As soon as I pulled open the door, their voices washed over me, the chatter of dozens of Pack members, but it was my Dad who drew my attention. He stood next to the Alpha as usual, but when he spotted me, relief washed over his face and he left his place to meet me.
“Son,” he said tightly, embracing me as the room fell silent around us.
“Dad,” I muttered, patting his back.
“She’s safe?” He pitched his voice low enough that I knew no one heard and when I dipped my head in answer, he exhaled.
“Dom.” My name boomed across the quiet room and Dad released me, his expression indecipherable. I stepped forward, every eye on me as I walked up to the Alpha. His face didn’t give anything away and I took a deep breath, preparing myself.
“I owe you a debt of gratitude,” he said quietly and I blinked. The room was deathly silent as he continued, “We all do.”
I wasn’t sure what was going on and glanced at Caleb, who stood slightly behind his father. He widened his eyes, indicating I should play along.
“It’s my honor,” I replied hesitantly, still not sure what I had done, but not expecting the Alpha’s next move.
He bowed his head to me.
I stared at him in stunned shock as he granted me the highest mark of respect an Alpha could give another wolf. Caleb followed his father’s lead and so did the rest of the Pack, each lowering their head until the Alpha raised his and met my eyes.
“You’ve shown your loyalty to this Pack time and again, always proving your willingness to sacrifice for the greater good. Today, you saved my son’s life.”
I opened my mouth, not entirely sure what I planned to say when Caleb stepped forward. “Dom!” He shouted, raising his fist in the air, and the room quickly followed suit, chanting my name as the Alpha smiled proudly.
Caleb slung his arm around me, leading me to the side door. “Wha-” I started to hiss and he elbowed me.
“I lied,” he grunted, yanking me into the soundproofed room used for Council meetings.
“No shit,” I growled, spinning on him. “What I want to know is why?”
“Because you were right.”
“About what?” I groaned, glancing at the door to make sure it was sealed. “What did you tell him?”
“That the Hanleys attacked me and you and Jess saved me.” I tilted my head to the side, sure I’d heard him wrong and he rolled his eyes. “It’s not that unbelievable.”
“Just a complete lie.”
“A necessary one.”
“And he bought it?” I asked in disbelief. It was impossibly hard to lie to the Alpha and the fact that Caleb had…. “Why would you take a risk like that?”
“It’s not a lie if you believe it,” he replied, sinking into one of the chairs. He shrugged. “I was knocked out. You saved me.”
“Again, why?”
“Jess deserves our protection. If Dad knew,” he paused, glancing up at me. “If he knew you’d killed two Hanleys to protect her…..he’d do something he’d regret.” He shook his head. “I’m making sure that doesn’t happen.”
“How altruistic of you.”
“You think I was wrong?”
I sighed, sitting next to him. “No. But a heads up would have been nice.”
His lip curled ruefully. “I didn’t have a chance. Dad was grilling me and the entire Pack swarmed the building. I figured you were smart enough to catch on.”
“Yeah, your Dad,” I sucked in a breath. “I didn’t expect that.”
“You saved my life. He’s grateful,” Caleb replied flippantly. “You should be happy,” he continued, waving his hand. “Problem solved.”
“I’m grateful.”
“I don’t want your gratitude,” he grumbled. “I just don’t want the Pack fighting each other when we have bigger enemies.”
“I’ll be proud to call you Alpha one day,” I told him and he glanced away with a snort.
“Be prepared to wait a few decades. We’ll be old men before my Dad croaks.”
I chuckled, knowing he was right. The Alpha would never step down, not willingly, which left only death.
“You mentioned Jess?” I questioned, raising my eyebrows. “Maybe we should get our stories straight before someone finds us.”
“Good idea.” He eyed the door as he took a deep breath. “I told him that I had gone ahead without you, that a teacher had caught you and you told me to wait and I ignored you.”
“Opposite of what happened but okay.”
He gave me a quick frown. before continuing. “The Hanleys showed up and caught me unaware. They attacked, then Jess showed up and tried to help me.”
“You’re making everybody a hero today,” I commented.
“You want me to tell you or not?” He huffed and I pantomimed zipping my lips. “Anyway, they beat her and were about to kill me when you showed up and ripped them apart,” he said, making a tearing motion with his hands.
“You did take liberties with the truth.”