Chapter 237 Chapter 0237

Chapter 237 Chapter 0237
•MASON•

"We have selected the six elders that you told us to bring to the council hall, Alpha," Nathan informed me when he found me looking at the map on the table. "They are waiting outside."

"Bring them inside, Nathan," I answered.

He nodded and walked to the door. A few minutes later, he returned with the elders. They closed the door and walked toward me.

I lifted my eyes and looked at them before I looked down at the map again. "I am sure that you've all heard that Damon took control of three packs, including ours. So, since I have claimed Silvercrest from him, two packs are remaining."

"Yes, we've heard."

"Good. The Blackwood Beta has asked for assistance in removing Damon as the Alpha and appointing someone else. Who do you think would be the interim Alpha in the meantime?" I looked at them.

"The Beta sounds like the right choice," one of the elders answered. "He's defending his people and fighting for them as the Beta should. So he should be the interim Alpha."

I turned to Nathan. "So, I want you to start there first before doing a detour to Goldenmane Court to capture Damon. I need him alive. He has committed crimes that he needs to account for."

"Should we deploy two of our men to stand watch at the Goldenmane Court's boundary and ensure that he doesn't leave the territory before we get to him?"

"That would be a good idea, Nathan." I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for being my confidante during these times. I wouldn't have done all of this without your help."

Nathan nodded and went to brief the team while I rolled the map up from the table.

Amelia appeared in the doorway a few minutes later. She walked toward me and stopped at the edge of the table.

"I wanted to say thank you," she replied. "For what you're doing for Blackwood. Those are my people, and nobody has ever stepped up for them the way you are right now."

"I am doing this for you," I answered, looking at her. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have listened to your Beta when he asked for help. But you're here now and are a part of family, so that makes them my family as well."

She looked at me and shook her head slightly. "You are a good man, Mason Steele."

"Don't go spreading that around," I replied. "I have a reputation to maintain."

She laughed, and I took her hand as we turned to the elders.

"We are honored to be called for this great task, Alpha," one of them replied. "You have done us such a great favor, and we hope to be at your service the best way we can."

"I have specifically called for each of you because of your service to my father," I answered. "You fought beside him and stood by him as his friends when Noah wanted to be Alpha after the war against rogues. You all risked your lives for this pack and did your part without asking for any recognition or compensation. That showed how selfless you are."

"My father spoke highly of all of you," I continued. "Which is why you are the people I want beside me."

I walked to the head of the table and stood before them. "I am ordaining each of you as elders of Silvercrest effective from this moment. Your positions are permanent as long as this pack stands."

One by one, they bowed their heads in acceptance.

Within the hour, the pack had been called to assemble in the courtyard. Word traveled fast inside Silvercrest, and by the time I stepped outside, the space was full. Warriors, families, omegas, and children stood at the edges beside their parents.

Elder Raymond, the eldest of the new council, stepped forward and addressed the pack. He looked natural in his position, and it made me proud that I had made the right choice by choosing them to stand by my side.

"Silvercrest has one Alpha," he announced. "One man whose bloodline, whose sacrifice, and whose commitment to this pack has never wavered. Mason Steele is your Alpha. He was always your Alpha."

The pack was quiet for a moment. Then someone in the front row dropped to one knee. Another followed. Then another, moving back through the crowd until the entire courtyard was kneeling.

"We are sorry, Alpha Mason," a woman near the front replied, her voice breaking. "We should never have turned our backs on you."

Others repeated her words. The apologies came from different directions, different voices, all carrying the same weight.

I stood there and let them finish. Then I raised my hand and the courtyard went quiet. "Stand up," I replied. "All of you. What happened is behind us. What happens next is what matters."

They rose up from the ground.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned. Rowan walked toward Amelia and me. He stopped beside me and looked out at the pack.

"You've done it, Father. But there's one more thing to do," he murmured, looking up at me. I smiled and winked at him.

I looked at Amelia before I reached into my jacket pocket. "Amelia." My voice carried across the courtyard, and she turned to look at me, confused by my tone.

I held up the ring. It was my grandmother's. The same grandmother whose blanket Rowan had kept safe through everything.

Amelia's hand came up to cover her mouth.

"I am not a man who finds the right words easily," I replied. "But I know what I want. I want you beside me every day that comes after this one. I want Rowan to have you in his life properly. And I want the pack to know who their Luna is." I looked at her. "Will you marry me?"

The courtyard was completely silent.

Amelia lowered her hand from her mouth. Her eyes were wet, but she was smiling. "Yes," she replied. "Obviously yes."

The pack erupted.

I slid the ring onto her finger and then picked her up before she could say anything else. She laughed and grabbed my shoulders as I carried her across the courtyard toward the pack house.

"Mason," she replied, still laughing. "People are watching."

"Good," I answered.

Rowan jogged to catch up beside us, shaking his head. "This is embarrassing," he muttered. But he was smiling the entire way.