The Reluctant Alpha (West Coast Wolves #1) - Susi Hawke Page 0,23

there are any further objections, I suggest we vote so we can move on with our meeting. All in favor of Matthias Longclaw taking over as our pack's chosen alpha, say aye."

All five members of the council, including Jared, assented in unison, raising their hands for good measure. Huffing a loud breath, Jared nodded his approval. "Very good. Alpha Matthias, do you accept the position being offered? Not because it's your birthright or because you claimed our former Alpha Mate, but because all five of us have spoken as one and chosen you to be our leader."

I couldn't help it—I teared up at his words. After swallowing an inconvenient lump in my throat, I nodded with every bit of solemnity the occasion called for. "I do accept. And quite humbly, might I add. I appreciate each of you putting your trust in me, and I'll do my best to prove I deserve it."

As my head spun, they all rose and walked around to form a line behind me, taking a knee and extending their left wrists. Jared claimed center position with two gammas on either side of him—an official council formation I hadn't seen in so long I'd forgotten about it. Staring me straight in the eye, Jared nearly had me tearing up all over again. "Alpha Matthias, we the governing Council of the Lucerne Valley Pack are ready to swear our allegiance to you completely."

Pushing my chair back, I stood and took a deep breath as I prepared to accept their allegiance. Since the pack bond would've magically transferred to Monty at the moment Horace died, he would feel a break in the communal link when I claimed them as my pack. And he'd know what it meant, too. While I'd never experienced it firsthand, during a lifetime of learning at my father's feet, I'd both seen and heard his reactions when pack members either died or left and swore allegiance to another. Apparently, one brought a feeling of loss and grief, while the other simply clicked off like a light switch.

I wouldn't know until I felt it myself for the first time, but at least I knew I could expect to hear from Monty by the end of the day.

It was such a simple act, but so humbling to bend over and bite the extended wrist. I started on the left end with Fredo. My laniary fangs dropped into position behind my canines, but this time, no poison would be delivered. My saliva mixing with their blood would form the pack bond. I hesitated for no more than a second before biting down over the fading scar from my uncle's bite. It would have begun to disappear at the moment of his death, when a new alpha took over the pack. If Monty wanted to retain the pack past a full lunar cycle after the previous alpha’s death, he would've needed to demand their allegiance with a bite of his own.

His failure to come here to personally claim the remaining pack and its gammas showed his cowardice. Without asking, I knew the fucker had been waiting for Elisha to die before completely asserting himself in Lucerne Valley. Thinking about him pissed me off, so I pushed it to the back of my mind and focused on this momentous occasion I'd never expected to experience.

As soon as my teeth broke Fredo’s flesh, the sweetness of his blood burst on my tongue. The bond clicked instantly into place, cementing when I licked the wrist to hasten the healing of the scar. I did the same to Shawn, feeling awe as a new family member joined my pack consciousness. Before I bit Jared’s wrist, he and I shared a smile and a nod. Then I moved on to Bradley and Marcus.

Jared held up his freshly healing scar, smiling as he pointed out how Horace's bite had already been completely erased by mine. I wasn't sure what to say, so I nodded toward the table. "Okay, since we have taken care of that bit of business, everyone get settled in so you can tell me why the hell our town looks like shit before we start discussing the Monty situation."

As they filled me in on how badly things were thanks to my uncle's shoddy and self-centered leadership, I got pissed off all over again. I thought about the freshly decorated guest suite I'd commandeered last night. A room set aside on the off chance our Territory Chief might come visit and want