I’d heard this from Celeste and was ready for this argument.
“But Fate found a way around it and sent us human mates. Doesn’t that say something? That we’re not meant to die off?”
Trevor grimaced and I saw a small amount of reasoning come to life in his eyes.
“There are a lot of people that believe what my father believed. That you all should be left to rot. And after Celeste betrayed us, then ran off, my den wants revenge. They want to attack.”
I paused. He didn’t want this. Nevaeh had told me once that Trevor’s father had forced him to date her. Surely, he’d want to just walk away?
And I could work with that.
I smiled calmly. “But if you don’t want to risk your Den by attacking us, surely you, as the Alpha, must be followed.”
Trevor was nodding and I could almost hear the cogs in his brain clicking around. “I may be able to hold them off until a treaty can be organised, but you need to give us something in return.”
Anything.
“What do you want? Supplies? Cash.”
“We want Celeste back.”
Cold dread skittled down my spine. “But… why?”
They wanted to kill her. Punish her. I could tell.
Trevor looked amongst his den mates, puffing up his chest like a wanker.
“She was sentenced to death by me, and the sentence must be carried out. It’ll be the only way to appease my den, maintain order. A sacrifice for the greater good. Surely you’d do that.”
I didn’t move, nor speak, I couldn’t.
And the Alphas alongside me weren’t helping.
They knew my struggle and would never sacrifice their own mates for the good of the overall pack.
“You want me to send her back to you so you can kill her?” I had to repeat his words back to him, just so I was one-hundred percent sure what he was saying.
And I had to hold my temper.
Dexter and Grayson and I had sworn to each other not to show our cards.
Not to declare the importance of our Fated Mates, as Celeste had told me that the bears didn’t have such mates.
And he showed me she was correct when he said, “You can get another mate. Women are interchangeable.”
I nodded and cleared my throat, working out what to say. I had to buy us some time to work out a new plan. Because I was never giving her up.
“I agree… women are interchangeable.”
The lie tasted like ash on my tongue.
Dexter looked at me and shook his head in the smallest of gestures, but I turned back to Trevor, a plan forming in my mind.
“You know our pack is childless, woman-less.”
“Yes.” He grinned and exchanged satisfied looks with his den mates.
I wanted to squash their arrogance with my fist. But I pushed down my anger.