“So is Sloane,” she pointed out.
Eli rubbed his jaw with his thumb. “There might still be a few Lycans who are loyal to Ronan.” Meeting Sloane’s gaze, he could tell she was thinking the same thing and probably thinking of the same people. “I don’t know what we’d be walking into. Sloane, you should stay here in New York too.”
“Nuh-uh,” the she-wolf shook her head. “No way I’m letting you do this alone, Eli. Besides, both Olivia and I are invulnerable, remember?”
“It’s too dangerous,” he said. “Alpha, I need to do this myself.”
The Alpha’s expression turned grim. “You’re expecting trouble?”
Eli pressed his lips together. “Maybe. The ones truly loyal to him might kick up a fuss.” He paused as a different, more horrific possibility entered this brain. “Or …”
“Or what?” Killian asked.
“Take over and be another Ronan,” Sloane finished.
“Which is exactly what the High Council and I don’t want to happen,” the Alpha said. “There’s a power vacuum, and the best thing to do is to fill it with someone who can lead the clan properly. A real Alpha who will protect his or her Lycans and stay out of human affairs.”
“And if we don’t find one?” Sloane asked.
“Then we would have no choice but to disband the Boston Clan. The remaining Lycans will have to transfer out.”
“Some of them have been there for generations,” Sloane pointed out. “They won’t want to leave.”
“Then they’ll have to become Lone Wolves, which will leave them vulnerable,” Killian said.
“No.” Sloane shook her head vehemently. “No way. We can’t let that happen.”
As much as Eli didn’t want to go back to that hellhole, he agreed with Sloane. There were still good people back in Boston. This was something he needed to do.
But Olivia …
“I really can’t dissuade you to stay behind?” he asked her.
“Nope,” she said with a determined shake of her head. “You’d have to lock me up if you want to stop me.”
“I’ll take care of her, no worries,” Jacob said.
“I can take care of my myself. I’m Lycan, too, remember? And we all trained under Uncle Connor and Uncle Jackson.” She grinned at Connor, who nodded back at her.
That somewhat eased Eli’s worry, as he knew Connor would have made sure his niece could take care of herself. But still …
He let out a frustrated breath, then looked to Killian. “Can’t you talk her out of this?”
“You hardly know him, Olivia,” Killian said to his daughter. “And there’s no need to go with him to Boston.”
“I know,” she said in a quiet voice. “But I want to.” She smiled up at him. “We said we wanted to get to know each other.”
“This isn’t what I had in mind,” he muttered.
She smirked at him. “You said you’re not going to abandon me and the baby, right? Well, we won’t abandon you either.”
A warmth spread over his chest as she placed a protective hand over her belly.
I don’t deserve her.
She really would have been better off without him. He should leave. This kid didn’t deserve a father like him.
But he wanted her too Goddamned much and he was too selfish to leave her alone.
