Page 31 of The Return
With that, he rushed out the door, slamming it behind him.
“You’re being too familiar with him,” Kinsey said.
I turned to face him. He stood there, his lips curved into a frown. “And you’d prefer, what? I should be cold like the other people he’s worked for? Not happening.”
Kinsey sighed. “We’re employees of the Council. Matt knows that he can’t be running off and leaving you. If you have to go somewhere, he should be here, ready to—”
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
“What? No, of course I’m not.” He stood near me, one hand gripping his wrist in front of him. “It’s the life we lead. We don’t get to pick and choose.”
“That sucks ass, and not in the fun way.” I chuckled. “Guess maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit.”
“Don’t go against the Council’s wishes. That won’t end well.”
“Like I said, I’m not a werewolf, so they don’t have any say over me.”
“And as Matt tried to tell you the other day, you’re considered pack, and as such, you are going to be bound by the same rules as the rest of us. I’m sure Alpha Brodie told you the hierarchy of the packs. The Council makes the rules—we obey them. That’s how it works.”
I wanted to argue, but what if he was right? Would my fussing change anything? Hell, would it make Jonas look bad? For them it was business as usual, but for me it was uncharted waters. Still, I wasn’t one to back down.
“Matt is a nice guy, and I don’t like him sleeping outside without some kind of shelter. If the Council wants to bitch about that, then so be it. It’s my decision, and I’ll accept the consequences if there are any.”
“Alpha Brodie won’t let them come after you. He’ll be the one who takes any punishment.”
Fuck. “That’s bullshit.”
He shrugged. “It’s the way of the pack. Our Alphas guide us, and they do their best to instill values. They also protect us. No one will hurt a pack member if the Alpha knows about it. Once I was on an assignment where a pack member got into a fight with a human. That’s a big no-no, and the Council laid down the law quickly. He was to be whipped. His Alpha reminded them of the law, stating that she would take his punishment.”
“She?”
“We do have female Alphas. The strongest leads, and many of our females take zero crap from anyone. Anyway, she was restrained between two posts, and the guy who broke the law? It was his responsibility to whip her.”
No way. “That’s insane. It’s fucking barbaric!”
“I won’t disagree, but look at it from the Council’s standpoint. This man had to stand there and whip someone, he had to watch her bleed. He had no idea how to do it and made a mess of her back and legs. The thing is? Beyond a grunt when the lash connected, she never cried out or made any other sound.”
“Is she okay?”
Kinsey pursed his lips. “She was a mess. Even though shifters regenerate faster, it took almost two months before the damage was healed. During that time, she still did her job every day. That’s the difference between an Alpha and anyone else. They know their role, and they’ll do whatever they have to in order to fulfill it.”
I drew in a sharp breath. It would do me no good to argue with Kinsey, because he’d lived with this kind of thing his whole life. For me it was like the Prime Directive; don’t try to change the culture of another race.
“Message received. I’ve got to get started on this thing for Matt.”
As I went by him, Kinsey put a hand on my arm. “Don’t get too wrapped up in the lives of people who aren’t your wolves. Me and Matt, we’re here at the discretion of the Council. Tomorrow they could move us somewhere else. What you’re doing might seem noble and all, but Matt is… special. He’s a good man, but not a strong wolf, and I don’t want to see him get hurt.”
“How is this going to hurt him?”
A sigh. “You’re going to get him used to being treated a certain way, and when others don’t do it, that’s going to make things worse for him.”
“Oh.” I never thought about others not treating him decently. I mean, really, how hard was it not to be an ass? “I promised,” I said quietly. “I can’t go back on it now. If he hasn’t been treated well by others, and might not be in the future, then this is even more important. It’s a reminder he deserves to be cared for.”
A shake of the head. “You’re going to end up hurt, and so is Matt. I can guard your body, but even I can’t stop when you end up heartbroken.”
He turned and left the room, leaving me to ponder his words.
JONAS
