Page 38 of Rejected Sold Mate
“Thanks for the latte!” I was already halfway out the door, digging my keys out of my bag.
“You didn’t pay!” Gwen called back, but I was in way too much of a hurry to turn around.
“I’ll pay double next time. Bye!”
I was on a mission, but I made sure to take a huge swig of my coffee before I threw the old Subaru into drive. It burned my tongue a little, but I was going to need the caffeine if I was about to face the entire Blacktide council.
***
The meeting was in full swing when I stormed down the stairs to the brewery basement, where the pack’s meeting roomwas located. It was a massive open space with a long table and chairs and the huge beer brewing vats, silver and shimmering, taking up one side of the high-ceilinged area.
When I pushed the door open, ten heads turned towards me, Jayce at the head of the table. I paused, the significance of busting into the Alpha’s council meeting hitting me hard, but it was too late to stop.
My mate was on his feet, and while he looked baffled to see me, he pulled out the empty chair next to him and motioned to it. “Welcome, Luna. Would you like to join us?”
I almost snorted. So formal for a man who had said all sorts of sweet and dirty things into my ear when he was helping ease my heat. I swallowed, tilting my chin up and taking the offered seat, even as the rest of the council murmured to one another.
“Luna,” Josh, the pack’s Beta, greeted. “Er, to what do we owe the pleasure?”
Without hesitation, I pointed down the table to where Brian sat, looking miserable but stunned at my appearance, his arm in a blue sling. “I’m here to make sure you don’t kick that man out.”
Jayce leaned towards me, “Rhie…”
“No. Let me speak, please. I know what happened was terrible, and I know better than anyone else that Brian laying his hands on me was out of line, but casting him out isn’t the right call. No one has said so to my face, but I’m sure my addition to the pack, and in such an important role, was a shock to everyone, Brian included. He needs to be punished, yes, but you can’t throw him out of the pack.”
An older woman, towards the end of the table, cleared her throat, but no one else spoke until Jayce asked, “Why do you believe banishment is the wrong choice?”
I sucked in a shaking breath, heart hammering against my ribs. “Because I know what it’s like to be cast out and to have your pack turn its back on you and treat you like a monster. I hated my old pack for it. I still do. But this pack is different, isn’t it? You made me feel like I could belong again. Like I was seen as an equal. Like my words, my opinions had value. Don’t…don’t take that from Brian because he made one mistake. It doesn’t teach any lesson. All it does is ruin a life.”
By the time I quit speaking, I could hear my pulse pounding in my ears, and adrenaline coursed through my veins. Slowly, the buzzing in my head abated, and the heavy silence of the room became apparent. It was so quiet I could hear myself breathe.
Only then did it hit me how passionately I’d been ranting, and I felt my cheeks start to burn. That was the first time I’d joined the council, and all I’d done was interrupt it and detail their entire meeting.
I felt juvenile. Stupid, even. The plan that I’d thought so brilliant when I left the coffee shop just felt ridiculous once I was in the middle of it. I couldn’t even look at Jayce, whose presence I could feel beside me as bright as the sun.
Then, gently, I felt his hand land on my shoulder, his fingers curling into my skin reassuringly. I looked up, drowning out the sight of all the other council members in the room, and gave all my attention to my Alpha.
“We aren’t going to banish him.” Jayce said, “It was a consideration in the beginning, but Brian has a clean record other than this incident. Instead, we’ll be assigning him sometasks within the pack and removing him from combat and guard duty until he’s proven his temper is under control.”
More silence, mine included, followed. A few chuckles could be heard, and I was willing to burst into flames on the spot if I didn’t have to look anyone in the eye at that moment.
“I…” I cleared my throat. “I…that was always the plan?”
“It was,” Jayce’s voice was even, but I could sense the suppressed laughter there.
“Great. Right. That’s…good.” Then, I leaned in so only Jayce could hear me. “Would it cause diplomatic issues with Joe if I shook his mate around just a little for giving me bad information?”
“We’ll address that later,” he whispered back. “But for now, sit tight. You’re here, so you might as well hear the rest of the meeting.”
I didn’t have the confidence to march out of the meeting like I’d marched into it, so I took Jayce’s advice, sitting back in the chair and smiling reluctantly at everyone else around the table. After a minute of adjustment, Jayce looked around and nodded. “Let’s continue, then.”
***
My mate pulled me aside as the meeting disbanded, everyone else talking amongst themselves as they made their way upstairs.
“So,” Jayce drawled, grinning, “How many times did you rehearse that speech on the drive over?”
“That’s the worst part,” I groaned, dragging my hands over my face. “I didn’t rehearse anything. It was all off the cuff.”
