Ken stood, walked over, and knelt. “Me, too,” Ken said.
The other shifters all stood practically as one, turned, and took knees to Badger, tipping their heads back, and said in almost eerily perfect unison, “I submit to Rodney Williams as acting Pack Alpha.”
Badger, for once, appeared to be at a complete loss for words. “I… I…” He swallowed hard, gently bouncing the baby and patting her on the back as she fussed. “Well, what if I don’t want it, eh? I never asked fer it. I’ve never wanted to be in charge! Ye all know that! I told ye that when Charles an’ Chelsea…”
He looked miserable as his gaze fell on Dewi. “I don’t want it, lass. I willingly took a knee to Duncan, then to Charles, and then to Peyton. I’d be shite at it! It should be you! Or-or Duncan! He was already our Pack Alpha.”
From his place on the floor, Duncan smirked. “You’re not alone, but we must have an acting Pack Alpha before we open that door. You’re a Prime. Everyone in the pack knows who you are. Everyone will support you. More importantly, they will respect you because your fierce reputation is known around the world among shifters. Few will be stupid enough to so much as think about challenging you, much less actually attempt it. And the remaining people who don’t respect you will absolutely fear you and steer wide of the Targhee Pack.”
Duncan’s smirk faded. “Best case, Peyton comes home safe and sound, and you return control of the pack to him. But if not…”
Duncan’s voice thickened, jagged emotions threatening to slice through his control. “If not, then and only then we’ll talk about me taking over. I haven’t been back long enough for people to trust me. Over what, half our pack wasn’t even born or around when I was Pack Alpha.” He sighed. “And of those who were, they will rightfully wonder if I’ll disappear again, and I cannot blame them. I have failed in my duties to this pack, the pack I founded. I should have been here when Charles and Chelsea were…”
His eyes brightened, limned with unshed tears. “If I had remained Pack Alpha, they might still be alive, and that is grief and guilt I’m still processing. It should rightfully be you. Next to Trent and Dewi, you have the most legitimate authority and leadership experience in this pack. Besides, you were at my side when I started it. You are a founding member.”
“Plus, we may need Duncan to work in the field,” Ken said, drawing a raised eyebrow from Dewi. “He’s a Prime, a tracker. Dewi cannot work in the field right now. Duncan can’t be acting Pack Alpha and working in the field. Not to mention, as Peyton pointed out to me, Duncan has the element of surprise in his favor. People know his name but not his face. Many people don’t even know he’s back, meaning he can work undercover in a way most every other Prime in our pack can’t. Everyone in the pack, and many outside it, know Badger and Dewi by sight, if not reputation.”
“B-but Peyton named you actin’ pack Alpha!” Badger protested. “Why the hell am I the only one thinkin’ this is a horrible idea! I’ve never wanted to be Pack Alpha!”
“I’m a human, Badger,” Ken insisted. “Peyton authorized me to designate the acting Pack Alpha if I don’t want to step into the role, which I don’t. Not just don’t—can’t. We don’t know what the hell’s going on or who’s behind it. I’m a sitting duck. I can’t do everything I need to do for the pack, be a new dad, and take on Pack Alpha duties. Besides, maybe I’m Dewi’s mate and have a hell of a reputation because of everything that’s happened, but how many wolves or other shifters outside our pack are really going to pay attention to any damned thing I say in the long run? Much less some of them inside our pack?
“Maybe if Peyton was taking a couple of days off,” Ken continued, “or publicly named me to mind the store during a two-week vacay, I’d accept that. And I’m certain Peyton named me knowing damned well I would immediately pass the baton to whoever I felt rightfully should be the Pack Alpha. He only wanted me to make the decision of who it is because he trusted me to decide based on the welfare of the pack, given the current situation, and not on my ego. Plus, he knew if he named another wolf and something had happened to them in the interim, there could be a massive fight over it. I’m certain he didn’t intend for me to actually take over and be the goddamned Pack Alpha for any longer than it took me to name someone else.”
Ken hoped Dewi didn’t decide to take a tiptoe through his mind at that moment. Technically, he wasn’t lying to her, because he directly addressed Badger.
“Ken’s right,” Gillian quietly said. “On every point. It should be you, Badger. Please?”
Badger still looked…stunned. “The video specifically said Ken has to name the next one if he don’t want it! Ken didn’t name me!” He pointed to Duncan. “Ken named him!”
“You’re right,” Ken said. “And he said no. So now I’m officially naming you, Badger. I officially designate you, Rodney Williams, to be the Targhee Pack’s acting Pack Alpha.”
Badger grumbled. When the baby began fussing again, he gently patted her back as he lightly bounced her in his arms. “Mebbe I don’t wanna be here in Idaho, either. Mebbe I don’t wanna miss a moment of this little lady’s life. Not to mention all the others in our Florida pack. The majority of our kin’s all there. I can’t be livin’ here. I just can’t!”
“Hopefully it’s temporary,” Ken said. “What we can’t do is waste valuable time arguing about it. When we open that office door, we must present a united front. No visible weaknesses. There can be no break in the continuity of power in this pack. If Trent, Dewi, Gillian, Duncan, and the Enforcers are all behind you, not a single damned person will dare protest.”
Badger’s gaze skittered around the room, from person to person, and he finally realized everyone backed Ken’s logic and decision.
“Fine,” Badger finally spat. But Badger didn’t look fine, and Ken didn’t blame him. “I’ll do it. Not that I like it.”
“You don’t have to like it,” Duncan said as he stood, everyone else following his lead. “You just have to do it.”
“What do I do next?” Badger asked Ken. “Because if I’ve gotta be the Pack Alpha, yer gonna have to be my second, whether ye like it or not.” He looked around Ken to where Trent stood. “No offense, Trent. Ye can be my co-second here in Idaho. But if ye really want me to take this job, then I’m not runnin’ the pack from here—I’m doin’ it from Florida. Once I’m up to speed here, then I’ll head back to Florida. An’ I want ye to still do what ye’ve always done. Gillian too, of course. Once she’s feelin’ up to it.”
“No offense taken, Badger,” Trent wearily said. “And that’s completely understandable, given the circumstances.”
“You and I need to sit down in private so I can run through things that you need to know,” Ken said to Badger.
“And Trent, ye mean?” Badger asked.
Ken slowly shook his head. “No. Just you.”
“Why?”
“Because when you finish telling him,” Duncan said to Ken, “Badger has to Prime you to forget at least some of it, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah,” Ken said, feeling more than a little ill with all the new knowledge in his brain screaming for space and attention. He deliberately avoided locking gazes with Dewi. “The sooner, the better.”
Chapter Forty
