Chapter 32

Most of the room bursts into applause as I announce that any female wanting to learn will begin training first thing in the morning. I hold my hands up to quiet the room down. “I’m glad this pleases you, but we have more matters to discuss. From now on, jobs will be assigned by skill instead of position or strength. Maddox Meyers is our most skilled fighter, so he will be in charge of training.”

Maddox stands up and nods to me, accepting his assignment. “If there is a specific job you would like to have, send me a resume. My mate and I will begin assignments first thing in the morning.” Ashton squeezes my hand as I look up at him.

Ashton steps forward for the next part, knowing I’m uncomfortable. “As the Alpha pair, we decided to let you as a pack decide the fate of former Alpha Greg. We feel that he has harmed everyone collectively, and thus, you deserve a say in his fate.”

Ciara is in the back of the room and refuses to look at us. I watch her break down as ideas are tossed around. When someone announces that he should be treated the same way he treated our packs, she drops to the ground.

I make my way to her, and she looks up from the floor. “I didn’t know. I swear to the moon Goddess I didn’t know.”

I help her to her feet. “His sentence will be carried out tomorrow at sunset. You can stay with him if you would like a chance to say goodbye.” She nods. Ashton calls an end to the meeting, and we escort Ciara to the cells. Ashton had guards stationed when we put Greg down here, but since he is no longer Alpha, he’s much weaker.

He gets to his feet as I stand before him. “Tramp. What brings you here?”

Ashton growls behind me. I lift my chin and look him in the eyes. “That’s Luna to you. Your punishment has been decided. You will suffer the same fate that you bestowed on the other packs. I’m here to deliver your mate to you. She wishes to stay with you one last night.” I nod to a guard, and the cell is opened. Ciara rushes into Greg’s arms. He holds her to him—at least he cares about his mate. The cell door closes. “Your guards will still be around, but I have ordered them to allow you some privacy.”

Ashton wraps an arm around my shoulder, and I lean into him. He asks Greg for a few pieces of information regarding the pack. Greg answers after being commanded. “One last thing.” Ashton stops me from leaving and asks with an Alpha command. “Your son, Hunter. Do you know where he is?” Greg and Ciara both shake their heads. Damn. “Ciara, link either myself or Luna Gypsy if you need anything.” Ciara nods but turns into her mate’s chest.

I let out a huge sigh once we make it out of the dungeon. One more day and his reign of terror ends. Ashton leads me to the Alpha’s office and begins logging in and changing passwords. He picks a cabin key at random, but I take it and pick a different one. “This one will be ours.” He knits his brows but follows along.

We head to the northeast corner of the territory, not far from my waterfall. I stop at my shed to grab the items I had left behind. Ashton helps carry my bag. He huffs as I click the lock in place. “This is where you stayed. Absurd. Fucking ridiculous.”

I reach up on my toes to give him a kiss. “That’s all in the past now.” He grunts but follows me to our new home. The cabin is not the biggest, but definitely fitting for an Alpha pair. With my waterfall close by, I think I may just have to claim the small area for just the two of us.

I flick on the cabin lights, and Ashton whistles as he looks it over. The main living area has a huge fireplace on one side and lush furniture. The kitchen is spacious with an island and a breakfast nook. I lead him down the hall past the bathroom and the two bedrooms on the opposite side. The master bedroom is at the end of the hall. It holds a massive king-sized bed and an en suite.

“Why are the families at the pack house if these cabins are so huge?” Ashton asks as he shakes out some of the dust. I only cleaned these once a month.

“Because believe it or not, the rooms in the pack house are just as large. The one that was Greg and Ciara’s has five bedrooms.” Ashton shakes his head. “I like the idea of the pack living as a pack. We’ll have to expand the pack house to accommodate the ones in the meeting rooms.”

Ashton nods then pulls me onto the bed. “We can start all of that tomorrow. Right now is our time.” I smile as he pulls my shirt over my head.

A stack of papers is awaiting me in the office. After going through them, I’ve established teachers for the school, kitchen staff, hospital workers, gardeners, even builders for the extension of the pack house. Ashton figured out his guards and trainers. I rub my temples as I look over another resume. I have a stack of papers of pack members with absolutely no skills whatsoever. “I don’t suppose we can have seventy-four janitors.”

Ashton looks up from the computer with a smirk. “All of the buildings need cleaning.” I cock my brow. “We can have them learn something.” He stands up from behind the desk and cracks his back. He takes my hand. “Come on. Aunt Cora made her pot roast, and Alyssa made rolls. We haven’t left this room since breakfast.” At that, my stomach grumbles in excitement and we walk hand in hand toward the dining room.

We agreed to let Cora and Gran retire from the kitchen, so this is their send-off. I set Dad up to temporarily run the kitchen since he has experience. Once he hands the reins over, he’ll join Maddox in leading the training. He mentioned returning to his diner to leave it with Linda. I feel bad that he’s leaving her, but he told me that he never really loved anyone but my mother. “Linda is a sweet woman, but we were only really together for the company. I couldn’t even tell her about werewolves.” I’m glad he’s staying with the pack, with me. It’s where he belongs. Since re-establishing a connection, he’s already healing faster than expected and getting around fairly easily.

The smell of the pot roast has me salivating. Add Gran’s rolls and I am in food heaven. Ashton knots his brows at my small portion of food. “You're allowed to actually eat now, you know.”

I smile up at him. “I know, but I’m still not used to it. I’ll start pigging out in the future.” He laughs as he places his overstuffed tray with two full bowls and three rolls on the table. With his size and metabolism, he needs every calorie. He pulls me beside him and kisses my lips before digging in.