Chapter 194

Julian’s POV

Running, I caught up to Amber as she and Alice were about to get into a cab at the front of the hospital.

“Amber!” I cried, stopping them.

Amber tugged Alice a bit away from the open door of the cab, as she turned to look at me. “Julian?”

“Let the cab go, Amber,” I said. “I’ll drive you.”

“We don’t need a ride,” Amber said.

“It’s not just the ride, Amber,” I said. “I’m coming with you.”

Alice cheered. “Yay!”

But Amber’s eyes, widening slightly, remained uncertain. “But the pack…?”

“The pack will survive,” I told her. “I can lead from afar, as I did before.”

“But Tony…”

“He won’t be able to do anything quickly,” I said. “Not even turn public opinion.”

She released a heavy breath that made her shoulders drop. I could tell I was in the process of convincing her, but she wasn’t totally on board with my new plan yet. “But, Julian…”

“My family is everything,” I said.

“Your family is back there,” Amber said, gesturing back towards the hospital.

“No,” I said. I stepped closer to her and cupped her cheeks with my hands. “My family is right here.”

Her brow crinkled, and I was certain that I was winning now.

“Please, Amber. Let me come with you and Alice. Let me protect you like I want, and be with you as I want.”

There, in the depths of her eyes, I saw it – a spark of relief.

“I’d been ready to face this alone,” she said. “But knowing you will come with us… it makes this task less daunting.”

She seemed to relax under my hands. I could resist leaning in to kiss her again, softly.

Alice cheered a second time.

“Let the cab go, Amber,” I told her.

Finally, she closed the door to the cab, then placed her free hand in mine.

I led her and Alice to the parking garage where we got into my car.

“We have to go home and pack,” Amber said.

“Then that’s where we’ll go,” I replied.

As we drove on, with Alice in the backseat, Amber glanced at me from the passenger seat.

“This isn’t going to be easy,” she admitted to me. “The public is still excited for me. There will be cameras everywhere as soon as we land in Rafael’s pack, maybe even before.”

“We will face whatever obstacles stand in our way as we come to them,” I told her, undaunted. “We are going to succeed in this, Amber, and make things better for Alice. After all, we promised her we would, didn’t we?”

“We did,” Amber said, just as Alice chimed in from the backseat, “You did!”

“Then, see? Nothing to worry about,” I said. “We just have to fulfill our promise now.”

Amber still seemed uncertain but she nodded at my words and faced forward in her seat. For now, we all seemed to be in agreement. I hoped that would last, but with her silent support, I didn’t really see that changing anytime soon.

We returned home, packed, and then immediately turned around to go to the airport. This time, I had the driver take us. Unfortunately, as we pulled up at the drop off, we could see that the entire concourse was flooded with reporters.

Someone had caught wind of our plans to leave and tipped off the press.

After cursing under my breath, I looked at Alice and then Amber. “I’ll stop and answer some of their questions,” I said. “You take Alice and push through. Get to the plane as soon as you can. They won’t be able to follow you through security. I will meet you in a few minutes.”

I waited for Amber to nod in understand.

“I’ll go first,” I said. “Follow me, then sneak by.”

After her second nod, I pushed open the door and stepped outside.

The flash of lights was blinding and at once a slew of microphones was shoved into my face.

“Yes, good evening everyone,” I said, waving to keep their attention as Amber and Alice sneaked by. “I’d be happy to answer a few questions here. Who’s first?”

They all started asking at once, signaling to me that this wasn’t going to be particularly effective. As we did in the press conferences, I pointed at whose question I would answer next.

I pointed and the reporter said, “You.”

“Alpha. Why are you choosing this sensitive time to leave? Are you sure this is a wise decision?”

I cleared my throat and answered calmly, as I’d earlier practiced. “The pack is not in crisis, regardless of what my cousin Tony wants everyone to believe. I am confident that I can both manage the pack successfully while also being there for my family.”

The reporter beside the first asked the next question, “Is your mate making you do this?”

“Absolutely not,” I said. “My partner and I made this choice jointly. In fact, she wanted me to stay. But I’m not going to let her face things alone. She needs me at her side, so I am going to be there. While also making sure that our pack runs smoothly – remotely.”

I could see as I talked about my dedication for Amber, that some of the women, and a few men, in the crowd were impressed with what I had to say. I even heard one woman whisper, “I wish I could have a mate like that…”

“Alpha!” called another reporter.

“Yes,” I said, recognizing him.

“Aren’t you worried that Tony, who has come out as a potential challenger to your status as Alpha, might gain some traction within the pack in your absence?”

“Tony is a good talker,” I said. “He always seems to know the right things to say. But there are differences between being able to talk and being able to take the appropriate actions. I’ve known my cousin for a long time, and while he certain has good qualities, they aren’t enough to be a leader.”

I considered my next words, then spoke, “If Tony doesn’t understand what it’s like to live for someone else, how can he expect to lead an entire pack?”

The response elicited a thousand more questions, but I was done with answering them now. Amber and Alice were out of sight which meant they had made it through security, so now it was my time to leave.

“If you will excuse me, now. I have a plane to catch.”

The reporters kept shouting questions even as airport security gently pushed them aside to make a walkway for me to walk through.

Their voices were loud and I could only think again when I had made it through security. The other side had less people and much less chaos.

I moved to where the private jets were located and found Amber and Alice waiting just inside the terminal for me.

Only when I had Amber in my arms again, could I breathe normally.

“How did it go?” she asked me.

“It was fine,” I replied. “But I feel much better now.”

Leaning back she smiled at me. Yet, as her eyes turned to the plane, I could see worry fill them.

I squeezed her hand, wanting her to know that she was going to be okay.

I was going to be right beside her the entire way.

No matter what waited for us at the end of our journey.