Alphas family

Chapter 49

"You ready?" Zach kissed the top of my head, running his hands soothingly down the side of my face.

I swallowed down my nerves and sighed. "Not really. How are they going to react?" I leant into him and buried my head in his shirt, revelling in the feeling of his arms curling around me.

His scent engulfed me and I sunk into it. "They will freak out and worry but then once they see how calm and together you are, they will realise everything will work out."

"Will it work out?" I asked, glancing up to meet his icy blue eyes.

"Yes." He pressed a feathery kiss to my lips and tucked a strand of my hair behind me ear. "I believe in you, whatever happens."

I rested my forehead against his and let out a deep breath. "Thank you."

We walked silently through the village, arms linked. Liam was going to wait and meet up with the rest of my friends before heading to the square but Zach had insisted on being by my side.

"Tyler." I smiled, taking another few steps so I was beside him.

"Hey." He kissed my cheek. "Are you ready for this?"

I let out a shaky breath but nodded. "I think so."

He smiled encouragingly. "Just stay calm and you will be fine."

The square slowly filled with pack members, most of them looking confused but some still strode confidently, looking just as sure as they always did. It made me wonder what they would look like once I announced the news.

I felt a little calmer when Liam appeared off to the side of the stage, where my friends and I always sat for my father's meetings, and he was closely followed by our extended friend group.

They all smiled over or sent me quizzical looks and I was grateful Liam hadn't told them before hand, I had to tell everyone together so them knowing might have caused issues.

Once the square filled and bustling chatter echoed around the valley, I stepped onto the stage alongside Tyler and a few of my protection wolves followed behind. I watched as Zach joined his brother and took a deep breath.

"Thank you for all being here on short notice," I started. It was the polite way of saying they made the correct choice as it was obligatory to attend and anyone who didn't would be tossed in the cells.

"There is currently a serious issue circulating around the werewolf community due to one of our own being discovered by humans." I paused as a collective gasp passed through the crowds and watched as everyone started to fidget. I tried my best to remain calm.

"We have already started to deal with the issue, however it is vital in this time that we try twice as hard to protect our secret. Currently, our pack is safe and undiscovered and it should be our priority to keep it that way."

Again, I paused while members of the crowd hissed and whispered to their neighbours. "I'm aware that this isn't easy, but I ask each of you to limit your encounters with the human world while doing your best to appear normal. We can't have anyone suspicious at this point in time and we have to stick together until it passes. Does anyone have any questions?"

I instantly regretted that when shouts and hollers bounced around from the crowd.
"What happened to the man who was caught?"
"Which pack was he from?"
"Can I still keep in touch with my human friends?"
"Do I have to quit my job?"

They were questions I couldn't answer or wasn't allowed to answer. I couldn't tell them that we were leaving the man to fend for himself, there would be an uproar and I couldn't have my pack believing I would ever do the same to them.

But I couldn't lie.

I coughed, silencing the crowds. "The Alpha of the pack who lost their member has decided that, for the good of our species, he must be abandoned. We are to leave him to his own fate to protect ourselves."

Silence. Utter silence.

Guilt gnawed at me while we all silently agreed to take a moment to mourn the loss of one of our own. We had never known him, had no idea what his name was even, but he was a werewolf. That was all that mattered.

After a minute of silence, I spoke again. "You are all dismissed." I stepped off stage straight into Zach's awaiting arms.

He didn't speak, didn't tell me things I didn't want to hear, he just held me tight until the square cleared of people and only me and my friends remained.

"Are you ok El?" Ryder asked from behind me and I turned to send him a small smile.

"I guess, its just a lot." I shrugged and he nodded in understanding.

"How about we order a pizza and hang out for a bit?" He asked the group.

After a collective nod, Lexi spoke. "What about coming to mine for a change? My mom is visiting her friend tonight and my brother is sleeping over with her son."

We nodded and made our way to Lexis, carefully discussing the events of the past couple of days. Nobody wanted to jump to conclusions or speak disrespectfully so I could tell we were dancing around on thin ice.

We all sat around Lexis living room a couple of hours later, filling Zach and Liam in on Liv's outburst to Rebecca and laughing at their comments.

I scrolled through my messages from Tyler while they spoke and froze at a video of a news story. "Guys," I called to shut them up and they all shifted their attention onto me.

"What?" Jordan asked.

I clicked play and the sound of a woman speaking blasted from the phone. "A continuation of last nights story, the man slash wolf and possible werewolf that was taken into custody yesterday has informed officers that there are millions of his kind across the world. Leaders from every country will be gathering in the next few days to discuss what we will do about the possible deadly species walking amongst us."

"Shit," Ryder cursed, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me to him. "Don't worry El, we will figure this out," he whispered as I buried my head in his shoulder.

How was I supposed to protect everyone from this?

They would all be looking to me for guidance, for advice, for leadership. And all I wanted was my dad to come back and rule the pack again. He would already have a plan A, B and C and would be issuing protection and rules immediately.

"The entire world is about to go to shit," Liv groaned and we all sent her an incredulous look. "What? Its true, either way we are screwed." She shrugged and a collective sigh passed amongst us.

We were screwed.