Page 17 of Pack Ruin
Hmm.
Flor shivered, but moved closer into my embrace. “The titles of them, I mean.”
Dad’s mouth slammed shut, and he shook his head silently, furious.
Flor hissed. “He’sunder a command? An Alpha?” Our eyes met; she’d seen this before at Northern, with Alpha Hillier. I wasn’t sure if she understood this was the same command, affecting another Alpha. Dad grumbled under his breath.
Grandmother sneered. “Flor, they all are. Every Alpha in North America, and every mature member of all the packs. Nearly the only ones who aren’t bound are the rogues, and most of them are too feral to speak.”
Flor reached over to the stack of books and picked one up, her mouth moving to form a word. She let out the breath on a disgusted curse instead, and set it back down.
Grandmother went on. “It’s obscene. The old ways never provided for the sort of monolithic pack structure that strips our Alpha of his rights.” She spoke to Flor, but it was obvious she was dressing my father down. “My son-in-law chose to divert from the teachings of our pack when he took the oath in front of theCouncil.” I flinched at how hard she spat the last word. “But the command you’re seeing was the most egregious abuse of Alpha power ever fashioned. Of course, it was done to ‘protect’ all the packs.”
“Good intentions?” Flor murmured. “I know about those.”
“Just so,” Grandmother said, opening one of the books. “None of us can read these aloud. You may find them difficult even when reading silently. Your head might start to ache, and your nose may bleed. Please read them with a handkerchief close by. We don’t want blood on the pages.”
Dad motioned to me to gather chairs around the table, and I did, making sure to pull a narrow loveseat over for me and Flor.
Grandmother had gone back to haranguing her about completing her entry in our pack’s lineage. “I’d let you read as well, but the only pack members allowed access to those books are immediate members of the Alpha’s family. Ones who have been recorded in this book. Take the pen, and write your full name.”
To my surprise, Flor acquiesced, accepting the feathered pen and scratching her name carefully on the page. Grandmother’s eyes went wide as she watched, but when Flor went to set down the pen, she added, “Now your parents’ names, of course.”
Flor’s shoulders slumped. “Do I have to?”
“You do,” Grandmother and Dad said at the same time.
Flor’s amber eyes met mine. Indecision and fear warred in her gaze, until I said, “My sweet mate. I already know. No one here will share the truth. I won’t let anyone hurt you, no matter who your parents are.” I hoped that was a promise I could keep.
Flor dropped her head, but then scratched a few more words on the page, a mulish expression on her face. “Fuck it. You’ll all know before long anyway.”
9
Middle Names
FLOR
My hand shook slightly as I scratched my name on the slightly yellowed page. It felt like I was desecrating the ancient book that Verona had been so proud to show me. Every Alpha since the Mountain pack had been established, dozens of them, had their names there, as well as their mates and children. The line for Brand’s mate was on the right side of the page, and I almost laughed out loud, thinking about how it would look to scribble in the other Alpha Heirs’ names around his. Would I line them up underneath his? Put them in parentheses?
I was long past denying that there was some weird shit going on with my mate bonds. And something even more weird with my wolf. I still hadn’t been able to shift, not that I would ask that of my wolf. She felt off, somehow. Like she was lying still, panting heavily, recovering.
But she was alive, and so were all my… well, all the guys.
I felt three sets of eyes on me as I finished my name and wrote in my mother’s—Lily Rain Wills—but then got stuck.“Samuel,” I said quietly. “Do you happen to know Alpha Callaway’s middle name?”
He went silent, then cursed under his breath. Verona, who had been standing beside her chair, sat with an audible thump.
Brand was the one who answered. “Lee. Alpha Calvin Lee Callaway.”
“Thanks.” I met his bright gaze, the light in his eyes as beautiful and odd as it had been since I’d woken up. I glanced at the window. It was late evening now, and the moon was shining through a gap in the curtains.
“You know what this means, Brand,” Samuel whispered. “She can’t be here. She’s an Alpha’schild.”
“She’s my mate,” Brand replied without blinking. “And no one will take her from me.”
“I’m sworn to do so,” Samuel growled. He was grabbing the armrests of his chair, the wood creaking in his tight grip. “Who else knows this?”
I shrugged. “Callaway.” That was the only person still alive who knew.
