Chapter 29 Sydney

Chapter 29 Sydney

 

 

I tried to steady my heartbeat because I knew everyone around me could hear it. It was hard to put on my usual brave front around werewolves who could hear and smell fear.

“Sydney, you don’t have to do this,” Cole said.

I surveyed the surrounding where we stood outside the Moon Guardian pack’s compound. Cole, Damian, Alex, and I arrived not too long ago. Stephan and Dominic were already inside.

“I have to do this,” I replied, holding Cole’s gaze. “I refuse to sit at home while you face an entire pack.”

“I don’t want you to do this,” he sighed. “You should be far away from here. I should have Damian take you home—”

“There’s no way I’m leaving your side,” Damian interrupted. He wore an impassive expression, but there was a hard edge to his tone.

“It’s just a meeting with the elders,” Cole said.

Damian snorted. “Yeah, the same elders who sent men to spy on us and then to kill you and your mate.”

“Damian is right,” Alex interjected. “I get the vibe that we’re not exactly a part of the pack anymore.” He frowned.

Cole rubbed the bridge of his nose. I hated seeing him like this. The last two weeks had been bliss. After he claimed me and made me irrevocably his, we spent almost every moment together. The workaholic even passed off his usual duties at Moon Guardians Private Security to his assistant so he could spend time with me.

We were in our little world, bonding and planning our future together. Cole decided to step down as the Alpha. He knew the pack would give us a hard time if he kept his position, and he wanted to protect me. I hated the idea of him giving up his position because I knew he loved it. He was born to be the Alpha of his pack. It wasn’t fair that he was being driven out because a few members hated the idea of him being with me, a half-human with hunter lineage.

“I’m sorry, you guys,” I whispered, staring at the ground and embracing my guilt. “This is all my fault. If I—”

“Don’t,” Cole stopped me. He snagged my chin between his fingers and forced me to look at him. “I don’t regret finding you, and I’m one hundred percent sure I want to step down. No one, and nothing will come between us again. Okay?”

I pulled my lower lip between my teeth so he wouldn’t see it quiver. I didn’t want him to see how shaken I was about his entire life possibly changing because he chose to be with me. “Okay,” I sighed.

“I’m behind the both of you,” Damian declared. “You’re my Luna now.”

“I second that,” Alex chimed in. “I know Stephan, Dominic, and Violet will, too. Cole will always be our Alpha, no matter what. You’re his mate. That makes you our family now, too.”

I smiled softly at Alex, relieved he was no longer upset with me for the stunt I pulled the night I was attacked. Their support made me feel a little better. Tugging out of Cole’s grasp, I inhaled and squared my shoulders. “Alright, let’s do this.”

My confidence was all smoke and mirrors. On the inside, I was terrified that something would happen to my mate and my friends… No, my family.

Before we advanced through the entrance, Cole glanced at Damian with a solemn expression. “If something goes wrong, leave me and get Sydney out of here.”

Damian’s jaw clenched. “Cole, I’m not leaving—”

“I mean it, Damian.”

He sighed and reluctantly muttered, “Yes, Alpha.”

***

Uneasiness washed over me as our small group walked through the pack’s compound. Everyone was out, it seemed. Women, children, and men littered the square. Many watched us with wide-eyed fascination… they watched me, rather.

One woman gasped. “He marked her!”

That brought on a chorus of shocked murmurs.

I almost reached up to touch the spot over my right shoulder. Cole had warned me that the mark would immediately identify me as mated to every werewolf I encountered.

“He accepted a half-breed,” someone else sneered. “Despicable.”

“But she’s a hunter’s daughter,” another person mused.

“She’ll never be my Luna,” a woman spat.

Although I hadn’t expected a warm welcome, my heart still dropped.

Cole lightly squeezed my hand in a comforting gesture. I blocked out the hatred being projected at me and held my chin up, refusing to wither in front of a bunch of biased wolves. I had Cole now, and that was all that mattered.

On the steps of the main building, five older men stood in a line. The elders, I presumed. I’d heard so much about them, but I’d never laid eyes on them.

Despite the Alpha having the majority leadership over the pack, behind him were older werewolves who provided council. Because of their age and supposed wisdom, they were trusted by the Alpha and his pack.

This group, however, was a bunch of foolish assholes, in my opinion. Cole and I spoke at length about the elders. Apparently, they’d been wary about him taking over so young. They never really wanted him to be Alpha, so they’d pounce on any reason to get rid of him. Unfortunately, I gave them the perfect reason.

The elders had to accept him as Alpha because he had the love and loyalty of the people. Now that he had fallen from grace in their eyes, he was vulnerable. I fought the usual wave of guilt and held onto Cole’s hand.

I glanced at him. His expression was blank—he was a master at hiding his emotions—but now that we were fully mated, I knew what he felt. He was fine with stepping down for our unborn child and me, but there was a sadness in him. I suspected it was because he might very well lose the family he’d grown up with. The pack was the family he’d known since he was born. He loved these people. I squeezed his hand in silent support.

