The Alpha's Mother-In-Law's Forbidden Love (The Cresta Chronicles)

Lilia POV

No one on the Goose Creek Orchard field moved, as if Jude's and Ravyn's Crystal Freeze spell ensnared them all. Spyro and Greywing froze in action poses, Spyro mere inches from committing murder. And not just murder of a fellow shifter, but of a rare and unique wolf species. A new mutation. Spyro was so bitter over losing land he'd stolen and believed he was entitled to that he wanted to kill an outcast. 

Why had he and his crew believed so strongly that they had a right to the land? Obviously, the feeling built, and built, until this near-catastrophe. Considering that this crisis crept up on both Dane and Jude, slowly, like water boiling, they both handled it decisively.

Lilia pulled Dane aside in the silence. "How did we let this slip through the cracks?" she whispered, both of them turning away. 

With a shrug, he leaned in so that the others couldn't hear him. "We all apparently got amnesia about that part of the border."

"I don't think so," she murmured, touching his warm shoulder and drawing energy and strength from it. "I think this problem happened little by little--the way a dam starts to break down or a house slowly falls into disrepair. We just focused on bigger things."

Dane took this criticism with grace. "You're right. Benign neglect, I think is the term."

"We have to review all these border areas when we get home," she muttered. "Send Patch around to scout."

"Patch missed it too," Dane pointed out. "But we can't change the past. All we can do is fix the problem."

She pressed a hand against his shoulder, stroking it comfortingly. "That's right. That's what you have always done, my dearest love."

They both turned at the sound of the pups all talking at once, demanding to know what was happening and what all the fuss was. They protested Graywing's fate. All of them were enchanted by this new breed of wolf. "Is a wolf-goose bad?" Dane's son Kodi asked.

Lilia squatted down to speak to her little boy. "No, he's not bad," she said. "He hasn't done anything bad, either."

"That's right," Ravyn said to her grandson. "But the other man, Spyro, wasn't being fair." She turned to the farmer on Spyro's side who had defied him. "What is your name?"

The woman blinked, recognizing Ravyn. "Luna Ravyn. Apologies for all this. My name is Ariane Silvermoon. Some of us have tried to stop our two farms from going at each other, tooth and claw."

Jude and Ravyn exchanged glances. Jude turned back to her. "Ms. Silvermoon--"

"Ariane, please." Her brown-eyed gaze captivated them, so earnest and focused was it. "I'm pleased to see you both here."

"Ariane, we're here to prevent a pack war, and to find a solution to help the two farms move forward for the good of all," Jude asserted.

"For our future," Ravyn added. "We're all shifters."

Jude's sense of responsibility, and Ravyn's, was palpable, at least to Lilia. But not only to her. The Silverpaws straightened, and the Evenhide shifters relaxed their shoulders. Dane lifted his head in pride.

Anneliese waved away the lingering wisps of smoke from the burned field. "There. Now you have more farmland."

Ariane muttered, "We've been pushing for clearing a field for months, even years. Spiro wouldn't hear of it."

Jude glanced at the statue of Spyro, face in a snarl behind the crystal. "Maybe he';; be more willing to listen now."

Ravyn and Jude released the spell, and Spyro gasped, his breath rushing out in a whoosh. Panting, his fur sticking out everywhere as if he'd just been in a windstorm, he shifted, his eyes flashing red. "WHO DID THAT?" His eyes instantly went to Graywing. "YOU."

Graywing, for a man with wings, stood his ground, feet hip width apart in the fallow earth. His feathers had bent from the spell, but otherwise, he seemed unaffected. "You can't bully me anymore. Not now."

Tulaska, Roslynn, and Eirika stepped in between the combatants. Eirika pointed at Graywing. "YOU. You have wings--use them. Stay out of range of him. It's not cowardice--it's wisdom."

Graywing launched into the sky, circling, flapping his wings. 

Tulaska and the other wise women approached. Tulaska glared at Spyro. "Just because he can fly doesn't mean he can cast spells. But go on blaming him for your own stupidity. You go right ahead."

Spyro flinched. "You're all against me. I am the leader of Silverado Creek--"

"You were the leader," one of the other farmers said. "We want Ariane to lead us."

Spyro lifted his head. "This farm has been in my family for generations--"

"It's my family too, in case you forgot," Ariane reminded him.

