Redhawk Caldera friends become family

At first, Shrike felt relieved. She wanted a leader's children- and he was not a leader. Elwood already had a mate, though Shrike had already figured that Fox would promote Elwood to the Alpha position despite the fact that they were not mates. Finley was no longer Beta, so promoting Elwood wouldn't have changed the fact that Elwood was a leader and Finley was not. He'd already mused with the fact that he would then likely be promoted to Beta, to fill in Elwood's place, and things would eventually go back to normal, or as normal as they could be. Fox wanted a leader's children, and if she was already pregnant with Peregrine's pups, then she would have just that. 

But then she asked something of him, and it completely rattled Shrike. She wanted him to be a leader. Naturally, Shrike did not want to assume she wanted him to be her mate...But the words "by my side" meant something else. How could he be an alpha over Elwood? He respected the male greatly, and did not want to step on his toes, even though he knew Elwood would likely understand, and he had enough on his plate as it was. But it would be extremely uncomfortable for Shrike. He would be ranked above Elwood, and would be stepping into the position so soon after Peregrine had died. His heart sank. 

"I'll do everything for the pack." He said, not knowing where to begin. He didn't want to let Fox down...He'd already done everything he possibly could for the pack- from finding Peter's murderer to going on an endless search for Lucy. He was a capable guardian and hunter, and had begun trying to get Eljay to come out of his shell. "I just..." He couldn't do this so soon after Peregrine died. He didn't love Fox. He wanted a mate of his own that he loved someday. He didn't want to father children with someone he did not love. He did not want to hurt Whip and Gannet, who would not take to this well at all. He did not want to be ranked above Elwood. 

He took a second to think about what he did want. He wanted a mate- but he wanted a mate he loved. He thought of Allure, and Sassafras. Could he stop himself from having feelings for either of them if he did this? Not likely, unless he stopped going to visit Allure, and stopped hunting for Lucy with her, and if he more or less avoided Sassafras as much as possible. He wanted to be as valuable to the pack as he could be, of course, but he was already quite content with where he stood in the pack. 

What he absolutely did not want was to be exiled from the pack if he offended Fox by refusing her offer. He was heartbroken and lost, and had no idea what was the right thing to do.