Knotted By The Three Feral Alphas Chapter 68: Honoring The Dead

I continued to walk the lower hall with the kings at my sides, the stones still carrying the faint scent of blood and herbs.

The wounded lay on low cots along the walls, their breathing ragged or steady depending on how deep the blades had gone.

I stopped at the first cot and knelt beside a woman whose arm was wrapped in clean linen. She had taken a cut ant for her sister during the last raid. Her eyes t mine and held.

"You brought us back sothing real," she said. "The supplies from that camp will feed my family through the next winter."

I rested my hand on her uninjured shoulder. "You stood when they ca for the barns. The keep rembers that and will forever be indebted to you."

She nodded once, her grip tight on my wrist for a mont before she let go. I moved to the next cot, then the next, speaking to every man and woman who had bled for us. So reached for my hand. Others simply watched with steady eyes.

I listened to their stories, the small details they rembered from the fight, the way the Nightthorn warriors had co out of the dark. I promised each one that their sacrifice would not be forgotten in the laws we passed or the training we continued.

The families of the fallen waited in the smaller rooms off the main hall. I entered each one with the kings close behind. A mother whose son had died protecting the supply wagons sat with her hands folded in her lap. She looked up when I stepped inside and spoke before I could.

"He always said the queen would make the North different," she said. "He believed it enough to ride out with you."

I knelt in front of her and took her hands. "He was right. The North is different because of him and for that we are grateful for his loyalty."

She squeezed my fingers once, her eyes wet but her voice steady. I stayed with her until she was ready to let go.

In the next room a father whose daughter had fallen during the raid sat with his head in his hands. He did not speak at first. I sat beside him and waited until he was ready. When he finally looked at , his voice was rough.

"She wanted to train with the won. I told her it was too dangerous. She went anyway. She died protecting the children in the outer tents."

I rested my hand on his shoulder. "She died as a warrior. The keep will honor her na in the new laws we make for the won who fight."

He nodded slowly. The kings stood silent behind , their presence a wall of quiet support. We moved through every room, every family, every story. The weight of the losses settled into my bones, but it did not break . It reminded why we had ridden out in the first place.

Later, in the war room, the kings and I sat around the table with the maps spread open. The Nightthorn camp lay in ashes, but the power vacuum it left behind was already shifting. Darius traced the western borders with his finger.

"Other packs will move into the space Vespera left," he said. "So will want alliance. Others will want to test us while we are still recovering."

Kane leaned over the map, his scarred hand resting on the edge. "We cannot wait for them to decide. We will ride out and et them on our terms when that happens. Diplomacy first. Then we resort to steel blades if they refuse."

Rylan tapped the northern passes. "The far packs have heard what happened. They respect strength. We show them we are not weak after the victory. We offer trade and protection. They will listen."

I studied the routes and the nas of the neighboring packs. The twins were crawling faster every day. Lila was becoming more vocal, asking questions about the world beyond the walls. The keep needed stability, not another war. But stability required allies.

"Hmm, we start with the closest pack to the west," I said. "The one that lost scouts to Vespera’s raids. We ride with a small escort and offer them the supplies we took from the Nightthorn camp. Then we talk about shared patrols on the border."

The kings nodded. The bond between us moved steady and warm, the argunt from the night before settled into sothing stronger. They stood with now, not over . They had learned.

We spent the rest of the afternoon marking the route and choosing the riders. The children stayed in the nursery, their laughter drifting down the corridor every so often.

I let the sound anchor while we worked. Thorne and Elara were beginning to stand on wobbly legs. Lila was marching around the nursery declaring herself queen of the furs. They were the reason we planned these rides. They were the reason we would not wait for the next threat to find us.

By evening the plan was set. I walked the corridors with the kings, checking the guard rotations one last ti. The keep felt alive with purpose. Wolves nodded as we passed, their eyes sharp, their steps purposeful. The pack had chosen to stand with after the last battle. They would support these diplomatic rides now.

We returned to the chambers as the sun dropped behind the western ridge. The children were already asleep in the big bed, tangled together in a pile of limbs and blankets. Lila had one arm flung over Thorne. Elara curled against her brother’s back. I stood in the doorway for a long mont, watching their small chests rise and fall.

The kings stayed close behind . Darius rested a hand on my shoulder. Kane brushed his fingers along my arm. Rylan leaned in and pressed a kiss to the side of my neck.

We would ride at first light tomorrow.

We would begin the work of securing the peace we had won.

I turned to the three of them and felt the bond settle deeper, stronger than it had been since the night I returned from Shadowpine. The children slept safe between us. The keep held. The wall I held inside myself was still standing.

Tomorrow we would ride out and offer alliance to the neighboring pack.

Tomorrow we would begin the next Chapter of the North.

The silence after victory felt different. It was not empty. It was full of the small sounds of the children breathing, the low crackle of the fire, the steady presence of the kings around .

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The next morning, I left the keep at dawn with eight riders, the smallest escort that still felt safe. The kings stayed behind, their faces tight as they watched ride through the gates.

Darius stood on the wall, his ice-blue eyes tracking every step. Kane gripped the parapet until his knuckles whitened. Rylan paced the bailey, axe across his back, his usual grin nowhere to be seen. They had wanted to co. I had told them the keep needed its strongest defenders while I was gone. They had listened, but their eyes said they hated it.

The trail west wound through the lower passes, the ground still soft from the spring thaw. My horse picked her way carefully, her ears flicking at every sound. The air slled of wet pine and fresh earth.

I kept my blade loose at my thigh and my eyes on the tree line. The twins and Lila were safe inside the walls with the best guards we had. I carried their faces with anyway, the way Lila had hugged my leg before I left, the way Thorne and Elara had reached for with sticky fingers.

The neighboring pack’s walls appeared by midday, wooden palisades reinforced with fresh timber. Their scouts t us on the open ground and led us through the gates without a word. The bailey was smaller than ours but well kept, the people moving with the quiet efficiency of those who had survived hard seasons.

Their alpha waited on the steps of the longhouse, a tall woman with gray streaking her dark hair and a scar running from her temple to her jaw. She watched dismount, her eyes asuring every detail.

"If it isn’t the queen of the North, ruler of the Frostfang pack and mate to the hitherto rogue alphas. You rode with only eight," she said. "Most queens would bring an army after what you did to the Nightthorn Triad."

I handed my reins to one of her people and t her gaze. "Well yes indeed it is I, in the flesh and blood. And yes I ca with a few of my loyal soldiers because with an army, you would be tempted to say I was afraid. But I am not."

She studied for a long mont, then nodded once. "Hmm, you got a smart mouth I see. Co inside. We talk." She swinged her fingers signalling to follow her inside.

I simply grinned and followed her inside her keep.