The One He Claimed by Cooper

The One He Betrayed Chapter 3: Calvin's Proposition

Hunter

Over breakfast the morning after laying Alpha Carter and Luna Amy to rest, | watch the Lunas embrace and circle

Sophie with their love and friendship. They include Amelia in the circle, but you can see that it's not the same.

Sophie has built strong, lasting relationships with these women and Amelia has not.

"We need to talk about this pack, Hunter," Calvin begins as we and the other Alphas keep watch over our mates.

"It's not just this pack," I sigh, tuming my attention to the men. "We have Owen's pack now which is leaderless. |

don't know about you two, but | can't continue to house that number of people without significantly growing the

size of my packhouse or adding houses on my pack lands," | say to Robin and Kayce.

"Same, and while I'm willing to do that, most of the displaced pack members want to return to the pack that has

been their htheir entire life," Robin says.

"And based on your conversation with your mate and what she's been telling everyone here, I'm guessing we'll

have another leaderless pack once you take Alaric out as well," Ezra says.

"What about Camden?" | ask, looking at Robin.

"He'll be eliminated as soon as | hunt down the coward," he growls.

The One He Betrayed Chapter 3: Calvin's Proposition

"I'm pretty sure he's running Alaric's pack right now. | could be wrong, but | know Alaric isn't in any shape to be

running his pack," Dutton says.

"And Koden is still out there, somewhere. He's also going to be a problem," | say.

"As is Aiden," Dutton agrees.

"Owen's pack is the easiest to take over, but none of us live right next to his pack. Who do we get to take that

on?" Calvin asks.

| look at the others before sighing. "I think we have to open it up."

"What do you mean?" Kayce asks.

"Give anyone who wants an opportunity to becthe leader of that pack the option to fight for it. It's how it

used to be done. Alphas would fight for their position in the packs. All of us have strong Betas and most of you

have strong Gammas. We could give them the chance to earn their right to becan Alpha," |

say.

"You're suggesting that we give up our Betas?" Calvin asks, appalled.

"Give up' isn't the term | would use, Calvin. Why wouldn't you want to give your Beta a chance to rise up.

Opportunities like this rarely calong and while | would hate to lose my Beta, I'd be thrilled to have another

Alpha in our alliance, making it even stronger than it already is," Robin says.

Calvin looks at me. "Do you really think that Sophie and Amelia

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To the Betrayed Chapter 1 Calvius Prapasitan

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are going to agree to this? Amelia is technically the heir to this pack as the oldest child of Alpha Carter and Luna

Amy."

"Are YOU going to run this pack?" Ezra asks him. "Are you planning to leave your mate here to run this pack

while you go back to yours? Of all of us, your pack is the farthest away. How would that even work?"

I'll admit, I'm a bit disappointed in Calvin's thought process. He's thinking like the other Alphas, about gaining

power, but not thinking through the ramifications. I'm much closer than he is, and | have no intention of trying to

figure out how to manage my pack and this one.

Calvin scrubs his hands over his face. “I'm just saying, they should first right of refusal.”

I turn and look at my mate. 'Soph, can you chere please? | have a question for you," | say in the mind link.

Her head snaps up and she looks at her friends before walking over. | tap my thigh and she curls up in my lap. |

wrap my arms around her, kissing her forehead. | hate the sadness I still feel inside her and | know it will be

there for a long tto come.

"We're talking about what to do with your parents’ pack. Would you or Amelia want to take the Alpha role for this

pack?" | ask her. I'm not sure what Amelia would say, but | know my mate.

She sits up and looks at me. "How would that work? Our pack is too far away for us to effectively run this pack.

Until Alaric is destroyed and even after that, this pack needs on-site leadership, as does our pack. We can't split

our tbetween two packs, Hunter. We would be doing a disservice to both of them. Even if we had strong

Betas and Gammas in both packs,

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ette ble Petroys1l Chapter 3 Calvin's Preposition

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it would put a strain on us and we're going to have a pup in a few months. | have no intention of staying in one

pack while you go manage the other. No, we need to cup with a better idea, something that will work for the

pack members here as well," she says, turning to the other Alphas. "Don't you agree?"

"Sdo, not all," | say, pulling her back against me.

