His Prowl

Part 23b

Chapter 23 Continued

Isaac froze as the words left her mouth.  The tilt of her jaw told him that she had made up her mind and there was nothing he could do about it.  Frustration stole over any emotions he would have been feeling at that moment. She was doing it again, trying to push him away.  It wouldn’t work this time.  Walking through the small crowd of leopards, he kept his eyes on Sydney.  He knew that she could feel his eyes on her by the way her body tensed as if she were waiting for him to shake some sense into her.

As he got closer to her, he couldn’t help the large, charming grin that crossed his lips.  Now standing beside her, he looked away from her.  Dropping to his knees, he set his palms on the dirt near Ally’s feet and sat back on his own.  He heard a slight gasp come from Sydney, but he didn’t acknowledge it.  If she wanted to try to run from him, she had another thing coming.

“I hereby extract all loyalties I have to Leo, the King of the Lions.  I now pledge myself to Alexandria, the Queen of the Leopards.  From here until the day I die, I will be forever loyal to Alexandria and her purposes.”

He let the words sit there as everyone stood in shock.  Before he knew what was happening, arms wrapped around him.  He wished it would have been Sydney’s arms, but he knew it was now his new Queen that hugged him close.  “Get up,” she whispered.

He stood to his feet, and she sent him a large smile.  Before anyone could stop her, she used her knife to cut a gash into her palm; she did the same to him before joining them.  He knew why she did it, but had thought he would need her trust before she would make such a decision.  Now, it was final.  He was part of the leopards.  He could no longer speak to Leo as Ally spoke to her people.  Now, all he could hear was Ally.  All he protected was Ally and her people and that included Sydney for the time being.

Did he go too far by pledging himself to Ally?  He didn’t think so.  As he glanced around the plain, he saw no contempt he would have seen with the royalty in his pride.  They would not accept him for his eyes.  Everyone knew what his eyes signified, and that made him an outcast.  Here among a group of outcasts, he fit in.  He may not have been a black leopard or a snow leopard with strange abilities, but he was part of them, just as they were now part of him.

He could feel the emotions build in him.  He tried to push them down, but his Queen’s gaze compelled him to let it out.  Laughing, he took a step forward and wrapped his now healed arms around her.  He could feel the baby bump she sported, but that did not stop her from wrapping her own arms around him as tight as she could. He heard a tiny growl, but he knew the Leopard King meant him no harm.  It was involuntary, just as it was when anyone touched Sydney.  She was his, and Ally was Seb’s.  It was as simple as that.

He attempted to pull back, but she wouldn’t let him.  He could feel the relief in her body, and for some reason, he had the feeling that he had solved some obstacle she was attempting to fix.

“You just did the smartest thing in your life.  Not only have you helped me, but you’ve helped yourself so much,” she whispered in his mind before stepping back. 

The blood that was on her clothing stuck to his, but he didn’t care.  This was strangely, a happy time.  He had thought that his rash decision would leave him feeling empty, but he had never felt this welcomed in his life.  He did not understand her words, but she had proved herself a great Queen.  When he had first met her, she had pinned him to the ground, her green eyes glowing, but instead of killing him like she was allowed to, she tilted her head to the side and smiled.  He knew right then that she accepted him for who he was; she did not ask why he was the way he was, and he was happy for that fact.

He was brought back from his thoughts when he heard a sniffle.  Tears were in her eyes as she bit her lip.  He was afraid he had done something to hurt her feelings, but when she blurted, “I am so happy,” and burst into more tears, he had to assume she was, as she said, so happy.

Seb pulled her into a hug as she sobbed on her mates shoulder.  Isaac looked up at the other man’s face, expecting to see anger for making Ally cry, but the man wore a large smile.  “Thank you,” Seb told him.  “You honestly do not know how much you’ve made everyone’s life easier.”

Now, he turned confused.  Seb had repeated the words Ally had told him in his mind.  There had to be significance to them.  There was something he was missing, but he couldn’t grasp it.  The funny thing was that he knew for a fact that it would benefit him.  For some reason, he knew he did not have to worry about his new leaders doing anything to cause him harm.

“Will you explain?” he asked in a silent whisper.

Ally shook her head against Seb’s shirt.  “Not yet.  I’m sorry, but I have to talk to Leo.  Sydney, I’ll need you with me to tell your brother what happened.  I’m not saying that he won’t believe me, but over the phone, it is hard to see if one lies to another.  Sydney will make it easier for him to believe.”

Isaac winced at the thought of someone else telling Leo what he had done.  The man was his best friend; the least he could do was call the man himself. “I can take care of it,” he told her with his trademark smile.

Ally looked at him in concern.  “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” he told her while stepping away from the group.  Pulling out his phone, he did not waste any time in calling his friend.

It rang only once before Leo answered, “Hello?”

“Hey, man.  I have something to tell you,” he blurted, feeling more nervous than he thought he would.

He heard Leo let out a tiny groan.  “What did Sydney do this time?”

“Nothing, I promise. This is about what I did.”

Silence met him on the other end before Leo took a deep breath.  “Tell me.”

“I pledged myself to Alexandria.  I’m no longer part of your people.  I’m sorry, Leo, but it was for the best.”

Another pause made him want to squirm, but he wouldn’t let anyone see the nervousness he felt.  He waited for Leo to condemn him for his choice, but the man let out a laugh.  It wasn’t a harsh laugh, but a deep, amused laugh.  “Did Ally tell you to do this?” Leo finally asked once he calmed himself.

“No,” Isaac replied with confusion.

Leo gasped for breath.  “She must have some forces working in her favor.  That woman has what she wants fall into her hands.  I have to admit that I never saw this one coming.  Thank you, Isaac, for making what could have been a disaster, a happy event.  I have to go, but remember, you’ll always be my brother.”

Isaac heard the phone slam down into its cradle as he stood there with his pressed to his ear.  The conversation he had with Leo did not happen as he had thought.  He never expected the man to thank him for making the decision.  He looked at the smiling faces of all the leopards, even Blake had a large smile on his face, and became more confused.  There was one person’s expression that did not show happiness though. Sydney stood there with a broken look, and although he did not enjoy her sadness, it gave him hope that she cared for him as much as he did for her. There was no doubt in his mind that she was his mate.  Now, it was time for her to realize the same.