Page 26 of Bound to the Dragon
It makes it hard to believe that Silver Glade isn’t somehow responsible for what happened here that day, but I can’t reconcile how that would benefit them, hurting their own pack, especially during a mating ceremony that was meant to unify us.
Since the attack, he has been unreachable by phone, his absence only adding to suspicions about his involvement. But without evidence or witnesses, I’m unsure what to make of the situation.
“Gather the pack. I’ll get Madison.” I stand.
Vigo stops me. “I would leave her out of this one, Blaze.”
Defensiveness shoots through me. “She’s the Luna. She should be there, too.”
“I know.” He shifts his weight uncomfortably and looks down. “But Blaze, she comes from Silver Glade, and we still don’t know who’s behind the attack. If her pack is somehow responsible…”
He doesn’t need to finish his thought, but more apprehension sparks inside me at the unspoken suggestion.
“She’s part of Shadow Pine now. Her loyalties are to us.”
The corners of Vigo’s mouth pull inward. “On paper, maybe, but you can’t be so naïve as to believe that she would just switch sides, especially if she’s involved in this. You have to think of the pack.”
I refuse to believe that Madison would have anything to do with it, but an image of her guilty-looking face when we descended to the jail cells to confront the prisoners flashes behind my eyes. Even then, I had known she knew more than she was saying. Why haven’t I followed up on that?
“Your bond with her is making it hard to think objectively, Alpha.”
My fists close, and I inhale sharply. “It’s not.”
“Then you hear what I’m saying. She needs to stay here.”
Any other arguments die on my lips, and I hang my head, nodding in agreement. “Get the car. I’ll meet you out front.”
Madison is not going to be happy when she hears she was left out of this meeting, but Vigo is right. This needs to be resolved with absolute certainty before we can do anything else. If Madison is reporting back to her family pack, we can’t have her at that meeting.
Our remote packhouse is filled to the brim, every shifter from Shadow Pine in attendance. I’m disheartened to see so many of my people still bandaged from the attack. Madison has been keeping an eye on the staff and has given them the compensation package as well as days off to rest in the aftermath. In hindsight, it had been a good idea, even if I had initially been against the extra expense. It was good for morale, and the staff appreciated it. I noticed their extra efforts around the estate, even the ones who hadn’t been injured.
If she had something to do with this attack, why would she go through so much trouble to clean it up? Guilt?
I have to wonder if Vigo isn’t right, if my mate bond isn’t clouding my judgment for me to be soundly leading this meeting at all, and I pull my Beta aside as we enter the packhouse.
We step into the pantry, the only spot in the whole house that isn’t teeming with bodies.
“I want you to take over the meetings for now. I’ll sit and monitor,” I tell Vigo.
He doesn’t question my authority, but I read the dubiousness in his eyes.
“If we lose the support of the pack, we’re in trouble,” I add. “We need to stay unified more than ever.”
“Whatever you want to do, Blaze. I’ve always got your back.”
We retreat and gather everyone outside so we can address the entire pack. It’s been a long time since we’ve had this many shifters together at the packhouse, and it’s not equipped to handle so many. It’s disheartening that we have to meet under these circumstances, but it’s good to know we’re unified for the same cause.
“We’re still looking into what happened at the ceremony,” Vigo begins, and the mutters of disapproval already start. He throws up a hand to end it. “Stop!”
He ends their grumblings before they can swell, his eyes sweeping through the crowd. “We’re doing all we can with what we have.”
“Is it possible that it was an attack from Silver Glade?” I can’t see who asked, but there are a lot of nods, indicating that the question was clearly weighing on many people’s minds.
“It’s unlikely,” I speak up before Vigo can. “Given that their entire pack was there and suffered injuries, too.”
“You’re just saying that because Madison is your mate. You don’t want to admit you made a mistake by bringing in a traitor.”
“Yeah!” There are far too many calls of consensus for my liking.
