Page 23 of Pack Rage
It was all I could do not to flinch when Aidan McDonnell’s oily voice slid over me as I stood, my hands on my head and my legs apart, in the front foyer of the Mansion. “Young Brand Becker, welcome back to my home. I’m glad you decided to join us for the emergency meeting.”
His words were welcoming. But the rough hands of the two burly Enforcers searching me—one of them holding a wand of some kind that clicked at the metal buckles on my clothing and bag—made it clear I was not a trusted guest.
Not that anyone was right now. I’d never seen as many Enforcers inside the Mansion as I did today. One stood at each door, eyes tracking me as if I might attack. I grunted as one of them took my bag and opened it, dumping the contents out on a small table and inspecting each item.
“Really, Aidan? Is this necessary? I’m well-versed in protocol. I entered your home unarmed and on your invitation.”
The Alpha stiffened at the lack of a formal title. But he’d chosen not to use mine, so he couldn’t protest. I had on a pair of sunglasses and left them on, even inside.I didn’t want him to seemy eyes, not yet. He may have heard about the change already, but I wasn’t certain.
“It is, I’m afraid,” he replied. “You can’t know this, of course, but someone has taken our daughter. We don’t know where she is, and until we do, our security will be increased.”
Tana, missing?I felt a surge of relief that I was forced to hide. Finn must have gotten her out. Some part of me relaxed, knowing there was one less innocent who might be harmed in the coming days. “That’s shocking to learn. Who would take her?”
“All leaders have enemies. It’s a wise Alpha who takes precautions to protect his pack,” he replied, flicking his fingers for the guards to retreat.
I picked up my bag, the sparse clothing I’d neatly packed now rumpled. “A shame when even an Alpha who takes precautions can have the things he values stolen from him. I hope Tana is safe and well, and where she should be within the day. I understand your reaction now. Fear drives your actions, not a desire to insult.”
His lips tightened at my carefully worded caution and criticism. “Of course not. Though I did think you might not answer my summons at all.”
“Why would you think that?” I knew what he would say, but wanted to see what he would admit to. Find out what he knew, if I could.
He ushered me into the sitting room, snapping for a young maid to fetch refreshments. “More often than not, as you know, your father chose not to attend to Council matters. I had wondered if you might do the same once you took his place.” He settled back in his chair, pretending nonchalance. “Though I’m extremely curious as to how you managed to become Alpha while leaving him alive.”
“The old ways, of course. You know my pack has always followed them. In the few instances that we did not, we regretted it. It’s a good thing that with my rise to Alpha, we can begin to set things right again,” I replied, as the maid delivered a tray with steaming tea, along with a plate piled with warm scones, jam, and clotted cream.
Aidan stared at me in silence as I ate a few bites. Perhaps in shock, that I even knew the law. Unless and until the Council had me under its rule, I had the power here.
My father had rarely cared enough about Council politics to play these sorts of games. I had a feeling the Eastern Alpha had forgotten that we weren’t just brawn at Mountain. We were strategists as well.Of course, he’d never spoken more than a few moments with me. In his eyes, I was still a dumb pup, one he could take advantage of.
I sipped my tea while Aidan stewed. “My father taught me a lot about how shifters were meant to live, and govern. I may be a new Alpha, but I will follow the old ways. I believe the Council might do well to also return to them.”
“The old ways?” He almost barked the words. “The old ways would have his blood feeding Mountain soil.”
Usually, Aidan was calm, even cold. I’d unsettled him.Good.I breathed calmly, controlling my own wolf’s response to hearing this weak Alpha speak of my father so disrespectfully. It was time to unsettle him a bit more.
“Now, Aidan, you know as well as I do that the Moon Goddess cannot be tricked. We fought under the moon, in the presence of the pack. The power flowed from my father to me. We followed the old ways, and were rewarded.” I chose that moment to look down and take off the sunglasses. “His survival was not the only surprise. I was also gifted with Her favor.”
When I set them on the table and looked up, his face turned almost as white as my gaze. He began to sputter, finally getting words out. “What…How?”
So he hadn’t known. I relaxed slightly. I didn’t need to tell him when my eyes had changed. If he thought it was a result of the fight for leadership, he would be hard pressed to find a valid reason to claim I had been affected by magic.
“My grandmother did some research. Moonblessed eyes have only been seen once before, hundreds of years ago. It could be a sign that our pack’s adherence to the old ways, that my own leadership, has the moon’s blessing.” I let my gaze harden. “My pack sees it as such.”
“They would,” he muttered, standing in a move intended to show his dominance. He even sent a push of power at me, which should have felt intimidating with the strength of the Council in his hands. But the Council’s authority no longer encompassed the Mountain pack.
It felt like a toddler punching my chest, if that.
I smiled gently, as I would at a misbehaving child. “As Mountain’s leader, I am certain I’ll be combining a few new things with the old. I’m not my father, and I have no intention of retreating to Mountain and leaving the governance of all the packs to others, when it will be my responsibility to be deeply involved.”I stayed seated, but allowed some of my new power to emerge, filling the room with an almost oppressive electricity until the pictures on the walls began to shake, then pulled it back until it was completely hidden away. Before Aidan could call me on my disrespect, I went on. “I think I could use my power to help the Council. So of course I came when you called.” I wasn’t lying. I fully intended to help the Council. I’d help it by restoring its rightful leader, for one thing.
“You’ve already taken the vows of your entire pack?” he asked cautiously, blinking at me. “Your father took far longer.” He pulled his glasses out of his pocket, toying with the handle.
I smiled, remembering how Flor had accused him of lying, by wearing them to appear more human before his business associates. No shifter needed glasses, but he thought his were a tool.
They were more of atell. He was nervous. Nervous and greedy.
I sipped my tea. “Unfortunately, your summons prevented me from establishing connections with my entire pack. The power I hold is only half of what I will someday soon. The other half are waiting at home, or traveling to the Alpha’s Den, to pledge themselves to me.”
“So they have no Alpha until you go back,” he said, tapping his chin in thought. “We’ll need to make sure you return quickly, so they don’t feel the effects of being without your guidance.” The threat was so subtle, I was almost impressed.
