Chapter Fifty-Five

ASH

A sudden uproar filled the meeting room at his words. Some of the men had risen to their feet in outrage. This was not what the council had expected to hear, and they were all caught off guard.

Ash purposely ignored the volley of questions being thrown at him from both sides of the table, keeping his face calm and neutral until the rest of the men fell quiet in response to his persistent silence.

He had to stifle a satisfied smile as they all let their voices fade. He realized clearly that the wind had been taken out of their sails as he processed the expressions in front of him, and such a thing did not make them happy.

They had wanted to punish him, to make him pay for his sins and strip him of his pack by force to be left in shame as a shunned alpha.

They never expected he would let it go willingly before they had their say, not even bothering with an attempt to defend himself to them.

Once the room was totally quiet, he continued his speech. “I turn the Kodia Pack over to Beta Luca, may he rise to the station of alpha and rule the pack well and with my full blessing.”

Luca took a step forward and shook Ash’s hand firmly, a wry smile on his face. He stood by Ash’s side as he came to the next step of his address to the council.

“I reject the Kodia Pack, and hereby accept the status of rogue.”

There was another exclamation at Ash’s proclamation. This was going much further than they expected.

Even though it was the outcome they wanted to decide themselves on Ash’s behalf, it was much different hearing it done voluntarily.

He did not let himself wince at the sharp jolt that went through him as the pack link broke, not wanting to give them the satisfaction.

~“Repeat it to join me,”~ he linked to Key quickly.

Her voice rang through the room, confident and assured. “I reject the Kodia Pack.” She repeated his phrase. “And hereby accept the status of rogue.”

He turned to Luca, giving him a nod, before taking his mate’s hand and stepping back to be in line with her behind Luca, letting him take the position meant for the alpha.

~“Are you all right?”~ Keyara asked him, her concern for him flooding his mind through the link.

He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, touched that she was aware of the severity of what he had just done.

~“I’m perfectly fine,”~ he responded honestly. ~“I am ready to start a new life with you. We will build a new pack together.”~

She gazed up at him, her eyes overcome with her emotion and brimming with tears. Suddenly Luca began to address the room, and she broke her gaze to focus on him.

“Thank you, Ash,” said Luca, “for your show of responsibility and dedication to the laws of the council we all abide by.

“I think everyone here can agree that your selflessness is admirable and something we should all hope to emulate.”

Ash could detect the amusement and slight sarcasm in Luca’s tone, and hoped it was simply because he knew him so well. If it was as evident to the rest of the room as it was to him, it would only serve to spur their anger.

~“You’ll have to work on hiding your emotions as alpha,” ~Ash linked him sardonically.

~“Shut it, rogue!~ ~Show some respect!”~ Luca replied in jest.

Ash hid a smile, running the back of his hand over his lips.

“I thank you all for coming to witness the transfer of power as is tradition,” Luca continued to the council. “You may all stay as long as you wish before making the journey back to your home packs.”

“Ash and Keyara,” Luca said as he turned to them. “You have two days to gather your belongings and leave the territory of Kodia.”~ “Sorry,”~ he added through the link. “This meeting of the council is hereby adjourned.”

The council members rose from the table as Luca called the meeting to a close, some whispering angrily to each other as they left.

They were not pleased with the turn of events but had no basis to argue. A former alpha voluntarily rejecting a pack was almost unheard of, but there was no law against it, and therefore nothing they could do to change it.

Once the room was empty, Luca turned to them, placing a hand on Ash’s shoulder. “When you leave, head to the border station and stock up on whatever supplies you require.

“You will need to make camp in the woods just across the border line. You must leave the territory as ordered for the sake of the council.

“We don’t need any questions or trouble from them. The others will join you in a few days, once the council has departed.”

“Thank you, Luca, for everything you’ve done,” Keyara told him softly.

Luca dropped his hand from Ash’s shoulder, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. “It was my honor, Key,” he responded with feeling.

Ash took his friend’s hand in a firm grasp, looking him in the eye and nodding in respect. “~Thank you for giving me the courage to change her,”~ he told Luca silently.

Luca nodded back at both his words and his nod before giving the pair one last smile. He turned and strode out of the meeting room, leaving them alone.