Page 16 of The Alpha's Mail Order Bride

“A spy?” Reeve clicked his tongue. “That’s no way to speak about your wife, Darion.”

Darion gritted his teeth as the other Alphas exchanged surprised looks. He could see Torren hiding a smile behind his hand, and it made him want to throttle him—right after he punched his brother squarely in the nose, of course. “I won’t indulge your ridiculous theatrics, Reeve,” he growled.

“Explain yourselves.” Renfrey’s voice was like a whip. “Now.”

“You may recall another Council meeting like this one, Alpha Renfrey,” Reeve said, spinning to address the rest of the group. “A meeting in which it was decided that a wedding would be arranged for the good of the island’s future. My wedding. Our wedding,” he amended, flashing a quick grin over his shoulder, to where Lyrie was sitting stock-still in her chair with her arms folded across her chest and an unreadable expression on her face. Darion knew better than to expect his old friend to speak up for him in a situation like this one, but it felt good to have her there at least, bearing witness. “I was angry with my brother for a time for his role in bringing that about, it’s true. But since then, I’ve not only forgiven him—I’ve accepted that he made the right decision. And I’m more than willing to give him the grace and the time to come to the same conclusion regarding this situation.”

Maddening, Darion thought faintly. Absolutely maddening. A lifetime of exposure to Reeve’s particular brand of nonsense had been barely enough to build up his tolerance. His hands were shaking at his sides with the effort of holding back from pulling his brother into a headlock, his wolf baying eagerly for the opportunity to wrestle him into submission. He had to focus. Had to win this fight with words—his brother’s preferred weapon.

“This is a completely different situation, as I’m sure is obvious to everyone gathered here,” Darion forced out, his voice more level than he’d expected. “I was given no warning that this was taking place. I was not asked permission or consent; the first I knew of the situation was the young woman appearing on my doorstep. And despite my best efforts, she has already seen more than she should have. She knows that the residents of this island are wolves, and I’m reluctant to return her to her home with that information.”

“And what are you asking of the Council?” Renfrey broke in, cutting across Reeve, who’d looked like he was about to launch into another speech. Darion turned gratefully to the Alpha, who gave him a tired smile.

“Advice,” he said simply, resisting the urge to shoot Reeve a dark look. “Recrimination regarding my brother’s actions can wait until the question of the young woman is settled. Claire,” he added, feeling oddly reluctant to speak about her in such anonymous terms. “For her part, she’s very willing to work with us to find a solution. She was considerably misled by Reeve regarding the nature of her visit to the island, too.”

“I think she should stay,” Reeve said brightly. Darion narrowed his eyes, but at a warning look from Renfrey he forced himself to remain silent.

“Reeve, I’ll speak frankly. I’m on Darion’s side, here. We’re certainly in our most peaceful period for some time, I’ll acknowledge that, but it’s still an unforgivably reckless time to be bringing new residents to the island—especially without consulting anyone else.”

“Oh, there was consultation,” Reeve said, lifting an eyebrow. “Did you really think I’d choose a wife for my brother based on whim alone? No, I consulted at length with Lorekeeper Anessi, who specializes in matters of the heart. She was confident that bringing Claire to Kurivon was the right choice.”

“I thought you said you were following one of your hunches,” Darion said through gritted teeth. Trust Reeve to keep back such a detail for a theatrical revelation at a time like this. He turned away from his brother, unable to tolerate Reeve’s grin for another second. But Renfrey’s expression made his heart sink, too. The Alpha’s frown had been replaced by a thoughtful expression. Of course a lorekeeper’s opinion would hold a lot of weight with Renfrey, Darion thought sourly. His own soulmate was the island’s chief lorekeeper—he had a great deal of faith in their insight, especially on spiritual matters like love and romance.

“As for your worries about secrecy, I share them,” Reeve said briskly, suddenly all business. “I consulted at length with my legal team and have already drafted up a nondisclosure agreement for Claire to sign if she chooses to leave the island. She’ll receive considerable remuneration for her discretion, too,” he added with a smile. “I can also assure you that based on her…rather unusual career, it’s highly unlikely that any attempt on her part to convince the world of the existence of shifters would be taken seriously. She writes romance novels about wolves, you see. They’re quite good,” Reeve added, tipping Darion a wink that threatened to make him black out with rage. “She has quite the imagination. You’re a lucky man, Darion.”

