ALPHA: Heir Of The Four

Chapter Twenty-Three

They weren't just some faceless strangers that could be grouped together. Six of those wolves had given up everything to accept me as their alpha's mate, and two of the remaining three, who had the biggest reason to reject me, had welcomed me with open arms and accepted me and my place in their son's life. As for Angelie, who I had no real relationship with and was only connected to through our mutual love for Caleb, despite not owing me anything, she was putting her life at risk with every second that she kept me a secret.

Chase was the first to move, abandoning his spot in front of the front door to meet me at the base of the steps. When I looked up at him, I was met with a soft smile that assured me he held no ill feelings. While I battled with whether or not to say 'hi' first or just come out with a 'see you later, maybe', Chase opened his arms and, without a second of hesitation, I stepped into his embrace.

"Kane told us you're leaving, but I know that this won't be forever," he whispered in my ear. "So, do what you believe you need to do for you and then come back to us. To him." He pulled away and stared down into my eyes.

"I can't promise you that I will."

"But I can promise you that you can, should you choose to."

"Isn't that for the alpha to decide?" I joked and we both smiled.

I had not forgotten what Caleb told me the night I first met the pack and the ultimatum he had given me. If I had chosen him, I would be stuck with him and in this life forever, but if I had not, then I would have forfeited by place by his side and in the pack. No second chances.

I had chosen him then—a decision that was meant to have sealed my fate—but this time I was choosing myself. A second chance that neither of us expected would arise through a complication in the form of his beta and my best friend. And I highly doubted that I would ever be given a third.

"I don't like to brag," his green eyes lit up with amusement, "but I've got some sway with him."

"Thanks, Chase."

He took my suitcase from my hand and moved to stand to my right. Even with only a glimpse of his peripheral I could see that his expression had turned serious as he stared towards the rest of the pack and nodded once. All of the deltas immediately made their way towards me and stretched out into a horizontal line before Chase and I. The Brandts followed suit but took up a spot behind the pack, while Angelie had not moved from her spot against the wall across from where we all stood.

My eyes travelled from one on to the next as I took a deep breath and began to speak from the heart. "I just want you all to know that I appreciate everything you've done for me. I know that my presence in your lives jeopardized everything you've spent most of your lives trying to protect, and accepting me as Caleb's mate couldn't have been easy. I know that it wasn't. So, if there's one thing that I hope you all know, it's that I'll be forever grateful to you.

"But the fact is that I haven't done anything to show you that, have I? I've made a lot of mistakes, and the biggest one of all put one of you at risk," I looked over at Declan but he avoided my gaze so I moved it along, "which, in turn, put all of you at risk. I'll never be able to forgive myself for that. Ever.

"Do I think that leaving will eliminate that risk entirely? No. But I don't think there's a place for me here, and that's not because any of you have, in any specific way, made me feel like I don't belong. The fault lays with me. I made a choice that I wasn't ready or prepared to make at a time when I wasn't fully ready or prepared to make it because I wanted so badly to finally have a place to belong.