He’s not.
We all know it and he has to be the one to concede. If he didn’t look down and break eye contact, it would have been the same as him challenging me in a situati
on like this. After being torn away from my mate after a lengthy hunt, I’m not exactly in the mood to be challenged. Oh, I’d fight Lex with all I’ve got and I’d kick his ass before I kicked him out of the pack, but this is something so small, so stupid, that it would be ridiculous to waste my time or energy on a fight right now.
“Yes, Alpha,” he mumbles quietly.
“No,” I say harshly. “That is not a fact. When we hunt as a pack,” I turn to the wolves who are watching, raising my voice. “We feed as a pack. Look at us,” I wave my arm around, motioning at the children sitting with their mothers, at the fathers bouncing babies, at the unmated wolves lounging around, at the teenagers perched on the edges of the sofas. “We are one. We are one pack, one unit. We hunt together and we share together.”
Now I turn back to Lex.
“Not everyone in this pack can hunt. Not everyone in this pack is supposed to hunt. Those of us who can, do. Those who cannot hunt are able to perform other duties. You are one who hunts. Jam is one who butchers, who prepares our meat. Do you understand this?”
“Yes, but…”
“What?” I hiss.
“Nothing Alpha,” Lex says glumly. “I understand.”
“See that you do,” I say, and jerk my head for him to leave. Then I turn back to the rest of the group and cross my arms over my chest. Tessa comes over and places her hand on my shoulder. I had completely forgotten about her. Now I jerk my body away and glare at her. Despite her obvious lust and desire, she has the decency to back the fuck off.
“There are going to be some changes around here,” I say loudly. “Starting tomorrow. I’ll make an announcement in the morning, but for now…” I let my voice trail off as I look around the room. Finally, my gaze settles back on Tessa. “Wear clothes when you’re in the caves. Unless you’re in your own suites with your mate, wear fucking clothes. There are children around.”
Then I turn to return to my room. I hear the whispers and the voices as I leave. They’re confused, to be sure, but I also hear murmurs of approval. I hear a few “Jeffrey never would have stood up like that” or “the old Alpha would have killed them both!” It just makes me glad that fucker is dead. Jeffrey is never going to bother anyone again.
Most of all, he’s never going to go after Red.
Red. My beloved. What must she be thinking right now? An insane headache is building, but I know there’s nothing I can do about it. Not right now. She might not think I saw the look on her face when Tessa showed up, but I did. I felt it. I felt her fear, her sadness, her overwhelming sense of not belonging. Worst of all, I realize I probably should have stayed with her and comforted her before I left.
Unfortunately, as Alpha, I’m not always going to have that luxury. I’m not always going to be able to make sure Red is in a good place before I have to run off and take care of my pack.
I know she can handle it. She can. Red is the strongest woman I’ve ever met and there’s nothing she can’t take.
I just hope she knows how deeply I really do care for her. These past two weeks have been difficult, to say the least. We’ve both had a hard time adjusting to our new roles within the pack. Since Red is my mate, the other wolves will turn to her for advice, for help, for running programs and things like that. Since she’s not a wolf, others will despise her and try to ruin our relationship. Sadly, it’s the natural order of things, and right now, I’m really not sure what to do.
I’ve never been in this place before. I only hope Red and I are able to find some sort of new normal that works for all of us.
“Alpha,” I feel a rough hand on my shoulder and turn to see Ryder striding alongside me, matching my pace as I head back down the hall to my suite.
“What is it, beta?” I ask him gruffly.
“You handled yourself well tonight.”
“Thanks. Could’ve been better. I’m tired as fuck, though.”
“Me too. It was a good hunt, though I’m guessing that’s not the only reason you’re tired.” Ryder has always been observant. That’s why he’s my man. I don’t have to fill him in on every detail. He can read between the lines.
“What happened tonight? Why wouldn’t Jam just wait until tomorrow to start on the meat? And why was Lex so up in arms about it?”
“That’s what I want to talk to you about,” Ryder says, lowering his voice. He keeps following me. I’m still in my stupid robe walking barefoot on the stone hallway. Some parts of the cave still have dirt floors and some are fashionable enough to have wooden floors, but the hall we’re in is pure rock. I love it.
It feels like home.
“What about it?” I ask. We’re almost back to Red, almost back to my girl. I just want to wrap my arms around her and lose myself in her for a little while, but if Ryder thinks something is wrong, I need to hear it first.
“I know you were gone for awhile and you’ve been busy since you came back,” he starts. He’s referring to the fact that I was essentially banished from The Silent Canines after my cousin was killed. Jeffrey tried to pin her death on me and I was in hiding for a few months, trying to get my head on straight and figure out what to do. Then Red found me.
Saved me.