Page 33 of Kin of the Wolf

“Our kind tend toward orneriness.” Mom gazed thoughtfully at me. “Lorenzo and I did tell Augustus to leave you be, but I am not surprised he has gone against our wishes. He has tested Lorenzo often and made it clear he desires leadership of the pack for himself. Lorenzo doesn’t care whether he leads or not and has only stepped in since we had a succession of alphas and no clear leadership for a time, but he will not back down to an upstart.”

“Good.”

“And, as of yet, neither Augustus nor any of your cousins has challenged him in open combat.”

“Because they’re not good fighters,” Duncan suggested. “They’re strong, but they lack agility and cunning.”

Mom’s thoughtful gaze shifted to him. “I suspect you find that true ofmostwolves you fight. Most anyones. Were you to seek to mate with my daughter, I would grant my approval. With you, she would have superior offspring.”

“Mom… Look, I get that you’re probably thinking about your own mortality and trying to set things straight with your legacy right now, but I’m not having any more children.”

“You must. Your blood is greater than that of my other offspring. You are the only child I had with your father, and his blood… He was magnificent.”

“If I challenge Augustus,” I said sturdily, determined to keep the conversation on track. “And things get… heated…” I thought of the times my savage wolf instincts had taken over completely and I’d killed. “Would you forgive that? Would Aunt Bella?”

What if the whole family turned against me? Before, when I’d left and been taking the sublimation potion, they’d all ignored me, for the most part, but this could be worse. They might openly hunt me to drive me out of Washington altogether.

“She might not forgive you,” Mom said, “but you know what I believe. Only the strong survive. That is the way of the wolf.”

“Yeah. I guess I figured you would feel that way.”

“Were the arbiter and the other elders to decide he and the others had to go, Bella would have to accept that or leave with them.”

“So… getting evidence to condemn him should be my first strategy.”

That idea struck me as more appealing than possibly killing a relative, even a live-by-the-fang-die-by-the-fang werewolf relative, but would it solve the problem? Or would it start a war within the pack? If Augustus and his siblings challenged Lorenzo and ended up in charge of the Savagers…

“Deal with him, one way or another, if you can,” Mom said. “It might ultimately bring harmony to the pack. There is tensionnow between the elders and the youths. Such is not uncommon among our kind, but it has been years without resolution and grows tedious. If Augustus or Marco or one of the others desires to be our leader, they should challenge Lorenzo openly. Instead, they mutter and scheme. More than once, I have been concerned that they would plot his demise through some seeming accident rather than challenging him openly and nobly.”

“Like they’d cut the brake lines in his car or something?” I could imagine it. The turds.

Mom took a long drink from the whiskey glass. Most of the ice cubes had melted while we spoke.

“I fear that is possible,” she said after draining it. “I would miss Lorenzo, as he has become a faithful companion to me these past years. He is also a stabilizing force for the pack.”

“I’m glad he’s taking care of you, Mom.”

She squinted at me. “I am not so old and infirm that I am unable to care for myself.”

“I’m certain that’s true.”

“Two nights ago, I took down a buck by myself.”

“You’re a fit and virile female wolf.”

“You’re humoring me. Come closer so I can slap you for your impertinence.”

Since I caught a smile in her eyes, I didn’t think she meant it.

“I’d better not,” I said. “Duncan defends me from threats.”

“Does he?” Mom looked more approving than concerned.

He bowed again to her. “With my bulletproof abs, my lady.”

I snorted. That wasn’t a body part I’d yet seen him sling at my cousins.

“Good,” Mom said. “Step outside for a moment. Refill this while you’re there.” She lifted the empty whiskey glass and held it toward him.

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