“I still can’t believe you’re pregnant,” she snorted.
“You and me both sister but honestly? Now that the shock has worn off… I’m pretty excited about it,” I admitted.
“Did you just call your baby an it? Mom of the year.”
I flipped her off. “I called my pregnancy an it. Not my baby.”
“Sure, sure. Excuses.”
“Let’s go in. We have a lot to do,” I said, changing the subject away from her antics.
“You mean I have a lot of work to do and you get to boss me around. Super cool,” she sassed as she followed me through the archway.
“Pretty much,” I laughed as we made our way to the main building.
“Alpha,” Ryan’s voice rang out across the clearing. “Welcome back.” His smile was wide, a direct contrast to the pained look he wore when we first met. That small show of happiness my wolves were now free to express reminded me of why I couldn’t give into Sam. These people had been through hell. I wasn’t going to push them off and make them feel unwanted when they’d already suffered so much.
“Hey,” I greeted the hulking man as we met in the middle of the clearing that separated the prison-like shelter from the arched entrance. “How’s everything going?”
“Everything is alright. I got the list you asked for.”
“List?” Tessa interrupted.
“I’ve been gone for the past few days because of the funerals for Sam’s dad so I asked Ryan to gather a list of how many rooms and homes we need for our wolves,” I explained. “The single wolves are going to be in the main building, apartment style. Some are okay with rooming together so that’ll be listed as well. Families will get their own homes.”
“Okay. I’m probably going to need a few days… and Bael. You’re asking for a lot of magic,” my friend said, clearly stressed over the amount of work before her.
“I know. I really appreciate it. Going forward we can build our homes here ourselves. I’ll figure out a way to pay you back for this, Tess. I promise,” I said. I felt guilty for asking for so much from her.
“Ben had a pretty extensive treasury. We can pay for it. They’re pack funds now, I suppose,” Ryan interrupted.
I frowned at his words and looked at Tessa who seemed to be on my wavelength.
“Has anyone been into the… treasury?” she asked.
“Not lately, but he wouldn’t have moved it,” my beta explained.
“That’s not why we’re worried. Ben was a powerful witch. He could have spelled the room so no one could take from him. Magic doesn’t die just because the user does,” Tessa said as she pulled her phone out and began to dial. “I’m going to call Bael. I can work on the housing and he can inspect the treasury and the rest of the grounds for spells and curses.”
I nodded. “Good idea.”
After Tess had placed her call, she inspected the list Ryan gave her. “I can do the main building today and the stand alone houses tomorrow. I need the premises cleared before I can get to work.”
“Alright,” I said. “Ryan, can you call a pack meeting? We can meet in the east clearing. It’s time I started to get to know everyone.”
8
Sam
Work sucked. It felt like every five minutes someone was asking if I was okay or offering their condolences for the seven hundredth time. I understood why they were doing so. My dad died and they just wanted to be nice but honestly? I just didn’t want to think about it and every time someone brought it up, I felt like I took one step closer to the proverbial edge. I was ready to lose my shit.
I didn’t deal well with emotions. I never had. I used my wolf to bury the hurt but I couldn’t even do that now. My wolf was just as hurt as I was. I had to figure out my own way to cope now and I was flailing.
When five o’clock rolled around, I was beyond ready to leave. It was my first day back. I hadn’t even worked a full shift, but I was over it. I needed to go. I rushed to my car--well Alex’s car since we never recovered my truck after Chelsea took it when she kidnapped Lily--and peeled out of the parking lot as fast as I legally could.
When I arrived home, Nate was sitting on my porch.
“How’d it go?” I called as I hopped out of the vehicle. I had sent Nate to begin the preliminary treaty negotiations with the witches after my father’s funeral. Once we got to the nitty gritty, I’d sit down with their Chancellor and write up the actual treaty. This particular meeting was just discussion of what terms the witches would like us to adhere to and vice versa.
“It went alright. Glad Tessa was there. Chancellor Warren is no joke,” he said. He wasn’t wrong either. Witches broke up their territories by region. Chancellor Warren covered Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. It was the largest witch territory and Warren was the strongest chancellor in the States. He was also pretty old school so I was surprised he even agreed to a treaty. He believed wolves unnatural but, as much as I hated it, a treaty was necessary. I wanted a better world for my pack and for my kid. I didn’t want my child to die because a witch locked his wolf down simply because of his heritage.
“Come on in,” I said as I unlocked the front door. I hung my keys on the hook beside the entrance and headed directly into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee as Nate followed me inside. “Coffee?”
“Please,” he said emphatically.
“You okay man?” I asked.
“Just haven’t been sleeping well,” he paused before continuing. “I know she was a traitor but she was still pack, ya’ know?”
I nodded, unsure of what to say. I never should have ordered him to put Chelsea down. It wasn’t a true command so he could have just restrained her but I should have known he’d do as I asked. Nate and I had started off on the wrong foot when he came back to the pack lands smelling like Lily but since then we’d gotten pretty close. I had started being nice to him out of guilt but we had a lot in common. He’d quickly become a close friend and confidant.
