Page 71 of A Chance at Redemption for the Alpha

Actually, it even brings me comfort.

*BENJAMIN*

“When you called me and told me what happened, I thought you were exaggerating,” Nova admits.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” I say. She and Cassian arrived two hours ago. Marcellus and Cassian left to deal with the bodies of the rogues. They will be taken to Cassian’s pack for further investigation, and then get their send-off on a pyre.

“I’m okay. Don’t apologize.” She sighs. “The poor guys looked horrifying, but I can’t close my eyes, from this type of thing. I want to help my brother as best as I can.”

“Say, are you going to get a rank in your pack?” I ask.

“Cass wants to make me gamma or delta,” she explains. “But we said, we’d wait for me to find my mate.”

“I get that. Your mate is definitely going to be a strong wolf, probably an alpha.”

“I’m not sure,” she chuckles. “Me? Luna? Can you imagine?”

“Yes, I can.” I shrug. “So, you’d be more the hands-on luna, a warrior luna even, but I think that’s cool.”

“We’ll see.” She stretches slightly. “I’ve heard that you are going to become gamma?”

I blink. “How did you hear that so fast? That’s very fresh news.”

“My brother told Isla and me when we met for breakfast today,” she explains. “Seems like Marcellus has planned it for a while.” She laughs. “Should have seen Isla’s expression. Her eyes almost bulged out of her face.” Nova grins and fortunately, doesn’t notice me flinching slightly. Hearing Isla’s name still hurts. Nova turns to look at me. “I think you will be a great gamma.”

“I’m not sure,” I admit. “And I certainly am not ready yet. But Marcellus is counting on me to put my all into this. I don’t want to disappoint him, so I’ll be working my ass off.”

“Don’t worry too much,” she reassures me. “You will grow into this task, and I think you will do very well. You have it in you.”

Something about her words is comforting. Actually, everything is so much easier with Nova around. I don’t feel embarrassed or awkward with her, and she doesn’t make me feel less. Why could she not have been my mate?

Maybe it’s better this way, though. I don’t have many friends, and it’s cool to have a close friend like her.

Nova chuckles when she watches Maddie running into Marc and Silas’ house, confidently walking up to Lucian, who is discussing something with Silas and his brothers. Lucian pretends to be annoyed by her presence but then scoots her intohis arms, not even wincing when she tugs at his long hair and giggles.

“She is so adorable,” Nova chuckles. “Sweetest kid I’ve ever seen, and I’m not a kid person usually.”

“She is the best,” I say softly. “She is like a little sister to me.”

Sheila hurries inside and frees Lucian from Maddie, apologizing for disrupting their meeting. Nova gazes at the vampires, curiously eyeing them. “They are kind of hot,” Nova says. “How do you cope living with so many hot men?”

“Well, might come in handy that I’m into girls,” I grin. “But I will tell them later that you have the hots for them.”

Nova smacks me. “Don’t you dare,” she grins. “Unless you set me up with one of them. I certainly wouldn’t mind a hot vampire mate.”

“Not sure if I can do that,” I muse. “They are all pretty old, and Silas is with Marcellus, and-“

“I was kidding, Benji,” she chuckles. “I want to meet my mate, vampire or not, I don’t care.”

“Thank Goddess,” I sigh in relief. “I thought I’d need to play wingman. Pretty sure I’d suck at that.”

“Now I wish I’d let you give it a shot,” she grins. “Curious to know how you’d have tried to set me up with that sexy, long-hair there, or that dark-haired god.”

She is clearly talking about Lucian and Alexander. Despite her joking, she has a point. Silas and his brothers are very attractive, so much so that I sometimes need to make sure I’m not getting any more complexes. It helps that Marcellus is around and doesn’t give a dime about any of them, and instead is all confident and unimpressed.

Nova tells me more about her work at her pack, and we both speculate about what the fuck happened today here, and who it could have been who attacked us. I still feel sick to my stomachwhen I think about how these wolves died. They might have been rogues, but we don’t know their past.

Not every rogue is evil, not every rogue had a choice.