Page 112 of Alpha Theo

Alpha Damian, Jax’s dad, speaks up first. “We can’t afford to send our squad to Denver and leave our own territory defenseless.”

“Definitely not,” my own dad mumbles in agreement.

Gray rises to his feet, holding up a hand. “We wouldn’t be leaving the six-pack without protection. We’d leave an appropriate number of skilled fighters behind and call in our reserves just in case.”

Several members of the council mumble their disagreement.

Brock’s dad, Alpha Rowe, shakes his head. “I don’t like it.”

I raise my voice. “Listen, we already know we’re outnumbered when it comes to the shadow pack.”

The others quiet, looking to me.

I go on. “With Denver, we can nearly double our manpower. That could be the difference between winning and losing.” I draw a deep breath, Brooke’s beautiful face flashing in my mind.Mate. “And I don’t know about you guys, but if this war comes, losing isn’t an option for me.”

I look around at the council members, my gaze stopping when it meets my father’s intense stare. I’m certain that’s disapproval etched across his face, until he speaks up.

“My son’s right,” he grumbles, leaning forward. He doesn’t look at me when he says the words, but to the other older alphas instead. “If sending our fighters to Denver when the time comes means they’ll send theirs here, then it’s a deal worth making.”

Wait- did my dad justagreewith me on something?

“But,” he continues, and I blow out a breath, shaking my head.There’s always a ‘but’.

“We need to develop a more sound strategy for who we send and when we send them,” he finishes.

Gray nods. “Definitely. Squad leadership can prepare a detailed strategy to present at our next meeting.”

My dad grunts his assent, leaning back in his chair.

I clear my throat to speak again. “Like I was saying before, I think we also need to increase the numbers in our own IT unit. Each of you know your own packs best, so put the word out at your next run, ask for volunteers, then make recommendations to us.”

Reid steps up beside me, clapping me on the shoulder. “Theo’s been working with the IT unit for the past month or so, so you can bring your recommendations directly to him.”

I nod, folding my arms across my chest.

The council argues a little bit more about the alliance with Denver before someone finally suggests that they call it a night and people begin filing out of the packhouse. In the end, only me and my boys are left- Gray, Reid, Brock, and Jax.

The five of us start cleaning up, grabbing the chairs that were moved from the dining room into the great room for the meeting.

“That went well,” Jax jokes, carrying two chairs at a time, one under each arm.

“Fuckin’ grumpy old men,” I mumble, taking the chairs from him and sliding them in at the table.

Reid brings the last of the chairs to the table, setting them down. “At least we’ll have one less in a couple weeks, eh Brock?”

I snort. “Please. He’s just as grumpy.”

Brock furrows his brow and shoots me a glare, only further proving my point. I let out a laugh, shaking my head. The guy needs to lighten up.

Reid disappears into the kitchen, emerging a few moments later with his hands full of beers.

“Oh hell yeah,” Jax breathes, first in line to grab a beer from Reid. He uses the hem of his t-shirt to twist off the bottle cap, bringing it to his lips and taking a long swig.

Reid offers beers to the rest of us and we all take them, cracking them open and taking a sip.

“Before long it’ll be the five of us, boys,” Reid says, lifting his beer bottle and looking around at the rest of us.

“Fuck yeah!” Jax cheers, lifting his own.

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