“What do you mean?” Kat frowns.
“You are young, my job isn’t for the faint-hearted, you will be forced to do things you don’t like or agree with, but as Queen, the same as Alpha of Alphas, it is your job to rule, to do what’s best for the packs. I may be an asshole, Katya, but I have a good reason. You can’t be a pushover when at the top, can’t show weakness. It will get you killed, or worse, start an uprising with the packs.” Dominic explains.
“I don’t want your position. That was never my intention to take it from you. You are still Alpha of Alphas,” Kat tells him.
“Correct, and that won’t change. We have just added another level to the hierarchy. I was angry when a nineteen-year-old girl showed me up, but that is behind us. I know you are capable. You did one thing I was never able to do,” Dominic says.
“And what is that?” She asks.
“Rally the Lunas. I tried to get the Lunas to speak up, and they just saw me as another Alpha. After a while, I gave up. Some people don’t like change, but I know it is necessary. You will be challenged, but those challenges won’t come from me,” Dominic says.
Ezra lets out a breath, sitting back in his chair. I’m pretty sure Ezra is displaying the relief all of us feel right now. And the tension around us also starts fading, which I assume has to be a good thing.
Dominic opens up the file in his hand, turns it around, and places it in front of Andrei and me, then places another in front of Kat. “The petition?” She asks.
“Yes, I signed it. I had the law changed yesterday, all of them and yours. You just need to sign the dotted line, and Kat and I can sign off on it,” Dominic says, pointing to the paper in front of me. Andrei grabs it, reading it over.
“Adoption paperwork?” Andrei looks at Dominic, as wide eyed as me.
“Correct. He will officially be your son. I had these filled out before Clive took him. I was always going to give him back.” Dominic announces, shocking us all.
“Wait, you weren’t taking him from us?” I ask the question that everyone has to be thinking.
“No, why would I do that? I wanted Kat to step down, but when Andrei rang me and said Jonah was in trouble, I realized I had made a mistake. I may not be a good man, Sage, but I own up to my mistakes, and taking Jonah from a loving home is one of them. I’m not proud of my decision, but I am a father, and I realize I let my ego impede what was best for Jonah. As for Kat, I seriously thought she was in over her head, but clearly, she has a backbone, something you will need,” he says, turning to look at her. Kat nods her head to him.
“And if you need help, just ask, it is better to ask than to make a mistake that could have been avoided like this clusterfuck with Jonah, but one good thing is some laws have been changed, and you rallied the she-wolves. So hopefully, we will see some changes amongst the packs. My wife was trying to do that before her passing. She almost had them in the courts helping to decide, but they stopped fighting for their places amongst the Alphas when she died. Lunas are important in packs. If the Alphas are the muscle, the Lunas are the caregivers of a pack, they nurture and keep the peace, they are just as important as the Alphas. I think some Alphas forget that,” he says.
“So, I just sign this, and he is ours officially?” Andrei says, reaching for the pen.
“Not that it could be any more official than initiating him, but, well, legally, this is required,” he says, and Andrei nods, signing it, and passing it to me.
I quickly sign, knowing Andrei must have read it. Dominic then signs it, passing it to Kat, who also signs it.
“You can hand that in, or do you want me to?” He asks.
“I can do it,” Kat says.
“Just let me take a photo so I can email a copy,” Dominic says, taking it and photographing each page before returning it to Kat. He then types up an email, showing it to Kat, who nods before sending it. Kat takes the documents and hands them to Ezra, who carefully folds them and places them in his pocket.
Jonah and Kyan come downstairs, rushing into the kitchen with some toy cars. Kyan stops next to his father. Dominic sips his coffee, watching his son over his mug.
“What is wrong?” He asks him, and Kyan looks over at Marabella.
“Can they play with Jonah and me?”
“That is up to their parents. You are asking the wrong person,” Dominic tells him, and Kyan nods, looking at Mateo and Ezra.
“Can I play with them?” He asks.
“Of course, you can but play where we can see you all,” Mateo answers him, and Kyan looks at his father.
“Go on then,” Dominic tells him, and Kyan rushes over to Jonah, who is playing with his toy cars with Marabella and Eziah. Kat is observing them. She almost seems distracted.
“My son has control, Kat. He won’t hurt your children. He knows better than that,” Dominic tells her, and Kat pulls her eyes away from them.
“It’s not that,” she says, and Dominic nods to her like he understands whatever they aren’t saying aloud. Ezra is watching Kat, his eyes narrow, and he leans forward, staring between them, and Kat looks away.
“How about we get this barbeque going?” Mateo suggests, already getting up from his seat.
“Great idea. Boys, there are sandwiches on the table and fruit,” Dominic tells Kyan and Jonah, and they hop up to help themselves. Kyan grabs a sandwich and a piece of watermelon before plopping down on the mat with the kids. Marabella crawls over to him and tries to grab the watermelon from him.
“Here you go,” Kyan says, holding the watermelon to her lips.
“Kyan, did you ask?” Dominic scolds his son, and he jerks his hand back.
“They can eat the fruit, but the sandwiches might be hard for her to eat,” Kat tells him, and he nods, holding the watermelon out to her, and Kat jumps.
“Wait,” she rushes over just as Marabella bites him. A shriek leaves her lips, but Kyan laughs.
“She has teeth,” He laughs, and Kat looks like she is about to throw up.
“Told you,” Dominic says, patting her shoulder as he passes her, while Kat and Ezra look dumbfounded.
“You’re hiding something,” I hear Ezra whisper in her ear as he walks past. He gives her a look before following Andrei out.
“What did he mean?” I ask her.
“Nothing. I was worried her bite would hurt him.” Kat blurts out.
“They seem fine,” I tell her, and she nods her head with a look of worry on her face.
“Well, that wasn’t what I expected,” I tell Kat, and she sighs, leaning back in her chair.