Lauretta didn't hesitate.
She stepped forward, shoulders squared, jaw set, fierce in a way only a woman who has lost everything and is ready to lose nothing else can be. Her wolf simmered just beneath her skin, burning bright gold under her eyes.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. A few wolves stumbled back; others bowed their heads instinctively, feeling her power spike like a rising storm.
She was glowing - not literally, but spiritually, cosmically, dangerously.
"Dad," she said, voice steady but trembling underneath, "you don't have to defend me alone."
Larry turned toward her in shock. "Lauretta-"
"Hexta's not the only one with a voice that carries." She looked past her father, meeting Savior's gaze for the first time since the chaos erupted. "And I'm done pretending I don't have something to say."
Savior's breath left him in a quiet, stunned exhale - like her presence punched the air out of him.
His father noticed. His scowl deepened.
Lauretta moved to stand beside her father, chin lifted, hands flat at her sides. She looked powerful, regal, furious - and heartbreakingly vulnerable in that quiet way only Savior ever noticed. The tiniest tremor in her fingers. The flicker of fear in the depths of her eyes. The silent plea: Don't let them break us.
But she didn't step toward Savior yet. She couldn't. Not after everything.
Hexta Hunt straightened, nostrils flaring. "You dare to stand before me after your family's betrayal?"
Lauretta inhaled sharply. "My family didn't betray anyone. You banished us because you were afraid."
A wave of murmurs broke across the summit.
Hexta's eyes flashed dangerously. "Afraid? Of who? Your father who defied orders? Your mother who meddled in pack ranks? Or you - a pup not even born during the conflict?"
"No," Lauretta said quietly but clearly. "You were afraid of what we could become."
The air cracked with tension.
Savior stiffened beside his father, every muscle locked in conflict. Angela, somewhere in the crowd, whispered under her breath, "Oh Lord... she is about to burn this place down."
Lauretta continued, voice sharpening. "You sensed power in us. Power you didn't control. Power that didn't bow."
Hexta's expression twisted. "You speak boldly for someone standing on stolen ground."
"Nothing was stolen," Lauretta snapped. "You just couldn't stand competition."
Savior finally stepped forward, unable to stay silent. "Father-"
Hexta raised a hand sharply, silencing him. "If you open your mouth again in her defense, I will consider it treason."
The entire pack froze.
And Lauretta... broke.
Not visibly. Not dramatically. But something inside her - that last fragile thread holding her upright - frayed.
Because Hexta wasn't just rejecting her.
He was rejecting her child.
Her unborn baby.
The life growing inside her, innocent and unclaimed.
Her lips trembled. Her heartbeat stumbled. Larry instinctively reached for her arm.
"It's fine," Lauretta whispered, shrugging off the comfort. Her eyes locked on Hexta's, glowing gold now - sharp, deadly, ancient. "I don't need your son to defend me. I'm not asking for your approval. I don't care about your throne, your name, or your legacy."
Savior's jaw clenched. His eyes went soft, pained, entirely focused on her.
"I only care about one thing," Lauretta said, voice thickening. "Protecting my child."
For a moment - just one suspended heartbeat - the entire grove went silent.
Then Hexta snarled. "You expect me to believe your... bastard is mine to acknowledge?"
Savior closed his eyes like he'd been stabbed.
Lauretta felt her knees weaken, but she kept standing.
Hexta continued, venom dripping: "You think you can trap my son with a child? With a scandal? With shame?"
"Enough!" Savior finally exploded.
His voice struck like lightning.
He moved - fast - stepping in front of Lauretta so quickly she startled. His stance was protective, instinctive, possessive. His wolf surged, eyes turning molten silver.
"That child is mine," he growled.
The forest itself seemed to respond - leaves trembling, shadows shifting, power brushing the air like a warm hand. A collective gasp erupted around them.
Hexta's face blanched with rage. "Savior-"
"I said it's mine." Savior's voice dropped even lower. "And if you insult Lauretta again, father or not, Alpha or not, I will not stand down."
Lauretta's breath caught.
He wasn't saying it for show.
He wasn't saying it in anger.
He was saying it like truth - like vow - like instinct.
Angela clutched her chest dramatically. "Jesus, take the wheel. We're about to witness a father-son murder."
Dew shot her a side-eye. "Not helping."
Lauretta stared at Savior, heart pounding painfully. She didn't want to hope - she couldn't afford hope - but his words were tearing down the walls she'd built around herself.
Hexta stepped closer, chest rising and falling in furious breaths. "You claim that outcast's brat as your heir?"
Savior didn't flinch. "I claim her."
The crowd exhaled as one.
Lauretta's hand flew to her mouth.
Savior turned then - finally - fully facing her. The world blurred until there was only the two of them.
His voice softened, ragged with something like desperation.
"Lauretta... I'm not ashamed of you. I never was. I was just-"
"Scared," she whispered.
His eyes glistened. "Terrified. Of losing you. Of ruining everything."
"You did," she whispered, tears slipping silently. "You ruined us."
He looked like her words split him in two. "Then let me fix it. Let me try."
Larry stepped forward protectively, but Lauretta held out a hand to stop him. Her gaze stayed locked on Savior.
"This isn't between our fathers," she said softly. "It's between you and me."
Savior nodded slowly, like the truth physically hurt. "Then let me start by saying this - out loud - in front of everyone."
He turned back to the crowd, squared his shoulders, and spoke with Alpha command vibrating through every syllable:
"Lauretta Owens is my mate."
Chaos erupted.
Growls. Gasps. Outcries. Wolves shifting partially in shock. Pack members stumbling back as energy rippled violently through the clearing.
Hexta staggered like he'd been struck.
Larry exhaled sharply, disbelief and something like relief washing over him.
Angela screamed, "I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! I TOLD YOU SO!"
Dew just muttered, "Well... shit."
Lauretta stood frozen.
Savior didn't stop.
"And I don't care what the council says. I don't care about alliances. I don't care about your old feud. I choose her."
His eyes burned silver as he lifted his chin.
"Challenge me if you want. But I won't back down."
Silence fell again - thick, final, irreversible.
Lauretta's heartbeat thundered in her ears.
He had chosen her.
Publicly.
Irrevocably.
Against his father.
Against his pack.
Against everything.
Hexta's voice dropped to a deadly whisper:
"You've just declared war, son."
Savior's eyes never left Lauretta's.
"No," he murmured. "I just found something worth fighting for."
Lauretta's breath broke.
"What have you done?" She whispered
"What my heart wants"
"Oh maybe what your wolf wants" Angela mutters.
"Damn right " Said Dew grinning.
"What the heck are you smiling about?" Angela looks at him.
"A beautiful scene "
"More like a dangerous scene" Angela snickers.
And in that moment - with power trembling in the air, pack history cracking open, every wolf watching - she realized this was only the beginning.
The storm wasn't ending.
It had just begun.
