Page 73 of Mated By the Pack
“What’s wrong?” Knox asks as soon we are away from the women. “Calla isn’t trying to back out of our deal, is she?”
“No, but she needs our help,” I sigh, already dreading the backlash. “To take care of the guy who drugged her. The one who sold her to the slavers.”
There’s a murmur of disdain. I can sense the argument coming. The look in Knox’s eyes. The way Vance is shaking his head. What surprises me is thatCalebis the first to speak.
“Fuck that,” Caleb says harshly. “I sit back and let you lead, Gideon, even though you said you wouldn’t. I don’t say a fuckingthing to anyone except Knox, no matter how pissed off I get. But we arenotgoing inside.”
“We can’t roam the streets as wolves,” Knox mutters. “Which means we’ll be weak. Vulnerable. Just like before.”
“We can handle a bunch of humans with or without our wolves,” Jace scoffs. “Peace officers with guns? We handled a lot worse before we even learned how to shift, but we’ll?—”
“We’ll just shift at the first sign of danger, right?” Caleb interrupts. “That’s exactly what Silas said before he got stabbed in the fucking spine!”
“She’s our mate and our future,” I sigh. “If you don’t want to go inside, I understand. I’m going. Even if I have to go alone.”
“And Gideon has spoken,” Caleb spits back. “He’ll go alone, even if it costs him his life. And the rest of us have to fall in fucking line because we don’t want to bury another brother. That isn’t what we agreed to. Knox, back me up here. Fuck!”
Knox is quiet for a moment. He looks down and sighs before speaking. “You don’t have her scent. You don’t understand. You don’t… you don’t feel it.”
“I’ve had her damn scent since before we dealt with the slavers,” Caleb growls. “Sure, I want to fuck her, but it doesn’t mean I’ve completely lost my mind.”
Silence drops like a stone. Even Knox looks stunned. Vance finally takes a step forward.
“Guess that means it is only a matter of time for me,” Vance says. “Maybe if Caleb isn’t crazy, there’s hope for me, too.”
“I don’t think anything will be more interesting to you than the damn plants,” Jace says. “Even your mate. But I guess we have a decision to make.”
I nod and take a deep breath. “I’m not your leader. I know I act like it, and have gone off half-cocked a few times, especially since I got Calla’s scent. We’ll put it to a vote, like we agreed after Silas died.”
“Yes, Jace will vote with you. Vance too, because he believes we should have an Alpha. Knox and I will say no, but we’re overruled and congratulations, you get your fucking way. That’s why democracy never worked,” Caleb grumbles. “People will vote for the same bullshit, no matter how many times they see it fail.”
“We agreed to handle things as a pack,” Jace says. “We aren’t always going to agree.”
“We never agree, Jace,” Caleb growls. “You bicker with Gideon, but usually side with him after he wears you down.”
“And you never fucking speak,” Jace snarls. “Until now. Now you won’t shut your damn mouth.”
“My vote never matters,” I mutter. “If you had just stood up to Silas, he would have listened. He always did. But instead, he had yes-wolves who just wanted to be told what to do.”
“You’ve made your point,” Knox says. “But this time, I’m with them. I don’t like it, but I get it. I’m sorry, Caleb. I’ve tried to be there for you. I know you carry the pain differently because of how close you were with Silas, but we were all close to him. We all hurt in our own way. You’re being selfish.”
“Selfish?” Caleb snaps. “Because I don’t want to watch my brothers die?”
“It’s Haven North. The only thing they care about is how many babies they can make,” Knox scoffs. “It’s nothing like Haven South. Yes, I’m pissed off about how they treated us back then, but all those people are dead. Besides, most of the people in there are in a happy daze thanks to the supplements. They probably won’t even look at us unless we draw attention to ourselves.”
It’s logical. Knox is always logical. More than me, sometimes.
“Fine,” Caleb grunts. “You’re all going to vote against me, and I won’t let you go in there without me. Let’s quit wasting time and get it over with.”
We fall silent. The decision has been made. We’re going into Haven North. We’re getting involved in human affairs. Everything we said we wouldn’t do.
All because of her.
CHAPTER 21
Calla
The wolves are arguing again. This one looks fairly heated. Gideon understands why I need to go inside these walls. Caleb doesn’t. That’s pretty clear.
