CHAPTER 24: REVELATIONS AND RECONCILIATION
1390words
The Blackwood estate's main conference room had never hosted a meeting quite like this one. Two days after the duel, representatives from both the Silver Moon Pack and the Blackwood Pack sat around the massive oak table, trying to figure out how to navigate the diplomatic earthquake we'd just caused.
"The original alliance terms are obviously void," my father was saying, his voice carefully neutral. "The question is what comes next."
"What comes next," said Alpha Marcus Blackwood—Damon's father, who'd arrived that morning looking like he'd aged a decade—"is damage control. Two of the Northern Territory's most powerful packs can't afford to be enemies."
I sat between Damon and Dominic, still marveling at how civilized this all was. Forty-eight hours ago, they'd been trying to pummel each other in front of thousands of people. Now they were discussing trade agreements like nothing had happened.
"Actually," Vanessa spoke up from her spot across the table, "there's something I need to confess before we go any further."
Every head in the room turned toward her. She looked pale but determined, her usual perfect composure cracked around the edges.
"Vanessa," Claudia warned, "perhaps this isn't the time—"
"No, it's exactly the time." Vanessa straightened her shoulders. "The pregnancy that started this whole mess? It was a lie."
The silence that followed was deafening.
"Excuse me?" Dominic's voice was dangerously quiet.
"I was never pregnant," she continued, her words tumbling out faster now. "I made it up because I was terrified of the marriage. Dominic, you're a good man, but I barely know you. The idea of being shipped off like a broodmare made me panic."
"So you let your sister take your place," Damon said, his tone unreadable.
"I thought it would buy me time to figure out another solution. I never expected..." She looked at me and Damon. "I never expected you two to actually fall in love."
Damon was staring at her like she'd grown a second head. "You're telling me this entire situation—Aria running away, the academy, the duel—all happened because you lied about being pregnant?"
"Well," I said, finding my voice, "technically it all happened because our families thought they could trade us like Pokemon cards. Vanessa's lie just... accelerated the timeline."
"So there never was another man?" Dominic asked.
Vanessa shook her head. "I made that up too. I'm sorry, Dominic. You deserved better than lies."
To everyone's surprise, Dominic started laughing. Not the bitter, angry laughter I expected, but genuine amusement.
"Do you realize," he said, wiping his eyes, "that if you'd just talked to me about your concerns, I would have called off the engagement immediately? I don't want an unwilling bride any more than you want an unwanted husband."
"You... you would have?"
"Vanessa, I may be traditional, but I'm not a monster. Marriage should be a partnership, not a prison sentence." He looked around the table. "Perhaps this entire situation has taught us that our approach to alliances needs some updating."
Alpha Marcus cleared his throat. "Speaking of updating... Damon, your declaration about joint leadership yesterday has caused quite a stir in the Council."
"Good," Damon replied without hesitation. "It's about time someone shook things up."
"And the academy?" my father asked. "I understand there have been some... irregularities regarding enrollment policies."
I felt my cheeks heat up. "About that..."
"Princess Aria enrolled under false pretenses," said a new voice from the doorway. We all turned to see Headmaster Grayson entering with Noah beside him. "As did Student Noah Rivers."
My heart stopped. "Headmaster—"
"However," he continued, "after reviewing the circumstances and consulting with the Board of Directors, we've decided that perhaps our enrollment policies are due for revision."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means," Headmaster Grayson said with the first smile I'd ever seen from him, "that effective next semester, Alpha Academy will become co-educational. Your... unique situation has demonstrated that leadership potential isn't determined by gender."
Noah looked like they might faint. "We're not expelled?"
"On the contrary, you're being offered positions as student ambassadors for the new program." He handed us both official-looking documents. "Assuming you're interested in returning to finish your education properly this time."
I looked at Damon, who grinned and squeezed my hand.
"I think that can be arranged," I said.
---
Damon's POV
Later that evening, I found Dominic on the estate's main balcony, staring out at the forest. We hadn't had a real conversation since the duel, and there were things that needed to be said.
"Hey," I said, joining him at the railing.
"Hey yourself." He glanced at me sideways. "How's the new Alpha feeling?"
"Terrified," I admitted. "And guilty."
"Guilty?"
"I took your birthright. Your position, your responsibilities, your—"
"Brother," Dominic interrupted, "you didn't take anything. You earned it. Fair and square, in front of the entire supernatural world." He was quiet for a moment. "Besides, I'm not sure I was ever meant to be Alpha. Too rigid, too stuck in old ways."
"You're a good leader, Dom. You always have been."
"I'm a good soldier," he corrected. "There's a difference. You... you have vision. The ability to see what could be instead of just what is." He smiled ruefully. "Plus, you found your true mate. That's not something that happens by accident."
"What will you do now?"
"Father's offered me the head of security position. Apparently, my 'rigid adherence to protocol' is actually useful in some contexts." He chuckled. "And who knows? Maybe someday I'll find my own true mate. Someone who actually wants to be with me instead of someone who's contractually obligated."
"Any woman would be lucky to have you."
"Even if I come with the baggage of having tried to steal my brother's mate?"
"Especially then," I said seriously. "Shows you fight for what you believe in. Just... maybe next time, make sure what you're fighting for actually wants to be fought for."
"Noted." He straightened up, extending his hand. "Brothers?"
"Always," I replied, clasping his hand firmly.
As we stood there, the sound of laughter drifted up from the garden below. Aria and Noah were walking with Vanessa, deep in animated conversation.
"Think they're planning more trouble?" Dominic asked.
"Definitely," I said, watching my mate gesture enthusiastically about something. "And I can't wait to see what they come up with next."
"The supernatural world isn't ready for Princess Aria as co-Alpha, is it?"
"Not even close," I agreed. "It's going to be amazing."
---
Aria's POV
Three weeks later, the official announcement appeared in every major supernatural publication:
*The Silver Moon Pack and the Blackwood Pack are pleased to announce a new alliance based on mutual respect, shared values, and the true mate bond between Princess Aria Silver and Alpha Damon Blackwood. Both packs look forward to a future built on choice rather than obligation, love rather than duty, and progress rather than tradition.*
*Additionally, both families are proud to support the new co-educational initiative at Alpha Academy, which will begin accepting female students for the first time in its 200-year history.*
I was reading the announcement for the tenth time when Damon found me in our shared study.
"Satisfied with the wording?" he asked, wrapping his arms around me from behind.
"Very. Though I think 'progress rather than tradition' might give some of the older Alphas heart attacks."
"Good. Maybe it'll encourage them to retire and make room for fresh thinking." He pressed a kiss to my neck. "Speaking of fresh thinking, I had an idea about our mating ceremony."
"Oh?"
"What if we opened it to the public? Made it a celebration of the changes we're trying to implement?"
I turned in his arms, studying his face. "You want our wedding to be a political statement?"
"I want our wedding to be a celebration of love conquering impossible odds," he corrected. "If that also happens to inspire other young wolves to fight for their own choices... well, that's just a bonus."
"Damon Blackwood," I said, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him, "you're going to be an incredible Alpha."
"We're going to be incredible Alphas," he corrected against my lips.
And looking around our study—filled with both of our books, our shared plans for the future, our ridiculous collection of hockey memorabilia—I knew he was right.
We were going to change everything.
Together.
