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COLE

T he air conditioning in City Hall was set at sixty-eight degrees, but I was still sweating.

The collar of my shirt felt tight and uncomfortable as I watched the townspeople stream in.

Time had sped up in the last hour, pushing me toward this meeting that had my nerves pulled as taut as high-tension cables.

At the door, Farrah, Zayde, and Porter greeted the arrivals.

Many of them gave the two strangers confused looks.

The two men were polite, but none of the pack members knew them, and seeing new faces standing in places of distinction probably put everyone on edge.

That became more evident as the room filled and the attendees looked up on the stage to see who stood with me.

Trent was on my right. Many knew his face from when we were kids, and others had gotten to know him in the weeks we’d been back.

To my left stood Langston. The man wasn’t standing rigid like he was at a military parade—he made sure to hold himself casually, with a confident and relaxed grin on his face.

Many eyes lingered on the man, and I could hear a few hushed conversations as people took their seats.

“Who the hell is that guy?”

“Is that the new enforcer?”

“That’s where the enforcer stands, so maybe it is.”

“Right, but who the heck is he?”

“I don’t care, he’s hot as fuck.”

I had to fight to roll my eyes at that last one. Scanning the crowd, I saw that the speaker wasn’t alone in their appreciation of Langston’s good looks. Many of the women—and a couple of men—were gazing at him with unadulterated lust in their eyes.

Trent must have noticed it as well because he leaned over to whisper in my ear, “Langston’s gonna have a fan club by the time this is all over.”

I snorted, covering my mouth to hide the chuckle. That was good. Laughing helped get my mind off what was to come.

Avery waved at me from the far right side of the crowd in the first row. Smiling, I waved back at her.

She winked and mouthed, “ You’ll do great .”

I nodded, letting her words fill me with courage. The crowd streaming in slowly tapered until the last stragglers hurried inside to find seats. Many had to stand along the walls and in the aisles as most chairs had been taken. Farrah gave me a thumbs-up from the back and closed the door.

Langston nudged me. “You’ve got this. Remember, this is your pack.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I appreciate that.”

Langston and Trent took seats behind me, leaving me at the podium. There was a small gavel and wooden block to one side. I picked up the gavel and banged it on the block four times, the sound reverberating through the room like gunshots. It had the intended effect, and the crowd quickly settled.

Swallowing hard, I looked out upon the sea of faces.

For the first time in my life, I realized what it was like to be alpha.

Even after watching my father do this for years, it never truly sank in that so many people relied on him, trusted him to protect them.

Now I had to tell them that their last alpha had not succeeded in that aspect.

“I suppose you’re all wondering why I’ve called you here,” I said, proud that my voice was ringing out confident and deep. “I wish I could tell you it was good news, but that would be a lie.”

A slight murmur ran through the crowd, and there were some worried looks on faces as I gathered myself for what was next.

“Many of you may know that my father was not at his best the last decade of his life.”

A few quiet grumbles of agreement came from the crowd. I decided it would be better to rip the Band-Aid off quickly rather than draw things out.

“When I returned home after my father’s death, I found a pack in trouble. My sister and I were made aware—quickly—that the financial viability of the Harbor Mills pack was not healthy and was in danger of slipping so far into the red that the whole town could go bankrupt.”

That drew a bigger rumble of voices, though they settled themselves quickly after a few quick whispered conversations.

“The accounts are dry; the deeds to most, if not all, of the businesses and houses the pack owns have been signed over to someone else. All this happened because a conman named Kyle Alexander threatened and tricked my father into signing away everything to another party.”

“What?”

The word exploded from the crowd. People rose to their feet and called out panicked questions, their words tumbling over each other until I couldn’t make out any individual question.

Avery’s eyes were wide with worry as she glanced around at the chaos descending around her.

I raised my hand, saying nothing.

To my surprise, it worked like a charm. As soon as they spotted my raised hand, those who had jumped to their feet sat down, and everyone fell silent. I had to suppress a smile. This was going better than I’d thought it would. Maybe everyone was right. Maybe I was destined to be a pack alpha.

“Many of you may know that my father had secrets—some open, some less so. Over the years, I’m sure there have been rumors and speculation about his extramarital affairs.

I am here to tell you that it’s true.” More murmurs.

