Page 71 of Alpha Reid

Serena’s blue eyes widen, flashing uncertainty. “Me?”

“Who else?” I chuckle.

“I…” she shrugs as her voice trails off. “I’m not as experienced as most of them, what makes you think they’ll listen to a word I say?”

“Because they’ll have hell to pay if they don’t,” I smirk, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “C’mon, let’s head down. Your ride should be here in ten, you can sit in on the pack meeting until then.”

Serena still looks a little uncertain, but she just nods, taking my hand and following my lead. We make our way downstairs where most of the volunteer pack fighters are already gathered in the large living room, and as soon as we do, it’s all eyes on us. I shouldn’t be surprised- the talk of the town lately has been the mysterious redhead on my arm- and I suppose I’ll need to formally introduce Serena to my pack at some point so the speculation can end. For now, though, I don’t need to pull focus from the impending war to my personal life. Once we get through this battle we can talk about the future of the pack and Serena’s place in it.

Cy walks over to meet me at the bottom of the stairs, greeting me with a respectful nod. “Morning, Alpha. Almost everyone’s here, we’re just waiting on a few more. Do you want to go ahead and get started, or hold off until the others show?”

“Let’s give ‘em a few minutes,” I sigh, looking around to the people gathered and tipping my head in greeting. “That way I can grab a cup of coffee.”

“Sure,” Cy agrees. He gestures toward the kitchen. “Want me to…?”

I give a little shake of my head. “Nah, I’ve got it.” I turn to Serena. “Coffee?”

She nods, and I have every intention of bringing a cup back for her, but she follows me toward the kitchen instead- no doubt feeling uncomfortable under the heavy gazes of my curious pack members.

Once in the kitchen, I grab a couple of mugs from the cabinet and reach for the coffee pot. As I start to fill them, I see a flash of blonde hair in my peripheral vision- a little boy bounds into the room, heading straight for Serena. I recognize him as Liam, the four-year-old son of one of my pack members. He slows on his approach, reaching up to grab onto Serena’s jacket sleeve and tugging it to get her attention.

I watch as Serena turns to peer down at Liam, smiling. “Oh, hello,” she greets warmly.

“Are you our new Luna?” Liam asks, blinking up at her.

Bold kid.

Serena’s smile fades, her eyes going wide and jaw going slack, like she doesn’t know how to respond.

I grin, sidestepping to reach out for Liam and ruffling the top of his flaxen hair. “Yeah, buddy, she is,” I say quietly, winking.

Serena’s eyes dart to mine, her mouth still hanging open. She looks a bit like a deer caught in the headlights.

“I’m so sorry, Alpha,” Liz breathes, rushing into the kitchen toward her son. “I couldn’t get a sitter.” She grabs for Liam’s hand, pulling him to her.

I offer Liz a smile. “It’s no problem at all.” I sympathize with her situation- Liam’s dad ran out on Liz about a year ago when he found his fated mate, and while the two of them have tried to co-parent, the arrangement between them has been tenuous, at best. I’ve had to step in on more than one occasion to remind Liam’s dad of his duties to his son and, by extension, his pack.

“He promised he’d be on hisbestbehavior,” Liz says, looking down at Liam and emphasizing the last two words like it’s a warning.

“Seriously, it’s not a problem,” I reiterate, picking up one of the coffee mugs and handing it to Serena. I reach for the other one, offering it to Liz. “Coffee?”

“Oh, no thanks,” she breathes, still a little flustered. “I’m just gonna take him and find a place to sit.”

“Sure,” I nod, watching after her as she leads Liam by the hand from the kitchen and back toward the living room. I take a few sips of my coffee before turning to Serena, giving a little flick of my head. “I’d better head in and get started.”

“Yeah,” she murmurs, holding her own coffee mug in both hands. “I’ll keep an eye out for my ride. See you at the complex later?”

I nod again, swallowing down some more coffee. “I shouldn’t be too far behind you. Maybe an hour.”

I slide my empty mug onto the counter and start toward the living room, looking back over my shoulder at Serena as I go. She blows me a kiss and tosses me a saucy little wink, and I can’t help but grin as I turn back around and enter the living room to address my pack.

I approach Cy, sliding my gaze around the room to take stock of who’s gathered. “We still missing anyone?”

He gives a quick shake of his head. “Nope, everybody’s here now,” he replies. “Ready whenever you are, Alpha.”

I clap Cy on the shoulder, moving past him. “Thanks.” He’s a great beta- I can always depend on him. He’s been especially integral to the process of gathering and training the volunteer soldiers to defend Stillwater from the shadow pack.

I make my way to the center of the room, the voices of those seated around me quieting as I do. “Alright, let’s go ahead and get started,” I announce, and by the time I come to a stop, everyone’s side conversations have ended and their attention is on me. I clear my throat to begin, sweeping my gaze around the room. There are quite a few volunteers, both male and female and in a wide range of ages.

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