Chapter 22
Wyatt
The celestial goddess smiled down on me as I stood at the edge of the clearing, the rest of the pack turned in my direction. I could feel their gazes lingering on me as I stepped into the moonlight. A few howls went up into the air.
Just as the full moon began to wane, so too did my powers. We were able to shift when we wanted to, but the pull wasn’t nearly as strong the rest of the month, and it felt like the perfect time to reintegrate myself back into my pack . . . and to weed out whoever was threatening my mate.
I joined my grandfather in the center of the circle as a sense of calm determination filled my bones. His weighty hand landed on my shoulder—a vote of confidence.
“We have waited for this night for many years,” he boomed, his voice easily carrying over the crowd. “And this will be a moment none of us will soon forget. We are all given a destiny only we can fulfill, and as we witness it in ourselves, we must witness it in each other.”
I hoped to one day have even half of my grandfather’s gravitas.
Even at his age, not a single wolf would dare to openly challenge him.
His unwavering support during the last four years had been a mix of duty, love, and respect.
And it was time to repay him for that kindness—after I figured out who amongst us was hiding in the shadows and threatening what was mine.
I scanned the crowd, assessing each face.
The matriarchs of my bloodline—my mother, Aunt Edie, Eloise, and Lulu—stood at the front of the group.
Behind them were more cousins and family allies.
Gregory stood proud as the head of one of the most treasured families in the pack behind the Sullivans.
My eyes drifted beside him, finding Aisling and Liam, who flanked their other grandfather, Marcus.
It was no secret that Gregory and Marcus had arranged the match between Aisling and Liam’s parents.
I had never seen the political machinations behind the matchmaking as cold until now.
It had just been tradition. But as I took in the pack, I wondered how far each of them would be willing to go to elevate their rank.
Aisling offered me a tight smile as if to say it wasn’t her idea to be in their current position.
Liam looked between his sister, me, and back to Marcus, a questioning arch to his brow.
When his eyes met mine again, he looked straight down at his boots, but I noted it.
He clearly knew something—something worth feeling guilty over.
I decided I would be paying Liam a visit soon. I didn’t think he had it in him to be the one threatening Willow, but he wasn’t completely oblivious either. I watched Liam make eye contact with his classmates—boys who were always up to no good around town.
Maybe it was one of them? Emboldened by youth?
I cataloged each in my mind. I had one week to root out this evil, and the faster I did, the sooner I could be reunited with my future queen. I hated all these fake consoling looks from people who thought we’d broken up. I knew they were all secretly delighted. Some didn’t even attempt to hide it.
I was so lost in my own thoughts that I nearly jolted when my grandfather spoke again.
“My grandson has taken on his power and accepted his rightful place as leader and alpha of our pack.” He squeezed my shoulder, putting heavy emphasis on the words.
“In one moon’s time, I will be stepping down to make way for the new generation to reign. ”
I watched the crowd to see whose faces pinched or remained steely neutral. I added each of them to my list. The time to eliminate suspects would come later, but for now, any one of them could be the one threatening Willow.
My place in the pack had always been in Willow’s hands, whether she knew it or not.
I’d debated denying my claim for so long to be close to her, but as soon as I’d realized it was the fastest and safest way to protect Willow, it had been an easy decision.
All that angst and worrying had instantly dissipated.
Decision made. I’d do anything to keep her safe.
“Passing down the crown is bittersweet, as it should be my own son standing here tonight,” Daniel continued, and a few soulful howls rose up from the group. “But Wyatt will be a good and steadfast ruler, just as his father would have been.”
Those words twisted in me like a knife—a reminder that my life was so much more than my own, that it belonged to my pack.
The duty of my ancestors was no longer a ball and chain around my throat, but a gift of responsibility and stewardship.
The one thing missing in this monumental moment, though, was Willow.
I wanted her to be here, to be part of this, to be by my side.
“During the next full moon,” my grandfather continued, “Wyatt will lead us into the night as a strong, united pack.”
An uproar of cheers and howls sang out to the night sky.
