Page 28 of Eclipse Pack

Opening the door, I look at her, raise my eyebrows and tell her to come in. She is such a lovely, warm female and the way she manages with Coal, her pup, makes me wonder why she isn’t gray beyond her years. He runs her ragged. I never see her mate having any dealings with him, though. That might be something I’ll look into at a later date.

“Take a seat, Eve. How are you? And how’s that little terror of yours doing?” I see the defensive look flash in her eyes.

“I’m fine thank you, Alpha Heir Bronze. Coal is…well, Coal. A handful at times, but most of the time, at home anyway, he’san adorable pup. He wouldn’t thank me for calling him that, though.”

“There was no harm done the other day, and it wasn’t as big a problem as it was made out to be. I’m sure other pups have done as much, if not worse.” I give her my warmest smile and I see her shoulders relax slightly. “I don’t recall seeing his father lately.” There. I’ve put my foot in it now, I think to myself.

“No, you’re not likely to, either. He stays at the border when he’s not on duty as a border warrior,” she spits it out and I see the regret as soon as she’s said it. “I’m sorry Alpha Heir. My issues with my mate are not your concern.”

“Eve, I think you’ll find that everyone’s issues are my concern. Especially my Inner Council members. If I expect the best from you, I need to know that you are at your best, mentally and physically.” Linking to the warrior outside, I inform him to hold the rest of the council until I’m ready. “Why would your mate stay at the border and not come home?”

“Honestly, it’s not a problem. I cope well enough on my own. Thank you for asking, though.” Eve is looking more than a little embarrassed, but I have a lot of respect for her and I’m not letting this drop.

“What’s going on, Eve. Tell me,” I throw a little of my alpha aura at her, and I see her begin to respond automatically.

“He never wanted pups.” It’s out before she can stop it. “He never wanted pups and never told me that fact until I was already in pup with Coal. His wolf, Lobo, let it slip one day, and when I confronted Miles, he told me it was true. When I told him I was in pup, instead of it being a happy day, it turned into the beginning of the end for us. We’re together in name only.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Eve, I truly am. No matter what his feelings are, though, he is a father and should live up to his responsibilities. He needs to be teaching his son how to be a good pack member, and father for the future of the pack and his family name. Abandoning his mate and son is not the way forward. I need to reflect on this and see if there are others in your position.” I will look into others, but first and foremost I will be looking into Eve’s situation.

“Please, Alpha Heir, I am coping very well without him. I don’t want him back in our lives.” She almost pleads with me and although I sympathize with her, I still don’t see that this is the best thing for her son.

“We’ll talk about this again, but for now, let's see about getting the council meeting underway.”

Once everyone is seated around the conference table, I apologize for keeping them waiting and begin with the introductions. I sense some surprise from Xander as I introduce Eve and Adaline as council members, and I hope I haven’t misjudged him. I see Ethan has noticed something there, too. Taria will be my final council member when she joins the pack.

Explaining to them all that their role as my inner council will be advisors, eyes and ears, ideas, and if and when necessary, to keep me grounded. Oh, and anything else that I may think of in the future, has them smiling.

I’m pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm when I tell them I am going to speak to Taria about joining Eclipse sooner, rather than later. There are congratulations all round when I notice both Adaline and Dixon behaving as though this is the first time they’ve heard the news. Brownie points for those two, I think to myself.

The only thing left to do now is speak with Taria, probably the only one that doesn’t know yet, and see if she’s okay with all this, too.

Chapter 15

TARIA

You need to eat more or let me run, one or the other. All this fitness training and improving your fighting skills is using a lot of energy and burning calories. At this rate, you’ll look like a broomstick when you get to Eclipse.

‘Well, thank you for that. I’m sure your compliments are well meant, even if they are a bit off target.’

I’m hungry and so are you. Let’s go eat. Please.

‘Very well. You’re right though. I am hungry now you mention it.’

Walking into the canteen area, the smell of food has my stomach rumbling immediately, and it is loud. The pack members sitting at the table I’m walking past laugh loudly as they hear my stomach shouting for food.

“Did you miss breakfast, Taria?” One of the female warriors I recognize as Swan asks.

“Famished, Swan, and you are partly to blame. Both you and Nightshade have put me through my paces this morning.”

Swan gives me a huge grin, and taking my wrist to stop me, says, “You did very well this morning. You anticipated most of our moves and defended extremely well. Your attacks weren’t far off the mark, either. I would be happy to stand with you in a battle, and Nightshade would stand with Maya, too.” The rest of the table give a little tilt to their heads at this statement from her, and I give them all a head tilt in return.

Her statement takes me by surprise as she has said nothing like this before. Swan is an exceptional warrior and is at the top of the warrior list. Gaining praise from her is not something to be taken lightly, and I place my hand over hers as she squeezes my wrist.

Grabbing a tray, I walk along the serving counter and load up my plate with various meats and a tiny portion of salad. I feel Maya’s approval at my tray and add a couple of bottles of water before looking for a table. Seeing Gamzin wave me over, I head that way to join him. There is another male at the table, he looks stern and hard faced, and I’m not sure who he is. I’ve seen him around and he follows Luna Hope around like a puppy dog. Gamzin slides a chair out for me next to him and I slide in easily with a thank you.

“This is Baildon, Taria. Don’t think you’ve been formally introduced yet. Baildon, this is Taria, who is the soon to be Luna of the Eclipse pack.”

I stick my hand out and get a good, firm shake in return. “Hello, Bailman. Pleased to meet you.”

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