I want to say that I don’t want it, that I don’t want to lead a clan full of cowards who let a grown man banish a teenager just because he felt threatened. Except deep down, with the benefit of hindsight, I know there was nothing they could’ve done. Not if they didn’t want to be made an example of. But right now, I feel like that fifteen-year-old boy being sent to the woods to fend for himself with no home, no family, and no friends to go back to.
Her expression softens as she takes my hand.
“Mitch has done admirably, but he’s not...” She pauses, glancing at Mitch apologetically. “He’s not you. The clan knows it. Hell, even Garrett wouldn’t be dumb enough to dare challenge you.”
Garrett pushes off from the wall, his movement drawing attention. He’s bigger than I remember, bulkier. Prison will do that to a man.
“Maybe we don’t want an alpha who spends his days hiding in the mountains, too scared to step up.”
The insult lands as intended. A growl builds in my chest before I can force it down. These people know me from backthen, but they don’t really know what I’ve become, or how strong I actually am. And it makes no sense to show my cards now.
“Enough,” Mitch says, and despite the looming challenge, people listen. Strong and steady, he’s a worthy clan leader, and as he moves to the centre of the room, calm and confident, he draws their focus back to him. “The challenge is tomorrow. We’ll settle questions of leadership and what direction the pack will take then. Tonight, we welcome back a friend and brother. Stay and have a beer or leave.”
It’s not a request. People file out slowly, reluctantly, whispers following them. Garrett is among the last to leave, pausing at the door to look back at me, smug now that he’s confident I’m not here to stake my claim.
When the room clears, eventually leaving only family, much to my relief, I sink into the nearest chair, which creaks under my weight.
“He’s going to fight dirty,” I say to Mitch.
“Obviously.” Mitch pulls a bottle from a cabinet and pours amber liquid into glasses without asking if anyone wants it. “The question is, why do you care? I’ll win. It just won’t be pretty.”
I take the offered glass and stare into its depths. “It should be a fair fight.”
“When has anything around here ever been fair?” he quips. “I don’t need cheerleaders if that’s why you’re here. You don’t have to stay,” Mitch says with a weary sigh.
I see it in Mitch’s face, the exhaustion that goes deeper than physical tiredness, and I finally get it. The sacrifice he’s making for the clan.
Silence stretches through the room. Marcus and Maddox exchange a look, while Mason studies the ceiling like it holds the key to avoiding this conversation.
“You really don’t want it.”
Finally, Mitch sets down his untouched glass and meets my eyes.
“I don’t want it,” he says quietly. “Never have. But you already knew that.”
It’s true, I did know. He told me. But only seeing him here, how his shoulders droop in private when the clan isn’t watching, do I realise the full extent of what my absence means for my brother.
He’s trapped because of what I did.
“Mitch...”
“I’ve been keeping the seat warm,” he continues as if I haven’t spoken. “That’s all. Waiting for you to come and take it back.” He smiles around the top of his beer. “For my sake, yes. But also because this is what you were born to do. Dad knew it. The clan knows it. Your bear knows it. And being back here, I bet you can feel it too.”
“You’re a good Alpha.” I insist. “The clan respects you.”
“I am a good alpha.” Mitch agrees. “But I’m not their true alpha. And everyone knows it.”
34
BODHI
Idrain my glass in one burning swallow, the whiskey lighting a path down my throat. Around the room, my brothers watch me with varying degrees of concern and frustration, trying to balance what’s right for the clan with what’s right for me.
They remember what Leon did; there’s no way they’ll force me to come back. But they’re hoping I’ll come to that conclusion on my own.
“I need some air.” The chair scrapes against wood as I stand, my mind spinning with all the different decisions and permutations of my future that I’m trying to balance.
A fresh start with my mate versus reclaiming what should have been mine all along. A life among my kind versus hiding away in the mountains with the woman I don’t even know will still have me.
