Not to mention knowing I'd had no other choice. Even though I'd been gentle and treated him with respect, part of me hadn't been able to see my actions as anything other than unforgivable.
When Elisha fretted about the state of his kitchen after being out of it for so long, we finally forced ourselves to dress and head downstairs. Jared was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with a tight smile and concern etched in the corners of his eyes.
My wolf was immediately on alert. "Is everything all right, Jared? Neat trick, by the way. How did you know we were coming? Are you psychic, or do you have bat ears?"
At my teasing, Jared blinked a couple times before relaxing and dishing some back. "As your beta, being somewhat psychic is my job so I can anticipate your every need." He winked almost stoically before turning to Elisha with a grin. "It's good to see you up and around again, Alpha Mate. And looking so refreshed, might I say. Let me guess, you came down to make sure no one ruined your kitchen or garden in your absence?"
Blushing, Elisha looked down as he nodded. "I keep telling you the formal title isn't necessary when we’re alone, Jared. Stop it before I forget your name and start calling you Beta." Lifting his head, Elisha grinned shyly and rubbed his cheek against my arm, marking me as he would in animal form. "Thank you for finding Matt. He told me you called and asked him to come. I owe you a debt I can never repay. Surely we’re on a first-name basis."
"I'll do my best to use your name, Elisha. For the record, you don't owe me a thing. It was my pleasure, and, truth be told, I was selfishly happy to have an excuse to get Matt to come home." As we headed down the hallway toward the kitchen, he fell into step with us. "Matt, I hate to do this to you, but the reason you found me expecting you is because I was watching for you. The Gamma Council is waiting in the war room. We need to officially accept you as Alpha and take care of pack business."
That got my attention. "Has there been word from Elisha's father?"
"Not yet. But I assume he'll be checking on Elisha sooner than later, and I need to know how to respond when he calls." With one simple comment, Jared's pinched look was back.
Elisha huffed a half-laugh. "Don't hold your breath, Jared. My father is more concerned with acclimating the new men into the pack than he is about anything which may or may not have happened to me. He did take our men, right? The last few days are kind of fuzzy, but I recall hearing something about my home pack coming here. And there was a fight, wasn’t there?"
"Unfortunately, you are remembering correctly." Jared sighed, shaking his head. "Aside from the Gamma Council and their families who were here at the time of the attack, Newberry Springs took every man and boy old enough to work."
Showing himself the perfect Alpha Mate, Elisha stopped midstep and clutched Jared's arm. "All those families were torn apart? As if their lives weren't hard enough already. How many remain? And I'm assuming they're still without power in town, aren’t we? We need to make sure our people have food. I’ve got to get out to the garden. I'm certain I have plenty of vegetables ready for harvesting."
I slipped an arm around my mate, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, while Jared rushed to answer him. "Don't worry, Elisha. Matt had me bring all thirty-one remaining pack members here to the manse. I put them in the third-floor dorms, across from the infirmary. There was plenty of room in the Delta quarters anyway, and the only deltas we have are in the infirmary. So it was an easy answer."
Before I could, Elisha asked the obvious question, proving once again how invested he was in this pack. "How many wounded deltas are being treated? And do we have enough supplies for the healer?"
"We had seventeen wounded deeper than a simple shift would cure. Obviously, Newberry Springs took the ones with the lightest injuries. And yes, I think Isaac has everything he needs, or he would've been in my face about it already." Jared and Elisha shared a smile, telling me our current epsilon must have been a force to be reckoned with. I wasn’t surprised. I'd always found quirkiness a common trait in epsilons.
Elisha muttered soundlessly, his lips moving as if doing mental math, and glanced at Jared. "Thirty-one pack members, seventeen injured, and then we have the gamma families, which accounts for another twenty-three people, if I'm remembering correctly. And with the eleven normal residents, we have eighty-two mouths to feed. Has a service roster been put in place to have our guests help out? The staff must be losing their minds."
At Jared’s crestfallen look, I stifled a laugh. "Forgive me, Elisha. I hadn't thought so far ahead. The pack moved in yesterday, but that's no excuse. Especially when the gamma families have been here for three days. No wonder my mother served me cold tea and a stony glare with my breakfast. I will add it to my to-do list at once."
"There is no need. I'm on it, and you have enough on your plate, Jared. I just wanted to know what I'm walking into when I go through the kitchen doors. You know I like to take charge of the manse. By the time you finish your meeting, I'll have everything running like clockwork." Smiling gently, Elisha gave Jared an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Come find me later, and I'll make sure you get a hot cup of tea. I'll also let Paula know how hard you've been working."
Jared’s eyes went wide with alarm. "You don't have to stick up for me with my mom. She was simply worried about you, and then the extra cooking and cleaning probably didn't help." He looked around before lowering his voice. "As you can imagine, the gamma families are above offering to pitch in." I smothered a smile, knowing damn well what he meant. Since the gammas always made up the pack council, their mates and children acted like they were better than everyone else.
Snorting, Elisha was already shaking his head. "Well, their poopy behavior won't fly. I'll lead by example and have them helping me weed the garden and harvest the veggies. The first one who cries without breaking a nail gets transferred to maid detail. Don't worry. I'll have this household running like a top again shortly."
As if second-guessing himself, he paused and turned to smile almost timidly at me. "Is it okay if I drop your name if necessary? Most pack members will respect my position, but there are always those who need to know the alpha supports me. It goes double for gamma mates."
I bent to give him a quick kiss. "Drop my title all you want, sweetheart. And I'll ask you for the names of anyone who needed mine. I wanted to invite you to the meeting, to show the council I intend for us to rule as a pair. After hearing everything you've had to say, I'm completely certain I want us to be viewed as equals. I wouldn't want anything less, especially for my true mate. It needs to be clear from the start: we are two halves of a whole."
Resting a hand on my chest, Elisha smiled so sweetly my wolf was rolling around inside me, baring his belly for our mate. And I was right there with him. The trust and affection flowing through the bond was enough to bring me to my knees. Staying upright and remembering to hold myself together and behave like an alpha took all I had. I'm not sure what he sensed through our bond, but Elisha's eyes twinkled as he shook his head.
"Thank you, Matt. And maybe later I'll want to go to one of your meetings, but at the moment, I need to get the household in line. Even if we'll be ruling together, we still have our separate jobs and duties. I get to worry about the needs of the pack while you have to think first of their safety. Also? Please don't feel you have to include me in any biting ceremonies. I would prefer to be the guy taking the pictures, thank you very much. And remember to go easy on them if the pack takes time to accept you giving me equal power."