Page 63 of Broken Pregnant Mate
Tears fill her eyes. “And now?”
“Now I know that loving you—loving our child—is worth any risk.” I turn my hands and take her palms against mine, lacing our fingers together. “I don’t want to be an alpha leader, Emaline. I want to take you to every place you’ve ever dreamed of seeing. I want to build a life that’s ours, not one dictated by pack politics.”
“What about Oren? The Grayhides?”
“Oren will make a good Alpha,” I say with certainty. “Better than I would. He understands these people in a way I never could. Even when we were growing up here, we were never really part of the pack. Emaline, my place is with you—wherever you want to go.”
For a long moment, she just looks at me, as if searching for any sign of doubt or hesitation. She won’t find any. For the first time in my life, I’m completely certain of what I want.
Then, slowly, she leans forward and presses her lips to mine.
Chapter 28 - Emaline
“Thank you all for coming today.”
The crowd makes noise in response, and Aidan raises his hand, waiting for it to die down before speaking again.
Aidan and Oren stand at the front of the large ballroom, looking out at the crowd. I’m not the only one who thought it would be weird to have this meeting here. Ash and I argued that even though they’d done a good job of cleaning, the place still smells like blood, and there are still obvious marks on the floor from where the chandelier fell.
But there was no other space large enough to hold this many shifters, nowhere else that could be prepared with the quickness necessary to have this meeting.
The space is completely packed, with nothing remaining but standing room along the walls, which is quickly filling.
It’s been a long week. Even though Aidan isn’t taking over the pack, he’s been helping to manage the chaos. Seeing as how some of the shifters in this pack still insist he’s the true alpha leader, it’s been necessary.
For the past few days, they’ve been hard at work capturing rogue shifters, putting out a strict curfew, and having endless meetings to discuss the future of the pack.
Oren and Aidan are flanked by several Grayhide shifters—Oren’s new council. Dorian has been meeting with Oren frequently, providing him with guidance, helpful advice. Aidan comes home exhausted every night, burrowing into me and kissing my stomach, saying he can’t wait to be done.
Now, the crowd finally dies down, and Aidan goes on, “The past week has been difficult for our pack. We’ve facedbetrayal, loss, and uncertainty. But we’ve also shown remarkable strength.”
He’s reading from the note cards we made together. When he finds me in the crowd, I give him a thumbs-up, and the corner of his mouth ticks up.
He clears his throat and goes on, “Many of you expected me to take my place as alpha leader of the Grayhide pack. And while it is my honor to be part of this bloodline, I am declining the position.”
There’s another murmur through the crowd, and I watch as Aidan waits, staring out at them. They quiet down, and it makes me proud—if he wanted it, I know he would do a good job as the leader.
“Leadership is about more than bloodlines. It’s about vision, understanding, and commitment to the welfare of the pack. It’s about knowing what the pack needs—not just today, but in the years to come. Oren Blacklock was raised in this very home. He knows this pack’s strengths and weaknesses. More importantly, he has shown through his actions a genuine desire to lead the Grayhides toward a better future—one of cooperation rather than isolation, of growth rather than stagnation. While many of you criticize the leadership of his father, you should know that Oren risked his own life to work with me—and others in the Ambersky pack—to bring an end to his father’s reign.”
Now, the crowd is in the palm of his hand. I can’t keep the smile off my face as I watch him standing tall, glancing over at Oren, who looks, for all the world, like he has a stick straight up his ass.
I glance over at Ash, who’s also looking at Oren, but there’s something unreadable in her face.
She saved his life in the ballroom. I don’t know how, but I know, with a certainty—likely from my gift—that it’s true. He was bleeding out, and Ash stopped it so Oren could kill Mhairi.
While Oren and Aidan were both courageous, Ash and I know, quietly, that if she hadn’t been there that day, none of us would be sitting here right now. That is, unless Mhairi Argent had chosen to leave our corpses in this room when she was done with us.
Aidan raises his voice again, tips his chin up, and says, “Therefore, before you all as witnesses, I formally relinquish any claim to leadership of the Grayhide pack. I recognize Oren Blacklock as the rightful alpha leader, with all the responsibilities and privileges thereof.”
There’s a shifting in the room, gasps and murmurs.
Aidan has just made a formal renunciation. It’s irreversible and closes the door permanently on him ever being the alpha leader of this pack. I’ve read about only a few alpha leaders in history who have done the same.
Oren stands even stiffer as the alpha power must hit him, transferring between them once again, this time from Aidan. After a moment, Oren clears his throat and steps forward as Aidan steps back, taking a seat behind him. I catch his eyes and smile, and he flashes me my very own thumbs-up back.
“Thank you, Aidan,” Oren says, his voice as flat as ever, his black hair shining under the overhead lights, the sunlight streaming in through the glass roof. “I accept this responsibility with humility and determination. Today and onward, the Grayhide pack will honor Aidan’s sacrifice by becoming the kind of community his family would have been proud to lead.”
There’s a moment of silence, so quiet I’m afraid to move, to be the only one making noise.