"Who doesn't agree?" she asks, sitting up again. My mate is about to go all Alpha on Calvin. | hope he's ready for

i)

"Your sister is in line to take over this pack now that your parents are gone, Luna Sophie."

"Amelia? She never wanted to an Alpha. Why would you even think that?" Sophie asks, as if he should know his

mate better than she does, which he should.

"It's not a matter of what she wants, it's about duty," he says.

"Duty to whom, Alpha? To you? Because it certainly wouldn't be dutiful to this pack. Are you planning to leave

her here to run things while you go home? Are you going to send her to your pack while you stay here and

manage this one? To keep them safe from Alaric? That makes no sense and if you don't know it, | can tell you

that Amelia wouldn't want that."

"I'm pretty sure | know my mate better than you do," he says, condescendingly.

"It doesn't appear so," my mate says angrily.

"This all seems very tense," Nikki says, walking over and curling up in Robin's lap.

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"Very tense," Allison agrees, sitting on Kayce's lap.

Dutton somehow manages to have both twins sit in his lap, one arm around each of them. Amelia, however, is

still the odd one out. Rather than sitting on Calvin's lap like the others have done, she sits beside him. He takes

her hand, but it's a stark contrast between them and the rest of us.

"What's all this about, Calvin?" Amelia asks, seeing my mate and hers squaring off.

"If nothing else, our son should be heir to this pack," Calvin says, still focused on Sophie.

"Luna Amelia," | say, interrupting whatever Sophie was about to spit out to Calvin. | can feel her anger at Calvin,

and | don't blher. "We're discussing what should happen with your parents’ pack."

Amelia looks at Calvin and frowns. "You wantto take over as Alpha?" she asks him, catching up quickly.

Sophie sits back and | wrap my arms around her, placing my hands on her growing stomach. She puts her hands

over mine, intertwining them.

"It's your right. Alpha Hunter suggested opening up the packs to allow others to cin and take them over. For

a pack like Owen's, | would agree, but you are the rightful heir to this pack, Amelia. You should take your place

here, as Alpha."

She looks at him like he's lost his mind. "How would that even work?"

"We'd have to figure that out, Ame, but it's your right. Our son's

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right."

"What son? Your first-born son? Your second? Because right now, all you have is a future daughter," Sophie says

snarkily.

'Easy, baby. Let Amelia take on her mate. | think both of them have forgotten that she's an Alpha," | say in the

mind link.

"Sophie's right, Calvin. They're closer to having an heir for this pack than we are. And what are you even

suggesting? That | live here, and you cfor conjugal visits from tto time? That | stay here with our pups,

and when we someday have a son, | send him to live with you and keep the others here withto raise? Is that

what you want? To live separate lives?"

"Amelia, you're getting yourself worked up..."

"You're damn right | am, Calvin," she says, standing up. "I've never wanted to be an Alpha. | certainly never

wanted to be mated to a man that didn't even want to live in the spack as me," she says, tears filling her

eyes. My mate sits up, wanting to comfort her sister.

Amelia turns to look at Sophie, holding up her hand. "I think | need to be alone right now. My mate has given me

much to think about," she says, saying mate as if it's distasteful. "Amelia, we can talk about this," Calvin says,

standing.

"It sounds like you've already made the decision, Calvin, just like always. What more is there to discuss?" she

asks, spinning on her heels and walking away before he can answer.

Calvin watches her walk away, looking stunned. When he finally looks around, it's as if he remembers that he

has an audience.

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"Please excuse me," he says, walking away, and not in the direction that his mate went.

"You'd think after how hard he's worked to gain her trust, that he wouldn't do something this stupid to betray it

again," Nikki says thoughtfully.

"I don't think he's looking at it from her perspective, my mate. He's looking at the situation as an Alpha, not as

Amelia's mate. He knew he hadn't put everything together yet, but | can't think of a way that this would work,

Sophie and Hunter cto the sconclusion almost immediately and they aren't fighting to keep this pack

for one of their pups either."

Nikki turns to look at Robin. "It's a good thing you listen to me," she says.

"WHEN you tellsomething," he clarifies, putting his hands are her still-flat stomach, "I listen. You wouldn't let