner and Heather in the pool.”

“As long as he’s not causing problems, tell him to do as he pleases,” Neil answered.

When Lana returned to her post watching over the tots, he smirked. I knew that look. I hadn’t spent much time around him, but this “look” was something that said he was up to something.

“So, neither of you answered me earlier. Who’s wearing white?” Neil pressed.

Dreson sighed, rolling his eyes. “Neither of us, actually.”

Confused, I watched Neil sit closer to the edge of his chair, the leather squeaking with the movement. “Explain.”

“Asshole,” Kaden muttered, finally leaving the window where he was watching over the kids. “Dre will be dressed in the Druid robes of the Royal family. Leif won the argument about using a traditional blend of Welsh and Nordic wedding wear.”

“Traditional… what?” Neil said, his voice echoing the confusion in his dark eyes. “Thought you left that life behind?”

Smiling behind my mug, I nodded. “Aye. I left the bad parts of my life in the bin, but not my roots. Those are mine to claim, not theirs to covet.”

He gave me a curious look. “So… I have absolutely no clue what these… traditional clothes might be. Wanna fill me in?”

Setting my mug down, I leaned back with a quiet grin. “Aye. I’ll be wearin’ dark forest green layered with slate gray, the fabrics all hand-stitched linen and leather stitched like the old ways, not modern machine crap. I’ll bear a knotwork sash over my shoulder, tied with a silver brooch in the shape of Móðir’s compass. Along the hem, there’ll be rune etchings, just small blessings inked in thread for strength, truth, and unity. Nothin’ flashy. Just honest. Just mine. Course, I’ll also be wearin’ a Tree o’ Life broach reflective of our Mate mark.”

Dreson leaned back with a sigh, fingers tracing the rim of his mug before glancing up at Neil. His eyes danced with glee.

“It’s not flashy, if that’s what you’re expecting,” he said. “The outer robe’s twilight blue, and it’s being stitched by the same seamstress the family used for my father’s ceremonies and Uncle Raphael’s marriage. There’s going to be silver knotwork embroidery along the edges, and my belt’s plaited leather with threads of gold with my family's crest stamped at the buckle. The cloak that goes with it has been passed down through six generations. Names stitched into the lining, from my oldest ancestor all the way down to me. You wear it to carry the spirits with you into the next generation. It will go to Kaden when he marries Akita, so his name is next after mine to go on the inner hem. The Tree of Life will also be a prominent broach on my attire.”

His eyes wide, Neil shook his head. “Sounds nice. I’m worried my father is going to make a scene at my wedding to Izzy.”

“Oh, man,” Kaden shook his head, a smirk gracing his face. “Yeah, I can see Henry going all-out classic Irish on you. Hell, he might even try to make you dress in it.”

Neil paled, “f**k that.”