Page 79 of Vicious Wolf Mate

“Almost,” I say. I look down at Natalie. “We still have one last thing to do. Natalie, your first job is to officially announce me as the new leadership at Insignys. Get a press team together. Drario, can you escort Natalie upstairs, so she can start right away?”

Drario nods. He grabs Natalie by the arm and hoists her to her feet. The two of them shuffle away.

For a moment, Mace, Gnash, and I just stand in silence. Among all the bodies on the ground. The first quiet moment we’ve had in who knows how long. This really is almost all over.

Mace looks at me. I think he’s waiting to see what I do next. Ready to follow my lead. I’m really lucky to have him by my side.

I look down at my father’s body. He used to seem so big. Every room he entered, he entered with a certain command of the space. My father always seems too grand to ever touch.

But now, with a bullet in his head, I realize just how small he really is. He was just an old man pretending to be bigger than he was. Now he’s just a dead old man.

A rage like never before builds up inside of me. All this pain and death because of him. Because he couldn’t stand that humans were no longer on top. All of this could’ve been avoided if he just wasn’t the biggest asshole in the world.

“Are you okay?” Mace joins me at my side. He takes my hand and squeezes it tightly.

I look down at my father's corpse one last time. Somehow he seems to be getting even smaller. Finally, I look away and start walking towards the exit, hand-in-hand with Mace with Gnash trailing behind.

“No,” I say honestly. “But millions of shifters will be now.”

55

MACE

Iwatch McKenna walk over to dead Rovas. She looks down at him. I can tell she is raging internally.

“Are you doing okay?” I ask. I feel silly asking. McKenna is stronger than me in so many ways.

“No,” she tells me. I can sense that she means it. “But millions of shifters will be now.”

I won’t say anything else. Rovas is gone. If I show empathy or compassion at this moment, it will insult her. I want her to see that I have no doubt she is the Rock of Gibraltar kind of strong. If I show that I know she is strong, she’ll feel safe enough to lean occasionally and feel absolutely certain that her strength from my side will never be seen as suspect.

Gnash is at my side. We turn and follow McKenna out of the lab.

I have the folder in my hands. The folder with its contents feels like gold.

“What now?” I ask her. “You know, the next steps. What are we going to do now?” I can see Gnash nodding in agreement through the corner of my eye as I ask this.

I am an Alpha. I have always been an Alpha. Right now, letting McKenna lead feels right. I can tell by Gnash’s ambiance, and the way that McKenna has delegated many times over the last few days, McKenna is so right for me. I want my shifter side to feel that she is right. I want that confirmation from a deeper, primal self.

“There’s many rooms here, Mace,” McKenna says. She is waving her hands at both sides of the hallway as we walk. “Lots and lots of rooms here. More than enough rooms here for the workers. You can see that the rooms are outfitted like a bunch of bunkers inside a bigger bunker in case anything ever went down above ground,” she adds.

“I think I know where you’re headed with this,” Gnash chimes in.

We follow the long hall until we are back at the office.

McKenna lights up the intercom system. Gnash and I help McKenna test the intercom and get it running.

Then Gnash and I stand back and let McKenna rip. She doesn’t have a script on hand. I can see the wheels spinning. She is downloading the perfect script from somewhere deep within herself.

“Attention all Insignys employees,” Mckenna announces. “The company is now under new leadership, with me, McKenna Grayson, as executive officer.” I love watching her speak. She is regal, confident, and will touch all levels of personnel listening. “Rovas is dead. If anyone has an issue with it, they are welcome to speak to me. Be mindful,” she adds, pausing here for emphasis. “I have and I know all the codes to activate your kill switches instantly.”

I want to laugh, but I don’t. I appreciate what she said. Her delivery is highfalutin and yet beautiful as a swan on a lake in the evening.

I sneak a few glances at Gnash, and I can see that he is equally moved. He’s not saying it, but I can tell he is silently signing over his allegiance to beautiful McKenna.

When I replay to myself what she just said, I am shocked. Then I am impressed the more the actual scope of what I believe she is planning takes shape. I can see where she’s headed with this. Turn Insignys into something worthwhile, beautiful, something of value.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” I ask. “You’re going to build this up, run it the right way, and make this planet even more beautiful.”

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