Josh smirks faintly. “It was. I don’t know what it is about you, but I sense something in you. A force I’ve never seen in a human before. Goddess help us if there are more like you out there.”
There’s a ripple of laughter through the room then, and for the first time since walking into this room, the tension eases into something warmer.
The meeting shifts to logistics, and I sit back slightly, leaving them to work everything out. I exhale slowly. My mates don’t say anything, but through the bond, I feel their pride.
I came here as a human Luna among wolves, walking into a room full of doubt, and I’ll walk out having earned their respect.
When the formalities finally end, chairs scrape back across the wooden floor and the sound
125 Points of conversation fills the hall again. I watch as enforcers from our pack shake hands and chat with enforcers from the Midnight and River packs.
Marcus is the first to stand. He claps Ryder on the shoulder with a grin that’s far more genuine than the one he wore when we arrived. “I didn’t think I’d say this, but I’m glad I made the trip. You’ve got yourself a damn good Luna, Phoenix.”
Ryder’s expression doesn’t change much, but I feel his amusement trickle through the bond.” I know.”
Josh hangs back a little longer, speaking quietly to Callen about safe routes and communication lines before turning his attention to me. His eyes narrow, but not unkindly.” You speak well, Luna. Congratulations on your mating.” He bows his head a little in respect, and I return the gesture, the way Parker had coached me to.
“Thank you,” I say, giving him a polite smile.
He gives another short nod before turning to speak with his betas.
One by one, the visiting Alphas and their Betas leave the hall, their enforcers trailing behind them. The heavy door closes, and for the first time since walking in, I feel like I can finally breathe.
Ryder leans against the table beside me, his hand brushing the small of my back. “You handled yourself perfectly,” he grins.
“She was incredible,” Callen adds, his tone full of pride as he straightens his jacket. “She didn’t even flinch when Marcus opened his mouth.”
Parker laughs quietly. “I don’t think flinching is really her style.”
Remy smirks. “No, she’s learning the art of verbal decapitation.”
That earns him a snort from Callen. “That’s because she’s been living with you.”
I shake my head, pretending to sigh, but the warmth spreading through my chest is impossible to hide. “You’re all ridiculous.”
“Maybe,” Callen says, stepping closer, “but we’re ridiculous and proud of you.”
The words sink in deep, steadying me more than I expect. I don’t feel out of place anymore. I feel like I belong here, with them.
As we step outside, the warm afternoon air greets us. Ryder slips his hand into mine as we walk toward Regina’s group with the others falling into step beside us.
425 Paints
I glance back once at the cabin. Hours ago, I’d walked through those doors wondering if I’d be seen as a liability, or worse, a mistake. If I’d mess the whole thing up, but now I know better.
I don’t need claws or fangs to stand beside my mates. I just need my voice and my determination.
**Callen’s POV **
My heart swells with pride as we leave the meeting with Josh and Marcus.
Since I took my place as Alpha, I’ve never been able to negotiate a deal with those two. They’ve always been polite enough, in an arrogant alpha werewolf sort of way, but they’ve been distant, never offering real cooperation, never seeing us as equals. I thought it was me they didn’t respect, that they saw me as too inexperienced or too easygoing to lead. When Ronnie found Ryder and brought him back here, I thought maybe they’d change their minds if they saw someone more serious beside me. They didn’t. But today was different.
Today, they listened. They didn’t talk down to us. They didn’t laugh when we discussed uniting the packs to work together. It still feels unreal.
The other packs have never been hostile toward us, but they’ve kept their distance. We were the misfits, the half-formed pack of orphans and strays that Ronnie had pulled together when he first arrived here. He’d refused every offer to merge, determined to rebuild what was once the Emerald Ash Pack, to honour the memory of those who’d died that horrible night.
They called us the Lost Pack back then, just a handful of kids living on bare land. Until I came home and claimed my birthright. Until the Phoenix rose from the ashes.
I can still remember the first time I said it out loud. I’d spent days trying to find the perfect name that reflected the history of what our pack had been through. Phoenix Pack had felt right, like we were something reborn, something stronger than what came before. But today, for the first time, it feels like everyone else finally sees that too.
Beside me, Paige walks with her head high and her shoulders straight, that calm confidence radiating from her like sunlight. The moment they called her Luna, my chest nearly burst. She didn’t flinch, didn’t shy away despite their scrutiny. She smiled, thanked him, and spoke for us all as though she’d been born to it.
She catches me looking at her now, that soft smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “You look proud of yourself,” she teases.
“I am,” I admit, reaching for her hand again. “But not of myself. Of you.”
Her cheeks flush in the way I love, and she squeezes my fingers. “We did it together.”
“Maybe. But you carried the room, Paige. You had every Alpha in there listening like waiting for their next command.”
She laughs, the sound warming something in me as we make our way across the grounds toward the school group. The late afternoon sun glows gold over the trees, and I can feel the hum of the mate bond thrumming beneath my skin.
Jaxon spots us first, sprinting through the trees. “Mum!”
Paige crouches just in time for him to throw himself into her arms. I ruffle his hair, my heart twisting with that familiar rush of affection. Every time I look at him, I’m reminded of what we’re fighting for, why we’re rebuilding, why this pack matters.
“Did you have fun today?” I ask.
“Yeah! We went track spotting, and I found all the footprints on my list!”
“That’s my boy,” Ryder grins.
Parker asks him which tracks he was looking for, and Jax starts to recount each animal track and the shape and size of each one. While he chatters about his day, I open the mind link to Ryder, Remy and Parker.
“I think we should do something special for Paige tonight,” I say.
“Like what?” Remy responds first.
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