Sage frowned thoughtfully. “I honestly don’t know if that’s been done before. There’s no precedent for something like that.”
“Emma and Leon took Marek into their pack.”
“The Tempest pack isn’t god pack, and no one is going to argue with the Fates.”
“Patrick does,” Wade muttered.
“Don’t be like Patrick.”
“The only one with the god strain of the werevirus in our pack is Jono. I know that gives us some legitimacy, but the rest of us don’t meet any criteria people expect of a god pack,” Patrick said.
“And we’ve been fighting for acknowledgment since day one because of that,” Sage reminded him.
“Then if you think a proxy alpha won’t work, a dire will,” Jono said.
Sage glared at him. “I am not staying behind while you two destroy any and all political avenue of god pack alliances.”
Jono winced. “I’m gutted at your lack of faith.”
“And I prefer no headaches.”
“I’m not asking you to give up your title and rank. I’m saying what if we appoint a second dire?”
“There is only ever one person who holds that pack title and rank.”
“Yes, but if you’re with us, we need someonehereto keep hold of our territory. If Estelle and Youssef get to call in hunters and no one in their pack will call them on their bollocks, then we can change up the rules on them.” Jono looked over the top of Patrick’s head at Emma and Leon. Both his friends were staring back at him with unblinking eyes and steady heartbeats. “Emma? If we take you into our god pack as our proxy dire, you can watch over our territory here.”
He’d already taken them and their Tempest pack under his protection last year. They might not have the god strain of the werevirus running through their veins, might not have the bright amber eyes that designated them god pack here on this continent, but Jono would trust Emma, Leon, and their Tempest pack over any of the other god pack members currently residing in New York City.
“Estelle and Youssef won’t see me as god pack,” Emma warned.
“The packs under our protection and the god packs who acknowledge our place will.”
“I’m up for pissing them off if you are,” Leon said, tugging on Emma’s plait.
Emma looked up at her partner, giving him a slight smile. “I’d never pass that up, but if we do this, our entire pack will lose what’s left of their anonymity. If I’m dire, even temporarily, that’s a lot of public scrutiny.”
God packs existed to take society’s punches so other packs could live normal lives. The Tempest pack could blend in with mundane humans, but Jono couldn’t hide. He wouldn’t want them to go through what he did on a daily basis when out in public, but holding their territory was important.
“We can find a different way,” Patrick said.
Jono shook his head. “I don’t think we can.”
“Forcing Emma to give up her autonomy isn’t fair.”
“If our entire pack is going to London, we need someone else to represent us here in New York. We can’t just abandon our territory.”
“Then maybe you should stay.”
Jono fought back a scowl. “I’m not letting you fly to another country without me, Pat.”
Patrick eased away from Jono a little. “And I think forcing Emma into a corner is being a shitty friend.”
A tense silence followed Patrick’s statement. It was broken only by Emma clearing her throat. When Jono looked over at her, he couldn’t see any hint of accusation in her gaze, and she smelled calm to his senses.
“We’ve been heading toward more scrutiny for months already. It’s not a surprise, it’s just not ideal, but it’s also something I wouldn’t ever say no to,” Emma said.
Leon smoothed his hand over her shoulder in a comforting manner. “Em.”