“He fathered a child. Dallas Garrett. He’s a couple of years younger than Farrah and me, and that is who my father signed everything over to.

Unfortunately, it appears that either on his own, or through threat of violence, Dallas is working for Kyle.

Which means that Kyle Alexander is basically the theoretical owner and alpha of Harbor Mills. ”

I raised my hands again to keep the silence because the crowd seemed ready to explode with questions.

“We believe that this can be fixed. I don’t want you to worry about it too much.

In the meantime, I’ve tapped my own personal accounts to pay off a bit of the debt and pay the bills.

I’ve even sold some of my holdings to ensure we stay solvent.

I say all this to prepare you for the worst news.

Something darker and more dangerous than everything I’ve already laid out. ”

“Worse than that?” a man called from the back of the room.

I looked through the crowd until I spotted him. He was an older man in his late sixties, and despair was written all over his face. I nodded grimly.

“Unfortunately, yes.” I took a deep breath to steady myself.

“Kyle kidnapped my son, Ashton—yes, I have a child,” I added before another barrage of questions could come my way.

“During the process of that kidnapping, Chuck Gaynor, a respected member of our pack, was murdered in cold blood by Kyle Alexander while Dallas took my boy.”

The gasp that filled the hall sent goosebumps up my arms. Eyes wide with shock and horror stared back at me.

In the back, I could see Chuck’s mate, Maria, sobbing into a tissue.

She’d kept silent about what had happened at my behest, but now revealed her heartbreak and grief.

Several women moved to her side, embracing her and murmuring their condolences.

“Langston Meadows,” I said, gesturing to the man behind me, “is a dear friend of my son and his mother. He has come here to help us and will be acting as pack enforcer until this crisis is over. He and his friends, Porter and Zayde—” I pointed at the two men out, who both raised their hands “—will be assisting me in getting my son back. I’m here to apologize for keeping you in the dark, to tell you that I will do everything I can to save and maintain this pack, and to ask for volunteers to help save my son and take Kyle down. There’s really not much more to say.”

I swallowed, my mouth dry, and waited for the blowback. All around the room, people stared at me in disbelief and horror. Maria’s sobs cut through the silence, and I tried not to let the guilt weigh too heavily on me.

Jacob, one of the pack elders, raised his hand.

“Yes, Jacob?” I said. “Have your say.”

He stood and glanced around. He had the look of a man who’d suddenly found himself in a strange palace and had no idea how to get out.

“Cole,” he said with a sad shake of his head. “I’m sorry about your boy. I truly am.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Did you really use your own personal money to pay the pack bills?” Jacob asked, a hint of awe in his voice.

“Um, yes,” I admitted. “I thought it best to?—”

“Wait, you said you sold some of your stuff, too?” another voice called out.

“A small business Trent and I had, yes,” I said. “I used that money to pay off one of the loans Kyle Alexander gave to my father.”

A mutter of approval went through the crowd. Many people nodded their heads, and a few appreciative smiles cropped up from the audience. I struggled to keep my expression neutral. I’d assumed they’d be angry or enraged at my news, but they were thankful for all I’d done up to this point.

Avery gave me a quick nod to go on.

“Anyone else?”

A younger pack member named Brianna Morris stood.

“Bri? Go ahead,” I said.

“Sorry, Cole,” she said, and she cleared her throat nervously. “You said your dad caused all this? He signed everything over to this… this brother of yours?”

“He did.” I hated tarnishing a dead man’s name, especially after the heartfelt letter he’d left me, but it was the truth.

Bri nodded sadly. “I hate that this happened, Cole. But if you’re willing to sacrifice for us, then we’ll sacrifice for you. I’m sure everyone here can agree to that.” She turned and scanned the crowd around her. Nods of approval greeted her.

Another man I didn’t even know stood and said, “Damn straight. You’ve already done more for us these past few weeks than your daddy did the last ten years. You say the word, and we’re with you.”

My heart thudded wildly, and at the back of the room, I saw my sister’s jaw dropping. This was going better than I could have ever hoped. If I’d thought they’d be mad at me for this news, I’d been way off-base.

Before anyone could say more, men stood and moved toward the front of the crowd.

“I’ll help get your son back,” one said.