91. Cade

Cade

Len and Saka both stood in my office, looking at me. "Will you guys be okay following an Alpha instead of a Luna?" Saka was the first to respond. "We were wondering if we could blood in with Kaya since she is the Luna of this pack. Would that be possible?" The muscles in my neck tightened. He went on. "Like Robert did. We would not stay with her like he does, but we would be more comfortable being led by a Luna."

I was pissed. I knew this was a possibility, but to outright ask for it. "No, I am the leader of this pack. If you want to stay here, you will join the pack, leave the Crescent Mon behind, and accept me as your Alpha and leader." They looked at one another. "It is not that we don't think you are a good leader, Cade, because we do. It is just that women are more capable of leading, and Kaya is strong, and we would want to follow her. We would still listen to you, but we would like her to have the final say."

I fucking knew this would happen. The northerns never wanted men to lead. I knew Kaya was a good Luna, but it was done differently. I had brought this pack from nothing. I had been leading since I was just a kid. "I like both of you, but unless you swear to me, then you will not be part of this pack. You will have to take your mates to the north when you return in the spring." Neither of them looked happy, but they agreed.

They knew their mates would not be okay leaving all this. Going into a frozen place with no electricity and no indoor plumbing. They themselves would not mind, but their mates would. They needed to stay here for their mates to be comfortable. Both of them stood there with their palms out, and I pulled a dagger out from my desk. I sliced Len's hand first, drawing blood. Then I cut mine open. "Repeat after me, Len. I accept Cade as my Alpha. I swear to do everything in my power to protect Shadow Pack. I vow to follow the rules instilled by my Alpha. I forsake Crescent Moon Pack and accept Shadow Pack as my family." Len repeated after me, then our hands clasped, and our blood bonded.

Saka followed, repeating the same process that Len had done. I felt both of them join the pack link. Most people felt happy when they entered a new pack, but Len and Saka, I could see, felt upset. I ignored their frowns. "Now tell me, did you talk to Nieva before you decided to join Shadow Pack?" "Yes, we did. She said we needed to be with our mates. It is our tradition to join our mates' pack." "Was she the one who told you to ask to be sworn to Kaya?" "No, definitely not," Len said. Saka went on. "Just let's say something happens to you. If we end up with a new alpha who is not of your line, we didn't feel comfortable following them."

He went on. "They may not value what we value, and we would not want to follow them." I tried to ease their fears. "If that happens, you could reject the new alpha, follow Kaya, and swear to her then." They nodded. "So Kaya told me you are mated to sisters?" "Yes, fraternal twins, they told us. They had turned 18 over the weekend." "You will take them to mate under the moon and stars?" "Yes." They said in unison.

"Are you going to insist on them having a den. They may not be used to it and having their families over at times when you guys find a place to live?" "Yes, a den is just as important to us as it is to Kaya. We would have a reaction if someone came into the den. It may not be as bad as it would be for a female, but it would still be bad." I thought about this. "You will need to emphasize this to your mates. You need to protect yourself." "Yes, we plan to." I looked at them. They seemed so severe.

"Now, about a place to stay. I have thought a lot about it, and you two can occupy some apartments on pack land. They are small, but you don't have children yet. When you outgrow the space, we will find you bigger housing. I also know how capable you both are with fighting. You both will work under Kaya until the pack has made all its changes. After that, I would like you a place as pack warriors. Now, how does that sound?"

"Sounds good, Alpha." "You can address me as Alpha and occasionally Cade. You will address me as Alpha when you are working as a warrior and on duty." "Okay," Saka said. "Can we call our families occasionally on the satellite phone?" "Yes, and as a welcome gift to the pack, I will get you both your own satellite phones." They smiled. I usually didn't give gifts to people joining the pack, but these were Kaya's friends, and I wanted them to have an easy transition. "Your mates are expected to finish high school."

"Yes, we agree." "Also, if they want to go to college, we encourage them to go. That is pack policy. We usually want them to do online school, but ultimately, it is up to them. If they go off-pack lands, you will go with them." "We understand." "Good, now go complete the mating bond.
Tomorrow Mark will show you to your new places to live. I will also start paying you for helping Kaya and then when you become pack warriors." "Thank you, Cade." "No problem, and welcome to Shadow Pack."

They nodded and left the office. Kaya came in, following them out. "Hey." I signed. "How did it go?" She signed back. "Good, they are now in the pack." "I know I felt them when they joined. I will say Nieva was happy." "Oh really." "Yes, we had a long conversation about it. It is tradition for men to join their mates' pack." I sat there thinking. "Kaya." I mind-linked. "Yes?" "You said you didn't have a lot of men looking for mates last season." "That is right." "What about the men from your pack who went out searching for their mates? What happened to them?"

"Well, few came back. They said many of the packs that we knew were just gone. They didn't know where they went. The ones that did not, we assume, found their mates, but we don't know as they never returned to say their goodbyes. So I really couldn't tell you." "I think something is going on. Something is not right in the north." I looked at her, and she seemed to be thinking. "Cade." She mind-linked me. "It is not my job to worry about the north. Crescent Moon is not my pack anymore. I am sure Nieva will get to the bottom of whatever is happening in the north."

"Kaya, you said it earlier. We may be seeing more matches with Southerns and Northerns due to not that many matings. And if that is the case, I want you to know that they are welcome to come in the winter and see if they can find their mates in our pack. I can even host a party every winter to see if their mates are in other packs. What do you think?" She smiled. "That is very generous of you; thank you, Cade." "I told Nieva we are allies, and if you guys are not finding mates in the north and I can help with that, then I will. But, Kaya, everyone who finds a mate will need to swear themselves to me as their Alpha." Kaya just nodded.

She understood what I had mind-linked her. "Thank you for everything." "You know I am doing this for you, right?" "Yes." Kaya came up behind my desk and sat down on my lap. She signed. "Now, how about I show you my appreciation?" "What did you have in mind?" She smirked and slid off my lap, getting on her knees.