"Where are we?" Ryleigh asked, looking around her. Parker had teleported them to the middle of a bustling street. It was a human city, that was clear from a single glance – though, obviously, the sheer fact that they were in a city at all indicated the presence of humans, since wolves usually preferred a more natural, wide-spread setting.
"Hightower," Corbin said. "Andior's human capital." He looked at the people hurrying past them, the slightest crease of his nose the only thing giving away his deep-rooted disgust for all things human.
"This is where we've been hauled up since Jade moved into the castle," Parker said, leaning in to make himself understandable over the sound of a carriage rattling past.
Ryleigh pursed her lips. It was as good a choice as any. They had property all over the country – it was one of the reasons their people had always been able to operate so secretly and efficiently. Hightower was the biggest – and busiest – city in the country, so it would be easy to blend in.
Houses lined both sides of the street. It wasn't a great neighbourhood. Quite the opposite, actually, and that was a good thing. The wealthy tended to be more vigilant of the people living on their street, and the last thing the Shadow Walkers needed was to attract attention.
The houses had been built in a hurry. The entire street was a mess of rough, worn stones, harsh edges, holes in roofs, tattered front doors. It was a working class neighbourhood. This meant civilians, meaning no mages (who would never do the cheap labour), both men and women working late hours, children roaming the streets, vagabonds and drunks passed out in corners and allies. It meant thieves, beggars, all the outcasts. It was the home of the unwanted.
They'd fit right in.
"I didn't know we owned property in this part of the city," Ryleigh said, following Parker and Corbin to the front door of a house that was slightly bigger than most of the others on the street, though in no better condition. It was the corner house, which gave them a little more privacy, though insignificantly so.
There was no light in the hallway, but their werewolf vision got by just fine without.
"I know we're a small pack, but this is rather close quarters for twenty-four wolves," Ryleigh said. The hallway was narrow and led to a winding staircase on one side and a living room on the other. Parker and Corbin led her into the latter. The curtains were drawn, the room shrouded in twilight alternated by beams of sunlight filtering in through moth-made holes in the fabric. Apart from over a decade of neglect, the house was in good shape.
There were a few sofas dispersed throughout the room, as well as sturdy, wooden chairs. In the middle of the room stood a centre table filled with dishes and cups. Around it, filling the furniture, was her pack, or at least a large part of it.
"Ryleigh!" Paige jumped up from her place on one of the sofas and stormed through the room in a whirlwind of motherly excitement, wrapping her arms tightly around Ryleigh. For a few seconds, Ryleigh's ability to breathe was cut off. She struggled against Paige's hold, both to suck in air and because she couldn't deal with so much affection. Paige pulled back, holding her at an arm's length.
"Look at the sight of you! The moment you're settled in, I need to look at those wounds. And take more silver from you. You look a mess."
Ryleigh cracked a grin. "Thanks for that." The floorboards creaked gently behind her. "I might have been gone a while, but I still know what it sounds like when my wretched half-siblings try to scare me." She twirled around, quirking a brow at the empty air in front of her. Nothing happened at first, then Royce and Ivy – her two thirteen-year-old siblings – appeared from out of nowhere.
"We've been practicing," Ivy said, pouting.
"Invisibility doesn't get you very far when you're loud," Ryleigh said, tapping her nose. "You look well."
"No, we don't," Royce said, crossing his arms over his chest. Ryleigh was almost twice his age, but he was already as tall as she was. "We're bored out of our minds."
"Good thing I'm back, then." Ryleigh nudged his shoulder, and he frowned to hide his smile. She had never truly considered the twins her siblings, but she liked the pair. After the massacre, Corbin had thought it'd be a good idea to increase their number any way possible, including through off-spring. Ryleigh figured it was little more than an excuse for Corbin to satiate his needs, but in any case: he'd taken to sleeping with every unmated woman in the pack. The twins were Ava's children. There was also one-year-old Acer, whom was the product of Corbin's affair with ex-rogue Rose.
Ryleigh turned around again. The other wolves in the room had risen from their seats as well, staring at her in equal parts relief and apprehension. They hadn't forgotten how she had abandoned them.
"Ry-Ry!" Violet said, hobbling towards her with her little arms open wide. Ryleigh grinned and crouched down. Much as she wouldn't know what to do with children of her own, she did like kids, and Violet was the most adorable toddler ever.
"Welcome back," Colt said. He approached her, his mate Lucia by his side. They were Violet's parents, both ex-rogues. They regarded her with some reluctance, as though they weren't sure what to expect. Perhaps they thought she'd be a changed woman. Perhaps she was – changed for the worse.
"It's good to be back," she said.
