Page 52 of August
And now he was alpha.
She shook her head. “I forgive you, even though I don’t really think you made a mistake.” She kissed him. He was rigid at first, like he wasn’t willing to be kissed because he was angry with himself, but then he melted against her with a soft groan, his gorilla practically purring in response to her touch.
She smiled against his lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Ginny,” he said before kissing her once more. “Sweet soulmate and the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me too.”
“Even Tank coming to your rescue? Because I gotta say that was pretty fucking awesome.”
“Yeah, it was,” she said as they resumed their trek to the theater. “But you’re still the very best thing. Tank comes in second place.”
The door to the theater opened as they approached, and Atticus said, “Cliff, you can check out the males and then we’ll get them loaded up as soon as possible and the hell out of here.”
“Loaded up?” Ginny asked.
“I’m taking them home for punishment,” Cliff said.
Ginny frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m alpha,” Cliff said. “It’s my responsibility to take the males home and deal with them according to pack law.”
“But…wasn’t the whole pack on Grandfather’s side?” she asked.
“No,” Cliff said, “not hardly. He had a good-sized group of males—I estimate about fifteen total—who followed him exclusively. The rest of the pack followed because he was alpha and they were afraid to stand up to him, especially when he started killing our family. I’ve been in touch with the elders of the pack, and they’re awaiting my return home with the prisoners.”
“How will you get them down there?” she asked.
“We’ve volunteered a few of our cargo vans,” Caesar said, “and plenty of security. If you two would like to accompany them, we’ll make arrangements for another vehicle for you.”
“I don’t know,” Ginny said. She looked at August, and he shrugged.
“It’s up to you, sweetheart.”
“Let’s do this part first,” Cliff said. “I want you to tell me who specifically came after you in the paddock and who chased you. I was a little too injured at the time to remember everyone.”
She nodded, a little nervous to once more face the males who’d tried to harm her.
But August squeezed her hand. “You’re safe now, sweetheart.”
“Plus, this alpha is immediately changing the laws involving mandatory retirement and no surviving heirs,” Cliff said. “You and your future children will never have to worry about me or any of my future heirs coming after them for the position of alpha. It should never have been a law in the first place.”
“Thank you, Cliff,” Ginny said.
She walked with her brother and August, determined to look every male who’d come after her in the eye. At least the ones who were conscious.
She pointed out the five who’d chased her into the paddock, including Diedrich, their grandfather’s number-two. Only one female was in the group, Celia, Diedrich’s mate, who was sullenly looking at the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees.
“You know they were going to kill me, right?” Ginny asked, looking down at her. “That Grandfather was going to use me as bait to get Cliff to show himself, and then we were both going to get dead real quick?”
She wouldn’t look up or speak.
“I understand the whole stand-by-your-man thing, but you went too far,” Ginny said.
“I had no choice,” she said, her words laced with bitterness.
“You were alone in the park,” Cliff said. “Diedrich wasn’t with you yesterday when I saw you, and I know you saw me too. So don’t say you were forced to try to get to Ginny in the park because you were by yourself and could have asked for help at any time. Save the bullshit for someone with a shovel, I’m not interested.”