Page 8 of The Strongest Wolf

Kier must have thought the same thing, because he nudged aside a petite brunette—a woman who possessed enough of his scent for them to be mates—aside, as if trying to protect her.

But fighting him wasn’t what I or my wolf wanted to do.

Despite the tension radiating from the rest of the Blackshaws as I approached him, days after mine and Sierra’s arrival in Hardin, I wasn’t overcome by the need to kill him.

“I thought I’d hate you at first sight,” I told the towering, dark-haired alpha with a powerful build and an intense blue stare.

He nodded. “Me too, especially after what Melody told me.”

“But?” I prompted.

“You don’t strike me as someone who would betray your mate like that.” He paused, studying me for a long moment. “I’ve seen the way you are with Sierra and the way she is with you. There’s no way she’d have trusted you if you’d hurt Melody.”

It was my turn to nod. “I didn’t betray Melody.”

“I’m guessing there’s a story I don’t know about.”

“There is,” I admitted. “A long one.” And then we left the others at the house, so I could tell him the story of my parents' betrayal.

Shaking my head to clear away the memory, I refocus on the lake. “What about him?”

“When you left to talk, I think we were all expecting only one of you to come back,” Dayne admits. “Sierra stopped us from going after you. Said that you wouldn’t try to kill each other.”

A faint smile curves my lips. “She had more faith than I did. I thought that once I’d explained about my parents, Kier would accuse me of lying, and then we’d do everything we could to kill each other.”

“But that isn’t what happened.”

“No,” I agree. “That isn’t what happened.”

Kier loved Melody. He didn’t admit it, but I could hear it in the way he spoke about her. And even though he didn’t tell me everything that happened in Dexter, I could guess a lot of what he left out. No one wants to hear how the woman they loved suffered at the hands of predators, and he knew that.

“He’s a good man,” I say. “I’m glad he got a fresh start away from that place.”

Dayne crosses his arms, his gaze fixed on the lake. “He was a little like you at first. Kept to himself, a snarl or a growl every other word.”

I bark out a laugh, shaking my head as I recall the towering alpha who seems to spend more time trying not to laugh at his mate's jokes. “Right.”

He shrugs. “I’m only being half-serious. But you’re steadier, just as he is.”

Since I’m not reading any intent to insult me, I give in to my curiosity. “What do you mean?”

“It happens when you mate and you have more than just yourself to look after. Not a pack, that’s different. But someone else. Someone closer than pack.” He studies me for several seconds. “Sometimes, I think the pack needs you more than they want you. But with your mate, it’s different. You settle into yourself because they don’t just need you, they want you. Even with all your alpha dick ways,” he says, amusement softening his words.

“My beta will be pleased to hear you say that. He’s been on me for years to dial back on the snarling.”

“Luka’s the same.”

“You don’t have any concerns about Sierra being a submissive wolf?” I say as casually as I can, shifting my gaze back to the lake. While it won’t shape how I feel about Sierra, or my decision to make her Luna, I’m curious how another alpha views our relationship.

“No, but neither do you. But since you want my opinion about it without actually asking for it…”

Busted.

“Sierra isn’t like other submissives I’ve ever met before.” I feel his focus on the side of my face, so I turn to face him. “I’d imagine living with the Stones has hardened her into something else.”

“Something like what?”

Because there is no in-between. Pack hierarchy is pack hierarchy. It’s so clearly defined that everyone knows where they fit in it. There are alphas, betas, and gammas, going all the way down to the most submissive wolf in the pack, omega wolves.

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