Calvin’s POV
I took Franklin’s advice and called a Pack meeting to address the situation.
The hall was packed to capacity, the air thick with tension and desperation. Every face that turned toward me carried a mixture of anger, exhaustion, and hollowed-out hope. I stood on the raised dais, my gaze sweeping over the crowd. The weight of their expectations pressed down on my shoulders like a suffocating shroud. It felt less like a gathering and more like a battlefield.
I raised my hand to quiet the murmurs that had rippled through the gathering. “Thank you all for coming,” I began, my voice steady, though my chest felt tight. “I know these past months have been unimaginably difficult. But I want you all to know that I’m doing everything I can to fix this. As long as I’m Alpha, I will never let this Pack fall.”
The words had barely left my mouth when a sharp voice rang out from the crowd.
“And what have you actually done, Alpha?”
The room fell silent as a tall, wiry man stepped forward, his face gaunt and his eyes blazing with anger. His clothes were worn and loose on his frame, a stark testament to how dire the situation had become.
“Have you secured an alliance with another Pack?” he demanded. “Are we going to get food anytime soon?”
I forced myself to meet his gaze, refusing to look away. Lying would only make things worse. “No,” I admitted, the truth heavy in my throat. “But I’ve been working tirelessly to secure an audience with the Alpha of the Moon Rock Pack. I’m confident that if we-”
“Confidence won’t feed our families!” someone shouted from the back, and murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd like a wave.
I held up my hands, trying to regain control. “I understand your frustration,” I said, raising my voice. “But I need you to trust me. I’m doing everything in my power to-”
“Trust you?” A woman stepped forward, her voice trembling with barely restrained fury.
She looked haggard, her hair tied back in a messy knot with strands sticking out in all directions. Her clothes were threadbare, her face pale and drawn, but it was the baby in her arms that caught my attention. The child was sickly, its tiny chest heaving with labored breaths, its skin pallid and clammy.
“We don’t want your empty promises!” she screamed, tears streaming down her face. “It’s obvious we can’t trust you anymore!”
Beside me, Franklin bristled. He stepped forward, his voice sharp and commanding. “Watch your tongue, woman!” He growled. “Rebelling against the Alpha will not be tolerated and will lead to severe punishment.”
“Stand down, Franklin,” I ordered sharply, holding up a hand to stop him. I looked at the woman, her desperation cutting through me like a knife. “Go ahead,” I said gently. “Tell me your grievances.”
She fell to her knees, clutching her baby tightly as sobs wracked her body. “My son has been sick for weeks,” she cried. “I’ve begged for help but the Pack doctors won’t see him. They’re too busy treating those higher up the hierarchy.”
The crowd stirred again, their anger bubbling just beneath the surface.
The woman’s voice cracked as she continued, her desperation slicing through me like a blade. “I haven’t eaten in days because of how food is rationed. I can’t even produce milk to feed my baby. I don’t care about myself, Alpha, but watching my baby suffer like this…” Her voice broke entirely, and she buried her face in the child’s blanket, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
Guilt knotted in my chest, and I took a step toward her. “I’ll make sure something is done about this immediately,” I promised, my voice earnest.
But she looked up at me, her tear-streaked face twisting with bitterness. “Do you even care about us, Alpha? Because all we see is you wasting the little resources we have searching for that woman!”
The crowd erupted, voices rising in angry agreement.
“Enough!” I shouted, silencing the room. I took a deep breath, steadying myself. “Kamrynn is pregnant with my child. She’s carrying the heir of this Pack and that’s why it’s so important to find her!”
The woman shook her head, her voice rising once more. “And what about my son? What about the other children in this Pack? Are they not important too?”
Another woman shouted from the back. “I won’t let my child die because of an irresponsible Alpha!”
“She’s right!” a man bellowed, stepping forward. His face was hard, his tone accusatory. “If you truly are our Alpha, then act like it! Stop wasting resources on your personal vendetta and focus on saving the Pack. We won’t perish with you!”
The crowd’s murmurs turned into a low roar, their anger palpable.
The man who had shouted about not perishing with me stepped further into the circle, his shoulders squared, eyes blazing with defiance. He gestured toward the haggard crowd.
“We’ve followed you blindly, Alpha,” he declared, his voice carrying across the room. “But no more. If you want to lead, prove it by putting us first. Stop chasing ghosts and use those resources to save the living.”
The crowd murmured in agreement, their voices overlapping in a sea of discontent.
His words struck like a dagger to my chest, each syllable twisting in deeper. I couldn’t ignore the weight of his demand, or the nods and murmurs from the others, their desperation bleeding into the atmosphere.
I glanced at the woman clutching her baby, her tear-streaked face a haunting portrait of despair. I could feel the crowd’s energy shifting, teetering dangerously close to open rebellion. If I didn’t act now, I could lose them forever-not just their trust, but the entire Pack.
Swallowing hard, I raised both hands, commanding silence. The room hushed, but the tension lingered like a storm waiting to break.
“I understand your frustration,” I began, my voice heavy with the weight of my decision. “And you’re right.”
A ripple of surprise passed through the crowd. Even Franklin turned to me, his brows raised in disbelief.
I clenched my fists at my sides, steeling myself for what I was about to say. “From this moment forward, the search for Kamrynn will cease.”
The crowd erupted into stunned silence, followed by murmurs of relief and disbelief.
“I will redirect every resource we have into stabilizing this Pack,” I continued, my voice unwavering despite the turmoil inside me. “Our focus will be on ensuring that every one of you has food, water, and access to medical care. I will do everything in my power to bring us back from the brink.”
The woman with the baby sobbed, her knees giving out as she fell to the floor. She cradled her child tightly, her body trembling with a mixture of relief and gratitude.
One by one, the Pack members began to nod, their anger softening into tentative hope.
“Thank you, Alpha,” the man who had spoken earlier said, his voice quieter now, almost reverent. “That’s all we needed to hear.”
I nodded, though the hollow ache in my chest only deepened.
Turning to Franklin, I gestured toward the woman with the baby. “See to it that her son gets immediate medical attention,” I commanded. “I’ll check on the child’s progress till he’s healthy again. And make sure she’s given enough food to regain her strength.”
Franklin nodded sharply, his expression somber but resolute. He moved toward the woman, helping her to her feet and leading her toward the exit.
As the crowd began to disperse, their murmurs shifting from anger to cautious optimism, I stood there, rooted in place.
The woman turned back, her voice breaking as she called out, “Thank you, Alpha! You’ve saved us.”
Her words should have felt like a balm, but instead, they burned.
The Pack members began clapping, some cheering softly as they filed out. The sound filled the room, but it only deepened the emptiness inside me.
When the last of them had left, I sank onto the dais, my hands trembling. Franklin returned, standing silently beside me.
“You made the right choice,” he said after a long pause.
I let out a bitter laugh, running a hand through my hair. “Did I?” I asked, my voice laced with doubt. “Because it feels like I’ve just lost something I’ll never get back.”
Franklin didn’t respond, and I was grateful for his silence.
I closed my eyes, letting the weight of the decision settle over me. Kamrynn’s face floated into my mind, her defiance, her fear, her tears. The memory twisted in my chest, a painful reminder of what I’d sacrificed- I’d really given up on the possibility of finding Kamrynn and our child.
Yet, I couldn’t shake the hollow feeling in my chest. I had made the right choice, but at what cost?