Chapter 146

Nathan POV

A week after I first arrived at the Royal pack, Beta Evan came to Claire’s room at the top floor of the clinic.

“Sir,” he said, greeting me while I sat at Claire’s side.

I could see the concern on his face as soon as he took in the state of me.

And I had to admit that his concern was understandable.

I’d lost weight from stress and lack of sleep, and I hadn’t shaved in days. I knew I looked nearly as rough as I felt.

“Yes, Evan,” I said, glancing up at him. “What is it?”

“The election results are in,” he said, stepping into the room but stopping just inside the doorway.

“You’ve won, sir.

“You’re the new Alpha President.”

I didn’t react for a moment.

My first instinct was to think, Who cares?

After all this time, all the world and effort that went into my long, extended campaign…

Victory felt hollow.

It felt like nothing.

But then I realized what having won truly meant:

More people were now going to depend on me than ever.

As the Alpha of my pack, Silverfang still needed my leadership.

With Claire in this terrible coma, the Royal pack needed at least an interim leader.

The administrative staff was skilled and loyal, and they were used to running things when the Royal Alpha was away or dealing with a frenzy episode. But they still needed the guidance of an actual leader.

And now, as President, the rest of the realm would be looking to me for leadership as well.

I stared down for a long moment, studying Claire’s hand and my own, clasped together.

Then I looked up at Evan.

“I can’t stay in this room, can I?” I said. “I don’t get to just be a man grieving his mate.”

Evan looked down and shook his head. “No, sir.

“I truly am sorry. But people need you.”

I knew he was right.

I knew I needed to go out and face the world.

And I knew it was what Claire would both want and need me to do.

She would want me to look after people, just as she had spent her life doing as well.

I stood up, leaning over to kiss Claire’s cheek softly.

“I’ll visit you every day,” I promised her.

And then I made her one other vow:

“I’m going to take care of your people.”

I left Claire lying in that bed, all alone, and felt like my heart was tearing in two.

And part of it was staying behind me, with her.

I felt that hole in my chest like a constant ache as we left the clinic and traveled to the Royal court, where I would be sworn in as President.

This was usually a week-long event, a bit like a holiday for everyone, with street fairs and speeches and other celebrations.

Not this time.

No one in the Royal pack was in the mood to celebrate, and I couldn’t blame them.

They had lost their Alpha, and suffered terrible losses during the rogue attacks. Many of the border villages and towns were still in the process of rebuilding after that destruction.

Many were still mourning those who had been killed.

And now, just as it seemed their pack would be able to focus on healing and recovery, their Princess took ill with the same mysterious coma that claimed their Alpha.

So I wasn’t surprised to see a crowd full of sad and somber faces staring up at me as I stood on the steps of the Royal court building.

The sun was shining, and the sky was bright with white puffs of clouds. But the mood in the crowd, and in my own heart, was far from cheerful.

“Do you swear to uphold the law of the land, and to serve every pack of the realm as if it was your own pack?” asked the magistrate.

I stood with one hand raised and the other pressed to an old leather-bound volume of our most respected laws and agreements.

“I swear,” I said, feeling the weight of what I was committing to settle onto my shoulders.

“And do you promise to protect, defend and support the realm, answering it in times of need and fostering growth in times of peace?”

Protect, defend and support - yes, those were things I knew how to do.

I’d spent my life devoted to doing just that for my pack.

Now it was my duty to do so for the entire realm.

“I promise,” I said, and it was like ropes were looped around my chest, over and over, pulling tighter.

“Then by the power vested in me as magistrate of the highest court of the law, I welcome you, Alpha Nathan of the Silverfang Pack.

“You are now the Alpha President.”

The crowd burst into applause.

And I stood for a moment, letting the sound wash over me.

It was a relief that the long, complicated campaign was over.

And there was a heaviness as the weight of my new duties began to become a reality.

But above and beyond all of that?

What I mostly felt was nothing.

Nothing at all.

Claire POV

Locked deep within myself, I listened to Beta Evan deliver the news to Nathan.

I was so happy for him!

He’d worked so hard for this. Not only during his campaign, but over the course of his entire life.

Nathan had devoted himself completely to being as good a leader as he could be.

The realm deserved to have someone like him as their President.

And still, a part of me wept.

My heart hurt for all the pain and suffering he was going through.

For Andy, having to see his mother lying in a clinic bed, nearly lifeless.

For my people, who had suffered so much: the loss of their Alpha, the rogue attacks, and now their Princess falling to some mysterious illness.

I began to weep with rage.

It wasn’t fair!

It should have been me out there, taking care of my people while Nathan began his term as President.

He should have been preparing to go out on a speaking and listening tour, stopping at every pack territory in the realm to meet with them, and to let them meet and interact with him.

And I should have been at court, overseeing my Royal duties. Helping my pack rebuild itself after its recent terrible losses.

I should have been up and about there at the clinic, helping Amelia see patients, and handling the administrative duties she was now stuck with doing on top of all her other work.

This was my pack. These were my duties.

And this was my mate, my family, and my time with them - my precious time - was being stolen.

Day by day, breath by breath, Baldwin was stealing away from me every single thing that mattered.

First my father, now my entire life.

“It stops now,” I decided, speaking to the darkness around me, my grief and anger solidifying into a sudden calm, cold resolve.

“Baldwin is going to pay for what he’s done,” I vowed. “I’ll see to that myself, if it’s the last thing I ever do.

“All I need to do is wake up.”