The looks on their faces told me all I needed to know: they saw me as a monster, and I'm not so sure they were wrong. I ran and ran and ran. My wolf felt more secure knowing there was no threat to his mate, but he would prefer her by his side or beneath us. The sparkes at touching her were all I ever wanted to feel, crawling up my arm and lighting up my heart. The feeling of her chest rising and falling as I pushed her into the wall of the house was an entrancing percussion. Her heart rate only rose when I grabbed her, and she calmed down in my presence. She was not afraid of me, but she should have been. I ripped his control away, and all my wolf wanted to do was clamp down on her neck, letting every shifter know who she belonged to, but that would kill her. 

My wolf refused to acknowledge that the claim he wanted to lay on her would also end her life. I focused on her beautiful, calm brown eyes. No fear, just curious. I have been ordered not to reject her. My wolf was ecstatic, but my human was terrified. I couldn't watch the light leave those eyes that would kill me with her. 

'McCoy,' Baxter forced into my mind, 'return to the pack house.' 

'yes, alpha,' he commanded me for the second time today. My wolf chaffed at that, but I understood it needed to be done. I returned to the pack house, and clothes awaited me on the front step. They smelled like her. I threw them on and followed her scent. It led to a board room where she, Darrel, Max, and Baxter were. Baxter was pacing with a knife while Max sat in a chair with Darrel in his lap. Roe was on a high bar stool with her feet in Darrel's lap. They were laughing and giggling about some show about dragons. 

"McCoy, nice of you to join us," Baxter greeted. He walked up to me, blocking the path I was taking to prevent my mate from putting any part of her body on another male. I was only calm since I knew Max and Darrel were mates. "we need to swear you in before the meeting." 

"What meeting?" I asked, holding my hand out after Baxter cut his own. I felt the cold slice of the blade on my hand, but my attention was focused on the chilling voice that answered me. 

"the waxing crescent moon meeting with all the leads and liaisons," she watched the knife cut across my hand. 

"Since my old Beta is dead, you are taking over the job tonight. Sorry about throwing you in the deep end, but we will all help you adjust." Baxter grasped my hand, so we were blood to blood. "Do you swear on your life that you will fulfill the duty of beta and look out for the best interest of the pack while supporting your alpha?" 

"I swear it," I answered, then released his hand. "and our witnesses have seen the ascension?" Baxter turned to the others 

"We swear it," they all responded. Baxter walked away to rinse off the blood from his hands, and I stared at my own until smaller hands grabbed mine. Sparks shot up my arm, and I ripped my hands away. 

"I was just trying to see if you are okay?" she defended 

"Never trust a witch," I shot back, then walked away from her confused face. Baxter shot me a warning glare, but I didn't break his command. "I did not reject her; I just want to maintain my distance until I figure out what evil spell is making me feel the mating bond to her." 

"How dare you? I would never use magic that way," she roared from the other side of the room and stormed over to me. "I am a witch, and I'll have you know accusing me of dark magic is offensive." 

"NEVER," I leaned into her face without touching her. "TRUST A WITCH. I do not believe you." 

"I Never," she reared back to slap me, but I caught her hand and pinned her to the wall. My wolf wanted me to take her. This arguing was some sort of foreplay for him, but Baxter pulled me off her. 

"Roe, sit next to Max, and McCoy, sit on my right. You two will be as far from each other as possible so that the rest of us don't get a show." I sat down first, and Roe walked to her seat and crossed her arms, upset that she hadn't given me a slap. The other titled members of the pack filed in, giving me apprehensive looks, and the last one in was a nymph who sat next to Roe. She and he chatted for a moment before the meeting. They were laughing and talking to Darrel about the show they had talked about before. Roe was about to reach out and grab the nymph's arm when Baxter abruptly started the meeting. "All right, everyone, let's get the big announcement out. I have a new Beta; McCoy was sworn in with Max, Darrel, and Roe as witnesses. Moving forward, bring the everyday pack business to him. He will deal with it by either handling it himself or by determining urgency and delegating it to another person in this room. With that handled, let's get to business. Any food problems I need to worry about?''

"no sir," the lead cook said. I need to learn the leads' names if I am going to do this job. "As I have mentioned, we are running smoothly. We are providing the food for all the schools, and four-pack-owned restaurants are in town. We are thinking about starting another. One of the recent add-ons said that she is familiar with making Thai food, and we do not have a restaurant that serves that nearby. We also have a new recruit versed in dietary restrictions, which brings us to my question: Can we expand the catering business to service the human community. We feel this is a good step forward now that we have dietary restrictions covered?" 

"I will give my tentative approval pending the proper paperwork," Baxt said, and the lead cook nodded and wrote something in his notes. I felt underprepared when I realized everyone had note paper. "mantanice?" 

"We are still having an issue with Cedar Hill Elementary. The building is practically falling down. I know that is the majority human elementary school. However, I still don't wish a gas leak or a floor collapse on any child." 

"what has been done?" 

"Forgive me for interrupting, but what needs to be done is that the school needs several thousand dollars in repairs, and we need another elementary school." the lead educator said. "Our schools are overcrowded with the population growth we have naturally and the new pack members." 

"noted; I will have my wolf on the town council meet with you and Darrel to write a proposal. Tell me how much my donation is going to break the bank. Just do it gently," Baxter joked. "Am I right in assuming you both have nothing further?" 

"yes, alpha," they both stated. This was a bureaucratic nightmare, and I realized this was going to take forever.