“I’m sorry. I should have taken care of her myself,” I finally offered.
“It was better than you didn’t. No matter what she did, y’all had a history. It’s best that I took care of it. I just gotta’ deal. I’ll be alright. Until then… coffee,” he said with a grin. Nate was a happy guy, to the point where people just accepted his good nature at face value. I could see the strain on his face. The bags under his eyes were pronounced and he looked like complete dog shit but I didn’t push him to talk about it. Mostly because I wasn’t the kind of dude to talk about feelings... and neither was he.
I poured our coffees, putting the sugar on the table in front of him. “We can spar later if you want.”
“Yeah, I’m game,” he responded. Beating the shit out of each other was about as touchy feely as we got.
“Cool,” I responded before sitting across from him.
His eyes drifted toward the chair that lay broken against the wall from when I kicked it this morning but he didn’t mention it as he began to tell me of the witches’ demands. “They want a list of all of our pack members, even the ones who haven’t shifted yet and the humans. They won’t lock any of our wolves as long as we adhere to the rules which are basic. Don’t harm humans. Don’t reveal ourselves to humans other than human mates. No attacking witches.”
“And if a witch attacks one of us first?” I interrupted.
“Chancellor Warren isn’t playing around. He said the penalty will be death. We’re allowed to fight to defend but can’t attack unprovoked. The treaty seems like a good idea but… I don’t know,” he paused as he shifted uncomfortably.
“What?” I asked, intrigued.
“They just seem really eager for this treaty. Makes me wonder why now. For years, wolves and witches have either avoided each other or fought. They hate our kind. Tessa and Bael are the most open and you know how Tess is about us. She’s only coming around because of Lily. So why do they want a treaty all of a sudden?”
I agreed with his logic. “I’ve had
the same thoughts. I don’t think we can afford to turn this treaty down, especially if there are more hybrids out there, but I’ve been wondering why they suggested a truce.”
“That’s just it. From what I gathered, they don’t want a truce,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t think they want a truce. It sounds to me like they want an alliance. The question is… why? What do they think they’re going to need our help with? There is something the witches aren’t telling us.”
9
Liliana
It had been hours since we began our pack meeting. The sun that had been high in the sky when our discussion had started was now sinking low to the ground. The beginning had been smooth. I introduced myself to the pack and they’d done the same in kind. The only interaction I’d had with them prior was when I commanded them to be honest with Sam. It hadn’t been the best start to my alphaship.
The introductions had been the only part of the meeting that had been smooth sailing. A solid portion of the pack had decided to leave and live on their own, something I didn’t fault them for, but twenty-five still remained. With Ryan and I, we had a pack of twenty-seven. It was nothing compared to the size of Sam’s pack but I didn’t mind. I would have stayed with them as their alpha even if there were only a handful of wolves. They were my responsibility. My wolf and I both had a fierce overprotective instinct when it came to them.
“Look I understand that you all want your own homes. I’m doing the best I can. The witches can only do so much for us. We’re not their responsibility,” I said for what felt like the hundredth time.
“They’re the ones who let that psycho run around absorbing packs. They owe us,” Paisley, an angry looking woman in her mid-twenties, shouted from the middle of the group.
“You can’t blame the witches for Ben’s actions. They didn’t even know of his existence. Besides, they came to our aid. If they hadn’t, that monster would still be alive,” I tried to explain.
“No,” Paisley spoke up again, pushing her way to the front of the crowd. “They came to your aid because your friend is a witch. They don’t give a shit about us. They were going to help your fucking boyfriend murder us all. Hell, you don’t give a shit about us. You call yourself our alpha and then you leave for days!”
“Hey-” I began only to be cut off by Ryan’s bellow.
“Do not disrespect your alpha or her mate,” his voice boomed throughout the clearing. He was such a giant teddy bear around me that I never realized he could be scary.
That is why we chose him as our beta, my wolf whispered in my mind. He is strong and loyal.
“Ryan,” I said softly. “I got this but thank you.”
I stepped forward and addressed my wolves once more. “You were given the option to leave and you can still go. But if you choose to stay here? Then you’re accepting me as your alpha and my mate is a part of the package. I will do my best by all of you but I will not be disrespected. Whatever the witches' motivations, they helped us and are continuing to do so.”
I turned to Paisley, singling her out. “As for you, you can either leave or issue a challenge. I will not tolerate your behavior. Do you have a mate?”
She glared at me for a moment before nodding. A sandy blonde man, Trevor, stepped forward. “I’m her mate, alpha.”
“You’re mated so you understand the draw to make your mate happy. I’d just turned and felt that pull in my chest for the first time after being human my entire life. I am carrying his child and yet I stood up to him for you--all of you. I am still fighting with my mate so that I can do my best to make your lives better. Ben put you through hell and I want to try to make sure you’re all happy and taken care off,” my voice grew stronger as my words tumbled from my lips. “I am not going to sit here and have you bad mouth me or my dedication to this pack. So which is it? Will you leave, obey, or challenge me?”