"You're a runt! You can't run this farm," Spyro scoffed, posturing, big meaty hands on his hips. "I'm the leader. You're all going to pay."

Jude growled, "For nearly starting a pack war, you're banished. Exiled."

Ravyn backed him up. "We want peace."

Lilia's heart ached for her mother and Jude, making the ultimate hard decision.

"NO!" Spyro tried to shift to attack, but couldn't. His body rippled ... and still remained human. Horrified realization dawned on his face.

The farmers shifted and chased him away from the farmland. Yelping, Spiro was off like a shot with the dozen or so wolves after him. The Silverpaw and Evenhide enforcers ran after him, with Patch and Dirge leading them.

Dane put a hand on Jude's shoulder.

Ariane remained, smiling in satisfaction. "I guess the Moon Goddess wanted to teach him a lesson. He won't bother us for a while." She reached out a hand to Graywing. "Come down, it's safe."

Lilia smiled, relieved, but caught a glimpse of Jude's face. He smiled, but she saw a troubled look flit across his face.

* * * * *

Hades POV

That stasis spell worked effectively to punish that troublemaker.

Jude's voice queried, "Did you--"

Hades responded, amused. "I added a little extra ingredient to it. He'll be able to shapeshift once it wears off."

Jude's voice was flat and cold. "In future, tell me so I'm not surprised."

"You mean so you can thwart me from doing what we both know had to be done. This man took advantage of your grief and nearly caused a pack war. A little fear is the least he deserves." Hades sighed, frustrated. "He showed no inclination to change, even after he caught his tail in a trap."

Jude sighed, and mentally surrendered. "Alright. I wish it hadn't come to that."

"Dear Jude, don't you trust our Moon Goddess?" Hades sounded reassuring. "Perhaps she even intervened. Probably for you, not me."

A long pause. Jude's energy felt warm and golden. "Maybe she was looking out for both of us, Hades. That could have become ugly. Even outnumbered, he would have done damage, and hurt people. He needed a lesson in humility."

Hades grinned. "Well, he got it. Still think I overreacted?"

Ravyn's voice slipped into the conversation, silky smooth. "I, too, would appreciate a bit of warning before you decide to mete out your own brand of justice, Hades."

"Sorry," Hades replied, only half apologetic.

"Oh, you'll apologize to her and not me?" Jude huffed.

"Naturally ... she is the one who determines both our fates. The moon that we howl beneath. The wind in our fur. The scent that we pursue." Hades felt a warm, fuzzy feeling.

This, then, was what contentment felt like. True contentment. 

"That she is." Jude had a smile in his voice. "So, Silverado Creek has a new leader, and everything has been put to rights. All except for the question of our friend Graywing, the wolf-goose."

Hades' curiosity was piqued. "Truly remarkable. And he's quite heroic. I don't sense any evil or darkness ... he's just an unusual mutation."

Jude turned his face to the sky and gestured at Graywing. "Please, come down."

Warily, the hybrid landed, skidding in the fallow field, spraying dirt in a little shower. He stood before Ravyn and Jude. "Yes, Alpha and Luna?"

Dane and Lilia joined them. "Are you Evenhide or Silverpaw?" Dane asked.

"Ah ... Evenhide, but I've lived in Silverpaw territory," Graywing said, with intense pewter-gray eyes on everyone. "I'm sort of a free spirit. But if I had to choose, I'd choose Evenhide. That is ... if you still want me here."

Jiro lifted his chin, proud. "If they don't, the Crimsontail Shadows will take you."

"You would," Dane said, pretending to be offended. "But Graywing stays right here."

Jude grinned. "In fact, Alpha Dane and I have a job for you ..."

Graywing perked up. "What is it?"

"You'll be the guardian of both farms," Jude declared, and Dane agreed. 

Hades couldn't have found a better solution himself. Peace washed over him. He knew that he and Jude were still getting accustomed to this new arrangement, but for today, everything felt very good. The border dispute was over.

Graywing did a loop-de-loop, flying over the farms. "Yes. Yes. I accept."

After the successful resolution, Hades felt the need to get back to work in Graywolf City. He loved being Alpha with Jude, and mated to such a fine partner as Ravyn. He couldn't wait to see what came next.