As we stood there, beside the pedestal, with me at Sabina’s back, Ethan on her left, and Eli on her right, I watched as the pack trounced in, the totem messing with them, as was its way.
When they circled us, the supernatural pack of wolves, in turn, circled them, which immediately had tongues wagging.
“Brothers, sisters,” Eli declared, the second we were all in place. “I bring you here with great news.”
I could feel the anticipation in the air, especially since I knew people were still reeling from Brandon being taken off the beta pedestal.
While Ethan wasn’t a popular choice, Brandon was a prick, so he wasn’t that popular either.
And if I could compare popularity to one of us, that meant Brandon had been hated by the regular folk in the pack.
My lips twitched at the thought as Sabina took a slight step back, not stopping until our bodies purposely collided.
In her ear, I whispered, “You doing okay, sweetheart?”
“I’ll be glad when this is over. I’m nervous.”
My lips curved as I slipped an arm around her waist. Behind me, I heard some padding paws, the rustle of leaves behind the totem, and I knew who it was.
Or what.
The she-wolf.
The bitch was like my woman’s second skin.
I wouldn’t lie, my nose felt like it was pushed a little out of joint now that she had the bitch at her side, but how could I be unhappy that she had a constant guard? Someone who’d keep her safe no matter what?
I couldn’t be upset about that. If anything, I was fucking relieved.
The idea of a world without her was something I couldn’t abide. Knowing that the Mother had granted her a guardian that would help tighten the safety net around her?
It felt like I’d been given a double dose of Valium, especially in the face of my new position.
Just three days in, and sharing a job with Ethan was a helluva lot different from suddenly being the one who enforced shit on my own. With Ethan tied up with more work, and Eli struggling to figure out a way to overturn the council without toppling the pack into chaos?
We needed all the help we could get.
Throw in the fact that I was trying to help them with their jobs, and Ethan was still being contacted by some of the pack, even though they had to know I was the only enforcer—shit was confusing to say the least.
“I wish to introduce you to Sabina Highbanks,” Eli announced. “Our new omega.”
The whispers were there, surging to the fore, merging around us, and Sabina tensed somewhat as she evidently keyed in on their mutters.
They weren’t necessarily excited, more curious.
I figured that was the best we could hope for.
“While she takes that position, and Ethan settles into the new role as pack beta, don’t forget that Austin is still enforcer. Our duty to you has not changed, however, what is unusual is that the three of us are bound to the omega.”
“She’s that powerful, Alpha?”
Trust Maggie May to be the one who dared speak out at that moment.
Conrad muttered, “Shut up, Margaret!”
Maggie just grunted and focused on Eli. “Son?”
I ignored Conrad and replied, “Yes. She’s that powerful. Capable of more than you’re ready to hear, but as she learns her way, she’ll be our guiding light.”
Sabina was tense in my arms, and I knew that came from being at the center of attention. As beautiful as she was, as confident, being stared at by a bunch of people you didn’t know was just never on someone’s to-do list.
I couldn’t blame her for being nervous. She was in a circle of creatures that, until recently, would have inspired terror in the heart of any human if they were aware of what we truly were.
We’d known she’d respond this way. Omegas were, after all, incredibly empathic, and here, at this moment, with the pack in great upheaval, it was a wonder she was standing.
That was why when Eli tipped his face to the totem, then angled his head back to stare up at the moon, and hollered, “And now, we run!” I grabbed her and held her back.
He shifted without stripping, which was a waste of clothes, but who was I to judge, which prompted everyone in the vicinity except for Ethan, myself, and Sabina to shift in turn.
That right there was proof of why we belonged to be where we were in the pack.
Might ruled in these situations, because might was goddess granted, and that was the truth