charge or doesn’t want to lead anymore. You guys have a lot of pressure and crap dumped on you being Omegas but we’ve got it too. I’ve got a whole pack whose safety is up to me and I hate that.
“I hate telling one wolf that he has to do something that shouldn’t be any of my business. You don’t want to talk to someone you don’t like. Fine, don’t. But oh no, it’s a pack and we all have to play nice in the sandbox or some shit. Yeah, right. We’re wolves, and that gives us a bond in a way, but that doesn’t make us all family. It’s a stupid system.”
“You’re really not happy?” Dewey whispered as he stared up at me with fear in his eyes. “I wasn’t worth putting you through being Alpha, was I?”
“Yes, baby,” I answered firmly as I leaned down and touched my forehead to his. “You were worth it. I just don’t like my job. That doesn’t mean I’m not happy overall in life. I love you and Percy and Azyle and the kids. You make my life wonderful. I just don’t like being Alpha and sometimes it blows up inside of me and I need to get it out. All this shit with going to the Council and what Wesley did makes me scared.
“There will be repercussions from that either from packs or other members and I don’t want to be here when the shit goes down. I don’t want to risk you or the kids. We have friends who don’t want to be Betas or trapped into leading and being micromanagers too. Let’s take them all and build a massive house on this island.”
“Tag, we don’t have the money for that,” he reminded me gently as he brushed his lips over mine.
“If I could get back into making swords we could. That asshole stole all the money I made from them and that’s why I had to cage fight on the side. My swords went for eight thousand each easy.”
“What kind of swords? I always wanted a sword,” Tristan slurred and I wondered if anyone on this boat was still sober besides the one driving it.
“Tag made all kinds of swords,” Dewey boasted for me. “He made broadswords, and European types of all kinds. Angel swords that had handles that wrapped around your hand and recreations of old warrior swords that collectors love.”
“I want a sword,” Brody whispered in awe. “I’d pay that for a real pirate sword. I had pirate ancestors!”
“I bet we could take the money we have and with the talented people we have in our lives be able to make gobs of money and just ship our wares every so often from Puerto Rico or something,” Wesley mumbled into his drink. “But I can’t go. I started all the shit and my men love their lake. They would never want to leave and I couldn’t ask them to. If we ran what would become of the other Omegas? Who would protect them then?”
“Take the ones who want to leave and let the others stay. Some are happy where they are,” Tristan answered with a shrug. “We’d just have to worry about any new Omegas born. Or set up packs that could let us know and we could grab them before they’re bought.”
“What do you mean bought?” I asked as I hugged Dewey to me.
“If we ran how long do you think it would take the Council to go back to selling Omegas as slaves?” Wesley asked with a drunken giggle. “I bet thirty seconds.”
“We’ve got witch friends now through Edric,” I answered with a shrug. “See if they can do a tracking spell for Omegas. We check it out every five years or so and make sure that everyone’s being treated well. If they’re not, we go in, get them, and adopt them like the others.”
“That’s actually a really good idea,” Edric said quietly. “I bet we could get that to work. Helen, my witch friend, would be all about it. It seems every other supernatural group hates how wolves do things in this country. I’d run too if my inner circle didn’t love their home pack. Of course, half of our problems are that they always think I’m going to run. Like I didn’t have a reason not to last time. Assholes.”
“We
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