The Alpha's Other Woman by Vielle Nye (read a book .txt) 📗

Carrie

I had been almost enjoying my mate's commanding performance as he defended our pack. He was either incredibly skilled at keeping me out of his feelings, or his nervousness had left when he became focused and he really was just that confident. It looked like the latter, as he sauntered up to the stage and stared down the dozens of powerful males with their mates beside them. He acted almost as if this cabal didn't have the power to make our newly formed pack's life as difficult as possible. Then he spoke, using his alpha authority as if he had been born to it, and showed he was a force to be reckoned with.

Then that irritating alpha of Bluegorge just had to speak, as if what our pack did was any business of his. Of course, I had heard of him when I was still at Greenwoods. And met him back when I had been desperate enough to try to find a new pack, before I had given up thanks to the discovery that most alphas were rogue hating bigots. From my spot along with the other supposedly unimportant spectators, Randy and Lee on either side of me, I could just barely see his smug face sitting close to the stage in his assigned spot. It was as if they thought the privileged established packs were in some way more worthy than the others, and it pissed me off. Maybe we really would have to ally ourselves with the vampires more closely. At least their queen seemed more tolerable than this bunch.

Alpha King had probably been my most brutal pack refusal. The most surprising part was he had not spat on me as his fighters ran me off their territory. Apparently he hated rogues as a general rule, and had judged my past lifestyle with no more than a cursory glance. These alpha's were such hypocrites, most of them hadn't waited to find their destined mates either, but they would still look down on me for being the other party to that behavior.

Still, I had not expected him to bring up everything before the entire assembly. He made Asshole Dane look like a sensitive male.

"And the new luna of this dangerous pack is little better than a status hunting whore."

I didn't even have time to sink down in shame or get properly angry myself, because Jason's fury blasted over our link at me. He was a split second from physically assaulting Alpha King. And that was the worst thing he could do. They would use it as evidence against us, proof that we were just violent rogues.

"Jason! That's what he was aiming for. He's trying to provoke you! Breathe."

In any other context I would have rushed over to him to help him calm down, but that would have been out of order and looked bad, like he couldn't handle his own volatile emotions. Although it would also look bad if Jason were to lunge at another alpha and try to murder him.

I hung suspended in indecision for a long moment, but then Jason forcibly relaxed his shoulders. He looked at the Bluegorge alpha with a cold expression. "As neighbors, I expect that you will treat my mate, Luna Carrie, with the respect due any luna and a fellow wolf. What happened in her past—which was far from entirely her fault—is no concern of yours."

"If she—"

"No concern of yours." Jason stared him down.

"Alpha Bronson is correct in that this point is not relevant to the proceedings. I suggest we vote on the legitimacy of the claims, and move on to more important matters." This time it was the same old werewolf who had read Bluegorge's claims against us.

While I understood that the issue of Glenshadow was not the most pressing issue here, the way they dismissed the fate of dozens of wolves who had done nothing but make a member of the Alpha Assembly uncomfortable was exactly the reason that many werewolves were not happy supporters of the Alpha Assembly, although few actively spoke out against them. In my time as Greenwoods' acting luna, we had always simply complied with them, and as long as they voted in our favour, I was certain that Glenshadow would end up complying with them again. They were too big to take on, and they weren't corrupt enough to make a large enough group of people want to stand against them.

Obviously the only good solution was for us to become a powerful pack in our own right so we could influence things from the inside. They wasted their time on petty complaints, while ignoring real issues, like the Glenhaven Massacre.

We would be an officially recognized pack, whether the Alpha Assembly liked that fact or not. Just let them try to stop us.

"All in favor of accepting the claims against Glenshadow and the motion to dissolve the forming pack, say 'aye'," the old alpha stated in a clear voice.

There were ayes around the table, and hands were raised in vote. My heart was in my throat. Jason stood stiff and tall as he stared down the group of the most powerful people in our world. He was a rebel and a survivor, and I felt the power of him to my very core. Through my anxiety, I felt pride swell that I, out of all wolves, was his mate, and that he was mine.

"Don't worry, love, they can't stop us forever, even if they beat us this time," he whispered into my mind.

"You're right. They can't," I agreed. We were one in purpose, two halves of a greater whole.

"All in favor of rejecting the claims against Glenshadow and the motion to dissolve the forming pack, say 'nay'."

A chorus of nays and hands followed the ayes, and I could not tell who had the majority. It was close. Our fate hung on a thread and it could break either way.