— Kaden —

There were a few dozen Alphas waiting in the packhouse that I had to deal with. I moved my ass to the door to go and do my job, when Elaeya rushed down the stairs.

“What’s going on?” I asked her.

“I’m coming,” she said.

I didn’t ask ‘why’, I just looked at her sideways.

She shrugged.

I guess this was becoming our routine now. So I just extended my arm to her.

She wrapped hers in the crook of mine and beamed, as we walked to the packhouse.

Everyone was already in the ballroom, around the conference table, arguing animatedly.

It took half a minute for them to realize we had just walked in.

The conversations died down as they looked at me, and all eyes shifted slowly to Elaeya.

She just had that kind of effect on people.

“Okay,” I said, drawing some of the looks back to me. “Has anything happened while I was away?”

Looking at them, I’d say yes.

“Mariqueen,” I beckoned her, and I walked to a small room in the gallery upstairs.

She followed us in silence.

There were a few big chairs, I guided Elaeya to one, and dragged another next to hers. I signed at Mariqueen to sit in the one in front of us.

She inclined her head to Elaeya who inclined hers back.

“How are you doing in Blakemore?” Mariqueen asked her.

“Very well, thank you,” said Elaeya

I sat down.

“Okay,” Mariqueen turned to me. “What is it?”

“Are you still keen on joining Blakemore?” I asked her.

“Do you know how many smaller packs have been destroyed or taken over in the last years?” she asked me.

“A dozen, maybe.”

“At least four times that,” she said.

My eyebrows went up.

“Do you know how many medium size packs got attacked?”

“I’m guessing, more than I know of.”

“Probably,” she said. “And that list could have been longer, on both accounts if it hadn’t been for the intervention of a few. Of all the interventions made in the last year, only two came directly from the Brotherhood, and half came from you. This as set a very clear message.

If it hadn’t been for your intervention last summer, I’m not even sure if my pack would still exist today. The average pack is a lot bigger now than it ever was before, and this is not just because of population inflation, but because it’s safer this way. I will not watch as my people suffer.

I always told myself I would not give my power away to anyone, especially not a man. I never made my husband Alpha, for that very reason. But my ego and my pride is not as important as my pack. I know that I’m too small to keep my pack within Blakemore. That I’ll probably be just a few more people added to an existing pack. I won’t stop taking care of them, but I know I will have to forgo title and power for this.

I’m ready to do it. We’ll move here, rebuild. We’ll do what as to be done, but we won’t be one to be crushed under another’s ambition.”

I nodded and sank into my chair, thinking.

“I’m not the only one, you know,” she said.

“The only one what?” I asked.

“Who wants to join.”

I frowned. “How many?”

“A few, at least.”

“There will be more,” Elaeya said.

We both looked at her.

“How many?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “Some will need more time, but you won’t have the territory for them all.”

That would be a lot.

“How do you know?” asked Mariqueen, looking at her intently.

I shook my hand dismissively at her. “Not the territory for it could be an issue. I can’t handle a small population from a distance. It would require a large one to be viable and safe enough. If we need to migrate multiple packs, there will be need to rethink this whole issue, but I will need numbers, exact number.”

“They will listen to you,” Elaeya told Mariqueen. “You will talk to them. When the time will come, Blakemore will be ready.”

Mariqueen’s eyes were no more than slits now, looking at Elaeya very attentively.

Elaeya made no move, and gave no sign, but I felt it. She was getting another headache. A strong one.

“Well,” I said raising up. “I guess this wraps it up for now.”

Both women rose in turn, and Mariqueen seemed a little at a loss for how abrupt this meeting ended. I gave my arm to Elaeya and walk her through the other door at the end of the room and out.

We marched away from the ballroom wing and didn’t speak until I was sure we were out of earshot.

“How is your head?” I asked her.

“Killing me.”

“I’m getting us to the hospital.”

“It won’t change anything, it’s not medical,” she said.

When we reached one of the drawing room, I guided her to one of the couches, where she lay down and put her hand over her face.

“What about medication?” I asked.

“Changes nothing.”

I withheld a growl of frustration. She didn’t need an outburst from me right now.

I took my phone out and called the wizard.

“Yellow,” Alik answered.

“I need magical advice,” I told him.

