Chapter 41: The Final Decision

Lisa returned to my father’s working room. Her face was pale, and Nate didn’t follow her. I immediately contacted him through the mind link. ‘Nate, how was it going between you two?’

‘Lisa asked me to stay away from her. She is afraid Alpha Fred will kill me if I keep approaching her.’

I touched my nape. ‘So, Lisa didn’t want to be your mate anymore?’

‘She said we didn’t mean to be together and asked me to forget her.’ Nate’s voice was rough. ‘I can’t do that. She’s my mate! I will fight for her.’

‘Calm down, Nate. After Alpha Fred and Lisa return to their pack, let’s talk.’ Then I closed the mind link.

“Lisa, do you agree to have Cameron as your mate?” Alpha Fred asked.

Lisa clenched her hands together. “On two conditions. First, if I’m pregnant with Nate’s pup, Cameron will acknowledge the pup as his. Second, we will be mates in name only. He won’t touch me or mate with me.”

Alpha Fred glared at Lisa, but she didn’t cower. Instead, she challenged his father with her eyes. Then Alpha Fred asked me, “Cameron, what do you think?”

“I must ask for the time to discuss this with my father and Nate. Once I decide, I’ll let you know.”

“How much time do you need to think?” Alpha Fred asked again.

“Three days.”

Alpha Fred nodded. “Fine.” He glanced at my father. “Alpha Horace, I don’t want our alliance is disturbed because of our children. Please persuade your son to do the right thing.”

“I will. Let me send you to the door.”

Then Alpha Fred, Lisa, and my father walked to the door. My father asked Evelyn to escort our guests to the gate. When we were alone, I sank into the couch.

“What do you think? It looks like we have no other option.” My father stared at me.

“Lisa’s request is the same as my thought. So if there’s no other option, I will accept it. I will have her as my mate.”

“What about Anna?” my father asked. “You say she is your mate.”

“I told her about my plan. She was unhappy, and iit hurt her. But I will persuade her to accept this situation. It isn’t ideal, but it’s the best option, at least for now.”

My father let out a sigh. “What about Nate?”

“What about him?”

“How can you explain this to him?”

“Since my relationship with Lisa will be platonic, I will let Lisa stay with Nate as his mate. She will be my mate and Luna in the name only. But Nate will have her.”

“You have thought about everything. But what if Lisa is pregnant?”

“I will acknowledge her pup as mine. But if I can change the situation, I will give Lisa to Nate, and the pup can legitimately be Nate’s pup.” I shrugged. “It will be alright in the end. But we must go through the inconvenient situation for a while.”

“Or you can have two mates. It will simplify everything.”

“Maybe. But I don’t want to hurt Anna anymore. It’s been hard for her to accept another woman in my life, though it will be only in name. I would hurt her more if I had to have Lisa as my real mate. Not only Anna, but I will also hurt Nate.”

“At least you have done the right thing. I will reward you nicely, Son. As soon as you have the marking ceremony, I will appoint you as the new Alpha.”

“What? It’s too soon, Father.”

“No, it isn’t. I have planned this for a while. Since you prioritized our pack above your wishes, you are ready to be an Alpha. I know it’s not easy decision for you, but you wanted to take a risk with Nate and Anna. It’s a good quality for a leader, since leadership means taking risks and being willing to sacrifice for the greater good.”

“Father—”

My father raised his hand and smiled. “Now, go to Nate. I’m sure he will understand.”

I visited Nate and explained everything, yet he wasn’t enthusiastic about hearing me. “What’s wrong, Nate?”

“Lisa …. She changed a lot. It’s only a day, but as if I see a stranger. Lisa and I mated for hours, and there’s a high possibility she’s pregnant with my pup.”

“Lisa may want to protect you.”

“From what?”

“From his father. Look, as soon as I have the marking ceremony with her, I will send her to you. You can stay with her and have a family.”

Nate gaped. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. No one must know about it to maintain the peace treaty between both packs. Lisa would be my mate, but in name only. But she will be yours in every capacity.”

Nate grinned. “Thanks, Cam! I owe you!”

“Hey, don’t say that. I have pushed you into a problem. Now, I only prepare a solution for both of us.”

Nate clapped his hands and laughed. “You sound like an Elder now.”

“Speaking about that, our father told me he would appoint me as the new Alpha soon after the marking ceremony.”

“Wow! You deserve it, Cam!”

I shrugged. “Thanks! I think it will make everyone happy. Now I need to go home and talk with Anna. She was unhappy with my plan, but it’s the best plan I have so far. I don’t see any other way.”

“She will understand. Because she loves you, Anna will adjust to what you want.”

“Sometimes I wish I weren’t a Beta. It would be less complicated if you were my father’s Beta.”

But Nate punched me lightly on my upper arm. He chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, come on! Our father has prepared you to be his successor since you were a pup. Don’t tell me you don’t want to be an Alpha because I don’t believe you. You kept talking about it as soon as we were close.”

I grinned and shrugged again. Nate knew me too well. “Well, if I didn’t have Anna, I would direct my ambitions toward our pack's expansion and being the greatest Alpha. But now I have her. I let her down in my past life. I didn’t want to repeat it.”

“You won’t. As long as you will be there for her, protect and love her, you will never let her down.”