Present Day
Three months had passed since then. Grayson Briare was now the alpha of the largest pack in North Carolina. In the aftermath of the first battle, packs with a little over twenty members or so had come to him, pledging their loyalty. After returning Bianca to where she needed to be, he'd put his focus back on taking over the Blackburn pack.
Though the Briare pack outweighed the Blackburn pack in numbers, only a third of Grayson's wolves were trained killers. The rest were part of ordinary families that were in packs for the mere sake of survival, and thus, the war had been raging on all this time.
But Grayson hadn't flown all the way to Austin, Texas, in the name of war. In fact, none of his wolves- apart from Reyes- knew that he was even here. But he hadn't been able to help himself. The second she'd asked him to meet with her, he'd thrown himself on a plane that would catapult him into the city she'd been staying in for the past three months.
He climbed the stairs leading up to the massive library, his heart thumping in anticipation of seeing her again after so long. It had half destroyed him, forcing himself to give her the time and distance she needed. There were so many things he wanted to say.
And yet, as soon as she came into his line of vision, he forgot how to speak. Her style hadn't changed in the slightest- The designer sweater, the jeans, and her boots. The sweater was an off-shoulder design, which said so much about her: Despite the scars that covered her from head to toe, and the shocked looks she undoubtedly got for it, she'd chosen to wear the sweater that showed off the most skin. She had no intention of hiding what had happened to her, because that was just who she was.
And Grayson loved her all the more for it.
"Hey there, stranger," Bianca caught his eye. Her voice was strained, and there seemed to be something rigid in her back holding her upright. But she was making an effort, and the least Grayson could do was return the favor.
"Bianca," he nodded. "It's nice to see you in person."
She'd reached out to him last month. The first call she'd sent him had been made up of thirty seconds of silence. Grayson had wanted to scream in happiness when he'd seen the caller ID, but he'd kept his mouth shut when Bianca hadn't said anything. The following week, she'd called him again, and this time, they'd exchanged simple greetings. Day after day, their conversations had grown longer, and though there was still a trace of tremors in her tone, they'd almost gotten back to their usual level of bantering again.
He'd missed her. He'd missed her so unbelievably much.
"So... How have you been?" he asked.
She looked at him with a faint smile playing on her crimson lips. "We talked an hour ago, Grayson. But I'm fine, thank you for asking."
"The city's nice," Grayson said, because he couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Nice, yes," she agreed. "Free of all the chaos and war spurring in the east. The wolves here are actually civilized."
"No," Grayson gasped dramatically.
Her eyes became a little brighter after that, and the two started towards the exit of the library.
"Things have been... Peaceful here."
"You told me you've been writing," he said.
"It's helped me cope," she shrugged. "But you know the problem with coping and finding peace?"
"I haven't a clue."
The glint of her usual mischief fully returned. "Life tends to get boring."
Grayson smiled. "And you never liked 'boring', did you?"
"I... I want back in."
He stopped in his tracks. "You... What?"
"I want to get back in the game, Grayson. You haven't forgotten about our deal, have you?"
He just stared at her.
"I'm still owed half of whatever you take from Lorenzo."
The deal. The deal they had struck so long ago. It had slipped his mind, but now, he remembered: She'd only started helping him because she'd wanted something in return. Their alliance had been based off the fact that, at the end of the war, they'd be going their separate paths. To rule over separate territories.
Grayson didn't feel so good anymore. He was about to let the topic go, to give a half hearted nod without trying to give away how disappointed he was feeling inside, when she noticed the wistful way she was looking at him. She wanted him to say something.
"Bianca..." He gave a shaky exhale. If he was reading this situation wrongly, then there would be so much awkwardness between them for all eternity afterwards. "Do you... Would you rule with me?"
The silence stretched on for too long. Far too long. He'd said the wrong thing. God, why did he have to be so stupid? In what world would she want to spend another second beside him, especially when the current offer on the table was that she'd be able to rule over nearly a hundred wolves all by herself?
"I'd love to."
And after what he'd done, how was she-
"What?" Grayson's mouth fell open.
"Just us two, at the top of the food chain. No one will be able to reach us."
No one will be able to hurt us, was what she meant, and Grayson could hear the hidden message well. They'd both been forced to grow up and adapt so quickly to the unforgiving world. It seemed no one remembered they were still teenagers, still children, who might've gotten to live a better life had they been born in different circumstances.
"A King and a Queen," Grayson breathed.
Bianca stilled for a moment, took a sharp intake of breath, and placed her scarred hand on his face. The contact hurt her- He could see how she was struggling not to recoil back.
And yet, she didn't lift her hand away. And when Grayson carefully placed his hand on top of hers, her breathing seemed to ease. Slowly, impossibly slowly, she leaned into him. She set her chin on the crook of his neck, and sighed.
"Side by side. Together, forever," she whispered.