Page 105 of Alpha Chase

Though that doesn’t sound like the worst idea…

“Don’t worry, Brooke’s bossy as hell when she wants to be,” Theo comments, shooting a teasing look in Gray’s direction. “I’m sure she’s keeping her sister in line.”

Jax steps in closer, his eyes dropping to my bare shoulder. “How about you, man?”

“Eh, it was just a graze,” I murmur, waving him off. “Healed quick.” I look down at the unblemished skin on my left shoulder, then lift my gaze to Brock, recalling his own bloody bullet wound. “What about you?”

“Fine,” he grunts, rolling his right shoulder around to demonstrate. “I’ve been through worse.”

The others murmur in agreement while I nod solemnly. I can’t ignore the gnawing guilt at the pit of my stomach as I think of how much these guys had to risk yesterday. Daniel was after me, but so many other people wound up getting caught in the crossfire- Fallon, Serena,Vienna. None of these guys have directed the blame at me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel like I should be the one shouldering it.

I take a big sip of the coffee in my hands before setting the cup down on the edge of the counter, stuffing my hands in the pockets of my sweatpants and drawing a deep breath. “Listen, I don’t know how I can ever thank you guys,” I grind out, my gaze sliding between the five of them. I pause at Reid and Gray, guilt twisting in my gut. “I mean, I get why you two stuck your necks out, your girls were in trouble. But the rest of you…”

Theo shakes his head, cutting me off. “That’s just what we do, bro. We’re a team. We’ve always got each other’s backs.”

“Yeah, well I owe you one,” I grumble.

“I’ve got an idea of how you can pay up,” Gray muses, and from the glint in his eye, I have a feeling that I already know what’s coming. “You can officially be inducted as Alpha of your pack tomorrow night.”

Yup, there it is.

In all of the chaos recently, the approaching full moon completely slipped my mind. I silently curse Gray for putting me on the spot like this- but then again, I guess I sort of teed him up for that one. I blow out a breath, scrubbing a hand over my face. “I don’t know, man. I’m not sure I’m ready.”

“I am,” Gray says with a resolute nod. He steps closer, clapping me on the shoulder as I look up to meet his eyes. “You could’ve walked out that door yesterday when that text came through and put everyone at risk by trying to take matters into your own hands. You were about to. But when you stopped and turned around, when you walked back in and came to us, putting aside your own agenda so we could come up with a plan together, that’s the moment you became Alpha.”

The other guys grunt and nod in affirmation, circling in around me tighter.

The truth is, when I received that message, I almost walked out. I was half-crazed and desperate to get to Vienna- I didn’t consider my own life for a second or the fact that I was likely walking into a trap. Then I asked myself what my dad would do. He wouldn’t have been impulsive and put everyone at greater risk; he would’ve taken the time to think things through and consult with the other alphas to come up with a rational plan to extract everyone safely. So, I turned around, walked back in, showed them the message, and together, we came up with a plan. It wasn’t anything brilliant or complicated, just a way for us to figure out what we were up against so the others could organize their attack accordingly.

I headed for the cabin in my truck while the others followed in another vehicle. Before I went in, I called Gray from my phone and slid it into my pocket so they could listen to everything happening in that cabin- the plan was for me to distract the rogue and keep him talking so the others could assess the situation and sneak up before I gave them the signal to attack. And thankfully, it worked like a charm.

“Your dad would’ve been proud of how you handled yourself yesterday,” Reid declares, clapping his hand down on my other shoulder. “You’re going to be a great alpha, just like he was.”

“And you’ve got yourself a kickass Luna,” Brock adds, giving me a single nod. “I always hate to lose one of my pack, but I know you’ll take care of her.” There’s a hint of warning in his tone as he levels me with a stare, but I immediately nod my agreement. There’s no question in my mind that I’ll defend that girl with everything I have. Nearly losing her shook me to my core; showed me what’s truly important.Her. And I’ll never allow Vienna’s life to be threatened again.

“I will,” I breathe, my mind whirling with possibilities. “If she’ll have me.”

“Psh, of course she will. That girl loves you,” Jax teases, grinning. “I can see it in her eyes.”

I grin back at him, shaking my head on a chuckle. “Nah, man. Shehatesme. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Chase,” Vienna moans groggily, throwing an arm in my direction. It slaps against my chest as I roll toward her on the bed, hooking a hand around her hip.

“Right here, baby,” I murmur, leaning down to brush my lips against her forehead as her eyes flutter open. I trail my fingertips up the curve of her waist, the swell of her breast, and the dip of her collarbone, leaving a trail of tingling sparks behind as I bring them to her face and gently tuck her messy hair behind her ear.

She blinks the sleep from her eyes, tucking an arm under her head and rolling toward me. “How long was I out?”

I glance over her at the clock on the bedside table. “Mmm, sixteen hours and counting.”

After the other alphas left, I crawled right back into bed with Vienna so I could be here when she woke. That was hours ago, but she looked so peaceful that I didn’t dare disturb her. Plus, I didn’t exactly mind watching her sleep. Anything to be close to my girl after the hell she endured yesterday.

“Ugh,” she groans, flopping onto her back and scrubbing her hands over her face. “Are Fallon and Serena okay?”

“Yeah, they’re good. All the girls keep bugging me about coming to see you. Nessa has been blowing up my phone nonstop.” I scoop an arm under her waist, pulling her body on top of mine and capturing her chin in a hand. “How are you feeling?” I ask, staring into her eyes earnestly and searching for any flicker of pain or discomfort. I went to change her bandage about an hour ago only to discover that her wound has already closed, though her shifter healing is probably still working overtime to repair her internal wound.

The corner of her mouth tips up in a coy smile. “Hungry.”

I chuckle, leaning up to capture her lips in a quick kiss before lifting her off of me and depositing her on the bed beside me again. “I can fix that,” I say, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed and climbing out. I adjust my sweatpants on my hips, though they do nothing to disguise the hard-on I’m rocking from laying in bed next to the sexiest woman in existence. “Got a taste for anything in particular?”

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