After discussing a few key points with Alpha Magnus, Beta Cage, and the Shaman, Axel, Talia, and Tony returned to the suite where Kalina waited for them with James, Cornelia, Yasmin, and Meg.
Still in disbelief at what was happening, Tony told Kalina that she needs to prepare because she will be the Luna of the Lightclaw pack in less than an hour.
"Are you serious?", Kalina asked Tony who was shaking his head and gesturing toward Talia.
"Ask her.", Tony said. "One moment my father was his usual self, and in the next one he was summoning people to arrange for the Alpha ceremony." He looked at Kalina. "This is it. You will be my Luna. We are doing this. How are we going to do this?"
Both Kalina and Tony turned toward Talia, their eyes full of questions.
Talia realized that they were looking at her for guidance. Why her? She was not equipped for this! Everyone else in this room had more leadership experience compared to Talia! But she couldn't leave them hanging.
"Tony, talk to Axel about matters related to Alpha business. He took over Alpha duties recently, so he will be the best to give you advice."
With this, Talia was down to one person looking at her.
"Kalina, you will need to reach out to Luna Alicia and find out what she was doing so far. If she would share how she did it, that would be great. Maybe Tanya has some useful advice."
Kalina agreed. Her sister just became a Luna, but Tanya has years of managing the company, and what's most important, Kalina trusts Tanya. As for Luna Alicia... "Luna Alicia is managing the packhouse."
Talia felt she can share some tips related to that. "Find a few trustworthy Omegas and assign them duties." Kalina's concerned expression reminded Talia that things at the Lightclaw pack were vastly different compared to the Dark Howlers pack. Here, everyone was competing for a spot. "Do you have anyone you can trust?"
Kalina shook her head. "Omegas I interacted with are either keeping to themselves or are loyal to Luna Alicia."
"That's fine", Talia assured Kalina. "Things don't need to be perfect from the start. In time, you can tweak your approach and things will fall into place. I can recommend Ivy and Lily. They are hardworking and discrete, as for anything else, they will learn. Ask Ivy and Lily to start by shadowing people who are currently working under Luna Alicia and increase their responsibilities as they gain confidence."
Kalina understood something. "Are you telling me to replace the staff in the packhouse?"
Talia shrugged. "It's up to you. Do you trust them to accomplish their tasks without backstabbing you? Luna Alicia and Alpha Magnus formed a network of people that helped them guide this pack. Some of them might be fine with you taking over, but there will be many looking down on you because you are inexperienced. Don't give them a chance to sabotage you and make you look bad. Ivy and Lily are working here for some time, and you should hear their opinions about the rest of the staff."
Kalina nodded robotically. She thought that she was ready for this, but now that it happened, she was utterly lost. But she couldn't admit to it. Tony needed her and she could only say, "I will talk to Ivy and Lily and take it from there."
"Do you have any advice for me?", Tony asked Talia because Axel was not very helpful. Sure, Axel told him that he should assemble generals to discuss the current situation, assess loyalty, and probably change patrolling shifts. But that was too much. Tony barely interacted with generals, and he feared that they will treat him like a child. An incompetent one.
Talia looked at Tony helplessly. "Didn't you talk to Axel?"
"There is a lot. Can you help me prioritize? What should I do first?"
"Yes, there is a lot.", Talia confirmed. "And that is why you need to pick your Beta. He will ease your load."
Axel frowned at this. He didn't mention picking a Beta because he didn't need to pick one. Now it turned out that he was not helpful and Talia will think less of him.
Tony made a troubled expression. "I was thinking between Nate and Greg which one to be my Beta, but my father is pushing Paul. He is a good guy, and his father is a Beta, but Paul is not a Beta material."
Talia didn't think that was a problem. "You shouldn't listen to your father. This is about your Beta, a man who will watch your back. You need to trust him that work will be done in your absence and that he won't abuse his position."
Tony agreed with this. If it was about the trust, that meant, Paul was out. Actually, Tony didn't dislike Paul. They were friends and Paul was a good guy, but the fact that Alpha Magnus and Beta Cage were pushing Paul like he was the only valid choice was rubbing Tony the wrong way.
"I might give Paul some other role, but I will think about it later. How do I decide on my Beta between Nate and Greg?"
"Do you need to decide?", Talia asked. "Make both Nate and Greg your Betas."
"Two Betas?", Tony asked. "Is that possible?" It was not unusual for a pack to have two Betas, but that was because one was the Beta and the other one was the Beta's mate.
"Why not? This is your pack. As the Alpha, your word is the law. If you say that there will be two Betas, there will be two Betas. Your biggest problem will be to decide on work division between Nate and Greg, but in terms of status, the two of them can be equals."
Tony looked at Talia like she said something fantastic. How was it possible that she easily solved a problem that was bothering him for months? "Will you be my Beta?"
Talia burst into a laugh that stopped when Axel stood in front of Tony and looked at him with hostility.
"You can be friends, but you can't disrespect her."
Tony was flabbergasted. "How did I disrespect her?"
"You are talking with the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack.", Axel said and both Tony and Kalina turned to stare at Talia.
Kalina looked around to confirm if Axel was talking nonsense, only to see that James, Cornelia, Yasmin, and Meg were not surprised by this revelation.
"How? When?", Tony asked Talia.
"It's a long story.", Talia responded. She wanted to scold Axel for dropping this bomb, but then she decided against it because Tony was bound to find out in a few hours when Talia asks him to hitch a ride with Tony to the Council of Alphas.
"Explanations will come later because you need to prepare for your ceremony, Alpha Anthony, and then pick one of your Betas to accompany you because I will be joining you to the Council of Alphas with my Beta."
Kalina finally connected the dots and she looked at Meg. "You are Beta?"
"I am Talia's Beta.", Meg confirmed. "Kai is Axel's."
"Axel's Beta?", Tony asked.
Axel confirmed. "I am Talia's proxy."
"I like to think of us as equals.", Talia corrected Axel and turned to Tony. "Remember, your pack and your rules. We decided to lead the Midnight Guardians pack as two Alphas."
Actually, Talia wanted to leave that pack to Axel with Yasmin to manage, but the more Talia felt the connection with the Midnight Guardians pack, the idea of her giving up on her position as the Alpha was becoming more difficult. Why did it feel like she would abandon her children?
"Wow!", Tony exclaimed. "No wonder you said how we will have support from both packs. Thank you."
Talia waved her hand, indicating that it was not a big deal. "Prepare for the ceremony. We will watch it from the side." And to make sure Alpha Magnus or his minions don't try to ruin things. Talia took a mental note to keep an eye on Beta Cage because he was one of the volatile suspects that might throw a fit when he realizes that his son didn't make the cut to be a Beta, while two other guys did.
