The guilt riding her from inflicting her will on her clan refused to leave. She needed to do something about that. If she was expected to do that to her clan every time she needed them to do something, she…

Didn’t want to be the alpha anymore.

She preferred… Mason.

She needed to talk to Chuck.

Driving over there seemed the best idea. Within less than an hour, she was at his home and knocking on his door.

Chuck stood there, regarding her for a long moment, and then nodded, leading the way outside to the garden.

She didn’t know how to start the conversation.

“You’re alpha now and don’t know if you like it.”

She sighed. Leave it to him to know exactly what to say. “Yeah.”

“You’ve trained for this your entire life.” His tone held no judgement.

The air smelled fresh after the light drizzle they’d had that afternoon. The trees were thick with bugs and distant thunder could be heard as the storm built just south of them.

Mal stretched out a little in her mind, taking over her senses and heightening them a little.

“It’s not that. I have that well under control.”

“You mother is still trying to pull the strings.”

“She is.”

“I assume you have her cut off.”

“I did.” Granted, she’d needed the reminder, but Cheryl hadn’t been able to drain that much out of the accounts. She’d obviously learned about the limits Emma had placed on them. She had also been working to set Jordan up as her legal trust or guardian.

Emma had put a stop to that as well. Jordan had zero access to the Elliot accounts. Everyone’s cards had been canceled. Personal accounts had been frozen. If people thought they could control her, they were going to be in for a rude awakening.

Chuck nodded, taking them down a wide path with damp, overhanging ferns on either side. “That is good and wise.”

She didn’t know if he was reading her mind or Mal or what. “What can you tell me about the Hatfields?”

Chuck shrugged. “Only that they are recently from Alaska where they’d tried to claim some territory up there.”

“So, land grabbers.”

“Money, too. They’re not a rich pack, nor are they particularly powerful.”

Well, that was good.

“They’re mostly bears, but they also have several wolves and a few coyotes.”

“So, they’re a standard pack.” Also good news. “Not a clan.”

He nodded.

Packs could be powerful, but there was a reason Cheryl had fought so hard to ensure their clan remained a clan, that all the bear lines remained strong and pure. It made them stronger together, harder to defeat.

“Is it possible they could gain ground on another pack?” she asked. Instead of hers… “Dexx’s, for instance.”

“Why would you ask that?” His voice actually rose in pitch.

He’d fought to get the Whiskeys added to their regional pack, but that didn’t mean everyone believed he was right. She certainly didn’t. Still, there was a representative at every clan meeting. Cheryl had railed over that one.

“They’re the weakest pack you have.”

“Really.” He sounded interested, but his expression remained soft and accepting, the corners of his lips raised in question.

“He has a handful of wolves and a hyena.”

“You forget what Dexx is.”

“It’s a little hard to forget that.” He didn’t let anyone forget that he was an extinct, powerful cat. “But, I doubt he’s a match for a bear with a full clan behind her.”

Chuck sighed and stopped. “Cheryl had the clan behind her. You don’t.”

Emma frowned. “I have them. I feel them.”

“You defeated their alpha, but you don’t have them.”

He was right. She hated it when he was right.

“It doesn’t feel as though you want to be there. Why?”

She closed her eyes, breathing to three, and then opened them again. “I forced my will on them.”

He didn’t say anything as he watched her, but then he looked away. “It has to be done occasionally.”

“Except that with this clan, I feel as though they need it often. Cheryl beat everyone into submission and now they expect it.”

“Then, give them what they want.”

“Except that it’s not good for them. They can be so much stronger without it.”

He tipped his head in agreement. “But this is not the time to appear weak.”

“The Hatfields,” she said with forced patience, “have no foothold through us.”

“Unless you fail as alpha.”

His words hit her as if they were knives aimed at her heart.

His blue gaze met hers finally. “If you fail, Jordan will take your place. He’s the only one and with what your mother did to him, it will be like she’s ruling. Only it will be worse. As time goes on, he will fight her further. And the Hatfields will get in.”

“They won’t.”

“With you no longer as alpha, you will be shunned. They will force you out. You will lose control of the accounts, the enterprises, the income, the house, the land. Jordan will control everything. And Cheryl’s will on his soul will start to wear him thin.”

“Then break her control on him.”

Chuck turned away. “I am trying. But I can’t if he becomes alpha.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” he said, stopping again, “he will have no alpha to will him to me to be ‘healed.’ He won’t come on his own when the one controlling him wants him to remain broken.”

So, to protect Jordan, she had to stay right where she was. “What other choice do I have?”

Chuck started walking again. “Do you know how I met Faith?”

No one knew that story, at least not that she was aware of. Emma matched his steps. “No.”

“She ran away from her home. Her alpha had raped her. That’s how she got that scar on her face. She fought against him. He’d forced his will on her to make her compliant.”

“She’s an alpha.”

“She wasn’t born that way. She gained it in that moment, taking charge of her life, forcing him to back off.”

Emma frowned. Was that something she could use on Jordan? Force him into a situation to drive his own will upward?

“My pack warned me against her. She was broken. She brought bad blood with her. Her pack followed, seeking retribution.”

Emma wasn’t quite sure where this was going.

“But she made me feel complete.”

Oh, crap. That’s where he was headed. Mason.

“I did what I knew was best for me and for her.”

“And what happened?”

“At that time, I was a young alpha, had a small pack.”

It was hard to imagine Chuck as a young alpha making mistakes.

“But that situation forced me to step up and be stronger.”

“And?”

“I took down that pack’s alpha. I took the pack into my own. And I became stronger.”

That…wasn’t going to work for her. “Mason is a porcupine.”

“He is.” Chuck stopped again. “It worked because my needs and the needs of my pack were the same. But when they are not, the needs of the pack outweigh the needs of your heart.”

Emma sighed. This was not what she wanted to hear. “What do I do? I…don’t want to be alpha.”

“Unless you want to invite the Hatfields into your clan—which is what quitting before Jordan is ready would look like—then I recommend you table Mason, build Jordan, and protect your clan. When your clan is stronger and Jordan can take your place on his own, then you can step down and follow your porcupine.”

“He would be following me.”

Chuck chuckled.

“How do I build Jordan?”

“Leave that to me.” Chuck turned toward the house. “I’m working on him. He’s close to breaking Cheryl’s hold on him.”

“What will break it?”

“He will.” Chuck shrugged.

That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “And until then?”

“I need you to remain alpha.”

Damn it.

She didn’t want to have that conversation with Mason. It would break his heart.

She definitely didn’t want to do that.

Dang it. She didn’t want to do any of this.