Chapter Fifty-Three

Zaine’s POV

Walking through the lavishly decorated grand hall did nothing to lift any of our moods. Usually the annual coalition dinner and dance would be the perfect thing to take our minds off the shit that seems to happen every other day around here. As a pack, we don’t usually need much of an excuse for a party. Drinking, feasting, playing foolish games and running through the pack lands until the sun rises, those are the things that lighten the burdens we all carry, even if only for the night.

The guards need that time most of all, and until tonight they had been high on the anticipation and promise of the visiting packs and the females they would bring with them. It’s not uncommon for mates to find one another when so many packs come together. And even if mates are not found, company for the night usually is.

Not shitting on ones own doorstep is common sense, and I have to say that I haven’t had to deal with mate and mistress dramas since letting go of the reins a little when vi