Page 10 of The Renegade Mate

“That’s bullshit!”

Camille shrugged. “I will have to take your word on that, but it is what they are saying. Brock and Hayley have called a regional Pack Meet in five days. There, they will declare themselves the new Alpha pair of the Three Rivers Pack, and their power and reign will be cemented. You have until then to challenge them with the support of the other Packs. After that, the Wolf Council laws come into force. As such, other Alphas cannot interfere, and no challenges can be made on the Alpha pair for at least one year.”

I looked at Mai. There was no way we could go against the Wolf Council. It was our ruling authority. They made and enforced all our laws. Come to think of it, this year, it was the turn of the Three Rivers Pack to nominate someone to serve on the Council. It was not an easy job, and the werewolf chosen would have to give up their bond to our Pack. But you didn’t refuse the Council. They were known to be ruthless and protected the peace between the humans and werewolves with deadly efficiency. We no longer had time to work this out at our own pace. The clock had just started ticking. We needed to decide if we were going to put ourselves forward as an Alpha pair, and soon.

“In the meantime,” Camille continued, “we’re here with whatever you need. A safe haven, a place to rest and recover, a base of operations—”

“Thank you,” Mai injected quickly. “We don’t have any plans yet, but having somewhere safe to rest and where we can work out our next steps is appreciated.”

I looked at Mai as she stood there, processing this information. Her wavy dark hair was windswept but silky, and her scent, of honeysuckle, mint and aspen leaves, was aflame with anger at Camille’s news. As she bit her lip in concentration, I felt a flare of determination course through me.

Goddess, she was beautiful. And mine. All mine. I had finally been able to claim her as my mate, even if it had taken me four long years of searching for her so I could fix the damage I caused when I rejected her. Part of me wanted to take her away from here, from all of this pain and danger. I wanted to take her somewhere she’d be safe, somewhere she could be happy. But another part knew that there was no running away. Our place was here, fighting for our territory and our Pack.

Camille nodded. “Of course. This is a safe place. They’ve been stopped for now.”

“They?” I queried, thinking back to the intel on Bridgetown. They’d been expanding their Pack, both humans and Shifters, for the last few months, recruiting from out of the area. “Was it just Tristan, or did he take other members of your Pack with him?”

Michael exchanged an uneasy glance with Camille. “We were preparing for a war with the Three Rivers. The bad intel that Tristan and others were providing us all pointed to Jem being an unstable Alpha and for the troubles in your Pack to spill over into ours. We needed to be ready for any contingency. It is apparent now, though, that Tristan was not working on his own. Some of the new recruits were loyal to him, not to our Pack, not to us. They have since disappeared and are probably with Tristan, plotting their next moves.”

“You think he’ll try again?”

“The trouble with Tristan,” Michael’s voice hardened as he spoke Tristan’s name, “is that he really does believe that Shya is his mate. I have no doubt that he will return for her.”

My gaze moved to Mason, the usually composed wolf now looking anything but. His fists were clenched, his knuckles white, and his eyes had a wild look to them. Something had struck a nerve.

Protectiveness over someone in danger or something more?

I felt a pit opening in my stomach as I watched Mason, a sense of realization washing over me. Could Shya be Mason’s fated mate? The thought added an entirely new layer of complexity to an already tense situation. If that was the case, then we were heading into even murkier waters.

Chapter six

Mai

As I settled into the overstuffed chair in the study, my mind kept drifting back to breakfast. I’d slept badly, nightmares waking me often in the night, only to be lulled back to sleep in Ryan’s warm arms as he pulled me close and stroked my back until my heart rate had slowed and sleep claimed me once more.

We’d woken early and headed downstairs. The tension that hung in the kitchen was thicker than the syrup on Ivan’s pancakes. Danni, Ivan, Elise, and Camille had all been there. They tried to make us feel welcome, but I could see their exchanged glances, and the strained conversation was awful. Who the hell wanted to talk about what color sofa Elise should buy? Even Sam, who usually had a sarcastic comment for everything, was uncharacteristically quiet.

We were strangers in this Pack. Yes, we were guests, but we were outsiders, all the same. We couldn’t afford to be strangers for long, though. We needed to bridge the gap, make them see us as allies, not threats. But how?

A pang of anxiety twisted in my stomach. I’d never been good with diplomacy, with the smooth words and calculated gestures that soothed doubts and fears. I was straightforward, to the point. No sugar-coating, no empty promises. But I had to figure it out, for all our sakes. We needed to be accepted by the Bridgetown Pack, to be truly welcomed, not merely tolerated.

A deep voice pulled me back to the present. “Mai,” Derek called, a frown creasing his forehead. “You listening?” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

I offered a weak smile, brushing my wavy hair back from my face. “Yeah, Derek. Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“We’re not just your Pack, Mai,” Sam chimed in. “We’re your family. And we’ve got your back, no matter what.”

I looked at each of them in turn, their words echoing in my mind. My gaze finally landed on Ryan, the only one who would meet my eyes. He was watching me intently. They were all acting like we were already the Alpha pair, and it was pissing me off.

“I know, Sam,” I replied. And I did know. They were my family, and I was so fucking grateful to have each and every one of them. But I didn’t want such a momentous decision to be forced on me.

“I was saying we need a plan,” Derek said.

Ryan ran a hand through his dark hair, leaning back in his chair. His blue eyes were thoughtful as he regarded his brothers. “Alright, lay it out for us.”

“We’ve been thinking,” Mason began, his voice steady, his blue eyes serious. “We all know what Brock and Hayley have done, and if we don’t step up, who knows what they could do next. We need leaders who can stand against them.”

Derek nodded. “And not just any leaders. Alpha leaders.”

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