“Is it enough?” Kelly asked.
“I hope so.” Then, “Do you think he’s still here?”
They knew who I meant. “I don’t think they’re ever truly gone,” Joe said quietly. “Not completely.”
We went deeper into the forest.
Joe told us about an Alpha, a woman who was kind and just. Her name was Sophie, which Ox said meant wisdom. We’d met her and her pack years before in Glacier National Park when we’d been chasing after a monster who’d taken from us. Joe and Ox had gone to her, told her all that had happened. She’d already known bits and pieces, and she listened to Joe and his proposal.
When he’d finished, Sophie said, “Are you sure?”
Joe nodded. “It’s not easy. I won’t lie to you about that. But it’s worth it. You don’t have to say yes. You don’t have to do this. Think about it. Talk it over with your pack. We have time.”
She looked out to Ox, who was talking with her wolves. “You’re not as you once were. You came to me as a child. You were so angry.”
“I was,” Joe agreed. “I didn’t know what I was doing, and I had just lost much of what I’d loved.”
“What changed?”
“I found my way home.”
She nodded. “Don’t you miss it? Being the Alpha of all? Or even just being an Alpha.”
Joe took his time with his answer. “No. I don’t.”
She blinked. “You’re telling the truth.”
“I know where I come from,” he told her. “I know what my name means. I’ve carried the weight of it all my life. But I’ve made my choice. And I would do it again if I had to.”
“He’s very lucky,” Sophie said quietly. “Oxnard. To have someone such as you.”
“I’m the lucky one,” Joe said.
She was quiet for a long time before saying, “I’m not like you. I don’t believe in kings and queens. Just because someone has a name that carries weight doesn’t give them the automatic right to lead. If I were to do this, if I were to agree, things would be different. Everyone would have a voice.”
“I know,” Joe said. “Which is why I’m asking you and not someone else. It’s time for a change.”
She told him she’d think about it. Joe believed her.
“Will she do it?” Kelly asked him as we walked through the trees.
“I think so,” Joe said. “It helps that she wouldn’t have to give up the Glacier territory. And that Ai
leen and Patrice have already pledged to help whoever took my place. Aileen knew her father from way back. The Glacier wolves don’t have a witch, and now they could potentially have two. But if not her, there will be others. Someone will lead the pack.”
“What about Ox?” Kelly asked.
Joe shook his head. “He’s…. It’s not something he wants. I don’t think he ever has. He’s happy where he’s at, being our Alpha. Sophie was right. It can’t be about a name anymore. The time for kings and queens is over.”
“And you?” I asked.
Joe smiled. “I’m happy too. It’s…. I guess it’s like the territory. I feel lighter. More at ease.” His smile faded. “I don’t know what he’d think about all of this. Dad.”
I settled my arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. “He’d tell you that he’s proud of you. For making this choice, for doing what you did. I know it.”
Joe laughed wetly. “You think so?”
“I know so. Scars and all.”