Page 24 of Alpha's Claim

“Was,” my father said, leaning forward. “What do you mean by was.” It wasn’t a question, it was a demand. I met his eyes almost defiantly. “Cora I know you don’t get along with Preston, but surely you wouldn’t do anything drastic.”

“He kidnapped me,” I said simply. “He caught me while I was heading to see Weston and dragged me to the magic grove you think I don’t know about. Weston got to me just in time to stop him from stabbing me to death. He nearly killed us both, father, but that place saved us.”

He looked at me critically, searching my face as he stared at me in silence. Hopefully, my father would see reason in my eyes and know I was telling the truth. The moments passed, seeming like it was taking forever for him to show anything on his face at all.

“You’ve been there. I can see it on your face.” He said finally, tapping his fingers together. We slipped into silence again, my reply a silent nod. “You’ve been there before, haven’t you? Before today.”

“We found it while we were running the woods.” Weston said, and I looked over at him again, glad that he was taking an active part in this conversation. “We didn’t know what it was at the time, we just knew it was beautiful.”

“Preston took you there today, and am I to understand you killed him?” My father asked, looking from Weston back to me with that critical intelligence I knew so well deep in his eyes. We had the same eyes, I had been told, and I hoped that was true. His eyes were powerful and clever. I wanted mine to be too.

“No. The grove killed him. He almost killed both of us.” I explained, my voice softer. “There was a… shape, there. Like the silhouette of a person. It came across the lake and took him. There is no body.” I explained.

“The rain came when it left and it healed us from our wounds.” Weston spoke up as well and I nodded.

“Yes, I can see that. Cora has no bruises and you’re both still have that silver dust on you.” My father explained, leaning back in his chair and thinking. “Preston would betray me like this, by taking my only child from me.” His voice was inscrutable, but there was a storm in his eyes. I could recognize his posture. He was deep in thought now, not looking at either of this. “I always thought you’d be mated to someone from our pack. It’s always been that way.”

“I’m a first in a lot of ways, father. It suits me.” I replied, making eye contact with him when he turned to look at me again. “I am going to be Alpha, father, and I am mated to Weston. It’s what my path going forward is. I came here to inform you of our status and to tell you that we intend to merge the packs. I understand if you need time to think, but I want you to understand that if you don’t accept this- and us- you will lose me. Your reliance on Preston and your desire for more and more power has already damaged our relationship. I love you and I believe you love me with all my heart. I know that. But it takes more than love for a relationship to flourish and our relationship has been eroding for a long time. I don’t want to lose you, but I can’t lose the rest of my life to this fight.” I explained, keeping my voice factual and soothing. It was important to me that he realize the stakes that were on the line in this moment. We both stared at one another, hardly daring to blink, before he nodded again.

“It’ll take some time to get the logistics worked out, but I’m sure the three of us can find some common ground and understanding between us. I’ll call a pack meeting tonight and explain what’s happening.” He said, tapping his index fingers together while he thought. “I’ll expect the two of you to be there as well. Clothed, if possible.” He said, turning his gaze over to Weston. “I expect you to be the best possible mate for my Cora.” His no-nonsense father voice was on. “Go. I have to think about all of this.” I nodded and stood with Weston, taking his hand.

We paused just long enough to grab clothes for me before we made our way back out to Weston’s pack and made off for his home. Once we were there and everyone was dressed, his Beta- Yari- called everyone together. Weston and I stood together on his back porch in the fading light and announced our plans. That we were mated and intended to merge the packs. The news of our union by far got the better reaction. Understandably his pack still harbored mistrust toward mine- I couldn’t blame them. Weston and Yari managed to reassure them while I took a backseat. Nobody here had any reason at all to trust me, so my word held no weight yet. It would. I would ensure that I made amends and earned their trust. At that moment, though, I simply stood, hand in hand with my mate, and supported him.

Later that night we made the trek back to my estate to have the same meeting there. This time Weston was my support. There were still people in our pack who were loyal to the former Beta and weren’t going to be quick to accept this change. So many of them had grown up privileged that this could come off as an attack or a downgrade to them. That was the kind of attitude I wanted to push back on. Make amends with the nearby clans. Start to treat everyone as equals, whether or not they lived in our vast estate. At the end of the meeting, my father turned to me, taking my hand.

“Come with me. Weston, I would like to speak to my daughter alone for a while.” He said, and Weston nodded, releasing my hand.

