Page 68 of Awakened
Brandon found me lying on the floor, crying. He scooped me up and held me close to his chest without saying a word. That was the beauty of my little brother—he knew when to just be there.
I let him soothe me, and once I was calm, I got up and went into the bathroom. An hour and a half later, I was dressed to kill with perfect makeup and hair. If I was going to be fed my heart for dinner, I was going to look fan-fucking-tastic choking it down. I had no intention of fucking up Seth’s life. If he had someone, I wouldn’t come in between them. My new plan was to deliver Aiden’s message and get the fuck out. Steeling my resolve, I nodded to Brandon, and we went down to the alpha’s office.
I let Brandon enter first, using his broad shoulders to shield me from the view of the room. Seth’s scent filled my nose, and it took everything in me not to run away.
A deep, gravelly voice came toward us. “Beta Spencer, it’s great to finally meet you. My son has told me so much about you and your sister.”
Brandon’s back flexed as he shook Alpha Collins’ hand. “Thank you for having us, Alpha Collins.” After dropping his hand, Brandon moved aside to present me.
It was like looking into the future. The man in front of me was a middle-aged Seth.
Alpha Collins’ eyes met mine, and he smiled softly. “Ah, Gamma Spencer, truly a pleasure.” His right hand enveloped mine, and his left closed in on the other side.
My cheeks hurt from the big, fake-ass smile plastered across my face. “It’s actually Beta Spencer now, but you can call me Les.”
“Well, Les, welcome to the Mountain Pack. I look forward to your stay.” Dropping my hand, he rounded his desk and gestured to two open wingback chairs. I kept my eyes straight ahead andrefused to look to the right side of the room where Kennedy, Seth, and an older ginger gentleman sat. Feeling Seth’s gaze burning a hole in the side of my head, I twisted Grandma Rose’s ring, trying to ease some of the tension in my body. Once seated, I picked a point on the alpha’s desk and stared. I was determined to make it through this meeting without combusting.
“I wanted to go over a couple of things, and then we can enjoy dinner without shop talk.” Alpha Collins was entirely at ease, blissfully unaware that the weight of the room made it hard for me to breathe.
“Sounds good to me. I’ve never been very good at focusing when food is involved.” Everyone chuckled, but I was being serious. Meals were a time for enjoyment and relaxation, not business and misery.
“Then let’s get to it.” He handed Brandon and me a folder. “Alpha Reynolds, myself, and a few others have been working on a project that will benefit all of werewolf society. We hope to get the support of both of your packs. Inside these folders, you will find the plans for a nationwide gathering. I’ll give you a minute to look it over.”
As I reviewed the booklet, I couldn’t stop from frowning. Looking over the list of supporting packs, I noticed that many were followers of the Old Church. Alpha Reynolds was known for his extreme religious views, to the point that many viewed his pack as a cult. They called themselves The Wolf Pack, which couldn’t be more douchey. We were all wolves. He felt he was returning wolves to their true selves and creating a utopia.
The reality was that he and about three hundred wackadoos lived in the middle of nowhere in Montana. Not much information was available about their closed society.
Flipping through the rest of the materials, the details for a mass gathering of the packs were laid out. The Wolf Pack would host, and they’d estimated a budget to accommodate the entire mature wolf population of the Americas. A gathering of this size hadn’t been attempted in over a hundred years.
What could be so important?
“Why is a gathering of all the packs necessary? We’re living in a time of unprecedented peace, so it can’t be for conflict management.” I was honestly baffled.
Alpha Collins nodded. “You’re right. We’re experiencing peace and prosperity as a people, but most of us have lost one of the biggest blessings of being a wolf. I’m sure you’re aware of the growing number of wolves returning to their roots, rededicating themselves to the Goddess, and embracing more traditional lives. Females are reclaiming their homes, and males are stepping up to provide. With these interests in mind, now is the time to reclaim what the Moon Goddess has gifted us with. Our mates.”
He was so serene while he spouted utter nonsense.
“We’ll get back to the ‘females reclaiming their homes’ bit in a moment, but you cannot honestly be suggesting that we risk bringing some of the most important current and future leaders of our kind to one location, for what boils down to a mate mixer?” My voice held heavy censure, and I knew I was being openly hostile with a superior. Chalk it up to my general distaste of mate worship, my own terrible experience, or that he was suggesting risking lives for an antiquated ideal, but I was determined to put an end to this little plan.
“Les—” Brandon warned, placing a hand on my shoulder.
I shrugged it off. “No, Brandon. He wants to throw a wolf prom without concern for safety. Humans, in general, may not hate us, but there are always extremists. Since the last election, there’s been an uptick in violence toward wolves and supernaturals. Now isn’t the time to put safety on the back burner for love at first sight.”
“Les—” Seth shouted.
When I finally turned to look at him, my anger spiked, and I let out a humorless laugh. “Really, Seth? Mr. liberal, tradition-hating, feminist? You’re on board with this? You, who swore up and down that Aiden had made the biggest mistake of his life and no mate would ever come between you and the one youloved. So that was bullshit, huh? How does your girlfriend feel about that? Does she know you’ll drop her as soon as you find your mate?”
Seth’s face lost all color, and his gaze fell to the floor. “She is my mate.”
I sucked in a breath, and my anger deflated, giving way to absolute devastation. “Oh.” I blinked rapidly, trying to fight against the sting of tears. My chest felt tight. It was only a matter of time before I gave everyone a front-row seat to my breakdown.
I spun on my heels and left the room, heading straight for the front door. Outside, I kicked the grass in disbelief at the clusterfuck that just went down.
As I reached the edge of the clearing, the front door closed, and heavy footsteps raced toward me. I wanted to run into the woods and shift, but a part of me refused to run from Seth.
“Les.”
I kept my back to him.
