“Where the hell are Brandon and Shannon?” Confused voices shouted out question after question.
I dropped the bags at my feet and crossed my arms. “You are so desperate for the Alpha that farmed you like cattle?”
“What are you talking about?” An elder of the pack called out, and I allowed her to stand. “What is going on here, Amy? Are you forcibly taking over the pack, the King and council will stop you.” I pointed behind her, and Rowan started my way. I waited for Rowan to join me at the front before I answered anything else. “My King? What is going on here?” She bowed her head in reverence.
Rowan raised his hands to quiet the murmurs that started as soon as people realized who he was. “Listen, we don’t have time to explain it all. But those of you with young pups, please enlighten the others of this pack. Just know that Alpha Vince, Beta Morgan, and Alpha Brandon have all been taken into custody for the crimes that they have committed here.”
“Where is the Gamma?”
I shook my head. “Dead.” Another gasp rippled through the crowd.
“Who is taking over?” Someone called out.
“What are we going to do?” Another called.
“Are we being moved? Taken over? What is going to happen to our homes, our schools?” Panic was setting in.
Rowan pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked at me. “We don’t have time for this.”
I raised my hands. “Calm Oakenfang.” I sent out another burst of calming aura. Everyone quieted. “Since this is fairly new, wedon’t have the answers yet. But no one is moving. No one is transferring unless you request it. And no one will lose their jobs or positions.” I watched them settle. “Luke, join us up here, please.”
Luke made his way through the crowd, confused. Once he joined us, I waved him forward. “What did you need?” He stared at me as I pulled him in front of me.
Rowan must have caught on to what I was thinking because he smirked before his arm came up to clap Luke on his shoulder. “This is Doctor Luke, an Alpha wolf who has become a doctor because he was fourth in line for his pack. He trained with the Royal doctor in the capital and has done amazing work with underprivileged families around the region.” A few wolves nodded along. “He will step into the Alpha role for now as a substitute until we have a permanent solution.”
Luke turned slowly to look at him. “What?”
“Congratulations, Luke, on the appointment.” I smiled as I patted his back. “We have to run, but you have Rowan’s number. Call if there are any issues.” Then Rowan and I grabbed the bags and stepped down from the steps.
“Wait!” Luke called, but we were already running back to my house.
We closed the door behind us, and Rowan laughed. “That was mean…even for you.” I threw my head back and laughed.
I started up the stairs without looking back. “It’s not like we had a lot of choices. Luke was the best option on the fly, and I need to get back to my father’s place.”
“I know you're right. His face was funny as fuck though.” He chuckled once more before we headed back through the closet to screaming.
“Alannah, push.”
“No!” She screamed again. The guttural sounds sent shivers down my spine. Rowan stopped short, and I had to push him inside further so I could step into the cottage. I walked around him toward the closet door.
“Amy…” His whisper stopped me short, and I turned back.
“Yeah?” He pointed to his nose in the dark. It took me a second to realize he was telling me to use my nose. I nodded once and turned back to take a deep breath.
“Come on, baby, you can do this.” Ternen’s voice was soft and confident.
“Once they come, you have to leave again.” She cried out. “I can’t lose you twice in one day.”
I blocked their voices and started taking deeper breaths. It only took one sniff to catch what Rowan already did. The babies were fading. Alannah was refusing to give birth, and the babies were so close to coming into the world that her refusal to give birth put them in jeopardy.
I turned to Rowan, and this man was already reaching for the bag. “Stay here. You won’t be able to leave with this happening, but I can get this to the doctor.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “I can shift into my Lycan form to be faster and run with the bags.” He kissed me once. “Join us when you handle this.”
I grabbed his face and kissed him again. “Thank you.”
