Page 10 of Alpha Bully

“Long night?” I chuckle as he drains his mug.

“Eventful,” he replies, putting his mug down and cracking his shoulder. “Two skirmishes on the southern border. One of the scouting teams got something interesting though, overhead some chat that’s probably about your girl.”

I roll my eyes. “She’s hardly my girl.”

“You’re the one playing house with an outcast and her random kid,” he replies caustically.

My wolf has me on my feet in seconds. The mug in my hand flies toward my beta, and he ducks, raising his hands in mock defeat as I stop myself short of grabbing him by the throat. “Woah, steady.” He stands back, waiting for me to calm down. I stuff down the rage, knowing I can’t let my wolf get out of control. “I’m just messing with you, Cal. It’s your business.”

“It’s called doing the right thing. She’s just a kid,” I say, glancing out the window at Harper running around.

“And Ava?” Byron presses more gently this time.

I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, and with it, some of the tension. “Well, she never exactly got a chance in this pack. Maybe she deserves a break, too. But she’s nothing to do with me. I’m just doing the right thing. Now, what’s this info?”

“Some rogues with a cabin on the northern ridge appear to have been keeping a slave. Some noise about her causing a load of damage and taking off. Seems to have been a kid involved.” He adds, “There seems to be a lot more interest in finding the kid than the woman, though, which is odd. Lots of rogues out, looking which is even stranger. They seem organized on it.”

The rogues have been working together more recently, but they certainly aren’t organized. What could have made them decide to work together on this? And why do they care so much?

“Let’s wait for the other patrols to get in and see if anyone has any further updates on it. I’m supposed to be reporting to my brothers on how we’re decreasing rogue activity, and so far, it’s only escalating.” I grimace at the thought of not appearing strong on this.

“Well, you’re not going to like this bit either, then,” Byron says more cautiously. “You’ve got your own reasons for keeping ‘em here, but out there, they’re putting two and two together on the uptick in attacks. Ava’s family has always brought trouble; folks aren’t happy with her holed up here. Charlie’s asking a lot of questions, too.”

My wolf bristles at the thought of anyone questioning my leadership. I stuff down the feeling—anything not to react like Ralph would have. “Charlie probably should have worried more when his sister was being held as a slave,” I mutter, knowing damn well I’m as much, if not more, to blame. “I’ll be at the meeting later to answer any questions. But tell anyone this: whatever the rogues do or don’t do isn’t on the heads of a woman and child.”

Byron seems to take my meaning and nods solemnly. “Understood, alpha.” He says, putting his mug in the sink and heading for the door. I don’t see him out. Instead, I return to watching Ava and Harper for a moment. Ava’s fair hair practically sparkles in the morning sun, taking my breath away. Harper is running circles around her in the meadow grass, and I feel my wolf’s hold extending to both of them now. I sigh in frustration; from what Byron said about the pack’s reaction to her being here, nothing has changed.

Besides, she hates me. Byron’s wrong about one thing: we’re not playing house. She avoids me, and I work all day to avoid the fact that she’s avoiding me. She has no wolf to speak of and is far too meek to change the pack’s opinion of her. The only time I see her fire is where Harper is concerned, but even that is wrapped in layers of fear. The pack would destroy her - again. The only one who doesn’t seem to care is Harper. She was shy at first, clearly worn out. But now, she’s constantly seeking me out, peering around doorways to spy on me, shrieking joyfully, and running off. It’s hard not to smile at her innocence and sense of adventure.

I notice Ava gathering Harper’s things and motioning her to head back to the house. Weighing whether to stay and talk to her about what Byron revealed, I decide to wait until after the pack meeting and go into my study, shutting the door. I never think of myself as cowardly, but I’m starting to feel as though there are some questions that I’m not going to like the answers to.

Running the pack, even without the rogues causing problems, is a full-time job. The numerous business investments that ensure our wealth stretch from the island to the mainland, and many were divided along with the packs. I’m still dealing with the fallout. The afternoon passes quickly, my eyes straining to read the spreadsheets after hours of concentration.Perhaps this is why Ralph was always in a bad mood,I muse, stretching and checking the time.

I hear Ava and Harper in the living area as I head out. Ava is reading something to her, and it’s only as I slip out, deliberately saying nothing, that I pause on the porch. I’m almost tempted to go back inside andbewith them. I shake my head. That is not my family, not my kid, and not my woman. The line between wanting to be a good alpha and help someone and the fact I rejected her is clouding my vision on this. I just feel bad because I fucked her before the rejection—I should never have even gone there knowing how the pack would react. Sure, I still feel a pull to her, but it’s not like she’s Luna material.

I need to get my head on straight.

The hall is overflowing as I arrive. Pack meetings are always well attended, but this is exceptionally busy. A few wolves nod in greeting as I head into the building, but it’s not long before I spot Charlie weaving his way toward me.

“How is she, Cal?” he asks, the same as he has done all week.

“She’s good. Kid seems fine too,” I reply. “I don’t have much news for you. Maybe you need to try talking to her yourself.”

He runs his hand through his hair, looking conflicted. “You said she wouldn’t see me. I don’t want any drama.”

I chuckle darkly. “Looks like we might get that anyway.”

I don’t give him a chance to answer, needing to get this meeting underway and very aware that talking to Charlie about all this only makes me feel more like a bastard than I already do. His guilt is written all over his face, but he’s also reluctant to step up and deal with his sister. He’s spent his entire life from adolescence distancing himself from that family, and he’s in no rush to be dragged back in, by the looks of things.

Byron is calling the meeting to order as I step onto the stage, a sea of faces shrouded in respect and curiosity staring back at me. We begin with a breakdown of rogue activity, and I provide an update from my brothers, all saying much of the same. Tristen seems to have stepped up the most, destroying a few camps and exiling some rogues to the mainland, something we’re beginning next week with the first set of prisoners set to leave—and good riddance.

The questions gradually turn to Ava: Why is she here? Is the child hers? Is it the same child being hunted by the rogues? What has Ava done wrong now?

The questions mount, along with my building frustration and rage. I glance over at Charlie, standing with his mate; from the set of his jaw, I can sense he’s close to exploding, too. The conflict is written all over his face.

“Enough.” I slam my fist onto the table, and the room falls silent. “Enough. Have you heard yourselves? A child was being attacked—a child technically of this pack, whatever the family. We don’t know enough yet, but we do know where our loyalties lie against the rogues. So, focus on the issue at hand.”

“Why is she staying with you? At the alpha’s house, no less. She has her family’s old cabin in—” someone pipes up from the crowd.

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