Finlay was sitting on the couch in the dark room, his elbows on his knees and his head resting in his hands. I walked up to the fireplace. I knew he always kept it stocked this time of year. It lit without an issue. I walked over to the couch and sat down next to him.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” he said without looking up.

“I know how you feel, but you will find a way,” I told him.

“Did you get your shoulder checked out?”

“I did. They told me I was wasting their time,” I said. Finlay turned his head and gave me a sideway look. “Fine. They scolded me for not coming sooner and gave me an ointment. But that’s just because all healers think it’s the end of the world if you don’t come and see them when you stub your toe.”

“I can’t deal with losing you as well.” His voice was frail and thin. It was like the thought itself hurt him. I sighed and bent forward so I could lean my forehead on his slumped shoulder blade.

“You won’t. It really isn’t that bad. It hurts like hell but it’s healing, and at the most I will have a scar on my shoulder. But I’m not going anywhere,” I promised him.

“Good.”

We sat like that for a while in silence.

“How are the boys doing?” he asked.

“Good. I talked to them after dinner and they have gotten over the worst of it. Give them a week or two and they will see it as scary, but exciting. I think we kept them away from seeing the worst of it. They were more than happy with all the hot cocoa and attention they got afterward.”

“You,” he said.

“Sorry?”

“You kept them away from the worst of it, not we. And you kept them safe when you were discovered.”

“And I failed to get them out of there. I decided we needed to stay put, and by doing so, I forced the rest of you to come and rescue us. It’s my fault we lost him,” I told Finlay.

“Amie,” he objected and sat up for the first time. I took a deep breath and shook my head as the tears started rolling down my face. I had been keeping them at bay until now, but right now it was just Finlay and I knew I could be weak around him.

“I made the decision that ended with us losing Martin, our Beta. That is on me,” I insisted.

“It’s not your fault. You made the only reasonable decision you could make. If you had tried to get the boys out you would have been detected and we would have lost the three of you,” Finlay told me. He gently put his arm around me and drew me closer to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and he rested his on top of mine. “His mother was devastated. She cried and asked if I would send his ashes back to them.”

“He wouldn’t have wanted that,” I said.

“No, he wouldn’t. I told her we would scatter his ashes over our pack land, the land he gave his life to protect and which he loved.”

“It was the right thing to do,” I assured him.

“I know, but it felt horrible.” I put my arms around his waist and we sat like that. We shared our sorrow and let each other have time to think. When dawn’s first light was visible outside, Finlay sighed. “We will need a new Beta,” he said.

My first instinct was to object. The position belonged to Martin, but he wasn’t with us any longer. I nodded as best I could in my position.

“Do you have any candidates?” I asked.

“One.”

“Who?” I asked while I tried to figure it out on my own.

“You.”

“Me?” I asked, feeling confused.

“You’re the only one I can think of that can fill his chair.”

“But I already have a seat at the top tier table,” I objected. “Who will fill my seat?”

To make me even more confused, Finlay chuckled. It sounded genuine so I sat up and looked at him. He smiled at me.

“You are usually brilliant, so I forget what an idiot you can be,” he told me and ruffled my hair. I didn’t even try to avoid his hand as I was trying to figure out what I was missing. “The seat you have is made up. It was created for you as we wanted to give you a seat at the table. When you move to the Beta chair, your chair will be removed, because no one else can fill it,” he told me.

“Oh.” Yeah, I should have remembered he had created the advisory role for me. I was just so used to it by now. “If I take the Beta chair we will always be one person short. I don’t have a mate so that chair will remain empty,” I told him.

“You don’t know that. Things can happen,” he said.

I gave him a smile. “It will remain empty,” I told him.

He shrugged. “So be it. Look, the pack loves you, they trust and look up to you. I trust you. I don’t have it in me to find a replacement for Martin who isn’t you.”

“Okay. Count me in. If this is what you and the pack needs, I will do it. I will do my best, and I’m counting on you to tell me if I’m messing up.”

Finlay let out a deep sigh and put his arm around me again, pulling me with him as he leaned back on the couch.

“It will be fine, red. You are the daughter of a Beta, it’s in your blood.”

“So our pack will have a second-born Alpha, and a second-born Beta. It has a nice symmetry,” I told him as I relaxed against him. We sat and watched the sun come up.

“Time to get some food, red. It will be a long day,” Finlay told me. He got up and pulled me with him. For a moment we stood almost toe-to-toe, looking at each other. For a second I thought this was it, this was our moment. Then we both woke up and took a half step back.

“Come on, Fin, time to show the pack we still got our shit together,” I told him, gave him a smile, and headed towards the pack house.

“Fin?” he asked as he walked close behind me.

I shrugged. “It is long overdue that I get a nickname for you,” I said.

“Works for me.”

We entered the dining hall and saw that most of the pack had decided to eat breakfast together. As we walked up to our table both Medow and Matilda gave me long hugs. We were all trying to get our lives back to a place that made sense. It was important to support and get support from your pack mates.

“Did you ask her?” Sam asked Finlay as we sat down.

“I did.”

There was a pause in the conversation where everyone around the table but me looked at Finlay.

“And?” Sam asked.

“Did you think I would say no?” I asked him.

He grinned at me and relaxed back in his chair. He put his arm around Medow and pulled her chair closer to him.

“No, you are smarter than that,” he said.

“What are you talking about?” Medow asked.

“I asked Amie to become the new Beta,” Finlay said.

“Oh. That’s good,” Medow said.

“The only option,” Matilda said and gave me a smile.

I smiled back and nodded. We ate breakfast and when we were done, Finlay stood up and signaled for me and Sam to join him.

“Yesterday was a tough day for the pack. We lost loved ones and others were hurt, but we also showed that we are a strong pack. We will not give up without a fight. We protect our pack and our land. Beta Martin gave his life in that pursuit. Today we will take revenge for him and for the others we lost. We can’t be without a Beta. It’s more important now than ever before to show that we remain strong. Our new Beta will be Amie, I don’t think I need to explain why. She will officially be sworn in as we lay Beta Martin to rest, but I know that you will all treat her as Beta from now on. If you have questions, or have concerns, you are always welcome to talk to anyone in the top tier. We are here for you. Thank you everyone for your part yesterday. Everyone did what they should do and took the measures we have asked of you. It’s because of this we could win and only lose a few of our own. I am proud to be your Alpha,” Finlay told the pack.

I got a lot of congratulations via mindlink and also pack members telling me they felt safe with me as Beta. It was overwhelming to feel everyone’s support.

“In an hour the Alpha of the attacking pack will be executed outside the pack house. After that we will talk to the remaining members of his pack. You will decide their fate,” he then told them.

After he was done, the pack scattered. Families with young pups wanted to get them away from what was about to happen, others wanted to stay to bear witness.

‘Ready?’ I asked Finlay in a mindlink.

‘Ready,’ he confirmed.