“I’ll wait here.” He said, giving me an encouraging smile. I returned it and turned, following my father into the house.

He led me to the balcony off of his dining area and stood facing away from me for a moment or two. It seemed important so I gave him the space to collect his thoughts. He had impressed me tonight by going through with the meeting and I respected that. Besides, he had a huge shock that afternoon so it stood to reason that he might have some words to say to me, but about what I wasn’t sure.

“Cora,” he said, turning to face me in the dim light. “I’m so sorry.” He said, putting a hand on my cheek. “My ego got in the way of my relationship with you and I’m sorry. I should never have let this happen.” He said, and I leaned into his touch. “The power of being the Alpha and having the magic got to my head and clouded what was important. I relied on Preston because he followed unquestioningly. He made himself seem indispensable and I let him. I should have seen what his intentions were and I’m sorry. I love you. I’ve got a lot to think about, but if you’re willing to work with me I’m willing to move forward with the two of you- you and Weston. I want you in my life and I love you. Please give me a second chance.” I felt tears in my eyes as he spoke and I smiled at him, nodding. I moved in and hugged him tightly.

“I forgive you, father. I forgive you.” I whispered in his ear, holding him tight. “I love you too.”

Epilogue - Weston

Wehadbeenworkingon the integration of the packs for around a month. We still lived in separate areas for the most part, though now our members could come and go as they pleased. Some had moved between our two compounds and we simply allocated living spaces as they were needed. Cora, Harry, and I had worked on that together.

The main priority was getting the pack members acquainted with one another and ensuring their comfort as they did. There had been arguments and squabbles between members, of course, but between the three of us we had been able to navigate it so far. We did suffer the misfortune of a few pack members choosing to leave. That was hard, especially on me. My pack was my family and to lose members hurt. Yari had been by my side throughout and even Harry had begun to warm to her. He didn’t have a Beta anymore and Yari had come to be someone he relied on as well. Her attitude probably helped Harry to keep his feet on the ground. Yari could humble anyone with her sarcasm and honesty and that seemed to include Harry Onyxian.

Cora had been working hard on her own projects outside of myself and her father. She was hellbent on creating an alliance throughout the packs of Schuylkill and I was so proud of every hard-fought victory. She was making reparations, opening lines of communication, and following up on conversations… she had her plan and it was coming to fruition. I was so proud of her.

Although we all had our separate tasks and goals we worked on them together. Cora had fostered an atmosphere of open communication between all three of us and although I had been wary of working with her father, having seen the worst side of him, she had helped the two of us figure out our roles in the triad. It was a relief for me, ultimately. I wasn’t big on confrontation unless it was necessary and it seemed far more useful to all be on the same page in this venture than to be at one another’s throats.

It meant the world to me to have Cora by my side through all of this. Her strength, intelligence, and grit were what kept me going on the hard nights. She had moved her life into my home and we spent nights together, just being together and in love. Every night I was able to wind down with the most amazing woman I had ever met. We could fall asleep in one another’s arms, cuddled up close in bed, and wake up in the morning with a fresh, clean day to start with. It had been a godsend.

So much of this project was frustrating and slow going, but we were getting to a place where everything was finally folding together the way we envisioned it. People were settling into the new routine and finding their places. It was beautiful. Everyone was starting to regain their happiness again. I was beginning to regain my purpose as an Alpha, and now I had all the support I could ever need to do my job properly. Yari and Cora were a formidable team.

Every night when I fell asleep and every day when I woke up I felt soothed by Cora’s scent. I felt every day I was finding myself falling for her all over again. I felt in my soul that things were much the same for her, and although it had been odd to have different routines at first this month, we found ourselves slotting into one routine between the two of us. It was easy to talk to one another and just figure out what we needed. Every day seemed to bring new growth and new progress. I loved it. I felt the most stable I had felt since my mother died and I was thrust into her position at the head of the pack.

“I don’t have any meetings tomorrow,” I said once I was finished brushing my teeth. “What about you?”

“No. Yari is handling things for me tomorrow.” Cora smiled, wrapping an arm around me. We made eye contact in the mirror and I smiled at her, placing my toothbrush back.

“Good. Let’s skip work and take off for the day.” I suggested, turning to face her. She smiled and nodded, kissing me softly.

“Yes. That sounds like an amazing idea. We’ve been doing nothing but working. I think we’ve earned a break.” Cora replied, pulling me to bed. “Let’s get to sleep so we can actually enjoy our day off.” She laughed, and I nodded, grinning.

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