Bonded ✔️

Chapter 1: Part Two ✔️

Seated at my desk, I found myself staring down at the dozens of pictures that covered the workspace. They each held images of my mother and father over the years, some of the more recent ones were candid shots of my father and I. It felt like I had been staring at them for hours when a soft knock on my door pulled me out of the catatonic state that I had entered.

"Harley," the voice of Jonathan, my father's Beta, called through my bedroom door. "A pack meeting has been called, and the elder's need to know what you're going to do."

Four days had passed since my father's death, but the pain still felt fresh. As hard as losing my father was for me to deal with, the pack was suffering even more. They had lost their leader, the person who lead the fiercely and care about him with his whole heart. Even though the elders had given me some time to grieve, I knew that they would request my presence soon. The pack couldn't continue on without an Alpha, and the position was technically mine for the taking.

Taking power had been the last thing on my mind though. I had blocked the pack link as soon as my father had been buried. Since then my bedroom door had remained locked and I had only communicated with Rowan. The extent of our exchanged was me letting him know that I was still breathing. He obviously knew the I was physically fine, but I think he insisted on checking in order to gauge how I was going emotionally- and it didn't take a genius to figure out that I wasn't doing well.

A parade of people had tried to offer their condolences over the past few days, and each had been disappointed when their attempts to offer me comfort had been ignored. Their words may have been coming from a good place, but they wouldn't change the fact that my father was dead. I ignored their attempts to comfort me, instead opting to borrow deeper into my comforter and drown their voices with my sobs. My dad was the only blood family that I had, and his loss left me feeling broken and alone.

Even more than that, I was now in an incredibly difficult position. As supportive as my pack was trying to be right now, it had been made clear to me a long time ago that my transition into power would be met with resistance. For a moment I considered giving up my birthright, but my father's final words to me caused me to immediately reject the idea. Even though I wasn't sure if I was ready to lead, he had been and I couldn't let him down after all he had done to ensure that I would even have this opportunity.

I stood from my desk and walked to face my door. My hand hovered above the doorknob for a moment before I wrapped my hand around it. I focused on the cool metal against my warm skin as I attempting to get ahold of myself. Once I stepped out of my room, I wouldn't be able to avoid my responsibility or wallow in my misery. I took a deep breath and pulled the door open.

I immediately felt the impact of Jonathan's body as he pulled me into his chest. It was the first physical contact I'd had with another person, other than Rowan, since my dad's death. A shallow, ragged breath exited my body, and tears pricked the corners of my eyes. I wrapped my arms tightly around the man who had helped raise me.

"I'm so sorry you're having to go through this," he whispered in my ear before placing a kiss on the crown of my head. Pushing back the tightness forming in my chest, I pulled away from Jonathan and wiped a stray tear from my cheek. I acknowledged his comment with a nod of my head before heading downstairs to the meeting room.

After crossing the threshold, I was surrounded by the familiar buzz that came with having g all of the pack in such a small space. A hush began to settle over the room once everyone noticed that I had arrived. I sent a tight smile in the direction of the pack's elders as I positioned myself at the front of the room. There was no need to put off the inevitable, and since no one else was speaking I could only assume that I was expected to. Standing before the pack like this put everything into perspective, this is exactly where I was meant to be.