Chapter 74

Aurora

It’s difficult to walk, having to lean my weight on Jaxson’s side, his arm hooked around my back, while my knee is wrapped so tight in gauze tape that it makes my whole leg numb. Jaxson grumbles, wishing I would stay in the hut, in bed, giving him an excuse to dote over me tonight and miss this meeting in the village but I am stubborn and he is desperate to please me.

“You’re too weak for this, sweetheart,” he moans, my pace stalling as I trip once, his arm clinging to me to steady my balance and help me not fall forward. “Please, let me take you home.”

“No, Jaxson, we’re not missing this meeting. I want to vote. You should be there. If they want you as Alpha, then they obviously think you are worthy of the role. They feel safe with you.”

“They wouldn’t if they knew who I really was,” he grumbles.

We arrive to the little hut that once belonged to the Alpha and Luna. The entire village is here, in the back yard where a small campfire is rolling waves of heat. I can tell the other villagers perk up at the sight of Jaxson, most of them older than the two of us, but they adorn looks of respect to my mate that I know is similar to that of meeting an Alpha.

Jaxson helps me take a seat on a log that’s been cut for such a purpose, his hand brushing my side and my cheek, resting on my shoulder as we look onto what is left of this pack. There are a few other wounded wolves, a lot of tired faces, but the thing everyone here has in common is that they all look to Jaxson.

“Well, now that everyone is here,” a lean man says, his salty black hair streaked back with glossy gel. “As the beta, Marc had always wanted me to remain as the second-hand consultant to the Alpha. I will remain with that decision. So, with that being said, I suppose we should start the vote. Who wants to start with the nomination?”

An older lady raises her hand, firmly planted as the only one raising their hand out here. “Beta Onyx, I nominate Jaxson Knight.”

I feel my mate flinch, his once relaxed hand a little tense now. The beta nods, looking around the fire with little interest in finding another nomination. It becomes clear that there won’t be one. He opens his mouth, ready to speak, but my mate steps forward.

“Wait,” he groans, his voice strained. “I’d like to say something, before we decide anything.”

Beta Onyx nods, motioning for him to take the stand before the pack, like a trial. “Of course.”

My make looks discant, his eyes dark and bruting. “I just think it should be known; I am the son of king Alpha Kennedy. I come from the Royal pack and I left—” he says, his eyes finding mine across the fire. “I left for my mate, so we could be together. She is a commoner and I chose her. I just think it should eb said that I have a history as a royal and I—I don’t think I deserve this.”

The yard is silent for what feels like a millennium.

“All those in favor of Jaxson Knight as Alpha, say I.”

“I,” the whole pack says in unison.

Jaxson looks perplexed but I only grin, seeing that everyone feels the same way as I had on the matter. He may be a royal in the blood, and his upbringing was different than ours, but who he is now is what matters. He is a protector, a warrior, and an Alpha.

Beta Onyx nods, tapping his hand against Jaxson’s shoulder. “We knew all of that, Alpha. There’s not much else to talk about around here and we know everyone in a village at least a few days run from here. We know a royal when we see one, Jaxson. What you did the other night though, you proved yourself then, who you are, and it shows that you deserve to be our Alpha.”

He smiles for the first time today, seemingly unforced and so relaxed. It brings me some joy to see him so easy now, no longer tense like he is holding in a secret. He feels like it’s been released now and as everyone congratulates him, he only looks up at me, smiling and proud.

I force myself to a wobbly stand and hug him when he approaches, feeling him lift me off the ground for a second. When I return to the world, his arms still hold onto me tightly, his lips pressing into my temple.

“Finally, I have my Luna,” he breathes, grinning wildly.

His lips meet mine and a blurry frenzy of a kiss. I take in his scent, his joy, and feel my wolf bounce off of his energy, radiating back in the purest form of happiness. I love this part of having a mate, allowing myself and my wolf to feel every ounce of his determination and his courage and his final burst of bliss.

“First things first, we need a pack name,” Jaxson sighs, releasing me enough to keep me hiked against his side, my leg pounding in ache but overshadowed by our enjoyment of this moment.

Beta Onyx looks surprised but sports a smile, anyways. “We’ve gone a long time without a pack name. I think it would be a great way to solidify our new leadership and our future. What do you think, Alpha?”

Jaxson scans the pack, then looks down to me with pinkish, smiling cheeks. “Aurora is the phenomenon in the morning, the brightest display of beauty and force. In honor of my mate, the Luna, I’d like to call this pack, Dawn.”

I blush, everyone clapping at the announcement made. My stomach drops, my smile incapable of growing more and yet it happens, something so kind about him sharing this moment with me and holding this pack to a high standard as to name it after me. I couldn’t be more honored.

The beta stands beside us, even in front of such a small pack, and I feel like the best queen there is. Jaxson grins wider, taking in the moment and shaking hands as everyone comes up to greet us both. We have been distant with this pack for obvious reasons but seeing that Jaxson laid it all out and was still accepted, proves we are truly in the pack where we belong.

I try to focus on the moment, to being a part of this night and being there with Jaxson for his moment to be Alpha, but my leg has grown numb and I have begun to smell my own blood as it begs to seep through the gauze. I’m exhausted and useless, and thankfully Jaxson makes an excuse for us to leave, helping me hobble a way back toward our hut.

I can’t help but smile, needing to watch him in all of his glory. He has been trained and brought up to be an Alpha. It may be a different pack, in different circumstances, but he is full of pride all the same. He is in the puzzle finally, fitting perfectly, and it makes me glow.

He helps me into the hut, my leg so sore and swollen in its wrap that I can’t even limp on it. Jaxson leans me onto the couch, my mind flickering sad at the thought of how snowflake ran and we haven’t been able to track her down. I just hope she returns soon. Jaxson takes to the kitchen, already starting to make dinner for us both.

I aim to stand but he gives me a hard look. “Sit down, sweetheart. What do you need?”

“I want to help,” I say, hoisting myself to a stand.

He is in front of me now, hands planted on my hips like he is going to press me back into the couch. “I don’t need your help, sweetheart,” he hums, helping sit back down.

“You’re the Alpha, though,” I say. “I want to do things for you. You’ve been working so hard.”

“And I will continue to work hard because an Alpha without a Luna in good health is an Alpha in trouble,” he says, kissing my knuckles.

My face goes hot. His eyes are kind. I watch my new Alpha cook us dinner.