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He looked down at her and frowned.
“Your Pack dealt with death and pain for how long? Decades?”
He nodded. Joseph had been Alpha for far too long. “Over a century.”
She gasped. “Dear goddess. And it’s been only thirty years since you took over? In that time, you’ve forged a truce and treaty with the Redwoods, helped defeat a demon, and found a way to break the curse of mating on your people. The submissives, while not back to top form, are alive and breathing once again. The maternals are raising pups into beautiful wolves. Yes, there are some who need to have their minds changed or kicked out of the Pack, buteveryPack has issues. Once we find out who blew up the building, you’re one step closer. I know my mating you wasn’t the easiest, but come on, I’m not exactly what people thought you needed.” She gave him a wry smile. “I’m proving them wrong though. I feel the bonds within the Pack. They’re growing stronger. You’re a good Alpha, Gideon.”
He let out a shaky breath and crushed her body to his. She wasn’t leaving, wasn’t looking at him as though he was a monster for what he’d seen and been forced to wait for so long to change.
She ran her hands up and down his back. “You are an Alpha we can all be proud of. We’re still learning this whole mating thing, and we will continue to learn it for decades to come, but we’re going to do it side by side. Okay?”
“You are too good for me, little wolf.”
“No, I’m just right for you,” she whispered.
He smiled then kissed her temple. “We will find the wolf that hurt our Pack. We will find Leo. I’m not letting my Pack crumble. Not after all we’ve been through.”
She pulled back and grinned. “Now that’s my Alpha.”
HerAlpha. He liked the sound of that.
He framed her face, his wolf pressing hard against him. Tonight was the full moon hunt, and his wolf was too close to the surface. He might have had excellent control over his wolf, but with the stress of what was going on around him, his emotions riding high with Brie and the full moon, he knew he needed to run hard tonight.
“You need to forgive yourself, Gideon,” she whispered, and his wolf howled. “You can’t move on if you don’t.”
“Those who can never find their mates, see their children grow, or take another breath might beg to differ.”
“Oh, baby,” she whispered. He liked the way she called him baby under her breath. Not that he wanted her to do it in public. “You can’t let what was forced on you to eat you up inside. You fought for them the moment you could. You might not feel it, but you are the Alpha you were born to be, not the Alpha they tried to force you to become.”
He kissed her then, needing her more than he’d ever thought he’d crave someone. Her tongue tangled with his, and she gasped into his mouth when his hand moved down her back to cup her ass.
“Mine,” he growled, nipping her lower lip.”
“Yours,” she whispered back then swallowed hard. “I…”
His wolf perked, waiting to hear what she had to say, hoping it was what he wanted to hear.
“Gideon?” A voice on the other side of the door.
Brie pulled away, and he cursed.
“Come in, Brynn,” he called. The hunt didn’t start for another hour since their sleeping schedules were off, but if Brynn was here now, she needed something.
His sister ducked her head inside and blushed. “Sorry to interrupt. I…I can come back later. Or I’ll just see you at the hunt.”
He opened his mouth to tell her to get her ass over here, but Brie beat him to the punch. Though she was only dressed in his shirt, she stood up and took Brynn’s hands in her own.
“Nonsense. You’re here for a reason. Come on in. You want coffee?”
There was his mate, the submissive caretaker. There was something going on with Brynn, something he’d been aware of for a while, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He didn’t want to corner her and force the issue since it looked as though she was handling it, but he liked the fact that his mate seemed to know something was wrong as well. This was what it meant to be Alpha. It wasn’t all claws and growls. It was taking care of the Pack in every way possible. Yes, he had his family in their respective roles to handle duties as well, but some things only he could do—only heandBrie could do. The fact that her wolfneededto take care of others helped in this case. He’d never thought about that before, and now he was damn lucky to have her.
Brynn blinked at both of them and gave a sad smile. “Coffee sounds wonderful, thanks, Brie.”
Brie cupped Brynn’s face. “You’re my sister now. Let me take care of you.”
Brynn smiled a little more brightly that time. “Yeah, I guess I am. I’m not used to having other women around.”
Brie laughed softly and went to get coffee. “Yeah, I guess the Brentwoods are a little testosterone-based.”
