Mateless and Home Bound

Chapter 63: Album

"Jane!"

She laughed as her two sisters ran up to her. It had been a harrowing week for all of them, and the day long war was taxing on all of the warriors, but it was so difficult to sleep with all the happy cries of the pack coming back together. All the ones who had fled to their neighbor pack had come back after everyone was done cleaning up. They were thinking it might have been best to wait until the next day, but everyone missed home, and the warriors missed their families too much.

"We thought that you weren't going to be okay," Hope buried her face into her dress. Her and Grace were holding onto her tightly.

"What do you mean?" she asked them playfully. "I always make it out of everything okay. I'm your big sister."

This was the first time in a while that they had been apart. It was the first time in a while that they truly had to fear for each other's lives. Of course, when she got hurt by the hunters the first time, there was a reason to worry. But she wasn't afraid of these hunters now. It was easy to take care of them with Eric taking the lead, too. He gave them all confidence in it.

He was a great leader, even if he gave up his title the same day he gained it. He followed his heart to do what was best for his people. Trying to save Charlie wasn't just something he had to do for himself. It would have affected the whole pack if he died.

It was putting the pack's needs above his own wants. And that was what she believed every leader should be like. It was great to see him shine like he did. And Reggie even backed him up as well in his decision. She was surprised that there wasn't any jealousy or poor sportsmanship over their competition. It truly must have just been something that the elders had tried to force on them. Because instead of fighting over it, they all seemed to work together. In turn, they wound up getting rid of the hunters much faster than they would have alone.

Reggie and Eric were right by the back door to the house, talking with everyone that was celebrating their safe home. The next thing to do was fix the things that had broken due to the battle, but that was another thought for another day. Right now, she was enjoying seeing all the smiling faces.

Alpha Max was there too, talking to them and smiling. He looked as if he had lost a lot of weight in the short time that he had been caring for his mate, but he still looked strong. She would never see him as weak as when he was worried that his mate might not make it. Now there was a smile on his face, and pride in his eyes as he looked at the two alphas that took the lead in this whole endeavor.

"I believe this belongs to you," Reggie's voice could be heard from over the bustling of people. They all stopped and watched as the man looked to Alpha Max, taking off the necklace that he had on for this whole endeavor. "As the temporary Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack, I rescind my title, returning it to the one it rightfully belongs to."

He moved it onto Alpha Max's head, changing the feeling of the pack as a whole yet again. Happiness ignited the flame of the people as they cheered for their original leader. They all hoped that they wouldn't have to go through something like this for a very long time.

"You two did an amazing job," Max looked at Reggie and Eric. Both of them were standing there as the sun barely peaked over the clouds. "I'm proud of you both. Not only have you helped lead these people, but you kept the territory safe."

"It wasn't just us," Eric said. "It's like Reggie said: we have four alphas capable of leading. When things were going south, it was time for us all to come together."

She wasn't there for that speech, but she wished she was after hearing Eric talk about it so much. When she first learned about Eric and Reggie being in a competition, she thought that the two would have hated each other. That's always how these kinds of competitions were. She was worried at one point that they would have to fight for their title once it was time. That was what had happened in other packs that she had seen with similar circumstances.