Page 63 of Knot All Is Lost: Part 2

“Not gonna happen, but thank you all the same,” Savo said, then looked at the others. “I do like the idea of the calendar. It will help me know if something happens, who is where and how to get a hold of you.”

“Trust me, if you’re calling me, I don’t care if I’m talking to god himself I’ll hang up on him,” Marius informed us.

Nixon started to say something, but I cut him off as I blurted my thoughts. “Why are you all talking like I’m still in just as much danger as I was before? They’re both gone, right? What has you all so afraid?”

Everyone turned to Marius, making it clear he was the man to give me my answer. He rubbed a hand over his jaw, almost as if he was nervous to tell me. “Cambrie, with Yoram removed and Fredrick dead, that leaves only Alton and I alive as the acting government. The country found out last night, when someone leaked it to the press, that Yoram was under arrest. They don’t know the extent of his crimes but in a few hours I have to tell them. My fear is that they will retaliate against Alton and myself, not believing we weren’t involved.”

“In retaliation, you think they will come after our pack,” I surmised.

He nodded. “The other reason I wanted to have this meeting is because we all need to be on the same page for the future. I believe it’s time we restructured our government completely and hold an election of one leader, with a group of three to five men who look over all the laws and proposals the leader wants to make. These people would also be elected by the people, and everyone would have to be re-elected every five years. This way, if the citizens of our country aren’t happy with what's going on they have the power to change it.”

The table fell silent, making me realize he hadn’t said any of this to anyone before now. Oscar raised a hand to draw our attention and asked his question.

“Yes, Oscar, I’m hoping to be the leader they elect. I would love it if Rafael and Nixon ran for the position of advisors, but I understand if you feel that’s a conflict, being part of the pack. You both have been that for me through all of this. I think as a team we could make this country come back to life,” Marius reasoned.

Rafael crossed his arms with a contemplative look. “I’ll have to take some time to think that over. It would mean giving up working with patients and I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet.”

Marius nodded before his gaze shifted to Nixon. The man grinned back at his best friend and let out a huff of laughter. “Did you think I’d forget the promise we made to each other when you first said you were going to be part of the CoF?”

“No,” Marius answered. “I just wasn’t going to hold you to it if you felt your place at the shelter was more important.”

“Nah, Spencer could easily run that place without me. Hell, even if Bodhi came to help him part time, they’d be fine without me,” Nixon scoffed and waved off the concern. “Of course, I’ll put my bid in for the position, we said we were going to change the world one day at a time, right? You got elected and I promised if the time ever came where you needed me, I would step up.”

Spencer shot up out of his seat. “Hold up, I didn’t agree to being the new CEO of the shelter? Was anyone going to ask me if I was okay with it?”

Both of our Alphas looked over at him with a questioning expression. “Well?” Nixon asked.

Spencer turned to Bodhi. “What about you? Are you just going to sit there and let them decide this for us?”

“Dude, do you have any idea what I’m going to school for?” Bodhi asked, a smirk on his face.

Spencer frowned. “Music, something or other, right?”

“Music education with a minor in business management,” Bodhi announced. “I wanted to work at the shelter helping to teach people how to deal with life through music. Figured it would also help if I could do more than that, since classes wouldn’t take up my whole day. Oscar let me help him with things, but he didn’tneedme, it was just an excuse for us to be near each other. Now that we’re together and family, I don’t have to worry about him falling for someone else if I leave him alone for part of the day.”

Oscar grabbed Bodhi by the back of the neck and pulled him in to kiss him in a manner that was not meant for the table but was magical to watch. With a growl, Oscar pulled Bodhi onto his lap and wrapped his arms around his Beta’s waist.

“Okay, well that just happened,” Bodhi commented with a goofy grin on his face. “What were we talking about?”

I covered my mouth trying to keep from laughing but I couldn’t help it when Oscar looked so pleased with himself. Dropping my hands, I let out my laughter and it filled the air, soon to be joined by the others. This is how family should be, sharing in the hard choices, watching the tender moments, and sharing joy together. Every time these moments happened, I couldn’t fight against the desperate need to share this with the world. Now I just needed to find out how to do it.

“Fine, if Nixon ends up in this new position then if Bodhi’s willing to team up with me, I could manage running the shelters. Just know, that I’m going to be blowing up your phone for months as I figure all this shit out,” Spencer huffed.

Nixon wrapped Spencer up in a hug and kissed him on the cheek. “Hey now, where’s the man I fell in love with that told me he was far too overqualified to be front desk admin? Besides, nothing is settled and there will need to be a vote. I would never just throw you to the wolves, I love you too much to do that.”

“Ha, we’ll see about that, mister,” Spencer grumbled, trying to pull away, but Nixon just attacked him with kisses until he laughed. “Get off me, you weirdo. God, this bond thing is getting out of hand, you sex crazed fiend.”

Rafael cleared his throat loudly, bringing everyone’s attention back to what we’d been talking about. “As I said I’ll take time to contemplate things, but I think that means we really need to know how we want to move forward. Savo will be with Cambrie around the clock for now, the next few days it might be wise to stick close to home and not look for trouble. As for the rest of us, we need to get back to work and show the country that just because the government is in a state of change, that we aren’t worried.”

“Cambrie has also asked what her duties will be while she is at home. The two of us had a conversation briefly, but I believe getting her set up to get her GED and then looking over some college classes might be wise. As for additional duties, I personally would like to see how things play out and what happens with the change in schedules. If Bodhi isn’t at home as much to help with cooking and groceries, it might be a simple switch of responsibilities between them. Savo is also here to assist if there needs to be a run to the store or what have you,” Rafael shared.

Marius nodded his agreement while Oscar once more tried to share his thoughts. No one interrupted him this time. “I agree that Cambrie needs to work on her education, but I also feel it’s important for her to know that there are many opportunities out there in the world that don’t require her to do schooling if she doesn’t want to. My Little Star shines so bright that no matter what she does it will attract those who need her.”His gaze fell to mine and he smiled sweetly. “Follow your heart, I can see the wheels turning in your mind and you’ve thought of something already. I trust you to come to us when you’re ready and we will do our best to support you in any way we can.”

My heart burst with a combination of his love for me and mine for him as I signed my thanks. “Oscar’s right, I do have some ideas rolling around in my brain but I’m not sure what to do with my ideas as of yet. When I figure out what it is that I truly want to invest my time in, you will all be the first to know.”

Marius looked down at his watch and grimaced. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go. Alton and I are holding a press conference in two hours and we need to prepare. I asked to push it as late as possible so I could be a part of this. I’m not sure when I’ll be back tonight, so don’t stay up.”

He rose from his seat, cupped my face, and gave me a quick kiss. Then he went to Spencer and did the same, before he headed out. The lightness of the meal seemed to vanish as we knew what this press conference meant. Yoram would be sentenced for his crimes and the only fitting end would be his death. I knew they wouldn’t have another option and that I shouldn’t care after all he’s done, but I would never wish death upon anyone.

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