I try to swallow the lump in my throat, and it just fills my eyes with tears again.
“You don’t have to carry this alone,” he says. “I’m going to share every burden with you from now on, and I’ll never, ever, let anything happen to you again. I promise.”
Even though I lean back against him and let the warm press of his body comfort me, conflict still rages inside.
I want to trust him. All I want is to believe every single word and give him my heart.
But I can’t. No matter how safe and protected I feel right now, I can’t forget that he abandoned me once, and he can easily do it again.
Chapter 9 - Brad
The next morning, Alisha and I sleep in a little, and I end up rushing off to the council meeting.
Even though I’d happily blow it off to be with Alisha, I have to take my duties very seriously. Not only do I want to create structure for the town and prepare everyone for potential danger from the snake spirit, I am beginning to personally care for every single pack member.
I thought being alpha meant that I held myself apart from the rest of the pack to rule them, but now I see it’s about making a connection—being close to each and every one of them so I can understand their needs and keep them safe.
When I arrive at the building on Main Street, I see the parking lot already filled with cars. The building is a council chamber and courthouse, with an informal study out back where we hold most of our meetings.
Apparently, Azarian was fond of a grander setting, but I wanted to make a clean break from his rule, and everyone seemed to welcome the change.
In the study, I find Gen seated at the table with two other men and women I don’t immediately recognize. Of all the other elders, only Hazel is here.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” I say, sitting down at the end of the table. “Are the others running behind as well?”
“The other elders won’t be attending,” Hazel answers. “Just me and our newly appointed guild leaders.”
“Okay,” I reply carefully. “I’d like all the elders to be present at our meetings, especially when they’re important like this.”
“Gregor and Mitchell are organizing a club event at the school,” Gen says. “That’s why they aren’t here.”
“I should have been informed of this,” I say, tapping the table lightly with my knuckles. “This is exactly the kind of thing we need to be clear about. If my council has to be absent, I need to know, especially if it’s for a club event at the school. That’s something all of us should be involved in.”
“Oh,” Hazel says, her eyes wide. “Azarian never wanted to be troubled with such things. He said the school was beneath his concern, and he couldn’t be expected to attend every bake sale.”
“I’ll bake the damn cookies myself,” I say, irritated. “Our young people are our future, and there is nothing more important to me. Can we call Gregor and Mitchell, and organize to help them?”
“They’ll be out on the field,” Hazel says. “But I’ll send them a message. We can discuss the particulars later, but I’ll let them know they should be here for every meeting, and disclose all other plans to you beforehand.”
“Excellent,” I say, giving Hazel a small smile so she knows it’s not her I’m angry with. “I’m glad we got that sorted out. I want to make sure we all understand that Azarian is gone, and we’re going to be doing things very differently from now on.”
“That’s what we’re here to talk about,” one of the young women says. “At your last meeting, you wanted Gen to choose guild leaders for the town, and we volunteered. I nominated myself for head baker.”
“Okay, great,” I reply. “Didn’t catch your name?”
“Andrea,” she says with a smile. “And this is my cousin, Helen. She’s nominated herself for textiles.”
“That’s me,” the other woman says, giving me a firm salute. “Volunteered for grunt duty. At your service, Alpha.”
“Sure,” I reply, grinning at her spunk. “And you two are?”
“Lindsay,” one of the men says, rising to give my hand a brief shake. “Produce.”
“And I’m Dale,” the other guy says, also rising to shake my hand. “Building and landscaping.”
I look around the table, feeling like our team is a bit lacking.
“Something wrong?” Gen asks.
