Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 909: What Now?

"Shit," Micah muttered, rubbing his temple hard. His head was pounding like someone had taken a hammer to his skull. "That asshole."

"Micah?" Violet called immediately. "Are you okay? What just happened?"

"I need water."

Micah stumbled and Violet rushed to his side with unnatural speed, catching him before he could collapse onto the floor.

"You’re completely wrung dry," Violet murmured. She could feel it. His energy reserves were practically nonexistent and the fact he leaned his entire body weight against her only confirmed it.

Unfortunately for Micah, Violet’s caretaking only lasted two seconds. The next moment his weight vanished off her completely as Griffin casually grabbed him and hoisted him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Dude!" Micah barked in outrage, staring upside down at the world now. "What the hell?!"

Ignoring the complaint entirely, Griffin carried him across the throne room and dumped him onto one of the seats nearby.

Then Lila stretched out her hand toward him. In it was a waterskin.

Micah lifted a brow suspiciously at the sight of it. Seriously? What era were they in? More importantly, where in the world had she even been hiding that thing this entire time?

Lila clearly sensed the judgment on his face because she narrowed her eyes dangerously at him.

"Do you want the water or not?"

To prove a point, she immediately started pulling it away.

Micah snatched it from her at once.

"Okay, damn."

He brought the waterskin to his lips cautiously, half expecting to drink it and somehow wake up transported back into the stone ages.

But the moment the liquid touched his tongue, his eyes widened slightly.

That was definitely not ordinary water.

Warm energy immediately spread throughout his exhausted body in gentle waves, sinking into his muscles and bones until the headache pounding behind his eyes slowly eased up.

By the time he lowered the empty waterskin, some color had already returned to his face.

Micah stared at Lila with bright curiosity.

"What did I just drink?" Micah narrowed his eyes at the waterskin. "That wasn’t water, was it?"

Lila immediately snatched the empty waterskin back from him, frowning when she realized he had finished all of it.

"It is not," she replied with obvious annoyance. "Think of it as the equivalent of glucose in your world. It restores energy."

Then almost immediately her expression sharpened again.

"Now explain what happened," she demanded. "I need to report back to the Queen and I would very much appreciate confirmation that Angus is truly gone."

Micah leaned back against the chair and released a slow breath.

"Angus is gone," he said with absolute finality.

Silence settled over the throne room at those words. There was no dramatic celebration aside from utter silence. After everything Angus had done, his absence felt less like victory and more like the end of a long nightmare they were still struggling to wake up from.

Micah explained further, "I found out Asmodeus has a claim over my child if the baby turns out to possess demon blood. Asmodeus has always hated Angus. He was supposed to die after the ritual went wrong, but your Queen Seraphira stepped in and saved him. So I made Asmodeus a deal instead. I hand Angus over to him and in exchange, my child remains free."

He cocked his head. "I just didn’t realize the bastard would possess me personally to collect on the deal."

Violet scowled at him, folding her arms across her chest. "And you didn’t think informing me about your little arrangement was important?"

Micah stared right back at her without flinching.

"You were determined to kill him yourself," he replied bluntly. "You wouldn’t have rested until you saw the man dead with your own eyes and absolutely no chance of him ever coming back."

"And she has every reason to feel that way," Asher pointed out seriously. "How exactly are we supposed to be certain Angus won’t somehow crawl his way out of hell and return to haunt us later?"

"Trust me," Micah said dryly, "nobody escapes hell." His expression darkened.

"Besides, he’s already being tormented as we speak. That will be his existence for eternity."

Silence settled over them for a moment as Violet and her mates exchanged cautious looks. One could hardly blame them for being skeptical.

At this point their lives had become one disaster after another and every time they thought things were finally over, a new nightmare emerged waiting for them around the corner. They honestly needed a break from all these fights.

"So..." Alaric said unsure, "this is actually over?"

Griffin answered, "We’ve dealt with Angus. Cut off the head of the hydra and eventually the rest fall apart."

"Or another head grows back in its place," Asher countered darkly.

"We may not be able to exterminate every witch or whatever remains of Angus’s wolves, but they need to understand actions like this come with consequences." His eyes flashed dangerously, the ruthless side of him surfacing.

But Violet gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"These people have lived under Angus’s oppression for goddess knows how long," she told him. "I think right now they need comfort, rehabilitation and empathy more than fear."

Micah nodded in agreement.

"The witches have spent years being treated like lesser beings by the wolves," he explained. "The reason many of them sided with Angus in the first place was because he promised them a world where they could finally stand equal to wolves instead of beneath them."

His gaze swept across the ruined throne room. "Maybe it’s time they actually are treated equally."

"Well," Lila straightened gracefully, "in that case, I believe my mission here is over."

Her gaze shifted toward Violet.

"I believe the Queen would be expecting a visit from you soon, princess." A faint smile tugged at her lips. "She would like that very much."

"Of course," Violet replied. "We’ll see."

Then Lila lifted two fingers toward her forehead in the traditional Fae greeting.

"Goddess watch over you."

As if summoned by the words themselves, a purple portal bloomed open right behind her. The energy swirling within it shimmered beautifully against the ruined throne room. Lila stepped into it without another word. The portal vanished instantly afterward.

Silence lingered until Griffin broke it.

"Well," he breathed out, "that was one epic exit." A frown suddenly crossed his face. "Wait a minute..." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why do I feel like that’s something Roman would say?"

Alaric choked out a laugh beside him. "Congratulations," he said. "His charisma is officially contagious."

Violet smiled at that. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Where do we—"

A dragon’s roar suddenly echoed through the air.