Page 42 of Hayden's Haven
“It was a mistake, Blade. Anna looks so much like a shifter I once knew in my birth pack. Reina.”
“It’s what Drake called Anna every time he. . .” Blade didn’t finish his sentence, not with Anna there shaking in his arms. He didn’t need to. Hayden had heard about all the emotional torture Drake had unleashed on Anna. It was the reason his brother had forced the blood-bond on her and tracked her down to claim her.
Drake had never cared about Anna’s involvement with the WSSO as Damien and his top shifters had thought, as even he had thought. For all of Hayden’s claims that he knew Drake better than anyone, at some point he’d have to admit he really didn’t know his brother very well at all. Too much time and history stood between them. The brother he had known like the back of his hand no longer existed.
“You knew Reina?” Finley said from nearby. “You were there when she was killed, weren’t you, traitor?” the shifter accused as he grabbed a wrench from a nearby toolbox.
“Of course, he was,” Malcolm said, another weak shifter looking to cause trouble as he armed himself with a plank. “It was around the same time he killed his alpha.”
Hayden’s wolf rose, tried to push through, to take charge and decimate the threat.
“Probably killed both.” Henry this time. Only Henry failed to pick up a weapon, but then again, Henry was a very strong shifter. He’d shift and use his teeth and claws.
A group of roughly fifteen male shifters now surrounded Hayden, Blade, and Anna. No, not Blade and Anna. A gap in the ring opened, allowing Blade to escort her away. In years past, Blade would never have left Hayden to the crowd of angry shifters, some of which may even be related to Reina, but Blade had a pregnant mate to worry about right now. Even if Anna didn’t need Blade, Hayden was no longer sure Blade would have remained by his side.
“I did not kill Reina,” Hayden said, holding his voice steady. His words would never convince the shifters of his innocence because they could see the guilt on his face, his posture. He had never fully told everyone what had happened that night. Even Damien didn’t know the entire story. Despite what had led to Reina’s death, in the end, the result was the same. The shifter was dead because Hayden hadn’t been fast enough to save her.
“You expect us to take your word?” Finley said, his disbelief so profound he actually laughed. Despite the way they let their ignorance drive them, these shifters had known Reina. She had been born and raised in Damien’s pack, back when his uncle had been alpha. Above all else, Damien’s pack protected—and avenged—their own.
“I’m Damien’s second. He accepted me into this pack. You don’t have to like me, but he is your alpha and I uphold his rulings. Go ahead, challenge me. I promise I will take at least three of you down before you even lay a claw on me.
“And I’ll finish off the rest of you,” Damien said from beyond the ring. Relief washed through Hayden, but he could not relax fully. Not with the threat that would persist as long as he remained in this pack. To make the situation worse, Mila had watched the entire spectacle. By now, whatever fear she had of him had been cemented into place by the hatred and suspicion coming from the very pack he fought for. Only Damien supported him, as Hayden knew he always would.
The dull thud of weapons being dropped against the packed snow was the only sound in the area as the shifters dispersed. They obeyed Damien without hesitation, as it should be.
“You should never have made me your second,” Hayden said as Damien approached.
The alpha crossed his arms over his chest, a hard look in his gray eyes. “You’re right. I should have made you alpha so I wouldn’t have to deal with bullshit like what they put you through, not to mention assholes like Finley. He’s a trouble-maker, always has been. I often wonder if he’d be an asshole if he were a strong shifter.”
“Why are you here, Damien?”
“Hell of a greeting to the shifter who just saved you.”
“You didn’t save me.”
Damien chuckled. “I’ll be sure to leave you to your own devices next time you’re surrounded by fifteen shifters.”
“It wouldn’t have come to that.”
“Normally, I’d agree. You’ve always been able to talk your way through just about anything, Hayden, but you’re not yourself lately. The very fact that you let yourself besurroundedby so many shifters at once tells me as much. I know they’re our pack, and I’ll give my life to defend each and every one of them against our enemies, but they’re far from perfect.”
“Our pack,” Hayden repeated, with a dark laugh. “I’ve never been a part of this pack. Why you think things will change, even after all these years, is beyond me.”
“You’re as bad as Blade.”
“At least he understands how hard it is entering this pack.”
“And yet he’s finally settling in.”
“Because he has Anna. And they accept her.”
“And you have Mila, who’s well-liked, too. Be patient a while longer and—”
“This has nothing to do with patience and you damn well know it. Drake is an albatross around my neck. Always will be.”
Damien’s hand grasped his shoulder. “Give it time, Hayden.”
“Time won’t change anything.”
