It was strange; part of me wanted to be a kid again, but a bigger part of me had settled into the role of Alpha. Taking care of my pack and my people was a calling, and I wasn’t completely sure that I would be okay stepping back into the role of heir.
“Have a seat,” Dad said, smiling, as he patted the seat and moved back to stand near Mom and Nikolai, who sat to the side. Observing, but not technically part of this.
Skye squeezed my hand, encouraging me to sit in that seat once more, even if it was just to give it back to its rightful owner.
I sat slowly, watching as Skye sat to my left. Then I drew in a deep breath to begin.
“If I may?” William Lodge cut in first from the end of the table, raising his hand.
I stiffened, steeling myself for whatever he was about to say even as I nodded for him to continue.
“I was wrong.”
I blinked, not sure I had heard him correctly.
Lodge leaned forward, bracing his forearms on the edge of the table as he looked me in the eye. “When you first sat down as Alpha, I had a lot of doubts. Even after the challenge, I had my doubts. But I’ve seen what you’ve done this last week. You and your mate.”
Several heads started nodding in agreement and Rhodes flashed me a grin from where he sat to my right.
“Maybe we got too comfortable,” Lodge went on. “Maybe we thought Blackwater was untouchable, but you all have handled everything a hell of a lot better than I think us adults could have.”
“He’s right,” Michael chimed in from beside Rhodes with a smile.
“I may not be happy that my Ainsley is now bonded to two knuckleheads,” Lodge added as several people laughed, “but she’s found her mates. This pack is thriving because of you both.”
Skye and I exchanged smiles. She reached across the table and threaded her fingers through mine.
“I agree,” Dad said, coming forward and looking at me. “Which is why I’m not going to be stepping back in as Alpha.”
“What?” The word was out before I could finish thinking it. All my brain could process was shock.
Smiling, Dad clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Blackwater is your pack, son.”
Skye’s wide eyes looked up at him. “But what about you?”
“I still have some healing to do, but I also realized that we can’t undo what happened these last few weeks and the role you both played,” Gabe said gently, smiling at her. “You saved this pack and a lot of people. You rescued even more. I think we all feel confident moving forward with Blackwater under your leadership. Both of yours.”
“How does that work?” I asked. My mind was reeling. I had been prepared to walk into this room and hand my pack back to my father.
“We’ve been giving that some thought,” Michael said, smiling slightly. “What happened in Wyoming opened up a big void in our world. We have a lot of packs that are leaderless, and we can’t support them all long-term.”
“I know that,” I stated slowly. “The goal was never for Blackwater to be a single pack. The plan has always been to give the packs back their autonomy now that Norwood isn’t a threat.”
“But who oversees that?” Katy looked around curiously after posing the question. “Do we leave it up to the packs?”
“We think it should be mostly pack decisions, but we’re also aware that packs want guidance. There will still be issues with packs that need to be settled,” Michael replied. “Which is why I brought up to your dad and his council the idea of him taking over and forming a new shifter council for North America.”
I looked at him in surprise. “Really?”
He nodded slowly. “At first I wasn’t crazy about the idea, but after talking it over with your mom and my council, I think it makes sense. It’s going to take awhile, and it will mean I need to travel a lot to oversee the packs.”
“Which is why we also think you need to consider expanding out your council,” Michael finished, looking at me. “We’re happy to help but it would be best if you start appointing your own fulltime council.”
I frowned. “I won’t ask anyone to defer college or finishing school to help.”
“Nor do we expect you to,” Lodge added. “Members of the current council will stay and help, but with the caveat that in a few years, we’ll be transitioning out to make way for your council.”
Dad gave me a look. “And that includes you finishing college, too, Remy. We’ll make it work. I’ll work out of Blackwater to start, so I can help manage the pack while you’re getting your degree.”
I looked down at the table for a second before looking at Skye, then Rhodes, followed by Katy, Dante and Will. They all nodded and smiled at me.
“I would be honored to continue as the Blackwater Alpha,” I finally answered.
Several people clapped in response, and I stood up to hug my father.
“I’m proud of you, Rem,” he said quietly in my ear.
“Thanks, Dad.” I smiled at him as I sat back down.
Nikolai cleared his throat from where he sat on the edge near Mom. “If I may?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
He stood up. “As most of you know, I am the Alpha of the Narodnaya pack in Russia. What you may not know is that many years ago, there was a strong bond between all the packs. Your annual Summit to discuss affairs was an international one. I propose we keep these newly reestablished lines of communication open.”
“We won’t argue with that,” Dad said, folding his arms over his chest. “We know your support was invaluable this last week.”
“We’ll need someone to act as a liaison between the packs, so I propose someone who can easily call two packs home.” He looked at Skye. “My daughter.”
Skye sat up straighter and made a small, surprised noise. “Me?”
“Yes, you,” he affirmed with a chuckle. “I’ve spoken to my friends in Europe and Asia. They agree that my daughter would be able to advocate for their interests on a daily basis.”
“I agree,” I added quickly, drawing her attention.
“Rem, are you sure?”
“Never been more sure.” I took her hand and kissed it.
“Remy and Nikolai are right,” Dad confirmed. “You’re the best choice, sweetheart, provided it’s what you want.”
She caught her lower lip between her teeth, thinking for a moment before smiling slowly. “Yeah. I would love that.”
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Rhodes commented.
I nodded. “Then we better get started.”
59
Skye
It took a week after returning from Norwood for things to start to feel sort of normal again. Several packs had reformed and broken from Blackwater, but there was still a good amount of people who stayed, including most of the former Brooks Ridge pack.
William Lodge offered to step in and take over as acting Alpha of Norwood for the interim, he and his wife, along with Sierra’s parents, went to New York. Remy said they likely went to Norwood hoping they would find Sierra.
Ainsley stayed behind with Kyle and Konnor’s family to finish out the school year.