The One He Claimed

The One 135

Chapter 135: Helping Amelia Hunter I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised with Sophie’s sadness about Margot leaving. My mate has the ability to develop strong bonds and friendships with others quickly. It’s one of the reasons that I hope that Jaime will decide to stay in our pack, so that Penny will as well. I know that Sophie already has strong ties to her, and she’d be as sad or more so if Penny and Jaime left the pack. “I’m going to call Amelia and set up a call for this afternoon. What are you going to do?” I ask my mate. “I’m going to go check on the mates that are still in the hospital and see how Leah and Brooklyn are doing with moving out of their house.” “Let me know what you need. And let me know if I can do anything to take that sadness away, I don’t like my mate to be sad. Margot will be fine, and we’ll see her again.” She merely nods and I pull her into a hug, holding her tightly. My strong, powerful mate, who is also so sweet and gentle. “I love you, Little Sophie Reynolds.” She chuckles, as I hoped she would. “And I love you, Big Hunter Reynolds,” she says, making me smile. III O I crouch down in front of her, placing my lips near her stomach. “Take care of your mother while she’s away from me,” I say, then stand and kiss my mate before turning to go back inside. I make the call to Amelia first. “Alpha Hunter? Or is it Sophie again?” she asks. “It’s me this time, Alpha,” I answer. “Have you spoken to Alpha Dutton, Alpha Hunter?” “First things first, Alpha Amelia. Do you feel the need to continue with our titles when we speak to each other?” I’m asking her because she’s the newest Alpha and because she’s the only female

Alpha. Her position isn’t exactly confirmed in her pack. “What do you call the other Alphas?” “The ones I’m friendly with, I call by their first names.” “Then, I’d like to be treated the same. It would strange for you to be in my pack calling Alpha Dutton, Dutton, but me Alpha Amelia, wouldn’t you agree?” “I would. Also, the casualness of using first names lets the pack now that there is a friendliness between us, that our alliance is strong.” “Thank you, Alpha. I mean, thank you, Hunter. I’m still trying to figure out the nuances of my new position.” “How’s it going?” I ask. If she’s willing to accept my assistance or my guidance, I’m happy to provide it. Not only because she’s Sophie’s sister, but I think that much like Sophie, Amelia has a Chapter 135: Helping Amelia strength that she’s never tapped into before. “You want the truth?” “I can’t help you if you aren’t honest with me,” I tell her. I hear rustling and then a door quietly closing before I hear more rustling. “I’m exhausted. I feel like I’m playing pretend, acting like an Alpha rather than truly being one. “The exhaustion I understand although I’d guess that yours is more extreme that the usual Alpha exhaustion due to being pregnant and not having your mate around. Those two things would only add to your fatigue. And add to that, you’re still processing your grief over the loss of your parents, and you’ve now taken on the grief of the entire pack as their Alpha. I’m guessing you’re not sleeping well either?” “You’d be correct.” “I’m not surprised. You have a lot going on, Amelia. But I will tell you that it doesn’t feel like you’re playing pretend Alpha. It feels very much like you are taking on your role, jumping in with both feet, and running with it. I think that taking out Alpha Alaric will go a long way to helping the pack find peace.”

“Does that mean that Dutton agreed to fight with us?” “He did, but even if he hadn’t, our packs would take out Alaric. It will just be easier and will go a long way to showing your pack that you are continuing the strong alliances that your father started.” “Regarding that, how do I go about sealing or confirming an alliance with each of the packs?” I lean forward and open my computer. “Give me your email address and I’ll send you the template for the documents that need to be signed. The paperwork isn’t as important as the bond between the packs, but it does signify that both sides have agreed to be in an alliance. You’ll want to get one with Dutton as well. We can sign them when we come to attack Alaric. And then, you can reach out to Kayce, Robin, and Ezra too, if you’d like to create and confirm alliances with them. That’ s up to you. You can have positive relationships with other packs without an alliance, but it seals the bond and gives you the right to go to war if they ever go against you. The alliance paperwork is good until one party terminates it, or the Alpha position changes hands,” I tell her. “I think I’ve had enough war to last me a lifetime,” she says. “We all have, but the wars aren’t over yet.” “I know. Is it wrong that I wish all of this was behind me?” “Nope, you’d be right there with the rest of us.” She sighs. “Okay, so what’s next?” “Let’s schedule a call with Dutton this afternoon. We’ll need a strategy. Have you thought of how you want to proceed with the attack?” I ask. “That’s not really my strong suit,” she huffs. “That’s okay. Why don’t you and I talk it out a little. Dutton may have other ideas, and that’s okay, too. Taking his ideas doesn’t’ Chapter 135: Helping Amelia make you weak, it makes you a good Alpha who looks at all sides of the problem and comes to a good solution.” She laughs softly. “I can see why Sophie is so in love with you. You’re very supportive without

needing to exert your dominance or prove your strength. It’s refreshing.” “I’ll tell you what I told Sophie, Amelia. Both of you are stronger than you know. You may feel like the world is coming at you from all sides right now, but I guarantee that when the dust settles and all is said and done, you’ll still be standing on your feet.” “Thank you, Hunter. I think I needed to know that someone believes in me.” “Make sure you believe in yourself, Amelia. The pack will feel it if you don’t.” “That’s good advice, and once I figure out how to do that, I will. Now, about this battle. What are your thoughts?” We go through my ideas, which end up being pretty similar to what Amelia had already been thinking. Knowing that her thoughts aligned with mine seemed to make her feel a bit more confident about our next steps. We decide on a time to have a call with Dutton, and I send out the meeting invite. “I’ll talk to you soon, Amelia,” I say. “Thank you again, Hunter. I really appreciate all of your help.” “Any time.”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.