title and a penchant for hiding in the woods, away from danger.”
Her eyes spat fire, but before she could respond, the Second was invading their group.
“Tempers are running high.” The Second placed his hand on Devon’s arm. “Mother, let me escort him back to his table. This is a big day for everyone. We’re all feeling it.”
After a long beat, the First said, “Of course. Please enjoy the competition, Alpha Shifter.”
She didn’t have to say the next words, although her tone said it for her: Because it will be your last in the Flush.
“Charity would be heartbroken if you weren’t here to see her big moment.” The Second slowly led Devon through the tables as people found their seats. They smiled and nodded at the Second, but no one acknowledged or even glanced at Devon. “It is hard to determine the best course of action in these situations. When I was in the Brink, the pull of the Flush became painful. I missed my people more than anything. I did not belong in the Brink. It was not the right place for me. And so, as much as it hurt, I left. I walked away from the love of my soul, from my beating heart, and have spent every day since regretting it, now more than ever.”
The Second stopped next to Devon’s seat, patted his back, and walked away as the first participant emerged from the arch. Even the fae’s clapping was polite.
“What was that about?” Rod asked.
Devon watched the retreating back of the Second. “It sounded like he told me not to leave.”
Macy and Yasmine frowned. Macy said, “He can’t expect you to stay here. Not with the way you’re treated.”
“He’s been pushing Hallen at Charity—we’ve all seen it,” Andy added. “Why would he do that if he wanted you to hang around?”
“He probably wants you to give Charity a choice,” Barbara said, leaning forward on her elbows to look across the table at Devon. “She’d go with you. Maybe she’d want to stay for a bit longer, but she’d leave this place with you.”
“I agree,” Dale said. “Roger wants her back in the Brink. You can make that happen. I vote you tell her it’s time to go.”
“You vote?” Devon said. “Since when is this pack a democracy?”
Dale and Barbara both visibly shrank in their seats, one helluva change considering their initial hesitance to submit to him as alpha. Devon hardly gave it two thoughts, his mind swirling on what the Second had said. On what Barbara had said.
He wanted to take Charity back with him so badly it hurt. He wanted her to officially move into his house and join his pack. He didn’t want her to lose all of this—the warrior fae, the Flush—but did it need to be her new reality? Couldn’t she come back for birthdays and Christmases, the way most people did with family?
The thought of leaving her behind made him want to throw up. Made him want to rip the table in two and go on a killing spree.
“You think she’d come back with me?” he asked softly, his hope so thick it was choking him.
“Yes,” Yasmine said without hesitation. “This place is new, and she definitely likes it, but… She’d pick you. I bet you anything.”
“She’d pick you in a heartbeat,” Steve said, lounging back as a plate was set in front of him.
“She deserves a choice,” Barbara said. “A woman would at least want the choice.”
Devon stared off in the distance. Barbara had a strong point. Charity would want the choice. Sure, Karen had said he should leave, but Seers had a way of getting things wrong. What if this was one of those things? He didn’t want to make the same mistake the Second had.
He didn’t want to leave without the love of his soul.
“Here we go,” Andy said excitedly.
Devon snapped out of his thoughts as a plate was cleared away from in front of him. Seven meals had come and gone and he hadn’t tasted one of them. But now, as Charity emerged from the arch, his thoughts fled and he snapped to focus.
She didn’t wear the loose, flowing garments donned by everyone else. Her robe was cinched in like a dress, though it covered the same amount of skin. The embroidered silk flowed over her body. Gems and stones glittered as she walked, catching the dying rays of the afternoon. A small headband ran across her forehead, sparkling like her grandmother’s tiara.