“I just knew you were a cheating prick. I never should have trusted you, least of all mated you.”
“Danielle, you’re being absurd. I didn’t do anything with that female.”
“Oh, so I was just imagining you sniffing her tail like some pup who can’t control himself, right? I’m losing my mind, aren’t I?”
Alarmed, I turned toward the source of the voices. Danielle was fighting with her mate, Louis. Their bond had been an arrangement meant to encourage the growth of the pack. Considering the timing, it didn’t fill me with too much optimism about the future of Rufus’s own mating.
But that was something we’d have to worry about later. Right now, I had to do my duty as a Beta and interfere before one of our treasured pack members did something very stupid.
The argument itself was a little strange. Danielle and Louis didn’t love one another or anything like that. In our pack, it wasn’t unusual for mated wolves from that kind of arranged bonding to sleep around. Rufus would do the same, since I doubted a delicate, frail Omega could satisfy his lusts.
But there was a tension in the air because of the impending ceremony. This was a big change for the pack, and some people weren’t dealing with it well. Females like Danielle weren’t that happy with having an addition to the pack, one who was so blatantly inferior and might drag us down. They couldn’t take it out on Luna—not yet, at least—so they lashed out at one another or at their mates.
Louis must have really pissed her off, though, because it was disrespectful to fight like this in front of the Alpha, in the middle of our settlement. Worse still, she was in her wolf form, whereas Louis was in his humanoid form.
I could see the logic of his decision. He must be trying not to provoke her. If he shifted too, they would doubtlessly come to blows. But Danielle took it badly. “Are you looking down on me?” she howled.
“I would never,” Louis replied. “I’m just trying to have a normal conversation with you. But if you’re not interested in that, other options can be arranged.”
His skin rippled, as if he was just about to shift too. I stepped between them before disaster could strike. “Danielle,” I snarled, “back off. Louis, give your mate some space.”
They obeyed, listening to my authority as the pack Beta. They weren’t happy about it, though, and they both turned to glare at me. “I’m not the one at fault here,” Louis spat.
“He’s defiling our mating with his actions!” Danielle growled.
God, I didn’t have the time and patience to deal with this. I congratulated myself for my decision to not fight my brother for the position of Alpha of the pack and stepped out of the way, leaving it up to him.
To say that Rufus was displeased would have been the understatement of the century. “Enough of this. Tomorrow, my future mate will be here, and whether we like it or not, we’ll have a tentative alliance with the Wolfsbane Pack. With the chaos still absent, we need that truce to grow and survive as a pack.
“I expect you all to be on your best behavior. I don’t care about your personal grievances right now. If you have issues with one another, you deal with them in private. Is that clear?”
My brother’s voice was thick with an Alpha command, and Danielle and Louis nodded, ashamed by their behavior. “Yes, Alpha,” they both said at the same time. “We deeply apologize.”
Rufus grunted, acknowledging their words, but still unhappy with their behavior. He jerked his head toward me, gesturing for me to follow. I silently complied, while Albert stayed behind to monitor the last preparations.
Together, we left the settlement, heading in the general direction of the Badlands. For the longest time, we stared out at the canyon in silence. We’d grown up here, our pack nestled right next to the arid, inhospitable Badlands, and that had taught us some harsh lessons. But sometimes, it was harder to put them into practice than it should have been.
Rufus rubbed his chest and let out a deep sigh. “Am I doing the right thing by going through with this mating?”
Normally, Rufus wouldn’t have shown uncertainty or doubt in front of anyone. But I was more than his Beta. I was his brother, and he genuinely valued my opinion. If I had wanted to, I could’ve been Alpha too, so there was no bullshit between us. “Why are you asking me this? You know what I’m going to say.”
“You don’t like it, either,” he said with a sigh.
I pursed my lips but didn’t deny it. “I understand the necessity. I just wish things had been different, I suppose.”
I thought about what had happened nine years ago, that night, when I’d run into those blasted golden wolves. It was the last time the chaos had actually hit. If they hadn’t been in my way, I could have found my mate.
Maybe I was selfishly glad that it was Rufus who was stuck mating the Wolfsbane Omega. That way, I still had a chance. I could still find my true mate one day, assuming the chaos returned. I wanted to wait for her, and it meant a lot to me that my brother hadn’t pushed me into an arranged mating, even if he could have.
“Having the Omega here will be an issue, it’s true. But we’ll get by.”
Rufus nodded, but he still seemed troubled. “To be honest, I’m concerned about Mother. She’s been angrier about it than any other female.”
I grimaced. Of course she would be. She perceived the Omega as her replacement, and she wasn’t completely wrong. Luna Clayton would officially occupy the same position our mother had, when our father had been alive. Because of that, Luna’s Omega nature was offensive.
“I’ll speak to her again,” Rufus finished. “But if something happens, I need you to keep an eye on her too. I don’t want any unpleasant incidents.”
A chill ran down my spine at Rufus’s glum tone. “Do you think it’s that bad? The pack wouldn’t disobey you, Rufus. You know that.”
