Caged

Chapter 41.

I felt Rhett's push into my mind. "It's time for the pack meeting. Where are you?"

"Avery's cabin." I responded.

"I'll be waiting outside." He said smoothly.

I looked back at Avery who was watching me. "Rhett's outside to take me to the pack meeting. You coming?"

She nodded and stood slowly, walking over and grabbing her jacket as I opened the door. We walked outside and the afternoon's crisp air hit me. Fall was finally coming and I anxiously felt the need for a season of change.

My eyes landed on the tall, dark haired Alpha standing in front of us. He was cleaned and dressed in an open flannel shirt with a dark tee underneath. His face was still stubbled, but his hair was brushed back and in place. So different than the man I'd left only an hour ago, covered and reeking of blood.

He smiled at me as I walked ahead to meet him and I felt my heart stutter in my chest. He truly was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen. He reached out for me and looped his arm around my waist as I closed the distance between us, pulling me in to a tight hold as he leaned down to kiss me deeply.

I pulled back and looked up at him with a raised brow. "Well hello to you too. What was that for?" I asked with a laugh.

He leaned in, brushing his lips against my ear as his warm breath tickled against my skin. "It just feels good to know you're safe. And that you're mine." My entire body shivered and I had to pull away to be able to regain my composure as Avery approached us with a knowing smirk.

"Alpha Everett. I just want to thank you again for everything you did for me. And for Huntleigh and Thalia." She said quietly, bowing her head in submission.

Rhett pulled me against his side and nodded, holding his hand up dismissively. "No need. Anyone important to Lili is important to me. You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like."

Avery's face lit up as she smiled up at us with a quick nod. We made our way through the winding town streets before stopping outside of the pack's main house, following the crowd as they made their way into the meeting room. It was full, and I was relieved when Rhett pulled us toward the front and out of the crowd to stand beside Dominic and his team.

Dominic nodded to both of us before beginning. "Silence." His voice boomed with authority, causing everyone to instantly stop speaking.

I looked toward the front to see Ivy holding a bouncing Huntleigh in her lap as she beamed up at me, whispering in Ivy's ear.

"As some of you may know, we have visitors from the Spirit Moon pack. They've traveled here because of an issue caused by my former Beta Cage. He kidnapped Alpha Everett's young mate here and another young she-wolf, as well as held the daughter he secretly shared with Alpha Everett's mate captive without her knowledge of her being alive. he committed unspeakable actions against all three. Because of this, I saw that he did not deserve mercy, and the sentence of death was carried out earlier today."

Several gasps came from the crowd as their eyes jumped from their brooding Alpha to us, their collective gazes falling heavily on me. Rhett pulled me closer into him and squared his shoulders as they watched us warily.

Dominic cleared his throat and the room fell silent once more. "It is also time I acknowledge that I myself found out a bit of new information that came along with this group." My heart leapt as I mentally prepared myself for what he was about to reveal. "I've come to know that this same she-wolf, named Thalia Walker, is also my daughter. Her mother, some of you may recall, was Olivia Walker."

The room fell deathly silent and their heads began to bow in unison. My eyes widened as I looked over to Dominic. His jaw was set and his eyes were fierce, swirling with emotion as he spoke.

"You all were told she'd died. I must tell you now that it was not true. I thought it best for the pack to believe she'd passed on in childbirth due to the threat on her life. However, to keep her and Thalia safe, she fled with my help until it was safe for her to return. Unfortunately, her safe house was compromised and she was forced to leave without word or further contact to me. I had not known our child had made it. Until now." He looked over at me, his eyes dark as he clenched his jaw.

My eyes were wide and I was fighting to control my breathing and regulate my heart rate.

Could this be true? Could they have actually been in love?

Dominic held his hand out for me to step toward him. I felt myself woodenly following his silent request and taking his hand nervously. He pulled me forward and nodded to Ivy. She walked Huntleigh up to hand her off to me as she jumped in front of me, hugging my legs tightly.

"I'd like to formally introduce the heir to the Shadow Pack, Thalia Montgomery, and her daughter Huntleigh." His voice spoke smoothly, leaving me minimal time to observe that he'd attached a different last name than my own. He'd given me his. He'd claimed me for the entire pack to see.

The pack in front of us began to cheer, clapping their hands loudly and leaving Huntleigh squealing in delight at the attention. I gave a small smile and nodded as I felt Rhett walk up to place his arm around me, squeezing me tightly. His touch comforted me, but even more so, it placed his claim on me as well. I'd gone from having no one, not a single friend or family member, to having two men wanting to make me part of their family. Part of them.

My heart swelled as I looked over in lingering shock at Dominic. He was watching us with eyes swirling dark, his face pulled tightly into a blank expression. He gave me a curt nod and dismissed the pack before leading us back to his office down the hall.

As we filed into the room, I smiled as Huntleigh crawled into my lap and nuzzled against my chest. She was completely content as she placed her thumb in her mouth sleepily, lying in my arms. The feeling was so foreign to me, and yet it felt completely natural. So right. She was part of me and I was part of her, and somehow we both knew it.

"Now, I assume you still have some questions." Dominic's gruff voice pulled me from my daze and I blinked up at him before my thoughts returned to normal focus.

"How did you meet my mother?" I asked, suddenly finding my words.

His face softened before he looked at the wall behind me, his ocean blue eyes swimming with memory. "It was so long ago. It nearly seems like a completely different life." He let out a long breath and ran a hand across his hair. "She'd been visiting with a neighboring team she was working with. She was helping with inter-pack relations and they'd been tasked with helping forge alliances with the stronger packs in the area. When she arrived, she took my breath away. I'd given into the bond immediately, but she'd hated me. I had a reputation that preceded me, she said. She thought I was cruel, but once she got to know me, she saw what I'd seen from the start. We both fell quickly after that and I'd claimed her within the week."

I shifted quietly under the weight of his story. I'd been with Rhett for weeks now and I'd so badly wanted to allow the bond to happen, but we'd been forced to wait. Now that I was free from Cage, would he still want to claim me? Would he actually accept Huntleigh?

"Everyone here adored her. She was strong, and fierce, and the kindest wolf I've ever known. My opposite in every way. And just what this pack needed." His voice seemed distant, like he was trying to find her.

I chuckled tightly and spoke on a whim, the words jumping out before I realized I'd said them. "I'd say strength and ferocity are not your issues."

His eyes snapped up at me, and I expected him to growl or scold me, but instead he smirked back at me, his eyes flashing in humor. "But I'm those things out of necessity. I have to be to hold the fear and respect of my pack and enemies. Your mother, she had it radiating from within her. I don't know how else to describe it." He said gruffly.

"Much like her daughter." Rhett's voice spoke clearly and my eyes snapped up to see him looking down at me with some kind of emotion I didn't recognize. It was almost as if he spoke in admiration.

I shook my head and felt a blush creep up my cheeks. "I'm not half the woman she was. But maybe one day I can be."