Getting separated from Adele again had to be the worst form of torture for Micah.

After that incident at the Academy, when the witches had the nerve to lay their hands on his mate, he had spent the entire day buried deeply in her sweet warmth, grounding himself in her presence, reassuring himself over and over that she was fine and unharmed.

That alone had kept him from returning to Lunaris and tearing those devil spawns apart. It would have been a delight to torment them endlessly in hell. That was all his demon side wanted. It craved blood and demanded revenge.

But the more rational part of him acknowledged that they had, in their own twisted way, helped him break through the mental barrier that had restricted his teleportation. Unconventional or not, it had worked.

They were just lucky Adele had occupied him. Simple as that.

After a full day of "recharging," he finally left for the Alpha King’s residence, where he was brought up to speed almost immediately. Angus had returned—and he wanted his position back.

Unfortunately, Nancy had been injured, and his ever-kind mate, as usual, had insisted on going to heal her. That left Micah alone with a room full of alphas, all of whom were now looking to him for a solution on how to deal with his... "father."

Suddenly, he was being acknowledged as Angus’s son. Just not in a way he would have ever wanted. Piece of shit, all of them.

"So what are we waiting for?!" one of the sub-alphas snapped. "I say we don’t wait till tomorrow. We storm Duskmoon Village and get rid of him!"

"So you’d bring the fight to his domain? How very smart of you," Micah replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

The alpha glared at him. "You have a better idea, demon?" he sneered.

"Better watch your tongue," Elijah cut in, his voice carrying enough weight to silence the room. "That’s my nephew you’re talking to. Don’t make me regret allowing you lowly sub-alphas into this meeting. It’s beginning to seem like you lot are only good at taking orders from your respective wardens."

A ripple of low growls moved through the sub-alphas at the blatant insult.

Truth was, there was barely any real difference between an alpha and a sub-alpha. Strength wise, they stood on nearly equal ground. The only thing separating them was title and authority. If a sub-alpha challenged an alpha and won, the position would change hands without question.

But the title still mattered. Sub-alphas were leaders of smaller packs, operating under the supervision of the alphas. Yet the word "sub" carried a meaning of its own; it meant lesser, smaller, beneath. That was enough to sound like an insult to them. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Micah was taken aback by his uncle’s response. That had to be one of the first times his uncle had ever defended him.

Nah. He didn’t plan on getting used to that.

Elijah was probably just playing nice now that he was being "useful" to him.

Before the tension could escalate further, the cardinal alphas, or rather, half of them, stormed into the room.

"Micah, my brother-in-law!" that weirdo Roman called out, throwing himself into his arms before he could even react.

The scene was ridiculous, with Micah standing stiffly while Roman hugged him without a care in the world.

Not bothered by the lack of response, Roman pulled back, grinning. "Good news, Asher’s mated to Violet."

Micah’s eyes widened in surprise, his lips twitching into a smile. Whatever reservations he had about Roman vanished in that moment as he reached out and shook his hand.

"Well, congratulations!"

Around them, murmurs broke out almost immediately.

"Even Asher is mated to Angus’s daughter now?"

"How is she collecting all the cardinal alphas like prizes to be won?"

"Doesn’t this seem a little suspicious? What if Violet and Angus are working together and we’re just too blind to see it?"

"Congratulations," Elijah’s voice broke through the noise, rising above everyone else. "Where are they then?"

His gaze swept the room, clearly expecting Violet to be present.

"She’s not back in the human realm yet. We only found out through the bond," Griffin answered, his voice tight. Elijah’s sudden focus on Violet didn’t sit right with him.

"What a disappointment." Elijah had the audacity to look genuinely displeased. "From what I’ve heard she’s capable of, she would have been quite useful for this mission."

"I can’t believe I’m saying this..." Roman’s voice slipped into Griffin’s mind, his walls completely down. "But I’m glad Violet’s far away from this conniving pervert."

Griffin’s jaw tightened. "Unfortunately, she won’t be for long."

As soon as the mating heat with Asher was over, Griffin knew Violet. She would come for them. The fact that she couldn’t communicate with them right now? That alone would be driving her insane.

"Now that everyone’s present..." Elijah rose to his feet, "it’s time we decide how to tackle the common enemy we have, my brother and former Alpha King, Angus."

"Look at him, acting all high and mighty like he didn’t contribute to the problem," Roman complained through the bond, rolling his eyes.

"Goddess, help me ..." Griffin was close to strangling Roman.

He valued the bond between them, but Roman was insufferable, and he wasn’t sure he would survive if this was what he had to deal with constantly. So he shut him out once more, sealing it tight this time, leaving no room for him to slip back in.

"Micah here has given us the information we need—"

"I wouldn’t advise any of you to head to Duskmoon Village for a fight," Micah cut in. "Trust me, none of you truly understand what you’re dealing with. Angus has an entire village of witches and loyal wolves protecting him. Why do you think not even the human government has touched that settlement for years?"

"So what do you suggest we do then, Micah?" Irene asked. "Do we sit here and let him make good on his threats? We are not cowards."

"Yes, you’re not," Micah agreed. "But no one fights a war they already know they’ll lose."