Chapter 21

August had never really been part of an alpha meeting before, and while he wasn't technically part of Cliff's meeting with the pack elders, he still felt honored to be in the room. Ginny sat next to him with a copy of the pack laws open on her lap, her head down as she followed along.

The pack didn't actually have a lot of rules, so the law book itself was also chock-full of the history and family lineage of the alphas, which had been Ginny's family for generations.

Four elders sat at the kitchen table in what had been their grandfather Josiah's home and would now be Cliff's as the new alpha. It was in the center of the territory, surrounded by other small homes in a densely wooded area.

Cliff drummed his fingers on the worn table, then cleared his throat. "At some point in the past, Josiah decided that reaching age seventy and stepping down was no longer in his best interest. One of the main laws our people have that apply to the alpha in particular is that laws cannot be changed under any circumstances once the alpha has taken over. In order to change the retirement law, Josiah would have had to change it upon assuming the mantle of leadership. That he didn't shows that his mind and heart were turned to the pack and not himself. Whether our grandmother's passing was the catalyst to change his mindset or something inside him broke for another reason, what we do know is that several years ago, Josiah abducted our aunt and used her as bait to bring her mate and his eldest son to him, where he slaughtered them and made it appear as if they were killed by natural animals during a hunt. We know that he did the same thing to our parents as well. While I don't know exactly why he chose not to end mine and Ginny's lives right then, I can only assume that he was attempting to keep his behavior under wraps to the pack to avoid alarming them, or that he didn't see either of us as a threat until recently."

Cliff stopped speaking for a moment and August could see the grief that still lay heavy on the male, the same way he knew it haunted Ginny too.

He continued, "In keeping with our current laws, I am taking the place of my grandfather as alpha, and I am changing two laws. Firstly, the law of mandatory retirement is stricken from the record. There will be no maximum age at which an alpha should step down. From this point forward, the alpha will continue to lead until such time as he becomes unable to attend to his duties and is removed from the position either by himself or by a majority vote of the elders. Now, I want to address the law related to succession."

August leaned over and looked at the page as Cliff discussed succession with the elders. "The reason my grandfather killed his family is because he was not interested in retiring from his position. He came after Ginny to get to me, but he was going to kill Ginny as well because any of her offspring would have been considered heirs and would be a threat to him. I'm changing the heirs' law. From this point forward, the mantel of alpha passes from father to son or daughter only, not among every single heir within a family line. This means that if I have a child, he or she will become alpha when I step down. But if I don't have a child to replace me, then when I retire as alpha, the elders will choose a new family line and the alpha position will continue through them."

Cliff looked at Ginny. "If these laws had been changed previously, not only would Josiah never have needed to kill our family members to keep his position, but you would have been safe regardless because I'm eldest, and no matter how many children you and August have, they wouldn't have been eligible to lead."

Ginny nodded. "I think you've made excellent changes to the laws."

The discussion continued for a little while longer as they talked about the punishments for the jackals who'd tried to kill Cliff and Ginny. Ginny leaned against August and he put his arm around her. He was grateful to be here to witness the changing of the laws that would ensure his soulmate and their children would be safe, and also to hear what would become of the males who'd tried to take them out.

Cliff would be a good alpha.

"We'll get these changes put into record immediately," one of the elders said. "When did you want to meet with the pack to discuss the changes?"

"Let's have a big dinner for the pack tonight," he said. "We can share the new laws and my position as alpha."

Ginny and August stood when the others did. "Do you need to exile me from the pack?" Ginny asked when the elders were gone and it was the three of them.

"No," Cliff said. "You and August are welcome to join us any time. I don't want to make a habit of exiling. Are you a member of the gorilla group now?"

"Yes," she said, "and it's called a band. I was part of the band when August and I mated."

"That's a smart way to go about it. I'm not much for ceremonies," Cliff said with a nod. "Let's get you packed up. I'd invite you to stay for the pack dinner, but that's hours from now and you've got a long drive ahead of you, plus your friends are waiting for you guys so you can head back to the park together. I'll be sure to let everyone know you found your soulmate and are safe now."

"Yeah, I'm ready to get home," she said, looking at August.

They left the big house and met up with the park shifters who'd come along with them.

"What's going to happen to the jackals who came against you guys and supported your grandfather?" Nathan asked.

When they'd arrived in the territory, the males and one female had been escorted to a small concrete building which contained cells. Their grandfather had enjoyed putting jackals he didn't like in cells as punishment, and now those same jackals who'd chained up their people were going to be chained up.

