“No, you shouldn’t have.” Nick’s voice was even and quiet. “You’re everything that an Alpha isn’t: cocky, cunning, self-centered, fickle, and bullying. Everyone saw it, and everyone hated it.”

“They respected and followed me until you came along and challenged me.”

“No, they existed in small, tight groups. And those groups feared you, sure, but an Alpha who tries to rule through fear and intimidation isn’t an Alpha. It’s that simple. And so is your fate.”

“Nick,” said Jesse. “We know this guy did you wrong, and we know he kidnapped your mate, but he’s also responsible for the kidnapping and deaths of our family members—my sister, Bracken’s cousin, and Zander’s nephew.”

And the three males needed vengeance, needed closure. Nick could understand that. He could. Had the situation been reversed, he’d have demanded the same. Besides, he’d be getting closure for every juvie member by killing Logan, who had also played a part in kidnapping and attempting to kill his mate. He could give this other piece of shit to Jesse, Bracken, and Zander if that was what they truly wanted; he’d beaten Merrick once before anyway. Nick’s decision must have been obvious in his eyes, because Merrick’s expression turned to a mixture of confusion and anxiety.

“You’re not going to challenge me, one to one?”

“If I did that, it would be over quickly, wouldn’t it? This way, you get to suffer for a little while. I find that I like that idea. You don’t deserve mercy, Merrick. Neither of you do.” He extended his claws, dancing his gaze from Merrick to Logan and back again. “You both tried to take from me the only thing I’ve ever loved. As you can imagine, I have a serious f**king issue with that.” He stepped a little closer to the man who had raped and killed so many young shifters. “This might hurt a little.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

THREE MONTHS LATER

As Jaime yapped beside him at the dining table about something or other, Nick forced a smile for her. Oh, she was a nice enough girl and stuff, but he just didn’t do the friend thing, and apparently a person didn’t have a choice in the matter when it was Jaime. He noticed that his mate, who was sitting on his other side, was stifling a smile of amusement at his discomfort—as usual.

Just a little longer, he reminded himself. Just a little longer, and then he and Shaya would be finished with their evening meal and leaving Phoenix Pack territory, and they would only be returning as visitors.

Since the night of the battle, he and Shaya had been living on pack territory temporarily. Although they had slept in the motor home outside the caves, they were still constantly harassed and, as such, had had very little time alone. Nick and Shaya weren’t the only ones who had remained on pack territory. Derren, Roni, Eli, Kathy, Jesse, Bracken, Zander, and Kent—who had sold the salon—had remained too. Why? It wasn’t that they expected Nick to start a pack. No, it was because they believed they already were a pack.

Hell, even Caleb thought he was part of this supposed “pack.” To his surprise, Nick found that he actually liked Caleb despite the male’s close friendship with Shaya. Although Caleb was protective of her, it wasn’t to the extent that he imposed on Nick’s role. Also, Nick was grateful to him for being there for Shaya growing up when her mother wasn’t.

If Nick was honest with himself, he would admit that being an Alpha again would be a challenge he would enjoy, because this time he’d have his mate with him, and he would be an Alpha of a dispersed pack—something his “pack” had subtly hinted they would all be fine with. That meant he would have plenty of time alone with his mate. The “pack” all deferred to Shaya a lot, treating her with respect and acknowledging the inner strength that many people would have overlooked.

In essence, they had made her their Alpha female, and she was perfectly fine with it since it didn’t interfere with her position as a mediator. She had gotten the job, just like he had known she would. Naturally, she was ecstatic. The only time he had seen her happier was the evening of their mating ceremony.

As planned, they had the ceremony a few days after the attack, when everyone was fully healed. Trey performed the ceremony for them, just as Nick had done for Trey and Taryn. Shaya had looked absolutely beautiful; he could vividly remember every detail—her halter-neck dress had been azure in color, all satin with a layer of silk beneath the skirt that had trailed slightly below the satin. As tradition, he had worn a simple suit, which had been a dark gray—the same color as his wolf’s fur. And for the first time since he’d first surfaced, his wolf had been truly and utterly content. He still was.

The after-party had been pretty funny as Rhett had gotten so drunk he’d actually passed out near the music speaker. Seriously, how was that even possible for someone with shifter hearing? But then, Nick supposed it wasn’t every day a male discovered his mate was pregnant. To Rhett’s dismay, Grace was refusing to “take it easy,” in spite of the fact that she had fussed over Taryn when the Alpha female was pregnant with Kye. Nick knew that the day Shaya became pregnant—something he would know just by a slight change in her scent—would be one of the best days of his life, but it would still shock the shit out of him, just as it had Rhett.

His mother, who was currently laughing hysterically about something with Shaya, Roni, and Eli, had been leaving not-so-subtle hints about him giving her grandchildren sometime soon. She absolutely adored Shaya, which was why she had spent a good portion of the mating ceremony snarling at Gabrielle—who had been extremely well behaved that night, not insulting Shaya even once. Stone had been pleasant enough to Nick, but he’d patted his Glock a few times and given Nick a look that said, “I’m watching you.” Whatever.

Eli, too, had easily taken to Shaya. Of course he had. She had a natural ease with people that Nick was sure would make her fantastic at her job. She, Kathy, and Eli had been conspiring together about ways to keep Roni from returning to her wolf form for another long period of time. If anyone could accomplish that, it was Shaya.

A big relief was that, so far, he hadn’t had a single headache since Taryn healed him. Not one. Nor had he had any other problems that might signify his cognitive functions were beginning to degenerate again. At Shaya’s request, Taryn occasionally laid a hand on his forehead to see if any luminous patches showed up under his scalp. But there were none. If what everyone speculated was true, the only reason he had gotten ill again after his first healing was that Amber had deliberately failed to fully heal him. As such, Shaya was confident that he was healed for good now. His gut told him that she was right.