“Of course you do,” he muttered. “What can I do for you?” he asked louder.

“Elaeya has frequent powerful headaches since the Other’s attack. She says it’s not medical in nature.”

“Huh?” he thought for a few seconds.

“Anything you know can do that. Is it linked to the attack?”

“I don’t know,” he said.

“How come?”

“I need more information. I’d need to see her.”

“Then come and see her.”

“Sure, but not now.”

“Why?”

“Can’t.” There was some more silence, and I heard a few things being shuffled around on the other end of the line.

“You know I’ll pay you for it.”

“Sure, it’s just that I’m in the middle of something.”

“Can’t it wait?” I asked.

“There would be a big boom if I do that.”

“A what?”

“An explosion. You can’t interrupt magic, however, you want man. It’s like chemistry, if you mix things wrong or don’t finish things properly, you can make a bad reaction happen.” There was movement and I heard him curse. “Look, I’m all for helping you and it’s pretty much what I’m doing right now and it’s a doozy, I can’t leave now, it’s going to take most of the day and night, and I’m probably going to drop in a coma after. I’ll come and check on her headaches the moment I’m vertical, but right now, if you don’t stop interrupting the wizard, you’re going to end up with lousy spells.” He hung up on me.

I looked at my phone.

I kinda wanted to punch him in the face, but he was also working his ass off for me, so I guess I wasn’t in any position to really complain. Waiting was probably better than a big crater somewhere on my land.

I looked at Elaeya and my heart sank.

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked her.

“Just give me time,” she replied.

Everyone is just asking for time, and I’m not the most patient of men.

“I’ll be back,” I told her.

I went back to the ballroom.

“Okay, Lady, gentlemen, that will be enough for now. I heard you, I’ll see what I can do, and you also have decisions to make yourself. I’m actually pretty busy right now, so I will wait for updates, but that will be all for today. Actually, for the week. I will arrange for transportation in the incoming hours and will have someone help to book your flights. Now if you excuse me, I have other fires to put out.”

I left the room and gave a call to Brandon to organize their departure.

Then I called Eva.

“Tell me things are going well,” I told her the second she answered.

“As well as can be, given the situation,” she said, her voice exuding tiredness. “How bad are things?”

I guess I was a little transparent there.

“Could be better,” I said. “Any security breach?”

“Nope. Everything’s been quiet on the front. The forensic team is nearly done. The funeral over. Michael is officially Alpha. We’re still looking for what they could have been after though.”

“Okay, good. Take care of yourself Eva.”

She paused for a second. “I will, you too.”

“I will,” I said and ended the conversation.

I went back to check on Elaeya.

She still hadn’t moved. So I went to pick her up.

“What are you doing?” she asked me.

“I’m going to put you to bed.”

“I’m not tired.”

“You haven’t moved from the couch,” I pointed.

“That doesn’t mean tiredness. It’ll pass, it always does.”

We didn’t argue long after that, but I did get us back home.

There was fewer chances of us being interrupted there than in the packhouse.

She did seem to get better though. So I took my laptop and sat on the couch to look at what my options were for expansion.

Again.

I thought I wouldn’t expend for a while, but those things keep sneaking up on me.

I mean that most packs have to work to expand, but in the last few years, I’d say it’s nearly more work to limit expansion than to just go with the flow.

Mom came a little later and sat next to Elaeya to ask questions about the wedding.

I didn’t interrupt, but I did contact a jeweler by email to start working on a ring. My mother said it would happen in a month, and I’m absolutely convinced she can pull this off, so I’d better get my ass into gears now while I can.

As dinner time came, the two women were nowhere to be seen.

I tracked my mother’s smell near the door so she was probably gone, Elaeya was upstairs.

Mrs. Raynolds and Sabrina, her help, had moved all of Elaeya’s things to my room already, as I saw none of them in her room, but I heard the shower, so I checked the bathroom.

Elaeya was sitting at the bottom of the shower, still dressed, completely wet and rocking backwards and forwards, with her arms around her knees.

“Ela?” I said as I got closer to eye level with her. “What’s going on?”

She sounded like she was mumbling something I could not understand.

“I’m losing my mind,” she said. She put her hand on her head and her face between her knees. “Something is wrong with me.”