“You never know.” The two of us share a laugh. “Watch your back and keep me updated, okay?”
“Definitely.” I hang up after a quick goodbye and tilt my head back against the headrest, closing my eyes.
Keir’s right. He did pay his dues.
And then some.
What happened the night he presented as an omega and got kicked out of Sweet Water alone was more than any one person deserved. Randall was already pissed about his brother—the man who raised Keir—challenging him the night before, so when Malachi, the former pack cleric, declared male omegas are an abomination, it gave Randall an excuse to take that rage out on Keir…
And I helped. Not that I had much of a choice. Randall commanded me to hold Keir in place so I got a front row seat to everything they did to him. The scent of his blood and the sound of breaking bones still haunts my dreams.
I’m just glad Keir found Julien, who not only practically worships Keir, but he’s also the perfect example of what an Alpha should be.
The Madison Alpha isn’t that much older than me, twenty-eight to my twenty, but sometimes it feels like he’s ancient and I’m nothing but a little kid playing at being in charge. Julien took over his pack young too, though not as young as I did, and as horrible as they were—are?—he had the help of a council of elders.
I don’t have anything like that. Every decision in Sweet Water is mine and mine alone.
And I feel like I’m fucking drowning ninety-nine percent of the time.
But if I don’t lead Sweet Water, who will?
I sigh and force myself to think about something else, dwelling in my inadequacies is never helpful, and I should use this time to try to relax. There’s no telling what’s really going on in Smyrna, so I need to be prepared for anything.
Hopefully the issue with the strange shifter will be easily resolved and I’ll be back in Sweet Water before I know it, but…
Famous last words, right?
Six
Luke
“You sure this isthe right place?” Macy asks as she puts the SUV in park and leans forward to peer up at the large two-story house. “It looks a little… fancy.”
If I hadn’t typed the address Doc gave me into the GPS myself, I’d have my doubts too because Keir obviously wasn’t kidding when he said the Smyrna pack had money. The house isn’t overly flashy, but it’s definitely bigger than anything we have in Sweet Water.
A knock at my window startles a growl out of me, and I spin toward the dark-haired man standing in the driveway beside the SUV, my lips pulling away from my teeth.
The man outside the vehicle is older than me, maybe in his late twenties with dark hair and eyes. I study his face, eyesnarrowing. Even though I only met him briefly and didn’t pay much attention to him at the time, I’m pretty sure this guy must be Doc.
Here goes nothing.
Doc takes a step back as I plaster a smile on my face and exit the SUV. The guy’s face only brings up vague memories, but he looks enough that like his older brother to make this uncomfortable. Zachariah Stevens was a sadistic psychopath who karma finally got in the end.
But Keir said Doc was okay. Well, that he’s not an abusive asshole, anyway.
I straighten my shoulders and hold my hand out. “You must be Doc.”
He blinks at me, glances down at my hand, then tilts his head to the side in a gesture of submission. “Alpha.”
I barely hold back a sigh. I get enough of this stupidly formal crap with Linda. The last thing I want is to deal with it here too.
“I think we can dispense with the formalities,” I say.And get this over with.
Doc’s brows draw together. “But… that’s your title.”
“Yes,” says Macy, stepping up beside me, chin up so she’s looking down her nose at Doc—quite a feat since she’s a few inches shorter than him. “It is.” She glances at me, giving me a sightly exasperated look and a minute shake of her head.
Julien’s pack doesn’t hold to these kinds of formalities for the most part, but Macy thinks it’s important that I stick to tradition as much as possible. It “appeases the older pack members” in her opinion and makes them more likely overlook my young age and to accept other changes. And she’s probably right.
