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Before the kiss can go even further south of publicly indecent, Trystan finally breaks away, breathing hard. His fingers slide up and down my back, stroking me as if he’s unwilling to let me go just yet.
I know the feeling, I think, as I lace my fingers together behind his back and hold on tight.
“I love you too, you know,” I whisper.
He chuckles, then clears his throat since his voice is still thick with desire. “I’m lucky as hell you do. I’ll spend my whole damn life trying to deserve you.”
“You already do.”
He makes a soft noise in his throat. “Only because you make me a better person.” He draws back a little to look at me. “Hey, I need to go talk to my pack. Do you want to come with me?”
“Of course I do,” I reply with a nod. “My place is at your side.”
He beams. The smile is so boyishly happy that it sets my heart racing all over again. I could spend the rest of my life making him smile like that, and it still would never be enough. I’d always want more.
First, we stop at a house near Archer’s little cottage, where two of Trystan’s buddies have been shacked up with a young East Pack family. I love that we find them in the yard with the kids—two huge meathead shifters having a tea party in the grass with tiny teacups and two towheaded little girls.
When they see their alpha, they leap to their feet, looking slightly embarrassed at being found in such a compromising position. But Trystan just grins at the little girls and apologizes for interrupting their tea party.
I think I fall in love with him all over again in this moment.
He explains to the two men that he wants to have a meeting with what I surmise is his inner circle—a group of pack members who are well-respected and liked. His buddies agree to help us track down those people, and while they say goodbye to the little girls and then take off in one direction, we head in another. Trystan knows that one of the people he wants to talk to is staying nearby.
I remain silent as we go to three different houses, picking up people along the way. The shifters are intrigued by Trystan’s sudden arrival and cryptic request for a private meeting, but not a single one of them refuses their alpha. When we finally gather in the East Pack meeting house, there are about ten people, including Trystan’s two buddies and myself. I hang back behind him to give him center stage, and I’m surprised when his two friends fall into place on either side of me. One gives me a kind smile, and the other winks.
Score one for the mate. Maybe I’ll win all these packs over yet.
I’m only here to observe and support, so I stay silent in the background as Trystan begins to speak.
He sits at the large table with his pack members and drags his chair closer before he folds his hands on the tabletop and addresses the group. “Ladies, gentleman, thank you for agreeing to this impromptu meeting. I know I might’ve taken you away from important duties or family time. I appreciate you being willing to join me.”
There’s a ripple of responses from the group, indicating none of them found it to be a hardship. I can see how they respect him and look up to him—it’s visible in the way they watch him, their gazes never wavering. They don’t fiddle with their hands or glance at their watches. They give him their undivided attention, listening attentively, and it’s one of the most beautiful displays of leadership I’ve ever seen.
Plus, I barely even recognize the calm, clear, professional tone Trystan’s pulled out of his back pocket for the occasion. I’m so busy watching him woo them that I hardly listen to the words he speaks. He smiles at the right moments. Gestures with his hands and laughs at himself when he trips over his own words once. He shines with charisma, and the longer he talks, the more every man and woman in the room begins to nod along with him.
It’s when he brings up the children that they really jump on board. Every one of them straightens and leans in, and the movement is so obvious that it snaps me out of my affectionate daydream.
“Right now, in the history of our pack, we have more children than ever before,” Trystan is saying as I zero in on him. “The past few years have been good to our people because we paid such close attention to ourselves. Our own safety. Our own needs. Our pack numbers have nearly doubled in five years’ time, and the new generation carries the promise of our future survival. Now, more than ever, it’s imperative we keep them safe.”
These aren’t even entirely new ideas he’s laying out. A lot of these points were made at the meeting last night. But I get the feeling that it all sounds different to the gathered shifters now, because it’s coming from a man they respect—and it’s obvious to everyone in the room that Trystan believes in what he’s saying one hundred percent.
“I know the idea of uprooting our lives seems daunting,” my mate goes on, his expression turning serious. “But I’d like to remind you, we’ve done it before. Fifty-two years ago, when my grandfather was alpha of this pack, we relocated from a barren plain halfway across the state to our current location here in the mountains. And it wasn’t an easy decision then either. But change, no matter how difficult, is often necessary. I truly believe it’s time for us to embrace a new future where all our local packs don’t just work together out of obligation, but because we want to. Because together, we will become stronger. Better. Safer.”
I didn’t need convincing that the packs staying together was the right thing to do, but if I had needed it, this would have won me over.
I almost expect the group to burst into enthusiastic applause as he finishes his speech. The way
they’ve been listening so intently that some of them haven’t even blinked in a while. Instead, they glance around at each other as if snapping out of a haze, and then one by one, they look back at Trystan and begin to nod.
“In conclusion,” he says, “I hope you’ll join me in convincing the rest of our pack that the right move for us is to join forces with the East and North Packs. Can I count on you?”
“It’s unprecedented.” A woman speaks up. She’s older, a grandmother maybe, with white hair and delicate lines beside her shrewd blue eyes. But she speaks with much more authority than I expected for a woman in a pink cardigan and sensible white tennis shoes. “As such, I doubt it will be easy. However, I’d like to throw my support behind you, Trystan. You’ve been the driving force behind our pack thriving these past few years, and I have no doubt you’ll continue to lift us to even greater heights.”
“I have to agree,” one of the younger men says, nodding vehemently. “I’m honestly nervous about the idea, but if we can pull it off, I’m excited to see where it takes us.”
A warm flutter works its way through my belly as I watch Trystan smile and thank his people. They chat a few moments more, discussing ways to approach the conversation and building a somewhat grassroots campaign meant to change the whole pack’s mind.
When the meeting adjourns, I expect Trystan to be elated with the results—unanimous consent to help him spread the word and convince the pack to merge. Instead, he remains subdued and quiet, but not in a bad way. More… thoughtful.
