-Jaden-

"I didn't know it could be that hard to be the son of the leader," Oliver said quietly.

I took a better look at him. He was sitting right in front of me on the bed, and he seemed really sad about what he'd witnessed in my head. I had no idea how he managed to slip into my memories, even though I knew it was possible for Walkers to do so. I had the feeling that it had something to do with our mate bond. Our spirits were linked on a deep level, and he had no idea how to control his powers yet, so I wasn't mad at him for invading my head.

"I got over it," I said truthfully. "I learned a lot about loyalty and true friendship and how shitty people can be, so whatever."

"So... no one believed you?" he asked carefully. "Not even your parents?"

"No, my parents believed me. The problem was that no one else believed them," I explained. "Some people thought they were just a pair of entitled parents who thought their sweet little angel wouldn't do such things."

"Well that's just bullshit..." Oliver muttered, and I laughed.

"I didn't know you knew how to swear," I said, before taking a deep breath, leaning back against the wall. "Our pack was growing fast during that time. We got a lot of new members – Paul and his mom included – and my parents were trying to make a pack out of us. Back in the day there were tons of rogues and big packs trying to steal territories, so we had a lot of newcomers coming in. Jack's pack was one of them – I heard they got their asses kicked so hard most of the survivors had no will to live anymore... They didn't want to stay with us though, but my father gave them a piece of our land in hopes they would eventually join us."

I took a deep breath, trying to remember details from that time, but then I shook my head. "It was a bad time for all of us... When the rumors about me as a bully started spreading, my parents had to be diplomatic about it so there wouldn't be a civil war or anything among us."

"That's still not right – I saw what it did to you," he said, but I snorted.

"You also saw me gaining those two hemorrhoids because of that," I noted. "Shit happened, but I turned out just fine, nonetheless."

Oliver chuckled at my words. "You have really great friends," he said with a nod.

"The best kind," I muttered in agreement. "To tell you the truth..." I trailed off with a sigh, not knowing if I should speak up my mind or not.

"I'm here to listen," Oliver said like he could hear my thoughts. Maybe he did.

"I don't... I never wanted to be the Alpha. Not after what happened. What's the point? They don't like me, so why would they accept me as their Alpha? I know I probably should've tried harder to be a part of their lives, but... why would I want that? I'm not even suitable to be the Alpha, as I've been so kindly told."

"Well, do you have to be the Alpha? Can't you just say no?" Oliver asked.

"I could say no," I muttered, and we both fell silent for a short moment.

"But you don't know what you want," Oliver then nodded, and I sighed.

"I don't know... It's complicated," I said. I had no idea what I really wanted. "It would be easier if I said no, but I was born to be the next Alpha – that's what our goddess wants."

"You put a lot of faith in your goddess," Oliver noted.

"She knows everything," I shrugged.

"But she's responsible of us becoming mates," Oliver said.

I looked at him for a moment, feeling even more confused now. "True."

Another pause of silence filled the room, and this time, neither of us was in a hurry to break it. I tried to dig deeper into how I felt about everything, but it was pointless. My head was stuck on being a confused mess.

"So, what do you want to do?" Oliver asked, taking a better position on the bed. "Like, is there something you know for sure that you want to do?"

I started laughing. "I have no idea."

"Come on – there has to be something," he said.

"Well, I'd like to go strangle Jack right now," I said, since it was the first thing that popped in my head. "And kick that Shadow Walker in the nuts."

"That's a good start," he said with an encouraging smile.

"Then I'd go ask my dad what the fuck is with that stupid promise he made," I continued. "And then..." I trailed off. There was actually something I wanted to do, and it was an easy task. "Wait here," I said, standing up and walking to the door.

I stepped out and saw Tilly and Arch in the second bedroom, talking quietly by the only window, so I walked to them.

"What's up?" Tilly asked. I didn't answer her. I just hugged her. "Aww, I love you too," she said quietly, hugging me back.

"Free hugs!" Arch chuckled, so I grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him into the hug as well.

"Us three..." I muttered, trying not to get too emotional. "We're still the kings of the world, right?"