“Enough,” Renfrey snapped, but Darion hadn’t missed the laugh that a couple of Council members had hastily hidden. And in that moment, he knew he’d lost the battle. He stood, numb and furious, as the discussion continued around him. Sure, Renfrey gave a cursory scolding to Reeve for going behind the backs of his fellow Alphas, and several statements were made that it had been unwise and unbrotherly to spring such a surprise on Darion, but it was abundantly clear to him that the scenes of recrimination and remorse he’d dreamed of simply weren’t going to materialize. Reeve was going to dance out of this one scot-free, as usual.

Well, Darion wasn’t going to forgive him. Not this time.

“The question still remains of what to do with Claire,” Renfrey said, and the woman’s name called Darion’s attention sharply back into the room.

“How quickly can she be returned home?”

That was Blaine’s low rumble. The big man didn’t speak much, but Darion was grateful to see that he seemed to be on his side.

“A few days,” Reeve said with a shrug. “A reasonably short journey, even taking into account the maneuvers performed to disguise the route. But I think she should stay longer.”

“That seems like it’s gonna be a hard sell,” Torren pointed out. The youngest Alpha had relaxed a little as the meeting had gone on, once it had been clear that there was no imminent danger, his worried expression quickly replaced by amusement at the dispute between the brothers. Belmont hushed him discreetly. “What? Darion clearly hates her—”

“I don’t hate her,” Darion heard himself snap in response, surprised by the vehemence in his tone. “She’s done nothing wrong here.” He didn’t like the faint smile that twitched at Belmont’s lips, nor did he like seeing the same look on Renfrey’s face. “Is there a joke here I’m missing?” he asked, hating how petty he sounded, but unable to let the insult pass without comment.

Renfrey hesitated, but it was Belmont who spoke. Darion had always had a lot of time for Belmont, who generally conducted himself with a great deal of rational, careful thought. But what he said next made him grit his teeth hard enough to send pain shooting through his jaw. “Darion, I wonder if you’ve given due consideration to Reeve’s theory regarding this young woman.”

“Do you?” Darion managed to grind out.

“My most trusted advisor is a lorekeeper,” Belmont said softly. “The same is true, I’m sure, for many of the people in this room. If her judgment is correct, and this woman is your soulmate, it would be a terrible thing to send her away so quickly.” Belmont had been smiling a great deal more lately, ever since his own soulmate had found her way back to his side at last, but it still took Darion by surprise to see that cool, still face light up with such a sudden warmth. “When I say that once you find her, you’d be a fool to let her go, I hope you know it’s I who bears the brunt of the insult, not you, Darion.”

“Well, Darion? What do you think?” Don’t look at Reeve, Darion told himself firmly. Don’t even listen to him. Let his voice pass over you like the most infuriating breeze. “Could you bring yourself to spend a few more days with your wife before you divorce her?”

“I never married her,” he snapped, fighting not to lose his temper. “I don’t know the first thing about her.”

“All the more reason not to act so hastily. I’ll be the first to admit to my wrongdoing here,” Reeve said, lifting his hands in a conciliatory gesture that made Darion want to break both his wrists. “And I’ll accept any punishment the Council sees fit to dole out. But don’t make poor Claire suffer for my transgressions. Especially if she might be the love of your life—”

“She’snot,” Darion snarled, feeling himself lose control a little. Reeve pounced.

“You just said you don’t know anything about her. You said she’s a complete stranger. So how can you know that for sure?”

“Enough,” Renfrey said again, clapping his hands sharply. “I can tell this discussion has ceased to be productive. I’d like to consult with the island’s head lorekeeper before we make any hasty decisions regarding the visitor. Syrra would be much more use here than me, but duty calls in many directions,” he added, grimacing a little. Syrra, Renfrey’s soulmate, was minding their children, a pair of twins with the unfortunate combination of a passion for adventure and a reckless over-abundance of courage. “In the meantime, Claire will be a guest of Kurivon.”

---