Page 26 of Mated into the Mob

But a shouted, “Alpha is old-school when it comes to choosing a mate,” had Tony’s mouth opening and closing. Someone had finally silenced him.

“Did he throw you over his shoulder?” another shifter asked.

“No! He put me in handcuffs.”

Peals of laughter filled the room, and Tony grunted.

“I doubt you would have agreed otherwise,” an elder in the front row responded while I twisted my signet ring.

“But I didn’t give him permission,” Tony protested.

“You will.” There was stifled laughter as pack members whispered to one another. I squirmed, thankful Tony couldn’t hear them talking about us having sex.

“He is the Alpha. He does not need permission,” Saul, an elder, said.

“Isn’t anyone going to call the police?” Tony pleaded. “I’m here against my will.”

The entire room broke out into hearty laughter.

“Alpha, your mate is feisty and enjoys a good joke,” one of the council members shouted.

Tony rolled his eyes, and the creases in his brow reminded me of furrows in dry earth waiting for rain.

But Foley, a noted troublemaker and leader of the discontents pressing for change, stood. Everyone quietened, and the tension ramped up. It reminded me of a rubber band stretched to breaking point. I shoved one hand in my pocket and fingered my grandfather’s dented watch.

“Alpha, perhaps you can explain how you mated this man when it is against our law?”

Foley’s family had been rogues, and when they asked Papa if they could join La Luna Noir, he agreed. While his parents blended in with our pack, Foley always pushed the boundaries of what was allowed. And Emilio let on that Foley had been seen recently in the company of Sewell, the Nightfall pack’s Alpha.

The Nightfall pack rose out of the ashes of the Silverback pack after years of mafia and pack turf war that resulted in the deaths of my grandpa and father. When I took over as Alpha, we battled the Silverbacks for three years, and when the war was over, that pack’s survivors signed their names in blood that they would never encroach on our business again.

Tony side-eyed me. “What’s with the mate reference and what law?” But I didn’t fail to notice he edged closer to me.

He likes us. My wolf wanted to reveal himself.

Not yet.

I put an arm over my mate’s shoulder but needed to quell the uneasiness before it spilled over and rippled into the crowd. The scent in the room heightened, and even Tony must have sensed it as he brushed a hand over mine. Some of the pack member’s eyes darkened and fur rippled over a couple of shifters toward the back of the room. I hissed at them, my wolf at the forefront of my gaze.

“That is true, but this man…” I wanted to say human but was doing my best not to freak Tony out more than he already was, “is one of us.”

“No, I’m not a part of the mafia,” Tony insisted.

“Once again, my mate has reminded me I must be more precise when I speak.” I sent him a smile of thanks, but he glared at me. “My mate’s father, Anthony Oakley, was from our pack.”

The room buzzed. Pack members put their heads together, checking their phones, some looked at Emilio for clarification. But I stood still, not a muscle moving, my wolf close to the surface, and everyone stopped talking.

“Anthony was a valued member of La Luna Noir, and he met an untimely death when my mate was still in diapers. So by returning Tony to the pack, the circle is complete.”

The tension in the room evaporated, and Foley fumed, probably because he didn’t get the reaction he was hoping for.

From the corner of my eye, Tony swayed, and I gripped his hand. If he keeled over, there might be an uproar, with people thinking this human who was part shifter did not have the strength and courage to be part of the pack.

Foley stood, and I readied myself for another attempt to blacken my character.

“Word on the street is that before he met you, he was intent on hurting all of us.” He glanced around the crowd who had gone quiet. “You put your personal feelings before that of the pack.”

I took a deep breath and took strength from my mate who had faced death and hadn’t given up.

---