"Of course," Tilly said. "Together forever."

"Together forever," Arch nodded, and I hugged them tighter.

"Good," I muttered. "I guess we'll have to make a few changes though, if that's fine with you guys."

"Sure thing, boss," Tilly spoke into my shoulder.

"Of course it is," Arch said in turn.

I nodded, and finally let go of them. "Thanks, guys. Now I'll have to go talk with my dad."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Arch asked.

"Nah – take care of Ollie. I'll be back in a bit," I said, and turned around to see Oliver watching us in the next room. "You stay here, okay?"

"Sure," he said.

I exited the room and told Aurora that I would be right back, before I left the house. I assumed my parents were in the Hall, so I headed that way. Soon I reached the first houses of our town, but before I got to the shopping street, I stopped. Oliver's words emerged out of nowhere, when I turned to look on my right at the bunch of houses.

What do you want to do?

I took a small detour through the houses, and a few minutes later, I was standing behind one of the door, knocking on it before I could change my mind.

"Who is it?"

"Jaden," I spoke my name clearly, and the door opened.

"Jaden," an older woman nodded her head, looking at me with curiosity in her eyes.

"Is Paulie home?" I asked as casually as I could.

"Yeah... he is," the woman said and stepped away from the door, keeping her eyes on me. The house was small, just like every other house in our village, so it was easy to spot Paulie at the back, in their little kitchen. He frowned when he saw me.

"What is it?" he asked, taking the few steps into the living room.

"I forgive you," I said. "Everything that happened between us when we were kids, I forgive you. You had just lost your father and your entire pack, and tried to fit in with us... So... I forgive you."

That was all I really had to say to him. I didn't hate him, I didn't like him, he was... He was just another pack member to me now. He was a big guy – a bit chubby – and I knew his mom was often ill, so he had to do all the work to support them. That was about everything I knew about him.

And apparently, he was a big crybaby. He almost scared me when he broke down in tears and started wailing.

"I'm so sorry!" he spoke between his sobs, and practically threw his arms around my shoulders and continued crying.

"Uhm... It's fine, it's fine..." I muttered, trying to stay up on my feet under his impressive weight. "We're cool," I added, hoping he would let go of me.

He didn't.

Instead, he kept saying sorry and telling me how bad he felt about everything and how grateful he was that I forgave him and how much he regretted everything and so on. And so on.

"What are you talking about?" Paulie's mother said when there was a long enough pause in Paulie's apology.

"I'd love to stay and chat," I hurried to say and finally slipped away from Paulie. "But I must go see my father now. I'm sure Paulie will explain everything."

"I'm so sorry, Jaden," Paulie said once again.

"It wasn't the end of the world – we're cool," I said while retreating to the door. "Take care now!"

"Thanks, Jaden!" Paulie shouted after me when I hurried out of the door, before I'd be attacked again.

Once the door was closed behind me. I stopped to take a deep breath and recollect myself. That was... not what I'd expected to happen, but I felt better. I continued walking towards the Hall while making sure I didn't have any snot on me.

There was a huge crowd gathered in front of the Hall, so it took me some time to get through them all. People were nervous. Some even seemed scared. I was stopped a few times by people who wanted to know if I knew something, but I kept shaking my head.

Once I reached the steps that led up to the building, someone stopped me again.

"You must know something! I heard it was you who saw the Shadow Walker!" an older man, Caleb, said, tightly holding onto my arm.

"I only saw his minion. All I know is that the Thorns are part of this, and that they're hiding now," I said, prying his hand off me. "I'm sure my father will inform you guys as soon as there's actually something new to tell."

I continued my way up, hearing a few angry mutters behind me, but I ignored it. I finally got inside the building. I stopped in the middle of the entrance hall, trying to hear my parents. There were a bunch of guards in every corner as I walked to the Great Hall that was right in front of me. The Hall was empty, so I continued to my right, towards a small hallway that led to a bunch of smaller rooms, where our elders usually spent their time giving advice to the pack members. One of the rooms was meant for smaller gatherings between leaders, and just as I expected, I found my parents in there with Beta Ryder, hovering over a map.