I stepped forward into her personal space. It wasn’t something I would normally do but my wolf egged me on. I followed her guidance and held Paisley’s gaze. She stared back for a few seconds at an attempt at dominance before she lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Alpha. Please forgive me.”
I nodded and stepped back. “Anyone else have a problem with my mate or myself? This is the last time I’m going to deal with this subject. Submit, challenge, or leave the pack.”
Ryan let out a howl, his human voice melding with his wolf. I felt the bonds that tied me to every one of my wolves strengthen as they joined him. They accepted me as their alpha.
Once they quieted down, I spoke again. “The housing will be as Ryan organized it. Single wolves in the main building. Mated pairs or pack members with children get houses. If you mate after the housing is done, we’ll build new ones. We’re not going to bother the witches after this.”
The sun finally faded completely beyond the horizon as we finished up our meeting. As the moon shone above us, my wolf spoke to me once more. Run.
I smiled at the suggestion and addressed my pack once more. “Now that that’s over. Let’s run as a pack--a family.”
Ryan grinned at me, winking before pulling his shirt over his head. I quickly looked away from him only to notice that the rest of my pack had begun stripping. I took a deep breath and followed suit. If I was going to be a wolf and lead them as their Alpha, I needed to start acting like one. Once I stripped, I called my wolf to the surface. As the last pack member fell on all fours, I lifted my head back and howled. The sound of my pack joining me was like a balm soothing the ache my fight with Sam had left on my heart. I turned and ran, my pack following as one. We had a long road ahead of us to become the family I envisioned but we were off to a pretty decent start.
10
Sam
I ducked the fist Nate sent flying at my nose but the second punch from his combo landed. A jolt of pain shot through my ribs and I grinned as I hit him back. We traded blow for blow for well over an hour before we finally called it quits.
Sweat drenched the t-shirts we both wore as our chests heaved in an attempt to catch our breath. I lay down in the grass we’d been sparring in and wiped the blood that was still trickling from my nose. My wolf had already healed the break but the blood had yet to be completely staunched.
The grass rubbed against my damp back, causing it to itch like hell, but I was way too tired to move. We’d both been going all out as we worked through our own personal issues with our fists. Nate sat down next to me and slumped forward. His arms rested on his bent knees as he hung his head and spoke to me. “What happened bro? I heard you and Liliana got into it this morning. She isn’t the type to go slamming doors and shit.”
I groaned and threw my arm over my eyes before I responded. “How’d you hear about that?”
“Erin,” he said by way of explaining.
A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. Erin was by far the nosiest wolf in our pack but, since Seth’s death, she had withdrawn from the pack. If butting into my business was what brought her back to us, I was all for it. “We were fighting because I want her to move in with me and she won’t because she wants to stay with that pack. She’s been a wolf for four days now. I don’t get why she’s so fucking set on being their alpha. She doesn’t even know how to be a wolf yet.”
“I really hope you didn’t say that to her,” Nate chuckled.
“I mean… I kind of did. Those weren’t my exact words but the message was the same.”
He lifted his head up and turned to look at me, “Dude! You’re an idiot.” I opened my mouth to reply but he powered on before I had the chance. “Yeah, she just turned but what do we tell all of our new wolves? Trust your instincts, right? You’re trying to get Lil to do the opposite and then you’re minimizing the fact that she’s an alpha. Add that to the Chelsea shit? You’re lucky she hasn’t tried to castrate you man.”
I sat up in silence as I processed what he was saying. He was right. I was putting Lily down because she was doing what all weres should
do--trusting her wolf. He was making perfect sense until he got to the Chelsea part. “Lily doesn’t blame me for Chelsea kidnapping her. I had no idea she was a traitor.”
Nate snorted. “Not the Chelsea thing I was talking about.”
“Then what are you talking about?” I asked.
He paused and frowned at me. “Have you guys talked at all since everything went down?”
“Kind of… not really. I had to plan my dad’s human services and the wolf memorial. Then there was trying to balance all the other funerals for the other wolves that died and then finding out about the baby… we’ve had a lot going on,” I explained defensively.
He shook his head as if he pitied me and sighed. “You have to talk to your mate. Tessa told me that Chelsea told Liliana about you guys hooking up once she left town. From what Tess said, Chelsea made it seem like things only ended when Lil came back.”
I groaned and threw myself back on the ground. “Fuck.” I stared up at the sky, mentally listing all of the things I’d done to hurt my mate since we’d gotten back together. The Chelsea thing ended before she ever came back but it’s still something I should have told her about. That on top of the way I’d been behaving about her leading another pack? No wonder she didn’t want to move in with me. I was a terrible mate.
I shook myself from my self-loathing long enough to turn to Nate, a frown creasing my eyebrows. “Wait. Since when are you Tessa’s confidant?”
Nate shrugged. “We’ve been spending a lot of time together working on this treaty the past few days. We talk.”
I grinned at his obvious discomfort. “You’re into her.”
“Nah, man,” he shook his head. “She’s better with wolves since Lily’s turning but she still hates us. I’m not an idiot.
Alpha's Compromise (Alpha Selection Book 2) Page 3