“And what of our queen?” a piercing voice rang out through the crowd.
One of my mother’s closest friends, Carla Haywood, stared back at me as if I were still a pup nipping at Mom’s heels. “A new wolf queen must rise with the new alpha.”
A growl erupted from my lips as more piped in. I noted the particular way she said “wolf queen”—a pointed statement that told me enough about the expectations of my pack.
“Or king,” Eloise shot in. “Or nonbinary partner. We’ve long since moved on from human-world ignorance. Isn’t that right, Carla?”
A few snickered at my sister’s wit.
Carla rolled her eyes. “Fine. A partner, then,” she added tightly. “It’s always been two who are coronated.” She glared at my sister. “That is the tradition I care about. It keeps our pack safe from tyrants.”
Murmurs of agreement swept over the pack.
There needed to be a symbolic promise that the new pack alpha wasn’t a lone wolf.
A partner meant they were also nurturing, kind, and responsible, as well as capable of raising the heirs to the throne.
In the past, any same-sex rulers—and those unable to reproduce—had been provided surrogates to fulfill that duty, or they’d picked a young family member as their chosen successor.
But the pack had always been led by two wolves.
I looked at my aunt and cousin, who were both examples of how cold the pack could be to those who chose to marry and procreate with an outsider.
Aside from midnight runs, shifts, and pack meetings like tonight, my nymph uncle had always been welcomed into the homes and hearts of our kind.
But it had affected my aunt’s standing in the pack hierarchy, whether people admitted it aloud or not.
And a nymph was still a step above a magical outsider.
As I eyed my pack, I knew taking Willow as my mate was only the first of many changes I needed to effect in order to bring us into the twenty-first century and dismantle systems that only hurt us the longer we retained them.
More questions hung in the air.
“Who will be our queen?”
“Who has the boy bonded with?”
“Which wolf will be our new queen?”
My mother gave me an “I told you so” look as the pack continued to mutter.
“Settle down!” my grandfather shouted.
“Your new queen will come in time,” I proclaimed, nodding to my mother, and her mouth pinched as if biting into a sour lemon. I gave her a smug look. I’d learned from the best, after all. “For now, the queen mother still convents the throne,” I added, sending my mother my own warning.
“My time expires when the new alpha takes the lead,” my mother pushed. “But I know you will name the right wolf as your betrothed come the next full moon.”
I knew naming Willow would cause an uproar that could spur on whoever was threatening her, so I retained the “broken-up” ruse and remained stony.
“You’ll have your new queen in one month’s time.” I met the gazes of those I now considered suspects.
“It’s settled!” My grandfather clapped me on the shoulder again, this time sharing a grateful smile with me. “Let’s celebrate before I lead my last midnight hunt. I have been looking forward to this for a very long time.”
Cheers rang out as the large bonfire came to life in the middle of the clearing. It was my duty to stay behind to tend to the fire and roast the hog or deer that the pack brought back. I had about an hour of mingling before I could use that as an excuse to isolate myself for an emotional reprieve.
Clumps of conversation started around me as Eloise wandered over. “Nice work defusing the heat—no pun intended.” She snickered. “Except now, you’ll have all the matchmakers tripling their efforts to get their choices in front of you.”
I’d already noticed how many mothers with eligible offspring were posturing to join our conversation. Four daughters and one son.
Eloise leaned in and said, “Look at Bianca Rome grooming her son, Francis, for you.”
I snickered, lowering my voice so only my sister could hear. “What she doesn’t know is that he’s heavily involved with the second-in-command of the wolf pack two towns over.”
Her lips tugged into a grin. “Him leaving for another pack would certainly have tails wagging. At least then you won’t be the only scandalous one.”
“It will all stop on the full moon when I bring Willow before the pack,” I countered.
She looked at me like I hadn’t fully thought this through. “You know that means you’ve got four weeks to propose to Willow and convince her to marry you, right?”
My stomach dropped, all of my well-laid plans to keep her safe suddenly evaporating as I realized what I’d just agreed to.
“Shit.”