"Jaden! I thought you wanted to stay at the safehouse," my father spoke when he spotted me by the door. "Come in!"

"Can we talk?" I asked and stopped by the table, looking down at the map.

"Not now, Jaden – we need to figure out our next move," Beta Ryder spoke. "You should go back to the safehouse."

"This is only going to take a minute," I said sternly, and after a short moment, all three of them were looking at me.

"What is it?" Mom asked.

"I don't know if I want to be the Alpha," I said. I had said it a thousand times already, but I hoped they would listen to me this time.

"Do we have to do this now?" Mom asked with a slightly annoyed tone, turning to look at the map again. "You were born to be the next Alpha."

"Yeah, but I can still say no," I said, getting slightly annoyed as well. "And I want you to respect my decision, whatever it may be."

"So, you're just going to throw your legacy out the window, is that it?" Mom asked.

"My legacy is what I want it to be," I replied. "My heritage shouldn't mean a damn thing in this matter anyway! It doesn't guarantee that I'd be a good Alpha! And since you all have been messing up my head for a long time, I don't think I'm even capable of being a good leader!"

"Explain," Dad said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You keep telling me to act more like an Alpha," I said, pointing at him. "And you keep telling me to stop acting like an Alpha," I added, pointing at Ryder. My parents turned to look at Ryder, who opened his mouth to speak, but I wouldn't let him. "I know I have a lot to improve on, but sometimes you guys and this entire pack are making it so damn hard for me to even want to change!"

I was met with dead silence, and this time I hoped they were actually listening to what I had to say. I took a deep breath, before I continued. "You expect me to act an adult, while treating me like a child. All I want is to have some respect and room to make my own fucking decisions every once in a while."

And with that, I left the room, and stormed out of the whole building. Now that felt good. Not the fact that I got to say what I had in mind, but the fact that they seemed to be listening this time. I knew I could've handled the situation better, but I had to get it all off my chest.

I stopped at the top of the stairs, and looked down at the crowd. There was something I wanted to say to them as well.

"I'm sorry that I've been such a brat," I said loudly, gaining their attention in a heartbeat. "Well, I want to apologize to those who didn't deserve it. Those who did, well, you know who you are, and I'm not that sorry."

There was a lot of gasping and amused snorting going on when I hurried down the stairs and pushed my way through them all. I quickly got past them, and I started jogging.

There was one more thing I wanted to do.

I got back to the safehouse, and knocked on the door, waiting for someone to open it for me. It was Aurora who let me in, before she locked the door again.

"Did everything go well?" she asked.

"I have no idea," I chuckled as I walked to Oliver's room. "I may have pissed off the entire pack," I turned to tell her.

"It must be Thursday then," she smiled.

I snorted in amusement, before I stepped into Oliver's room. He stood up from the bed when I closed the door.

"You seem to be feeling better," he said with a smile. "And taller."

"How on earth is that possible? I was gone for less than an hour," I said.

"I'm just saying what I see," he said, lifting his hands up in the air.

I laughed lightly, and took a deep breath. "I want to thank you."

"For what?"

"For not hating me. You were confused and alone and bullied because I didn't man up," I said, regretting everything.

"I wasn't your responsibility," he said softly.

I slowly moved closer to him, looking down at his hand, taking it gently in mine. "You are now," I said quietly, and looked back up at him.

He smiled brightly at me. "Am I getting a say in this matter?"

"Do you need it?" I asked.

"No," he said slowly, wrapping his fingers around mine. "So... is it official?"

I let my instincts guide me, when I leaned closer to him. He looked up at me with curiosity in his eyes, but I knew he already knew what would happen next. I breathed in his scent, as he lifted his chin up with sparkling eyes. I could feel no hesitation in him, and that gave me the courage I needed to gently press my lips on his.

I had never felt such calmness in my entire life when he brushed his soft, warm lips over mine.

Those few seconds... I knew I would remember them for the rest of my life.

"Now it is," I whispered, when I parted our lips, and saw his smile again.