Page 43 of Midnight Moon
“Hunter,” I choked out. “They already heard about Hunter?”
“They did.” Sadness filled my father’s gaze. “And they are using your decision to separate from your pack member as evidence that you aren’t fit to be alpha.”
“That’s such bull shit.” I didn’t leave Hunter. I offered to be the one to go, but he had insisted.
“I agree.”
More tears gathered, but I refused to cry. Alphas didn’t cry—especially not over a minor setback.
And that was all I would let this be: a setback.
“Do you understand my reasons for allying with the Wilds Pack?” I asked, assuming that choice was also being ridiculed by our pack’s elders.
“I do,” he replied. He moved toward me and put a hand on my shoulder.
I looked up at him, blinking back my frustrated and angry tears. “What do I do to fix this?” How do I guarantee I earn the role I’d spent my life preparing for?
He squeezed my shoulder. “Perform well in the Alpha Games. Give the elders no leg to stand on if, or when, they call for a vote.”
Perform well.
I could do that.
“What about Hunter?” The second game would begin tomorrow morning. I didn’t know if he would be well enough to participate, and the rules said shifters weren’t able to substitute partners once the Alpha Games officially began.
“You may have to work alone,” my father confirmed my fear.
“Do we know what the next game is?”
“No, but let’s hope it's manageable.”
Yeah…
“You should get some rest.” He brushed a piece of blonde hair from my wet face, then scrunched his nose playfully. “And maybe clean up.”
I knocked away his hand.
He laughed.
I smiled, but it fell when my gaze landed on my sleeping partner. “I don’t want Hunter to wake up alone,” I admitted. If our situation were reversed, I knew Hunter would never leave my side.
“Nathan will be back any moment,” my father reassured me. “I’ll stay until he gets here. You need to rest.”
I bit my lower lip but nodded. He was right. I needed to rest, especially if I would be competing in the next game solo.
I placed a kiss on Hunter’s head and said goodbye to my father.
I nearly made it back to my cabin when a certain voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Blair.”
My nerves fired, and my arms trembled. I pressed them to my sides to hide the reaction.
I didn’t turn around, but I called out, “I don’t want to talk right now, Asher.”
I knew it wasn’t fair, but the fact Asher and Chase had earned first place irritated me. My plan to ally with them had cost me in more ways than one, and I didn’t want to fake nice in my current mood.
Asher ignored my dismissal. “How is Hunter?”
