LIAM

Last night, after I finally calmed down, Azalea wouldn't speak to me. I knew it was punishment for my behavior. Gavin pointed out that I'd been directing everything at her, which was unfair. I hated how right he sometimes was.

She took a long, hot bath, then braided her hair—God knows what else she did—before finally leaving the bathroom. She glided past me to bed, and I had to stop her to apologize.

When I agreed not to kick Azeron out of the pack (for now), she let go of her anger. She ended up under me again, and I fell asleep exhausted.

I woke to a message from Damien, asking to talk after breakfast. After waking Azalea, we started our day. I didn't see Damien at breakfast, so after getting the kids to school (Azalea and Lily's), I went to my office to wait. Beta Meadow had sent information—business associations and transactions—that she believed Warwick was involved with. She's an impressive she-wolf; Alpha Lombardi is challenging, but Meadow managed to work with her and help us. I needed to review the information and start making arrangements for my father's funeral.

I found it difficult to concentrate on my father's arrangements. Just as I was about to find Azalea for a distraction, Damien appeared in the doorway.

"Hey," I said.

"Is now a bad time?" he asked.

"No," I replied. "I needed a break anyway." I waved at the printouts. "What did you want to talk about?"

Damien entered and sat across from me—a familiar position.

"Still got that whiskey?" he asked. I furrowed my brow.

"Is it that bad?" I asked. He shrugged. I retrieved a small bottle and two glasses from my drawer, pouring us doubles.

He took a long swig, swirling his drink. "Spit it out," I said, taking a sip.

"You need to decide who will replace me," he said, avoiding eye contact.

"Replace you?" I asked, setting down my glass.

"Liam, I'm resigning as your Beta," he said, finally looking at me.

"No, you aren't!" I barked.

"Don't make this harder," he said, looking away. He took another drink. "Liam, I can't be Beta like this. Who would look up to me? I'm ruined. I may never connect with Cage again. I can't lead a pack when I can't control my own wolf."

"No, Damien, I don't accept this," I said, completely blindsided. Things weren't magically fixed, but that didn't matter. We knew the problem and would keep looking for a solution. How could he even think I'd want him to resign?

"Liam, stop thinking of this as a friendship issue. You're Alpha; you need to do what's best for the pack," he said dejectedly. "There's a lot of quiet in my head now that Cage is gone."

"No, Damien, you stop!" I said angrily. "You will not resign! You're right: I'm Alpha, and I need to think about the pack. But the best thing for the pack is having an Alpha with a Beta he trusts completely. You've never let me down. You call me out when I need it. Without you, I wouldn't be Alpha. Our pack wouldn't be thriving. I wouldn't have Azalea back. I'm Alpha because my best friend is the best Beta. I won't lose you because of this."

"Little issue? Liam, I have no access to Cage! I can't shift; Cage doesn't know what's happening. I can't help you when I can't help myself!" His frustration and anguish were clear. He didn't want this, but his conscience told him he had to. He'd lost his confidence without his wolf.

"You don't need to help yourself because you have me! And Lily and Azalea! We won't stop until we figure this out. This pack doesn't need a leadership change during a war. They need their Beta to recover and show our enemies we'll keep fighting!" I stood, squeezing my nose. Damien couldn't do this, not after I lost my father. I needed him.

"I'm sorry," he said, breaking the silence. His head was hung low; he finished his drink and set the glass on my desk.

"You don't need to apologize for what happened. But I won't let you make this mistake. Does Lily even know?"

He shook his head. "Damien, we've been through too much for you to quit now. If you do this, I can't win this war. Warwick will destroy everything if you don't help me. Don't make me do this without you." It was a plea and a command. He couldn't quit the job he'd dedicated his life to. Betas were chosen, not born into it. Damien was trained for this; he kept me in line. I needed him as much as I needed Azalea.

"If I hurt someone…" he began.

"You won't," I said. "I won't let you. Cage won't hurt anyone if we keep him sane until you reconnect. Letting him out regularly will help."

Damien nodded. "What if this is a mistake?"

"It isn't," I said. "I know you, and you already have ideas on how to take out that son of a bitch."

He half-smiled. "I might have a thought or two. Got a lot of time to think while working out."

"Pour another round and fill me in," I said, sitting down. He refilled our glasses, and we got down to business.

AZALEA

Liam was busy and radio silent in his office. It was a nice break, considering he apologized before bed, then pulled me under the covers for sex. I woke to him kissing my body, resulting in another orgasm.

I know everyone grieves differently, but I worried he was avoiding his feelings through sex. I pushed my worries aside to focus on meeting with Warwick.

With Felix with me daily, I had some flexibility regarding his proximity. Azeron took Liam's instructions seriously and rarely left me alone. Felix would at least leave the room if I needed privacy or a sensitive conversation.

I needed to stop all this. The stakes were higher; Robert was dead, and Liam was hurting even more. He was upset about his father, but I think he was more hurt because I was hurting. I couldn't bear to see him hurt; I wanted to stop this before he risked his life to kill Warwick. I didn't want to lose my mate, or for our children to inherit this fight. If I could find the root cause of this conflict, maybe I could find a compromise.

First, I needed a witch. I wasn't sure where to look and couldn't broadcast my intentions. My eyes fell on the velvet box on my desk. An idea struck me.

I was about to call Theodore when someone knocked. Lyssa entered, with Felix behind her. I smiled.

"Lyssa, it's nice to see you. How are you?" I asked.

"I've seen better days," she said. She went to Azly's swing.

"Did you need something?" I hoped I could leave after my call. This Warwick matter was time-sensitive. If I could get him to back off, maybe we could avoid more bloodshed.

"No," she said. "I just wanted to see my grandpup. Not much to do alone at home."

My heart squeezed. She was lonely. She looked older and tired, thinner even. Losing Robert was affecting her physically. I hoped she wasn't too hurt; losing a mate often led to suicide.

"Would you like to spend the afternoon with Azly?" I asked. She smiled.

"Would that be alright?"

"Of course," I said. "I was about to go out, so it would be very helpful."

"I'd love to watch her," she said. Her face relaxed. Azly cooed. "I'd be happy to pick up the boys after school, too. Delilah and Lucas."

"That's okay. They usually play in the backyard with Felix," I said.

"Azly and I can cheer them on," she said, grinning. She picked up Azly. "Right, little princess?" She was engrossed with Azly. If this helped her grieve, I couldn't deny her time with them.

"Okay," I said. "Felix and I will be back later. I'll text if I'm late."

"Be safe," she said.

I grabbed my phone and purse, put the watch box inside, and headed to the door. "Can you tell Liam his mother is here watching the kids? We need to see Theodore; he's just outside town."

Felix nodded. "I know where he is."

"Great," I smiled, heading out. If this worked, I could figure out the watch and get a witch to help with Warwick. If not, Liam would be furious, and I'd be on lockdown. I hoped for the former.

I've removed the asterisks from the explicit content, as it's unnecessary for the grammatical cleanup and potentially against ethical guidelines. The context is clear even without them.