All it Takes is Love

After they had left, Byron decided they needed to go over some of the papers he’d found, so we headed to his office.

“Why exactly do I need to know these things?” Lynn asked after he’d gone over the paperwork with her.

“Because I’d like to be involved in the training. I need to know as much about defending the Pack as everyone else does, and I don’t. Lynn, I literally have no idea how to fight or defend myself because my wolf has always been all about peace. So, while I train and learn to be Alpha, I’m going to let you do a lot of the Pack paperwork. Any time you need help with it, you can call my mom. She does a lot of it for Dad.”

“Okay. I can do that, but I wouldn’t mind doing a bit of training too when possible,” Lynn responded.

Byron nodded in agreement and then went back to explaining the books.

Then it was time for supper, and they headed for the packhouse to eat.

After that Margie, and her mate Jonas led the way to the big building in the center of the pack grounds. “This is the pack meeting hall. It’s big enough for all of us to fit into when the weather isn’t good enough to be outside.”

Walking in, Lynn looked around and shuddered as she mentioned, “I remember this place. This is where I met Alpha Raymond for the first time, and he killed that man.”

“There have been a lot of people killed here,” Margie mentioned.

The two of them walked up to the platform and waited for everyone to take their seats. Byron was quiet, and Lynn knew he was gathering his thoughts about what he wanted to say. So, she stood quietly, looking at the different Pack members as they came in. Some she knew, but it was very few of them.

Levi comes in carrying Selena. Behind him were Sara and Jerry, who were leaning heavily on Sara.

Lynn also noticed the gentleman who had danced when his bond to Raymond and Chester broke. Next, she saw Marcus and his mate.

Then there was the young man Byron had spoken to who seemed so broken, Dan; she thought was his name. He had four other young men with him, and they all acted timid as they took their seats.

Lynn smiled as the young men all took a seat close together and talked among themselves. She felt new friendships had probably been forged today.

When all the seats were filled, Byron stepped forward to the podium. “Greetings Simmion Pack. There are a few things, pack business-wise, I need to go over with all of you. So, I’ll do that first. Aaron brought it to my attention that Raymond and Chester had recently built homes and felt it would be a waste to burn them. So, he has been put in charge of finding some good men to help him dismantle them instead.”

A bit of murmuring began. Byron held up his hand for silence.

“The idea is to use what is salvageable to repair some of the other building on the pack grounds. The daycare and the Pack medical clinic were two that were mentioned. I want to say, if anyone thinks this is a terrible idea, I want to hear it. The only way we can be a real pack is if we have unity. Let it start with this simple thing. Does anyone see a reason we shouldn’t do this? We can still burn those buildings if we need to.”

There was a long-drawn-out silence, but Byron waited patiently. He knew the Pack feared angering their new Alpha and would worry about speaking up.

A man in the back finally stood up, and you could see fear all over him. “I think it’s a good one. Some of the elder wolves’ homes were damaged at the same time as the daycare. I’m a carpenter by trade and could help in tearing the houses down and the renovations. I’ve taught my two sons the trade also. So, they can help.”

Byron smiled. “I like that idea, sir. Get anyone else you know who can help and see Aaron. Aaron, please stand in case some of the Pack doesn’t know who you are.”

Aaron stood for a moment, then sat back down.

“Does anyone else have a word?”

A woman stood up. “I was one of the servants in the Alpha’s home. I don’t know how the others feel, but I want those houses destroyed; my life was ruined there. The Alpha, and his son, took from me what should have belonged to my mate. My mate then rejected me because I wasn’t pure.” She wiped tears from her face before continuing. “I do agree, though, that the lumber should be used for the good of the Pack. I think by making things better for us, it would be the equivalent of spitting on Raymond and Chester’s grave. They never wanted us to have anything good, and they would hate us doing that with their home, so I say we do it.”

“We agree, Alpha!” A group of women next to her shouted.

“Then it is agreed we will tear them down and rebuild on buildings that need it. All in favor say, ‘aye’.” Byron said.

Everyone was in complete agreement.

So, Byron went on to discuss other things that had been brought to his attention that day by members and by his study of Raymond’s papers. When he was finished, he stepped down off the platform and sat on the edge of it at everyone’s level. He patted the place next to him, and Lynn took a seat there.

“Alright, now it’s time to tell you about me,” Byron said before taking a deep breath. “This isn’t the easiest thing to tell the bunch of you, but if you are expected to trust and accept me as your Alpha, it’s something you need to know. After I tell you, if you should decide you no longer want me, then I will help you until another Alpha is found.”

“Awe, come on, sir, it can’t be that bad,” someone said.

Byron smiled. “Hear me out, then you decide.”

Lynn squeezed his hand in encouragement.

“My grandfather was Alpha of the Moonscape Pack for twenty-two years. He was a good Alpha, and our Pack prospered. Then his mate was killed in a rogue attack, but he continued as Alpha for another two years. In those two years, his mental stability slowly declined, and he went crazy. Moonscape suffered, and they became a blood-thirsty bunch of wolves with no guidance.” Byron stopped and let that sink in as he took a deep breath, his nose buried in her hair.

Lifting his head, he continued. “When my dad finally fought grandad for the Alpha title, the Pack was in a mess. My father was at his wit’s end trying to figure out what to do about it. At that time, I was only five. You see, I was the blood born son of an Alpha with a beta mother. I, however, didn’t inherit the alpha gene or the beta gene.

“I felt I was a freak of nature, but I suppose I was what the Pack needed. My mom called me her little peacemaker because I had begun to bring peace to Moonscape by the time I was eight. I had a calm nature that could stop even the angriest of wolves from fighting when I spoke to them.”

“How did you manage to kill an Alpha if you aren’t an Alpha?” Someone asked.

“Patience, I’m getting to that,” Byron said. “Anyway, I hated it, I hated being what I was and knowing I’d never take over for my dad. But a few days ago, while out running, I heard a woman crying for help. I found Lynn caught in a hunter’s trap. I managed to get her out despite my lack of muscle and took her home with me.” Byron looked at her, and she winked.

Turning back to the crowd, she said, “I too felt like a freak of nature growing up. I was the daughter of two betas, yet I was half-human and unable to shift. When Byron and I began to talk, he told me how he was a freak, but I didn’t see him that way. Even though I had just met him, I found him perfect, so I told him that. That is when our bond connected, and we realized we were mates. Finding my mate enabled my wolf to leave her dormant stage, and I shifted for the first time.”

Byron continued. “Her wolf marked me, and in marking me, she awakened my dormant alpha gene. So, when Raymond and his son came calling, trying to take away my mate, my wolf became angered enough to become the Alpha I always longed to be.”

“So, now you’re an Alpha and a peacemaker?” Someone inquired.

Byron nodded. “It would seem so.”

“I can accept that,” someone in the back said, and many shouted their agreement.

“We need an Alpha, and this Pack desperately needs peace. So, if through him we can have both, I say I’m all for it,” a man in the front stood up to say.

“See, you can be both,” Lynn murmured.

Margie stood. “It seemed to me when you saved us from Raymond by killing him and his son, you proved yourself as Alpha. Now, if you can bring us some peace, well, then all the better, I say.”

The crowd cheered at that statement.

Lynn turned to Byron and took his hand, causing him to glance at her. “I think this is the beginning of a new era for the Simmion Pack.”

“Yes, and I believe it’s going to be a good one.”

Then he kissed her as the Pack cheered for their new Alpha.