Page 38 of The Bear's Fated Mate
She tried one final time. “We don’t have to do this. You can make a different choice.”
“But I like this choice right here,” Crystal said softly, never taking her eyes off Lara. “Name your second so we can get started.”
The silence that had been in place for the past few moments shattered, the entire pack raising their voice as Alex stepped forward and linked their fingers together.
17
Alex had no idea wolves could make such horrific noises.
Lara squeezed his fingers then let go, squaring her shoulders as she faced her sister and prepared to fight.
Annoyance painted Crystal’s features as she glanced in Alex’s direction dismissively. “He’s a bear. Pick someone else.”
The order snapped out with the force of a command, yet the woman at his side shrugged easily as if she weren’t face-to-face with the most powerful wolf in the room.
“There’s nothing in the rules that says I can’t have someone other than a wolf at my back. I choose him. Iwanthim.”
The rush of sheer pleasure shooting through Alex’s veins would’ve been more enjoyable if it hadn’t been for the potential bloodshed. It was as if Lara’s words tied them together tighter, an invisible bond declaring what they’d discovered over the past weeks. They were good together, and in this case, he was ready to stand at her side.
The Alpha of the Orion pack turned her glare on him. “You can’t offer to be her second. It’s outrageous, and besides, you have no idea what you’re promising. It’s awolfthing.”
Annoyance broke through the pulse beating between him and Lara. He glared at Crystal. Number one, no one was telling him what he could and couldn’t do.
Number two, that was bullshit.
He spoke loud and clear, his words cutting through the din created by the pack members. “Maybe I don’t know all your customs, but I believe in Lara. I believe her when she says she wants nothing but the best for the pack, and that includes wanting the best for you. If you were any kind of sister, you’d listen, because she loves you a hell of a lot. But no matter what happens next, I’m ready to stand with her. To support her, and fight at her side, and if it means mourning with her because you’re no longer around, so be it.”
Seemingly unimpressed, Crystal rolled her eyes. “And they say wolves are bloodthirsty.” She grinned, teeth showing. “You mean you’re going to step in and fight for her?”
“She doesn’t need me to. She can fight her own battles because she’s strong and smart, but she’s got all the backup she needs.”
It took everything in him to stand down. Remaining alert, Alex adjusted his feet until he stood far enough back so he was no longer guarding the woman he loved—
For fuck’s sake. He loved her.
Told you so,his bear murmured happily.
Yeah, yeah, gloat later. We’re a little busy right now.
Five paces in front of him, Auntie Amethyst mirrored his actions, stepping to one side to leave Lara and Crystal on their own. Close enough that she could undoubtedly shoot across the space to confront him or anyone else who chose to interfere.
He glared at her, angry she was willing to allow the sisters—
Auntie Amethyst winked.
Slow and deliberate, accompanied by a snap of her gum that made him jerk back in confusion. Displaying zero tension in her body, the older woman folded her arms then turned her attention to the challenge in the middle of the room.
Was it a message of some kind, or a double cross? The timing made it suspicious.
Only, from the stories that Lara had shared, she liked her auntie—other than the woman’s nicotine habit. The fact Amethyst didn’t let anyone get away with bullshit had been something Lara admired.
Power surged around him, and his attention swung back to Lara. He used his peripheral vision to maintain watch on the rest of the pack, but his gaze was locked forward.
There was a whole lot of woo-woo stuff happening, and none of it in the physical realm.
While Alex acknowledged there had to be magic involved in being a shifter, outside of the human-to-animal change, polar bears pretty much followed human traditions to figure out their hierarchies. Occasionally the person to win a fight was the one who could sit on the others for the longest, which might mean physical strength, but just as often it involved being mentally wily like his gramps.
But with wolves? Physical strength was part of it, but the crazy dominance power was a hell of a lot more important, and right now Alex was getting a front-row seat to observe exactly what that meant.
