Chapter 41 - I Challenge You

* * * Max's POV * * *

If I’m honest with myself, I’m a little scared. My nerves are totally shot. I know that we’d planned for eventually running a large pack, but that was 10 - 15 years away. Not right now and to have it thrust upon us in this way. What if I fail my current pack members? What if I fail the new pack members? What if I turn out like my father?

Walking to the meeting room with Damian leading the way and holding Eve’s hand, I can’t stop thinking about her poor mother. Ten years in the dark, alone, grieving for her mate and not knowing if her daughter is alive. Ten years without shifting, her skin must be crawling, I know if I don’t let Nate shift for even a week, my skin itches as though he’s trying to burst free. She spent ten years locked away without any support to work through her grief.

I’m about to enter our borrowed meeting room. It’s actually Charles’s private dining hall. But it’s perfect for the meeting, with my pack being so small. I feel Eve pull back as I’