Chapter167: The Journey Begins

*Maddox* Warriors still gather beyond the front gate to the castle. I watch as Vember commands them to open the gate, his eyes lined with fatigue. It’s been a long forty-eight hours, but here we are, one the other side, and I am still the Alpha King. My enemies have limped back to her respective territories with their tails between their legs. If I wasn’t leaving to return the diamond to the temple, I’d be calling on those traitorous Alphas to stand before me and accept whatever fate I feel is acceptable for their egregious crimes against me, my pack, and my home. But I can’t think about that now. I turn to look over my shoulder at the group standing on the front terrace, their bodies shadowed by the balconies on the second and third stories as they stand just out of the reach of the beaming morning sun. Isla stands in the center of the group, her hand laid flat on Isaac’s back as he rests against her shoulder. She is stone-faced, her hair braided and falling over one shoulder as she l