“You should,” I said, giving a nod of approval. “I want you as a member of my Pack, but it’s your decision, Monster. It’ll always be your decision.”
Monster nodded and then asked, “Can I have a sucker?” He held his hand out to Trent, who huffed, but dug in his pocket for one.
“I guess it’s only fair since it was Jess who gave them to me,” he grunted as Monster ran back to the motel office. “She seems to have a never-ending supply,” he added, shaking his head and I smiled.
“Same with the cookies,” I told him. “You ever get lost and she’ll probably put out a trail of suckers to lead you back home.”
Trent frowned as he connected the dots. “She’s freaking plying me with suckers,” he said, outraged.
“I wouldn’t think of it that way,” I replied, clasping his shoulder. “More like rewarding you with them.”
He growled, unsatisfied with my answer, shaking his head in disbelief at Jess’ manipulations. “She’s a scary one,” he warned and I nodded, already aware after the floodgates had opened with our completed bond. Jess was crazy smart, fiercely loyal, and had a dangerously protective streak. I never wanted to find myself on her bad side. Trent distracted me from my thoughts as he said, “You know he can throw you out of the Navarre Pack.”
I nodded, feeling my chest tighten at the thought, and I could see Trent knew it. “I expect him to,” I said finally. “I can’t continue as part of the Navarre Pack and lead this Pack.” Trent glanced away, his jaw locked and I asked, “What is it?”
“If you want, you don’t have to be Alpha of this Pack,” he said. “As Alpha, you have to ability to declare a new Alpha, which would essentially sever your connection to us.”
“What are you saying? Do you want to be Alpha?” I bristled at the implied challenge and Trent hurried to deny the idea.
“No, I don’t want to be Alpha. I just wanted you to know all the facts. Most of the time this information is passed from one Alpha to the next, and you don’t have that.” Trent kept his eyes lowered, his arms wide, completely exposing his neck to let me know he meant what he said, he wasn’t a threat.
“Caleb is bound to know this. It might make telling him more difficult,” Trent continued. “He may demand you forsake our Pack.”
“He can try,” I scoffed, shaking my head.
“He is still your Alpha,” Trent reminded me and I glanced away. “Isn’t he?”
“I’ve been able to resist the Alpha’s commands for a while now,” I finally admitted. “Ever since I bonded you, in fact.”
“How did you keep it a secret?”
“It wasn’t hard. It’s not like Caleb’s dad tried to command us to do things often or Caleb either.” I shrugged. “I played along.”
“Now you need to make a stand,” Trent said, his gaze worried. “Let’s just hope Caleb takes it well.”
Both of us caught sight of Caleb coming out of the forest, Anna by his side, and Trent let out a low growl. “Easy, brother, she’s not his, or yours either.”
“Not yet,” Trent answered confidently.
“Make sure you stay with them. Jess wants to go to lunch with Anna and Leah, you and Liam need to be with them,” I requested, not bothering to make it a command since I knew he’d acquiesce.
“Yes, sir.” Trent saluted me, not protesting the fact that he was essentially leaving me unprotected. I’d made my choice and he would honor it.
“Oh, and make sure Liam knows to protect my mate first,” I added, snarling slightly at the memory of Jess completely undefended while Dylan charged her.
Trent smiled grimly, “I think he knows, but I’ll be sure to remind him.” He paused, checking Caleb’s progress before asking, “Dylan?”
“I think we’re safe on that front for now. Caleb won’t do anything to him,” I replied, also aware that Wren would stop Caleb in his tracks if necessary with the shotgun she kept behind the door.
I watched Trent jog to the office, intercepting Anna along the way.
“He’s a good guy?” Caleb asked, following my gaze as he came up beside me.
“The best,” I answered, sucking in a deep breath.
“He’s welcome into the pack if he wants,” Caleb offered and I gazed at him in surprised gratitude. I doubted Trent would take him up on the offer, but I also knew it was something Caleb’s father never would have done. It made what I had to say all the harder.
“I’ll let him know,” I answered finally, wondering how to broach my own news.
“Wanna go for a run?” Caleb asked and I took the brief respite.
“Yeah, it’s been too long since we ran together,” I replied with a nod.
“I’ve missed you,” Caleb said, slugging my shoulder. “I know you’re busy with Jess, but maybe we can do something soon, all of us.”