When we stopped in front of the elders, their gazes automatically lowered to my hand, which was intertwined with Cole’s. Two of the men remained impassive, while three stared on with disdain, but Cole never once let me go. I blew out a relieved sigh. The sliver of fear I felt about being rejected again would linger for a while.

“Caleb, Anton, Jasper, Simon, Victor.” Cole nodded.

“Cole,” one of them greeted.

I noted he didn’t address him as Alpha Cole.

“What’s this?” Cole asked, glancing around at the crowd. “I requested a private meeting with the elder. This looks an awful lot like a trial already.”

One elder stepped forward and descended the steps. “Why delay it, Cole? The entire pack knows of your betrayal.”

“There was no betrayal.” Violet stepped out of the crowd and walked toward us. “How is claiming one’s fated mate a betrayal?”

I gazed at her with appreciation as she joined Damian and Alex, who stood behind Cole and me.

“Violet, you understand if you support the former Alpha—”

“Just a second, Caleb,” Cole said. He glanced at me and nodded. This was it. He was going to step down before the elders disgraced him. I nodded back and let go of his hand. He walked up the steps to stand in front of the elder called Caleb. He towered over the man by several inches. “You don’t get the satisfaction of kicking me out of my position. I’m stepping down as Alpha. Therefore, there doesn’t need to be a trial. I’ll gladly go my way.”

Gasps and murmurs circulated. Hushed conversations erupted.

“Quiet!” Caleb shouted. He glowered at Cole as everyone went silent. “And you don’t get the satisfaction of escaping trial. You betrayed this pack.”

“I did nothing wrong. I had every right to claim my mate.”

“She’s a hunter.”

“She’s not.” Dominic appeared out of the crowd. “Sydney is one of us. Her mother was once a part of this pack. She has a place here.”

“A hunter’s daughter will never have a place here,” Caleb argued.

“She’s not her father.” That was Stephan. He, too stepped out.

Now, Cole and I were surrounded by Damian, Alex, Violet, Stephan, and Dominic—Cole’s faithful few.

Caleb’s face reddened. He sneered, “You’re all traitors for standing with Cole and his half-breed bit—”

“Don’t think I won’t rip your throat out because you’re an elder,” Cole growled.

“You know the punishment for harming an elder,” one of the others said.

“No one disrespects my mate and gets away with it.” Cole fixed Caleb with an icy stare, and the man shrank back.

I held my breath, hoping things didn’t get out of hand. Cole was already in hot water.

Just as Cole was about to speak again, Alex turned to the crowd and said, “Alpha Cole isn’t the traitor here. You all are!” For once, he looked serious. There wasn’t a trace of his signature teasing smirk. “He’s been nothing but loyal to all of you since he took over from his father. He’s never led any of us astray. He’s provided for many of you financially when he didn’t have to. Cole is the only Alpha who has ever achieved this many years of peace between other packs and us.”

Alex turned to the elders, and his expression twisted with disgust. “You lot are supposed to bring wisdom to the pack. It’s been Cole who has acted with wisdom all these years. Leave the pack up to you five, and the Moon Guardians will go to hell in a handbasket.”

Violet snickered but quickly contained herself. She pursed her lips and stared at the ground, but her shoulders shook with restrained laughter. I almost smiled, too, as I watched Alex with gratitude. I’d never forget the way the guys stood up for Cole. For me. My heart constricted because I was a part of a pack, after all. A small one comprising four guys and one girl who would follow my mate to hell and back if he asked them to. And they accepted me as their Luna.

“Alex is right!” A man from the crowd shouted. “Cole has led this pack with no issues for years. He’s a good Alpha. The best we’ve ever had.”

Cole’s gaze snapped in the voice’s direction. He looked stunned.

“I agree!”

Soon, words of agreement surrounded us.

“If Alpha Cole steps down, I no longer want to be a part of this pack.” A girl, who looked to be just a teen, said. An older woman tried to grab her shoulder in warning, but she stepped forward anyway. “Alex is right. If we allow the elders to kick our Alpha out, we’re the traitors. Alpha Cole has been good to us.”

“He even rejected his mate for us,” someone else said. “How much more loyal can an alpha get? Let him claim his half-human mate. It’s his right. If he trusts her, so do I,” the man added.

Then chaos erupted. But it wasn’t everyone attacking us as I’d expected. Instead, much of the crowd was shouting for Cole to stay.

Cole gazed at them wide-eyed. I bet he didn’t expect their reaction, either. He swallowed hard as a series of emotions flickered across his face— shock, relief, and then happiness. He didn’t even try to hide them. His people still loved him. It said a lot about his capabilities as a leader.

Hope filled my heart. Maybe things would work out for Cole. I’d be happy if he didn’t have to give up everything he’d known his whole life for me.