The stairs creaked and more wolves trickled into the living room, until all were gathered there: the twenty-four last loyal Shadow Walkers.
Some of the more open-minded and forgiving among them bid her a welcome back or mumbled that they were glad she hadn't been shot full of silvered arrows. The others mostly stared her down, awaiting Corbin's permission to trust her again. They were wary of her, and she understood that. She'd left them, after all, and she knew how it stung to be abandoned.
"Before we move on and pretend nothing ever happened," Corbin said, drawing everyone's attention towards him, "I do appear to remember a certain conversation we've had, Ryleigh. Do you recall?" Nothing showed on his stoic face, but Ryleigh could tell he deeply enjoyed the power he had over her. His gaze was pinned on hers, a challenge drifting in his green eyes.
Ryleigh chewed the inside of her cheek. She had hoped Corbin wouldn't press the issue, though she had known that he would. It was too beautiful a chance to assert dominance to ever let it pass. "Perhaps we can forget about that conversation? As I recall, you also said you wouldn't save my ass, and you did."
"Yes, because you were always my favourite, and because we put it to a vote and decided to give you another chance."
Ryleigh glanced around the room. They had put it to a vote? And they had voted to get her back? Much as they looked like they hated her guts, there had to be some lingering attachment for them to willingly take such a risk.
"You're really going to make me beg, then?" she asked, returning her gaze to Corbin.
He didn't smile – not quite – but one corner of his mouth tweaked upwards just the slightest bit. "Such was the deal."
"Your own daughter – begging. Is that really what you want?"
"What I really want is for you never to have left at all. You may be my daughter, but you do not get to desert us and come back like nothing happened. So beg."
She sucked her upper teeth. "Now? In front of everybody?" She didn't need to look around to know that all eyes were on her. She could feel the weight of their judgment on her shoulders.
"Humiliation only works if there's an audience." Corbin crossed his arms over his chest, and Ryleigh swallowed. Her father was an imposing creature. Even though he was past his prime, he was still muscled and large, and when he struck such an authoritative pose, he looked like an island unto himself. Ryleigh had plenty of alpha energy herself, but when he looked at her like that, she was reduced to a little girl with no bearings and no spine.
"Fine." She cleared her throat and scratched the back of her head. "Please let me return to the pack."
Corbin tilted his head. He glanced around him, a shimmer of amusement dancing in his gaze. Yes, he loved this. Loved having her in this position. Loved forcing her to face fact: he was in charge, and she was nothing without him.
"I do seem to recall begging is done on one's knees," he said. "Don't you agree?"
The question was followed by many murmured responses in the affirmative, and there were even some chuckles.
"Really?" She glared, but everybody met her eyes head-on. When she lost their trust, she must have also lost part of her fearsomeness.
"Down you go, darling," Corbin said, nodding down at the floor.
She pulled up her nose. "When's the last time anybody has given this floor a good clean? Probably not in fifteen years at least. Just look at the dust on that! Is this really necessary?"
"No," Corbin said. "I suppose I could also return you to the castle and let them finish what they started. Your choice."
Had there been even a shred of doubt in Ryleigh's mind that he might not follow through on his words, she would have taken her chances. But the glee in his gaze had now made way for unspoken threat.
Slowly, glowering at him, she lowered her weary limbs down onto the floor. Her knees protested as they hit the floorboards, and clouds of dust fluttered up, settling on her trousers. The wood creaked underneath her weight.
The room grew deadly quiet.
Ryleigh looked at Parker. He was frowning at the spectacle, his arms crossed over his muscled chest. He didn't like seeing her like this – weak, a follower – but at the same time she could tell he thought she deserved this. She might have blamed him, had she not agreed. After all, he was her best friend, and she knew how much she'd hurt him when she left him. She had given him no reason, not even a goodbye.
She bent forward, angling her nose towards the floor. She looked at Corbin from under her unruly locks of hair. "Alpha, I know I have wronged you and your people, but I beg of you: let me return to the pack."
For a few seconds, nothing happened. No sound permeated the space. Not even the floorboards creaked. Nobody moved a muscle. Ryleigh kept her gaze trained on the ground. It was bad enough that she had to see herself reflected in the memories of everyone around her; she couldn't also meet their eyes.
A hand landed on her shoulder. It was Corbin.
"Rise, child." He offered her his hand and she took it, allowing him to help her up. She swayed on her legs and he supported her. "Lift your head."
She did, wrenching her eyes up to his. Her strength was her pride. She had held a position of authority since she could talk. She was a figure people looked up to, someone people trusted to take charge. Shame wrapped itself around her lungs, squeezing tight.
Corbin smiled. "Welcome home."
_____
A/N: Home sweet home. Well, something like it, anyway.
Thank you for reading!