"The elders and I will preside over a trial," Cliff said. "We'll appoint advocates for them, and their punishments will be laboring around the territory under guard and staying locked up for as long as we decide they should be. It's tempting to exile the worst of them, but honestly, I'd be more concerned with them coming against me in retaliation, so I'll just keep them close. And under lock and key."

"Smart," Ginny said.

They first went into their childhood home, where Cliff had been living, which was right next door to their aunt and uncle's, where Ginny had been living. August stayed outside as she and her brother went into their parents' home because he wanted to give them time to grieve and be alone together.

"Sounds like things are going to be good here from now on," Caesar said.

"Yeah, Cliff will do a good job. Thanks for coming with us," August said.

"Of course."

Atticus nodded. "It's our pleasure to be here to help however our people need."

"Plus, it's nice to get away from the park every now and then," Nathan said.

August grinned. "Yeah, it is. But it'll be nice to get home too."

"Now that things are safe in the park," Atticus said, "you and Ginny can pick up where you left off with the carousel."

"There's a lot of buzz around the park about the carousel," Caesar said. "It hasn't been operational in a long time."

"Why was it closed down, anyway? I always thought it was because the park got too busy and there were other attractions that needed attention," August said.

"Someone has to maintain it as well as operate it," Atticus said. "There was a wolf couple who ran it, and our people were keeping it maintained, but they left to join up with his family's pack and there wasn't anyone interested in keeping it going. We left it up for a while, but patrons kept trying to climb and sit on it, and we were concerned someone would get hurt. It was easier to put it away."

"Ginny's excited about fixing it up. She loves carousel horses," August said.

"I sure do," she said as she opened the front door. She held a photo album and had a quilt over one shoulder. "Cliff is getting my mom's cookbooks so I can take them home, but these are the only other things I want from them. Let's head next door. I could use some help packing, but I don't have much aside from clothes to take."

"Happy to help however you need it," Nathan said.

Their group walked into the house. Ginny ticked off on her fingers the few areas she wanted packed and pointed to a few plastic tubs and cardboard boxes that August had grabbed on the way to the vehicles before they left the park.

Two hours later, the cargo vans were loaded with her things and Ginny was saying a tearful goodbye to her brother.

"I want to say I can come visit, but it'll be a while before I can make it. But you can come visit here anytime, I mean it," Cliff said.

"I'd love that," Ginny said. She hugged her brother once more and then got into the second row of the SUV.

August turned and shook Cliff's hand.

"Thanks for everything," Cliff said.

"I was going to thank you for everything," August said, chuckling. He glanced at his sweetheart in the SUV, then looked at her brother. With a low voice he said, "I know shifters don't always get married, but gorillas definitely like it. Since you're her surviving relative, I'd like to ask your permission to marry your sister."

Cliff's eyes widened, and then he smiled broadly and shook August's hand one more time. "Hey, man, hell yes! Thank you for asking me. It's my honor to give the family blessing. Let me know when the wedding is because I'll do my damnedest to be there, or at least video call in if I can't get away."

"You bet," August said. He thanked the male and got into the SUV. "We're ready, Nathan."

"Me too," he said from behind the wheel. "It's a long drive home, so maybe you can switch off with me in a while."

"Sure thing," August said.

Ginny put her head in his lap and yawned. "Wake me up when we get home."

August smiled down at her and rested his hand on her waist. "You got it, sweetheart. Sweet dreams."

"With you, I've got sweet dreams in spades."

Nathan made a gagging sound, and August leaned forward and punched him in the arm.

"Ouch, shit," Nathan said with a grumble. "Sorry. Just keep the sweet nothings to a minimum. Some of us haven't found our soulmates yet."

"Sorry, Nathan," Ginny said with a chuckle that turned into a yawn.

"I'll never stop," August whispered. "But I will whisper them to you. Love you so much, sweetheart."

"I love you too."

August settled back in the seat with his sweetheart in his arms and his best friend behind the wheel and smiled.

They'd literally been through hell, but they'd survived and now Ginny was safe and the threat to her was put down for good. They'd never have to look over their shoulders and wonder if someone was going to come for her or their children.

Closing his eyes, he let his thoughts drift to the future.

To a finished carousel gleaming in the sunshine.

To a wedding.

To news of a baby.

There was so much he had to be thankful for, and he couldn't wait to see what the next chapter of his life with Ginny held.