Page 12 of Magical Sass for Three
Chapter 4
Derek was seconds away from shifting and tearing a bite out of Rodrigo Rodero’s hide. It didn’t matter that the man was pack. He was increasingly becoming a nuisance for the Keller Claw Pack and his father. Those two reasons alone had him asking for a severe clawing.
“Wasn’t the purpose of last night’s Scenting Ceremony to find our future Alphas mates?” Rodrigo asked.
Derek’s father sat straighter, no doubt sensing the boiling anger rolling off Rodrigo like Derek did.
“Our ceremony wasn’t for my sons alone,” Braylon said. “That would be selfish and unlike your Alpha. Unless you’re saying you object to my decisions, Rodrigo.”
Derek smirked at that. His father was a wise Alpha all right. If Rodrigo objected, he’d be betraying Braylon and his entire pack.
“Never, Braylon,” Rodrigo said. He tilted his neck in submission, but Derek felt a strain in the man’s actions. He may not have been outright lying, but he wasn’t telling the truth either.
Braylon leaned forward in the chair he sat in. The wooden seat was regal in size and intricacy. Carvings of wolf heads sat at each back corner as well in each edged armrest. Although regal, he didn’t sit in an elevated seat like a throne as if he were above them. He may have been Alpha, but Braylon preferred meeting the leaders of his pack eye-to-eye around the large, oval oak table.
“You dare lie to me, to us all, knowing we can smell it on you?” Braylon asked.
“Not a lie. Simply some doubt. Why do your sons, both future Alphas and your legacy, stand before us without their mates?” Rodrigo asked.
Derek and Kyro found their mate, but it wasn’t any business of Rodrigo.
We just have to give her time, Derek thought. Thanks to them marking her, they’d always be able to sense her. They hadn’t completed the mating mark, but that was just logistics to Derek. Hanna McCoy was theirs. He knew Kyro felt the same. No woman had ever stayed in their system like she had. Their wolves knew her, and a wolf knew when he or she found their mate. It was pure instinct.
Even all those years ago, he knew she was theirs. He and Kyro were called to her scent, but as much as they wanted her then, Derek knew they had to wait. He could smell the fear and hesitation on her. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her.
Derek heard his brother’s intake a breath, which brought him back to the annoyance at hand. Apparently, they both wanted a piece of Rodrigo.
The man had been trying to force his two daughters on them since they were teenagers. It was absolutely pathetic. How the hell did he think mates were chosen? It wasn’t up to them. If it were, the last women they’d want as mates would be Constance and Abigail Rodero.
The girls tried too hard to get their attention. It even got so bad that they were at the nightclub the brothers owned almost every night. Clawed Obsessions had been a passion project for Derek and Kyro after they graduated college, but it was one that actually turned lucrative. It was where all shifters could go for a good time without having to worry about what they were. It was one of the liveliest places in Vella Cove.
Constance and Abigail weren’t in this gathering of pack leaders, but Derek was certain they lurked outside the meeting room, ready to pounce on them. He felt bad for their brother, Jaston. Out of all the Roderos, he was the sanest. He worked as a bartender at Clawed Obsessions and stayed as far away shifter politics as possible, unlike his father.
“My sons will find their mates when they’re ready and not a moment sooner,” Braylon said. “If you have problems with that, Rodrigo, then may I suggest you focus on the more recent problems we’re here to address.”
“As you wish, Braylon.” Rodrigo sat back in his chair and crossed his fingers on the table.
“Some of our people have deserted the pack,” Braylon said. “We need to find out where they’re going and if they plan on attacking.”
“Kyro and I have our best patrolling in and outside of town,” Derek said. “We’ll be ready if anyone tries to come at us.”
“We also talked with the Alphas in the closest cities and towns,” Kyro said. “They’ll alert us of any suspicious activity.”
Braylon nodded. “Good. We’ll be ahead of anything before it escalates. Keep me posted of any changes.”
“Is there anything I can do to be of assistance?” Rodrigo asked.
“I think you’ve done more than enough.” Braylon watched Rodrigo carefully. “If we need your assistance, we’ll let you know. That’ll be all.”
All of them stood to leave.
“Derek, Kyro, stay seated.” He waited until everyone else left and closed the door behind them.
“What’s wrong, Dad?” Kyro asked, echoing Derek’s silent question.
“We’re getting visitors soon, and I want you two to see to their arrival since I trust you above everyone else.”
“Who are you expecting?” Derek didn’t know who would be coming at such a heightened time in their pack.
