They should have.
Disappointment rolled off their alpha, the weight of it setting heavily on Aaron’s shoulders.
“I know.”
Harry cleared his throat. “That’s not all.”
“Oh?” Thewhat the fuck, now?heavy in Sam’s tone.
Aaron squeezed Harry’s wrist again.
“I owe him money.”
“Harry.” The frustration filling that one word made them both cringe. Sam pinched the bridge of his nose, body tight with tension. “How much?”
“A hundred and fifty pounds,” Harry mumbled, head down.
Sam visibly relaxed. “Thank fuck. I thought you were going to say thousands.”
Harry looked affronted. “I’m not that stupid.” He fidgeted again under Sam’s stare.
“It’s a slippery slope, Harry, as I’m sure you’re aware.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“I appreciate that you’ve come to me, albeit later than I would have liked, and not left it to the police or another alpha to inform me of my pack members’ illegal activities. However…”
Aaron tensed. This was the part he’d been dreading.
Sam let out a deep sigh, as though reluctant to say the next part. “There will be consequences. There has to be.”
Both Harry and Aaron nodded, accepting their fate. “Yes, Alpha.”
“For one, this stops now. No more visits to Smith’s fights or any other fights or illegal gambling.” He looked pointedly at Harry. “No more gambling at all. If you ever feel like you’re struggling, then contact me or Isaac immediately, no matter what time of day or night.”
Aaron knew Harry well enough to know that last part grated. He imagined him dying to mutter, “I’m not that bad,” but he wisely kept his mouth shut.
At the mention of Isaac, Aaron glanced over at him. He’d been quiet for the whole of the meeting so far, silently observing from the chair opposite.
Sam gestured to Isaac with a wave of his hand. “I’ll take some responsibility for this. You needed a beta, and you didn’t have one. That’s my fault. I thought I had time to find the perfect replacement, but that was a serious oversight on my part. From now on, Isaac will take over that role. I’ll assign the others in your old unit to Nick and Phil for the time being.”
Aaron looked over to Isaac and received a warm smile in return. The comforting sense of belonging washed over him. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed being part of a unit until that moment. Harry relaxed next to him.
Maybe everything would be okay after all?
If Sam was assigning them a beta, then that meant he wasn’t kicking them out of the pack at least. But he still had to ask. “Are you going to report us to the police?”
They’d broken the law, and now that Sam knew, he was responsible for them as their alpha. He could find himself in serious trouble if they got caught by the police.
“You said you have no information that could help with their investigation, and I’d rather not involve the human police if we can help it.” When he spoke again, a trace of alpha power laced his voice. “Do you plan to continue breaking the human laws?”
Aaron clenched his fists and shook his head vehemently. “No, Alpha.”
“No, Alpha,” Harry added, just as strongly.
“Then I consider the matter dealt with. But…”
Holding his breath, Aaron waited to hear their punishment.
