“Oh, it’s mine,” River says, sounding surprised. He frowns when he pulls it out of his pocket and looks at the caller ID. “It’s Ahren.”
“Put it on speaker,” Evander orders. Switching over to professional mode. We were expecting this conversation, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be so soon.
“Ahren,” River greets.
“River,” Ahren says, with a warmth that makes me relax slightly. “I assume that I’m on speaker.”
I grin, “Hey, Ahren.”
“Little sister,” he replies. He sighs, “I’ll get straight to the point. I’m sorry. I’ve done everything I can to insist that this isn’t necessary, but my beta is insisting and has created unrest with my pack because of it.”
Ahren is the leader of all of the packs in this territory, but all of the packs still have their own alphas, like Asher’s pack. Ahren also has his own pack.
“I understand,” River replies.
“I’ve managed to put it off for a while, you have just come back from the Choosing, so that’s been an excellent excuse. But I’ve only managed to give you a few weeks, and then I need to see you at my pack house.”
“What happens at your pack house?” I ask tightly.
“In theory, it’s just an informal meeting to make sure that your strength is where it should be, and there’s no challenge to mine. If you’re stronger than me, your shifter won’t let you submit, and then we have a problem,” Ahren explains. “Hopefully, it’s not a problem.”
I share a worried look with the guys. River is stronger than Ahren, a lot stronger.
“Why is dickhead pushing for this?” I ask.
Ahren chuckles, he knows full well how I feel about his beta and doesn’t try to argue with me, “Honestly, I don’t know. If River is stronger, then he will just end up as beta for him. It doesn’t make much sense if I’m honest, and I am looking into it.”
“Good. I think that’s smart.”
“I’ll try to give you a couple of days notice before you have to be here,” he replies.
“Thanks,” River replies. His eyes are those of his kitsune, which is really not a good sign.
“No problem. Little sister, you did fucking awesome, you all did. I’ve been bragging about my little sis to anyone who still remembers,” he chuckles.
I laugh, “Thanks.”
“Does your beta remember?” Reed asks.
“Yeah, he does,” Ahren replies. There’s a bang in the background, and the sound of growling erupts. Ahren sighs, “Damn pups. I’ve got to go.”
Just like that, he’s gone.
I move, sitting on River’s lap, as he buries his head in my neck and takes a deep breath, the rumbling growl that he was making quieting.
“Well, that’s a good sign,” Coen says sarcastically.
River chuckles, lifting his head from my neck, “No, it’s not. Just the suggestion of submitting to Ahren had my hackles rising. There’s no fucking way that I’m going to be able to submit.”
“Fuck,” Griff replies simply.
“We’re being followed,” Raiden suddenly interrupts from the front seat, his eyes glued to the side mirrors.
“Are you sure?” Reed asks, instantly alert.
Raiden nods, “Yeah, they followed us all the way from town.”
“Well, we can’t lead whoever it is back to the house,” Ransom points out.
