Page 75 of Taken By the Alpha Priest

I tighten my hold on Tilda, and we move toward an open space at the end of one of the tables. It’s time to get this over with.

Grant gives me two thumbs up and a wide grin. Suyin and Peaches are sitting together, smiling too—so they, at least, approve. Mateo leans against the threshold to the kitchen, our resident teacher, Magnolia, chatting quietly with him. I think he’s happy for me, but it’s hard to tell when Mateo himself is always so melancholic. Charlotte and Elijah are so wrapped up in each other that I don’t think they’ve even noticed Tilda and I came in together, but I have a feeling they’d be the last people to judge us. I get a few condescending looks from the more devout members of the pack—those who probably disapprove of my decision to abandon my vows of celibacy—but other than that, everyone seems…just fine.

I wonder if they’ll be fine with all this when I tell them we’re going to try for an alliance with Homestead.

I take a seat in my usual spot with Will and Grant across from me, Tilda sitting with us. To her credit, she doesn’t balk at the attention, even when I know she hates it. She’s still got a touch of afterglow about her from our tryst in the barn, our scents combined to the point where no one could doubt what we’ve been up to.

“So congratulations on the fucking,” Grant says, breaking the silence. “It sounded excellent, ten out of ten.”

Tilda blinks her eyes rapidly, staring at the redhead as her jaw drops. She sputters a little as she collects herself, shaking her head. “Wow. Uh…”

“Ignore him,” Will says. “He’s an asshole.”

Tilda recovers quickly. “I never had the pleasure of visiting a frat house before the Convergence, so thanks for enlightening me to what that would be like,” she mutters.

I kick him under the table. “A little dignity, please.”

“You know that’s something I am all out of,” Grant snickers. “In fact, I was born without it.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Tilda deadpans.

They fall into a back and forth, and I watch with what I quickly realize is joy. To see her interacting with my closest friends like this…

I still can’t even wrap my head around the fact that she’s here—that my mate is here with me—let alone that she actually belongs. For the first time, I start to wonder if we should plan to marry like Charlotte and Elijah did, if she wants children…

She glances over at me just as the thought crosses my mind, a flash of apprehension in response to my curiosity. We still have so much to talk about, to discuss, to plan.

We just have to deal with Homestead, then we have our whole lives ahead of us.

“You should talk to them,” Will says, interrupting my thoughts. “Some people have questions about what’s going on.”

“Do you want me to say something?” Tilda asks. “I don’t like it, but I can talk to people one on one.”

“That shouldn’t be necessary,” I say. “Let me.”

I stand up, and the room goes silent as I climb onto the wooden bench underneath me. It creaks slightly, but I’ve done this a million times before, and everyone here knows that when I take this position, it’s time to listen to the Alpha Prime. I settle into my power as Prime, staring around the room and finding the eyes of all those who seem to have doubts.

“I wanted to clarify some things that happened yesterday, and to nip any speculation or rumors in the bud,” I announce to the room. “You may have heard that Tilda here is my mate…and it’s the truth. We’ve decided to make it official, and she’ll be staying here.”

Frankie crosses her arms in the corner, her gaze sweeping over the others…but no one says anything. Did people really have so little faith in my ability to keep to my vows? I’m actually shocked there are so few questions.

“If you’ve talked to Tilda, you may have heard about her town of Homestead,” I say. “It’s a former Heavenly Host encampment about two hours north of us, and well…it’s been abandoned by the Angels. They’re in dire straits now, running out of medicine and supplies, but they have something we need: farmland and fresh produce.”

A murmur goes through the crowd. “Why don’t we just take it?” someone yells from the kitchen.

Tilda stiffens.

“Because that’s not who we are,” I say. “Homestead is weak right now, but that doesn’t mean we should take advantage of them. Instead, I want us all to be in a place of strength…which is why we’re going to negotiate with the Homesteaders tomorrow.”

A rumble of concern grows in the pack. “But they’re Crusaders,” Kenji says, speaking again. “Can we really trust them?”

“They’re not Crusaders,” I say. “Tilda said she was only one of a few people who even fought—most are the elderly and ordinary people who have been in Homestead since before the war; some have families. And if we could get them on our side, we may be able to extend our reach…and maybe even try to take back the whole state.”

That gets a reaction; a murmur goes through the crowd, some people nodding along.

“Homestead is the last stronghold between us and another shield generator for the Celestial Curtain,” I say. “The more sky we leave exposed, the more room there is for Resistance air support–even Legion ships, if they realize we’re worth fighting for. If we can get them on our side, we can keep chipping away at the Host’s control over the south.”

“And then what?” Frankie demands. “More mouths to feed, more weak people to protect.”

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