“I am.” He laughed at my amazement. “There’s a mountain of paperwork involved. I’ll have to scout property and forge alliances with neighboring packs, but it’s all doable. My parents were well liked and respected. I can make it work.”

“Are you doing this for Dell?” His loyalty to her and hers to him was so absolute I could picture him making a sacrifice this size for her. She was family, and he wouldn’t abandon her. “I just—I want you to be sure.”

“Dell is a good friend, and I wouldn’t let her face this alone, but no. I didn’t do this for her.” He squeezed my knee. “I didn’t do this for you either, so wipe the guilt off your face. This is for me. For them. This was my call, and it was the right one.” He straightened from his crouch and sat beside me. “It was my duty as beta to strengthen this pack, but I let resentment over Bessemer taking the reins when I was too young to hold them poison me against him. I rebelled, and I was dominant enough to drag others with me. I caused strife and turmoil, and he should have booted me out years ago. He would have if not for Marie and our bloodline.”

His weight dragged down the mattress, and I slid against him but wasn’t in any hurry to move away. Was this goodbye? Was that where this was headed? “Where will you go?”

“Wherever you go.” He didn’t miss a beat. “What did you think?” He folded me against his side. “That I would give you up just because we’re no longer betas? No longer Chandlers?” A chuckle worked through his chest and vibrated through mine. “We’re alphas now, mate. These stragglers following us out of Georgia? They’re fifty percent your headache.”

“No.” I sat up and shoved him off me. “I’m not an alpha. I’m not a warg. They won’t listen to me—to a fae.”

He caught my wrists and held me captive. “Did you wonder why they didn’t attack you at the pond?”

The pack had been acting odd around me, odder than usual. “I’m not going to like what you’re about to say, am I?”