“We’ll have you reporting for duty on Friday. I’ll call each individual council member to tell them that their services are no longer wanted, and that they’re free to leave our pack, or they can join the workforce as a member of the staff.
“I’ll expect the newly appointed managers to deal with the old incumbents fairly, even if they never treated you fairly—a good leader doesn’t treat his old team like shit,” I intoned darkly, loading the words with a threat I would enforce. “We all have to live together, and we all, more importantly, have to work together to make the pack a better, stronger place for future generations to come. Do you hear me?”
When I received a lot of “Ayes,” I nodded, then murmured, “You’re all going to have to accept that Austin and Ethan are my right- and left-hand men. The world is changing, and we need to embrace each other, embrace what we don’t understand, because we don’t understand so much.
“If you have an issue with them, you have an issue with my leadership, and we all know where the challenge circle is. You can come toe-to-toe with me, but we all know how that will end up if you don’t take this seriously.”
When that had a lot of people dunking their heads between their hitched shoulders, I knew I’d gotten my point across.
“Now, for the final matter, Maggie May and Bill are going to be my council leaders.”
Though I sensed her surprise, Maggie just smirked at me. “Was just waiting for the chance to ride roughshod over you.”
“I figured as much,” I said dryly.
Her eyes, however, were filled with pride. “Just knew you were going to be a good alpha, Eli.”
“Give me time, I’ve barely started.”
“No, that’s true, but you weren’t ever like your family, son. You were a good boy from the start to now, and with a strong woman at your side, I’ll be glad to serve as a liaison between you and the pack.”
I smiled at her, touched because I knew she meant every word. “That being said, I will be here every week, and you can come to me directly. No more only meeting at the totem. No more only meeting at the packhouse. You have an issue, you can bring it to me, Sabina, Ethan, or Austin either privately, or we can deal with it together as a pack.”
That had a roar of applause bursting out around me, which I figured meant they were happy with the changes.
Of course, I knew some people who were going to be miserable about those changes, but fuck them.
The council had fed my father’s ego, had built him up into an alpha who was out of touch with his pack, who was disconnected with the world in which we lived.
Only my influence at the logging company had kept us from going too deep into our territory where we were going to be losing valuable running land, and he’d been shortsighted in so many ways.
I had ideas that I needed to run by my family—Sabina, Ethan, and Austin—ideas that would thrust the pack straight into the twenty-first century, but also, I was happy just to change the status quo bit by bit.
Completely wiping out the council was a heavy hit to the start of my reign, but if it was one that defined my rule?
I wasn’t going to cry over that.
I was born to be alpha.
Born to be Sabina’s mate.
And I was born to rule with my brothers at my side.
That was what would define me.
But the Mother’s will had granted me a future that would see these people’s numbers expand dramatically, and I was going to be the father of a new future, with Sabina as the mother of them all.
It would take time, it would take caution, but we had both in spades.
This was the first day of a new era for the Highbanks pack, and I’d never been happier to be its leader than I was right now.
Eighteen
Sabina
Fourteen months later
I tucked Knight into my arms, tightening the little sling I had him in so I was closer to him.
I wasn’t sure we could physically get any closer, but trust me, if it was possible, I’d try. I’d try like hell. Skin close wasn’t enough, and I was just glad that the packhouse didn’t care about nudity, because since the birth three days ago, I’d been spending a lot of time wandering around in my skin just so that we