"I understand that. Do you still want to leave even though Xavier just lost his mate and the pending decision of what to do with the Lockhart pack?"
My tongue darted out to wet my dry lips. "It's not an easy decision by any means and I'm not exactly ready to leave right this second. I still want to be here for Xavier through his grief and ensure my pack's safety before leaving but... this is the best choice for us. I can feel it."
His arms wrapped around me and he squeezed me into his chest. "You will never feel out of place in my pack. We can stay as long as you need to before we leave."
"I love you." I rested my head against his shoulder.
"What are you going to do about your pack?" he asked.
"I'm going to have Riley become Alpha. I figure Xavier can be Beta and they can both decide on who would become Gamma."
"You're making a good decision, Darlin'." He rubbed circles on my shoulders.
"What do you want to do now?" I closed my eyes, focusing on how good his touch felt.
"I think you can guess what I want to do." He chuckled, wrapping his arms around me.
I ran a hand down my face as I sighed. "I understand that, Xavier. I really do. But... it's suicide. They have more members and a lot of aggressive murder-driven allies. How could we put this pack in that kind of danger?"
"He killed my mate!" His fist went down onto my desk, splitting the wood.
"The bastard deserves to be killed." Blaine placed a hand on the crack that now resided on my desk. "But at what cost? The cost of the Maxwell pack's members? They could wipe the whole pack out."
"I don't fucking care! I'll do it myself if I have to." Xavier's body trembled, and I noticed his eyes darken. His wolf was fighting him to take control.
"Xavier! I swear to fates, if you don't calm yourself down, I will strip you of your rank." My voice was dangerously low, and my wolf demanded respect from him.
His wolf responded, and his body relaxed. "I'm sorry. It's just—Olivia." He ran his hand over his face. "I can't eat. I can't sleep. Caroline has been bringing me food and helping me cope but it's hard. I just want his blood. He needs to pay."
"And he will. Karma is a real thing. He'll get what's coming to him," I assured him with a slight frown.
I wanted to do more, to avenge Olivia and help Xavier. But our pack was too small, and too vulnerable compared to the Lockhart pack. I had to think logically as an Alpha, because war would do nothing but get our members killed and our pack taken over. Lockhart was relentless when crossed and I had to protect the pack.
He hesitated, and his frown deepened. "I did something before I came here this morning."
"What did you do?"
His leg bounced up and down as his eyes darted back and forth. "I knew you weren't going to start a war with Lockhart. I wanted to kill him myself, so I went to his land this morning and was confronted by two of his guards. I killed them both." He gulped and rested his eyes on me. "I didn't go any farther because I couldn't risk you hating me."
Blaine leaned his head back. "Fuck."
I leaned my head on my hands and blew out air before sitting up straight and addressing his confession. "This morning?"
He nodded.
"I'll call him now. You realize that you are this close—" I held my thumb and index finger about an inch apart. "—to starting a war with that pack. You're our Gamma!"
"I know, and I'm sorry." He dropped his head down.
I sucked on my bottom lip and rolled my eyes. What were we supposed to do now? Lockhart would be pissed. He wasn't stupid, he would come straight here once they informed him of his guards.
"That should've been the first thing you told us. Had you not been going through the loss of your mate, I'd strip you of your rank." Blaine growled.
"I know. It was reckless—"
"It was stupid, Gamma."
"Stupid, yes. It was stupid. I won't do anything like that again, but I was so fucking angry," he whimpered.
"You're the Gamma, Xavier. Put the pack first." I stood up and walked over to him. "We will call Lockhart and see what we can do to avoid a war. But you have to promise me you will stop craving revenge. I need you clear-minded, and not a loose cannon."
He glanced up at me and frowned. "I know, Alpha. I'll try."
"That's all I'm asking."
He stood up and stalked toward the door. He paused with his hand on the knob before glancing over his shoulder. "I'm sorry... I just wanted to avenge her death." He opened the door and shut it behind him without waiting for a reply.
I walked back over and slumped into my chair. "That was a disaster."
"He's putting this pack in danger." Blaine lifted my head up by my chin.
"I know." I closed my eyes as he bent down to kiss me.
"We'll take care of it. The sooner we can sort this shit out, the sooner I can introduce you to my pack." He flashed a boyish grin at me.
My lips curved upward as I nodded. "We have to tell my pack first."
"Ah, yes. But first, we have to deal with this mess." He grunted, shifting in his seat beside me.
I grabbed my phone and dialed the number. I pressed the speaker button, placing the phone on the desk. It rang twice before he answered.
"Alpha Maxwell." His voice was unnerving.
"Alpha Lockhart, I just got word of what my Gamma has done." I tapped my fingers on the desk. "It wasn't a pack attack on you. He retaliated because you sent the order to kill his mate. Your sister."
A chuckle came
