Page 5 of Plus-Size Bullied Mate

Most wolves would find the view calming, and while I once did, I haven’t learned how to relax again since returning.

Regardless of how long we’ve been back on the island, moving from town to town, my instincts catalog everything automatically. From scent trails to the physical locations of my pack members, I catch it all, heightened from the moment I underwent the ceremony.

I always knew I’d be the alpha one day, but living it now, after everything I’ve done and seen, feels like stepping into a completely new life.

“You’re brooding already,” Cole says dryly as he enters the living room carrying two glasses of whiskey.

I snort quietly and take the offered drink with a nod in thanks. “I assumed that came with the title.”

“It does, just usually not this fast,” he murmurs with a knowing gleam in his eyes. “Normally, the new alpha would sit with the new position to get a feel for it. Maybe even bask in the glory while he can.”

He lowers himself into the leather chair near the fireplace with the slow ease of a man finally allowing himself to age after carrying the weight of that responsibility for multiple decades. Subtle gray streaks cut through his blonde hair now, though he’s still broad enough to intimidate most wolves without trying.

Even when an alpha relinquishes his title, that edge doesn’t fully leave.

The others might still be cautious of him, but to me, he’s been something else entirely.

Cole has been a mentor and a father in every way that mattered.

My real dad died when I was eight. A rogue attack near our northern border with Wraith Peak took him, and some of the details are foggy by now. Of course, I’ll never forget the chaos after it happened, or my mother crying so hard she couldn’t stand upright for several days, but the sting of it feels as natural as anything else to me now.

Cole stepped in before the grief could swallow me completely. He taught me how to fight, to lead, and how to survive being born into expectations sharp enough to cut you open if you fail.

“You handled the ceremony well,” he says after taking a sip, brown eyes on me.

“I stood there and said the right words,” I return casually, shrugging off the compliment despite his approval meaning something to me. “It didn’t feel very demanding.”

Cole huffs a laugh to himself. “That’s the military talking.”

“Special ops,” I correct automatically.

“Still military, and still drilled with everything you picked up there.”

I lean against the window frame, idly swirling the glass between my fingers as I watch the tops of the trees moving in the dark.

The fire crackles softly between us, and for a while, neither of us speaks.

It has always been easy with Cole, since he understood my moods and knew how to navigate them. He never pushed when I wasn’t receptive, and took advantage of the times I was, doing everything he could to teach me before I went off on my own. That kind of perception and empathy was never lost on me.

“I can tell you’re waiting for some kind of disaster to strike,” he eventually says while he studies me over the rim of his drink. “Instead of celebrating coming home, you’re tense enough to be at war.”

I glance at him, well aware that he’s right.

“Every new alpha does eventually,” Cole continues. “You spend years preparing for leadership, then the second it’s yours, you start looking for the thing that’ll tear it apart. But if you do, you’ll lose sight of the important things.”

He’s not wrong, like usual.

The weight settled onto my shoulders the second the ceremony ended, and now, I can feel how the pack trusts and believes in me. That kind of faith can be dangerous if it’s mishandled, and now more than ever, I’m aware of it suspended in my grasp.

“I know how to lead soldiers,” I say quietly, contemplating. “I know strategy and combat. I know how to keep my head up even when things go south, but pack politics are different. There are still wolves out there who want me and the others to fail.”

Cole leans back and nods absently to himself. “That’s true, but those dynamics aren’t as different as you think.”

I raise a brow, silently telling him to continue.

“Wolves want strength, and they seek it out for their own survival. Still, they stay loyal because of consistency, stability, and protection. That is what you offer them in return. They need to know their alpha sees them.”

Something about that sinks in deeper than it should.