Page 113 of Untamed

Rhet nods grimly. "And you can't be alpha of two packs with BlueSnout land in the middle."

"Alpha Blout was going to die, anyway," I point out. "We would have had to consolidate somehow anyway, right?" I feel a little desperate. The weight of my new role sits heavy on my shoulders.

I'm only twenty-two. I'm not supposed to take over fully from Jax for a few more years, at least. Now I'm looking at leading not just one pack, but three.

My eyes seek her out. She has calmed down but is still sitting with her Mama, curled into the smaller female like a pup as her hair is gently stroked.

"No one's going to Challenge you, In." Rhet points out, always knowing what's bothering me. "Not when word of what you are spreads. And with a Wild Luna? You're untouchable."

Tears start to well up. I feel the sting in my nose and, with sheer willpower, force them back. I won't cry like a fucking pussy, covered in blood and the beautiful scent of my mate. Hell, no.

"I need to take her home," I tell him. My voice quavers just the slightest bit. Goddess, I'm a selfish asshole. My cat thought that her mom was dead, and here I am, wanting to interrupt that reunion, so that what? Can I hold her to my filthy body? Can I rut her in the dirt again?

Rhet claps me on the shoulder and squeezes in a comforting gesture. "She's yours, Inuit. She's proven her possession of you more than once, yeah? Let's go home. I'll start investigating. We'll bring back everything your uncle has. Maybe we'll find some evidence about what happened to your mate's mother. Did she say what pack she was born to?" he asks Alpha Jax.

Alpha Jax flickers his eyes up to mine. "The FeraxMaw," he says bluntly.

I close my eyes briefly. This just keeps getting more and more insane.

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35 - Smells Like Secrets

Inuit

"Elna, tell me what you know." I scowl at the shivering female. Her gaze skitters around, flickering to my mate still curled up with her Mama, then to my feet, then back to my mate. She may be nervous about me or her luna. I don't care. I just need answers.

"Um..." she starts hesitantly. "I was told... about a week ago... I got this phone call... It was after everything... everything with the luna happened..."

"Elna," I say her name sharply. She jerks, her whole body shaking. She's not the over-confident female that I remember. Her body is frail, pale, and weak-looking. The skin around her eye is pulled tight with a bit of red inflammation. Her other eye shows a world of pain and fear.

I don't give a rat's ass. Something smells rotten about this entire situation, and I need answers yesterday.

"Who called you?" I try to cut through the nervous rambling.

"Umm... Luna..." she whispers. Her eyes dart around frantically, looking even more furtive. "Luna Jessie," she says under her breath, so quiet I barely hear her.

I can't keep my enraged snarl inside. My alpha-wolf growls, scraping his claws against the hard dirt. Not possible. "Why?" I growl.

Elna takes a deep breath. "She asked me about the luna. Asked if it were true, that you had found her, that she is a golden she-wolf. I-I told her that you found her, yes. I didn't tell her Luna is a golden she-wolf. I didn't know."

"Why the interest in my mate?"

"She wanted to mate you to someone. She... she was working with your uncle, and with Alpha Blout. She didn't seem to know much..." Elna seems to grow braver as she speaks. "She just said that you would be weakened by being with a she-wolf who wasn't your mate. She was livid when she found out that you had your mate already."

I pace back and forth, furious. What is the game here? Is it just worry about a strong Alphason leading the RustClaw or something more? Does Jessie think she can win back her place in the pack? No one will ever accept her again after she abandoned her pack, mate, and son to go off and screw around with our 'ally.'

"Then what?" I snap at the hapless she-wolf.

"Luna Jessie told me to come to her, and I would have a place in the BlueSnout. I went. It was stupid," she admits. "The luna intimidated me, and I felt so hurt and lost. It was really, really stupid. I'm sorry," she adds quietly.

"Alpha Blout seems to be mentioned a lot lately," Rhet points out quietly.

I nod. "He's been one of RustClaw's allies for a long time."

"Doesn't mean much when you think about it. Our territories touch. It's more of an alliance of convenience."

"You would think that they'd just leave it alone," I say.

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