Page 84 of Dragon's Revenge

“Not according to Sivney. He’s tired, emotional, and sick as a dog—his words—and he’s not happy. You know it takes a lot for him to ask for help, but he did. In classic Sivney style, he immediately provided the solution too, proposing we name Zack third-in-command. That way, he’ll have the necessary experience and knowledge by the time Sivney goes on pregnancy leave to take over from him temporarily.”

Jermon chuckled. “Damn, okay then. Sounds like Sivney, alright. Naran must be over the moon though.”

Erwan pursed his lips. “I had the same thought, but it’s not Naran’s. It’s Lev’s.”

Lev’s? But… At the same time the thought hit him, reality washed over him like a cold wave. Wow, that reality check was sobering. He cleared his throat. “There’s a classic example of an old thought pattern popping up, huh? My automatic assumption was that it would be Naran’s since he’s the alpha.”

“Yup, same here,” Erwan confirmed. “Which, if nothing else, should make us a little more understanding of what Duff Bás must be going through. Delton calls it deprogramming. Your brains have been programmed to run certain automatic scripts that now have to be unlearned…and that costs a lot of time and energy. Like the automatic script that a first child should always be the alpha’s…”

Jermon let out a long sigh. “Fair enough, but that doesn’t mean I have to trust him.”

“No, but he did request to talk to all of us.” Erwan raised his chin. “We’re meeting him at ten tomorrow morning.”

Valdis shot up straight. “What the fuck? You didn’t think that was something to check with us first?”

“No. The order comes from Rhene, not from me, so we comply. Easy as that.”

“Easy for you,” Nadiv grumbled. “He’s your mate.”

“Would you rather Erwan give the command as your king?” Jermon asked, his tone colder now. Who the fuck did his younger brothers think they were to question Rhene’s orders? “Because make no mistake, he can, and if necessary, he will.”

The fight left Valdis and Nadiv instantly. “We didn’t mean any disrespect,” Valdis said, still sounding a little perturbed.

“Maybe, but it sure as fuck came across that way, so keep yourself in check.”

“Damn, becoming a parent has really helped you develop that father voice,” Nadiv said, his eyes twinkling now. “It’s impressive, dude. A little scary, but impressive.”

How could he not laugh at that? And so he did, enjoying the last of his cigar as he caught up with his brothers until it got too cold to be outside anymore.

ChapterThirty-Two

Oliver looked around the meeting barn. A large group had gathered for the pack meeting, most of the pack present, even though they had no idea what to expect. In the back of the barn, close to the door, sat Duff Bás, all by himself. His shoulders were hunched, and he didn’t look anything like the skilled warrior he apparently was. In fact, he looked so lonely and somehow sad that Oliver’s heart went out to him.

Oliver sat next to Fallon and his mates. Adar was on duty, guarding the meeting barn, and Delton had decided to stay home. He’d done an intensive trauma counseling session with Wendell that had lasted hours, and he was exhausted. Initially, he’d wanted to come, but Oliver had insisted he stay behind and relax.

Rhene was all smiles as he looked around the room. “Thanks, everyone, for coming. We’ll start with an announcement from Sivney and take it from there.”

Sivney rose. Oliver frowned as he took the omega in. He looked a tad pale. Was he okay?

“It’s good to see you all.” He took a deep breath. “Many of you have come up to me in the last two weeks, asking if I’m okay. I am. Well, I’m sick as a dog, but for a good reason. I’m pregnant.”

Ah, that explained his appearance then. A loud roar flowed through the barn, followed by thunderous applause. Sivney grinned. “Thank you,” he said when things had quieted down again. “As you can probably tell, I’m already fed up with it…and still have four more months to go. But my mates are over the moon, and Abigail is excited to become a big sister, so it’s all good. But it does mean I have to scale back. As much as I want to pretend I’m superhuman, my body has made it crystal clear that I’m not.” He shot a look at Naran. “And Naran may have threatened to lock me in our room if I don’t slow down.”

“As if he would live to tell the tale,” someone commented, and that got a round of laughs, including from Sivney himself.

“My point is that I’ll be out of commission for a while, and we have too much going on for our pack alpha to do it all by himself, so he needs help.”

Rhene rose again and took up position next to Sivney. “Luckily, we have a solution. Zack has offered to serve as third-in-command, effectively taking over from Sivney while he’s on pregnancy and paternity leave.” He gestured at the dragon omega. “Zack, will you come forward?”

Zack raised his chin, barely reaching Rhene’s shoulder when he stood. Rhene wrapped his arm around him. “Zack and I met at the Dragon Council, where he immediately showed me his courage, determination, and leadership skills. He managed to convince most of the omegas present to trust Erwan and me and to ultimately join the new Doyle clan. In doing so, he saved countless lives. And since his arrival here, he’s worked tirelessly to help everyone settle in, mediating conflicts, getting help where needed, and doing whatever he could to make everyone feel at home. This is all the more remarkable because he was new himself…and because I wasn’t there initially, so it was just Sivney and Zack. He did such a phenomenal job that I have no reservations about accepting him as my third-in-command, but under the circumstances, I figured an official vote would be the best way forward.”

Oliver quickly looked around him again and couldn’t spot anyone looking at Zack with doubt.That was a good sign.

“We will now open the floor to anyone who wants to ask him questions before we bring it to an official vote.”

“Why do you want to be a leader in our pack?” Sivney asked Zack.

Sivney’s question was a bit of a soft one, of course, but that was okay. And the question itself was fair.

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