“Damara tol
d me about your thought. How you figured most of the lions were there because Jerry ordered it, not because they wanted to be, and if he wasn’t fighting, they wouldn’t, either. You were right. All but one of them stopped fighting the moment you forced his shift.”
“What happened to the one who attacked after that?”
Blake nodded toward Tarun, a smile on his face. “Ask your mate.”
Tarun shrugged as he looked at her. “He deserved to die. He attacked you even when it was clear the battle was over.”
His eyebrows shot up as he stared at her. “You killed him?”
“Like I said, he deserved it.”
“She was something else,” Blake said, clear admiration in his voice. “He wasn’t going down easy, and he went at her hard. But she made it look effortless. The fight was over in about a minute, two tops.”
Luke whistled low. “Damn. I wish I’d seen that.”
“She definitely has a place with the Enforcers if she wants one. I interrogated the rest of them—there were only eight left. You killed two, Tarun killed one, and Noah got another. There was only one other who was firmly on Jerry’s side. And he knew what Jerry had done to your family—the others didn’t know. He’ll be locked up in one of the prisons. I thought I’d leave the fate of the others to you.”
Anger surged up inside him and his lips tightened as he thought of what was done to his family. “And Jerry?”
“Alive for now, but he’ll die. Evil like that has to. Prison would just give him the chance to spread his venom. Tarun volunteered to do the honors, but we stopped her. Your mate is bloodthirsty,” Blake said with a smile. “But we thought one death on her conscience was more than enough. Who takes him out is up to you, Luke. It’s your right to choose, and your right to be the one who does it, if you want to.”
He didn’t hesitate. “I’ll do it.”
Blake nodded. “I figured you’d say that. And the others?”
“Let them go home. They shouldn’t be punished because they were forced to fight.”
“What about you? Are you going to go home? Claim your birthright, now that the threat to you is over?”
Luke studied him as he asked the question. Blake was calm and seemingly unconcerned on the surface, but he could see the reluctance the leader of the Enforcers felt even asking the question. Luke could tell he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.
“I have no interest in being the alpha of the pride. I love being an Enforcer—it’s my calling and where I belong. That being said, I think I will make a trip home. There’s a family who are naturally next in line. They’re good people, and I want the pride to feel like they can pledge to them with no issues. I’ll formally renounce my claim and endorse them. And it’d be nice to see some of my old friends and touch base with the pride. They were my whole life at one point, and it’s never sat well with me that Noah and I just disappeared.”
Blake nodded, relief briefly flashing through his dark eyes. And Luke had to admit, that felt good. It was nice to be wanted—not just because he was the alpha of a pride, where he hadn’t done anything to earn his position except be born. Who was adored based solely on that position.
But to be liked because of who he was as a person. To know he had a place with the Enforcers because he earned it—not because it was given to him.
To know that if he were to leave, he’d be missed.
“I’ll let the other six lions go home, then. The one who was on Jerry’s side is already en route to the Washington prison. And Jerry will be left for you to take care of. Whenever you’re ready, he’s yours.” Blake looked over at Tarun. “Thank you for everything you did. Not just coming here to warn us because of your gift, although of course, for that as well. But for not hesitating to help protect Luke and the other Enforcers, without even once worrying about what could happen to you. This crew is my family. And you have my undying gratitude for helping them.”
Blake nodded to them and then left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Luke glanced over at Tarun, taking in the tears filling her hazel eyes, the wetness making the green rim appear even brighter than usual.
“You have my thanks, as well. I know you would have done the same even if we weren’t mates, and that means the world to me. I don’t know how I got lucky enough to be your mate, but I’ll never stop counting my blessings.”
A few tears spilled down her cheeks and she wiped them away with shaky fingers, giving him a wobbly smile. “Oh, stop. I didn’t do anything anyone else wouldn’t have done.”
Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her head, her dark hair silky against his lips, the red highlights gleaming in the light.
“You’re wrong about that, but I won’t argue with you about it. Just know you have my thanks. Thank you for being you.”
She didn’t reply as she snuggled in closer, but that was okay. The important thing was telling her those truths, and making sure she understood just how amazing she was for doing the things she had—not her reply.
Jerry had committed horrific atrocities against Luke’s family. And then, he’d set his sights on Luke himself, ready to slaughter his crew to get to him. Luke had thought those threats were the worst possible thing that could happen, because it meant his makeshift family were put right in the path of danger and destruction.
And that was true. Yet, at the same time, it was those threats that brought Tarun to him. There was a struggle inside him to reconcile himself with the situation, because it was both the best and worst thing to happen to him.