“How’s he doing?” I asked Osana as I stopped at the door to the spare room in the addition where she’d taken Matias, seeing as how Harry and I had taken up all of her space.

The rest of his pack was jammed into the tiny space, leaving barely enough room for me to enter. But as I did, they all straightened instantly like I was somebody important.

I tensed up, and Osana noticed, and whispered in my ear. “They’re grateful for what you did.”

I didn’t know how to take that. It felt great to be appreciated, and part of me was proud, but at the same time all the attention made me uncomfortable. All my life, I’d never been a hero – I’d just been Seth. Now these guys were looking at me like I was somebody, and I had no idea how to act.

“He’s doing fine,” Osana said loudly, breaking the silence as I stepped over to the bed. Matias’s eyes were open, and he smiled as I came over to him.

“Better than you,” he joked, extending a hand. I took it and felt his strength as we shook.

It was odd as I looked at him. We’d only really met once, but somehow he felt like a brother to me, or a long lost friend I hadn’t seen in years. Maybe he was just that kind of guy. Or maybe it was because we’d had a common enemy in Kade. Or maybe it was because he’d helped me at a crucial point in my life. Either way, it thrilled me to see him doing well.

“You mad ‘cause I’m prettier than you?” I joked back. A couple of the rest of his pack behind me chuckled.

“I ain’t mad,” he told me. “How ya doin’?”

“I’m over the moon. They tell you my mate just had our first baby?”

Matias’s eyes lit up and he pushed himself into a seated position. “No shit?”

“No shit!”

“Congratulations! Your first one?”

“That’s right,” I said with a deep breath. “Scary!”

“But also awesome, right?”

“Damn right.”

I glanced around the room at all the faces – the four betas and the other two alphas who’d come here with Kade.

I made the right decision, I thought with pride as they looked at me. These guys could have been dead if we’d had a full-on battle with Kade, and for what? Who could tell what would become of these guys? How many lives would be changed now that Kade was gone?

I could feel the anticipation in the air as I looked at them, and realized that no one had had the talk with him yet. He’d been recovering. When I turned back to him though, he could tell that something was up.

“What?” He frowned. “What is it?”

“Ya know…Harry told me you were a good guy,” I said slowly. “Said you were nothing like Kade and would be a good pack leader.”

“He said that?”

I nodded, watching his expression as my words sunk in. He, like I, must have been thinking back to the night that we met.

“My name is Matias. I’m not here to hurt you.”

I’d expected an attack, a fight, some kind of a scuffle, but he let me into the truck where Harry was being kept.

“Kade’s a bastard and I hate it here. I want out.”

“So leave.”

“I can’t. I can’t just leave the omegas here with him. Something has to be done.”

“You know I brought the boys back to the truck stop,” I told him. “We were going to scout it out, see if we could help. But you were already gone.”

“Kade likes to – liked to keep us on the move. Less chance of being discovered by the humans.”

“The plan was to kill him. Get rid of him so you could take over.”

I put an emphasis on my words and stared at him, hoping he would get the message and understand my implications. And once I saw the realization in his eyes, and the fear there, I knew he was a perfect new pack leader.

“No…” he said slowly. “I – I couldn’t!”

“Yes, you could,” one of the alphas behind me said, taking a step forward. He was a shaggy brown-haired guy who didn’t look like he was even out of his teens yet. “We all know it.”

“That’s right, Matias,” the second alpha added, stepping up. “Kade was awful. We’ve wanted you to take over for months.”

“Really?” Matias asked, his eyes wide. Was it really possible he wasn’t aware of this?

“Come on, Matias,” I urged him. “You were Kade’s head of security. You know everything about managing the pack, and everyone loves you.”

“I’ve…I’ve never been a leader like that before—“

“We’re all behind you, Matias,” one of the betas said, taking a step closer to the bed. “Whatever choices you make, we’ll follow.”

Matias looked at me, but I merely smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

“They’re yours now,” I said softly. “I’m sure Tate would chat with you – he’s our leader. You have any questions, I’m sure he’d be happy to answer them.”

I turned away, but as I did, I felt Matias’s hand no my wrist.

“Seth,” he said. “Thank you.”