Page 35 of New Year with the Cartel

"Afraid of losing control. Afraid of being vulnerable. Afraid of actually trusting someone enough to love them properly." He stood too, one hand resting on his swollen belly. "And now that fear is destroying everything you've built."

David cleared his throat. "There's something else. The men who left... they're not just joining Rodriguez. They're helping him establish a new kind of organization. One where omegas have equal voice, equal power."

I laughed. "Equal power? In our world? It's impossible. That's not how it works anywhere."

"Why?" Gustall challenged. "Because you can't imagine giving up control? Because you think strength only comes from dominance?"

His words hit home, echoing what we'd learned about the necklace. True power came from trust freely given, not taken by force. I'd been doing everything wrong, for so long...

And despite learning what I did, I was still clinging to my old ways.

"What would you have me do?" I asked, and for the first time, it was a genuine question rather than a challenge.

Gustall approached me, taking my hand and placing it on his stomach. Our child kicked against my palm, showering me with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

"Start over," he said. "Not just with me, but with everything. Build something new, something better. Show them—show me—that you can change."

I looked at David, who nodded. He wanted to support me now, despite my past miscalculations.

"The men who've stayed... they're waiting to see what you'll do. If you'll be different than the alpha in those videos."

The empire I'd built through force and fear was crumbling. Rodriguez had found its weakness—not in our defenses or our operations, but in my own past, my own failures. He'd shown my people a truth I'd refused to see.

"It won't be easy," I warned, though I wasn't sure if I was talking to Gustall or myself. Maybe more to myself than him.

"Nothing worth having ever is," he replied, squeezing my hand. "But this time, you don't have to do it alone."

I looked down at the tablet, at Elena's tear-stained face frozen on the screen. How many others had I hurt while claiming to protect them? How much damage had my fear caused?

"David," I said after careful ponderation, "call a meeting. Everyone who's left. It's time they heard the truth from me."

It was time to start dismantling the walls I'd built. Time to learn a different kind of strength.

Time to become someone worthy of the trust Gustall was offering.

???

The meeting room felt smaller than usual, though maybe that was because of the tension filling it. My remaining men—the loyal ones, or at least the ones who hadn't left yet—sat around the long table, their faces telling me everything I needed to know about how they felt. Gustall sat beside me, his presence both comforting and challenging. This wasn't going to be easy. I never thought it was going to be, so I was already prepared.

"I'm dismantling the cartel," I announced without preamble. The words felt foreign on my tongue, but they needed to be said. I needed to be direct with them. It was the only way they would respect me.

The reaction was immediate. Shouts of protest, demands for explanation. I never thought it would be different.

I let them vent for a moment, remembering my uncle in a similar situation years ago. He'd chosen differently, had clung to power until it destroyed everything else in his life. I'd found him dead in his study, alone, with a bottle of whiskey and a gun. No one had even noticed he was gone for three days.

I wouldn't end up like that. I refused to.

"Boss, you can't be serious," Jake spoke up first. "The cartel is everything we have. It's all we know."

"It's all we've allowed ourselves to know," I corrected, feeling Gustall's hand squeeze mine under the table. "But it doesn't have to stay that way, and I know you can agree with me."

"This is about the omega, isn't it?" Someone muttered. "He's making you soft."

I stood slowly, letting my dominance fill the room. Some things hadn't changed—I was still their alpha and stillcommanded respect. "Watch your tone when speaking about my mate."

The room fell silent. Gustall's presence beside me felt stronger somehow, more assured.

"My uncle," I continued, "chose the cartel over everything else. Over love, over family, over life itself. He died alone, and no one cared." I paused, letting that sink in. "I won't make the same mistake."

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