Chapter 95: Weird feeling
Chapter 95
Cameron
This is a weird feeling.
It’s like a drug coursing through my veins, lightning racing up and down my nerves, filling every cell. My brain feels sharper, my senses stretched so far it’s dizzying, it’s like when I first got my wolf senses but more.The second Nana said those words—"The new Alpha of White Stone"—something changed.
Not the kind I’m used to—numbers in a bank account, contracts signed, buildings raised. This is heavier. Wilder. It sits on my shoulders like an iron mantle, crushing and exhilarating all at once. It whispers responsibility in one ear, and in the other it promises I could do anything.
Anything.
And maybe that’s the price. The goddess, the ancestors, whatever force governs wolves... they don’t hand this crown over without strings attached.
Lenora steps forward through the stunned silence of the pack. Every eye is still on me, on us, but she doesn’t care. She holds a robe in her hands, simple but soft, and walks right to me. Her gray eyes meet mine, calm and unwavering.
Right. Naked.
I slip into the robe, tying the sash loosely at my waist. Then I turn and glance one last time at the corpse in the circle. The body has shifted back to human, a headless ruin sprawled in the bloodstained dirt.
Oh well.
"I knew you could do it," Lenora says softly. Her voice is steady, but through the bond I feel the rush of pride, the aching relief, the fierce love blazing through her.
I reach for her, sliding a hand to the back of her neck. I pull her close and kiss her, not caring who watches. Her lips taste like home, like the one anchor holding me down when the storm of new instincts tries to drag me under.
The crowd shifts, a ripple of whispers moving through them. Respect. Curiosity. Fear. All of it aimed at me.
They’re waiting. Every wolf here is waiting to see what I’ll do next. What kind of leader I’ll be.
I don’t know what kind I’ll be. But I know one thing—it will be better than Alric’s.
I pull away from Lenora, though my hand lingers at her waist. I turn my gaze to the wolves circled around us. Old and young, scarred and weathered, gaunt and hungry. Some look at me with disbelief. Some with cautious hope. All of them are desperate.
The ground feels different beneath my feet now. Alive. Waiting. The mantle has settled, and I am not just her mate anymore, not just a man who stumbled late into this world. I am the Alpha.
"I did not wish, nor desire, to be a pack leader," I begin, my voice low but carrying.
"I never wanted to be Alpha. All I wanted was a peaceful life with my mate."
A murmur ripples through the crowd, but I don’t falter.
"But you—" I gesture at them, their hollow faces, the children peeking from behind their mothers’ legs, "—you are her family. And despite everything, she cares about you. Which means, as her mate, you are my family. And I care about you too. So I’ve decided to take on the mantle."
I let the words hang for a breath, then sweep my gaze over them all. "As you know, I wasn’t raised in a pack. I don’t know your traditions, your ways, or what it means to lead wolves. But I will try my best. You have to trust me."
Silence greets me, heavy and uncertain. So I add, "I mean—you’re essentially all my in-laws. I kind of have to."
A ripple of laughter breaks out. Tentative at first, but it spreads. Lenora chuckles softly at my side, her hand tightening around mine.
I square my shoulders, feeling the power still thrumming through my veins.
"My first order as Pack Leader: go home. Rest. Tomorrow is a new day."
For a moment, no one moves. Then Nana strikes her cane once against the dirt, the sound sharp. "You heard him," she says.
"Your Alpha has spoken."
Once the wolves are gone, I groan and wrap my arms around Lenora’s shoulders, immediately breaking the charade of the cool, imposing leader.
"What I need is a shower. And a hot bath," I mutter into her hair, dragging her closer.
She laughs softly, circling her arms around my waist. "The water in the cabin isn’t working. Pipes are clogged, nothing comes out. We could ask one of the wolves—"
"No way," I cut in immediately. "That would ruin my carefully crafted image of being this mysterious, cool leader. Can’t let them see me begging for plumbing."
Her lips twitch, but she doesn’t argue.
"There’s bottled water and wipes in the car," I add, resigned. "Let’s go make do with that."
She tilts her head, giving me that look, half amused, half indulgent. "Our mighty new Alpha, reduced to wet wipes."
I nuzzle her neck, smirking. "Shh. Don’t expose me like this. You’ll shatter the illusion."
She chuckles again, pulling me toward the SUV. "Don’t worry, Cameron. To them, you’re already untouchable. But to me—" She glances at me sidelong, eyes warm.
"You’re the idiot I love enough to share wet wipes with."
I grin, exhaustion finally ebbing. "Now that’s romance."
*
Pulling the seats back into a makeshift bed, the bottled water and wipes did their job well enough. Not glamorous, but it worked.
I lean back, catching my breath, staring at the stars through the SUV’s sunroof. They glitter faintly, as if mocking the chaos of today.
"My second order as Alpha," I murmur, my lips curving lazily, "is that the Alpha’s mate should ride me."
Lenora tilts her head, pretending to sigh in mock exasperation. "Oh no," she says, her tone teasing but her eyes molten. "And how could I ever say no to the Alpha?"
She swings a leg over and straddles me, her silhouette framed by the starlight. I’m utterly lost in her—the fall of her silver hair over her shoulders, the sharp intelligence burning in her gray eyes, the way her breasts lift as she settles into position. Every inch of her feels like worship, like possession, like home.
She lowers herself slowly onto me, and it’s perfection—heat, tightness, her body molding to mine as if this was the only place either of us was meant to be. My head tips back against the leather seat with a low growl I can’t hold back.
Lenora smirks, palms splayed on my abdomen. "You do remember," she murmurs, "we don’t actually have water for a shower, right?"
Her words ghost over me, but I catch them, grin tugging at my mouth.
"Then we’ll just have to go slow," I rasp, sliding my hands up her thighs, "so we don’t get sweaty."
Her answering smile steals the rest of my air. I can endure anything, survive anything, as long as my nights end this way.