Chapter 9: It's Lumiere

Chapter 9: It's Lumiere
Silas
"Sydney, I'm sorry." I am not exactly sure what I did to set her off, but she's clearly pissed at me. I grab her wrist, trying to get her to look at me.
She shakes me off. "It's Alpha Syd. If you will excuse me, I have work to do."
I just let her go. I felt like she would push back if I pushed any more, and I wouldn't like it. "Damn it. What do we do now!"
"We wait for her to cool down." Bram was more understanding than I expected. I needed some advice, and the one person I trusted most was my dad.
"Dad, you busy?" I mind-link him.
"In the Beta office with your brothers."
"I'll be there in a second." I head over to the Beta office. It's weird now that it's not my dad's office anymore. Davy is a good Beta, but I think Dad was better. I don't knock; I walk in and plop down in a chair.
"Si, how's it going, son?"
"Yeah, how's it going, Luna." Davy could be such a jerk.
"Davy, knock it off. Your brother's rank is higher than you be respectful."
"Dad, come on, I'm just giving him a hard time. Right, Si."
I just grunt. I didn't want to have this conversation with my brothers around, but I didn't have a choice.
"See, dad Si will make a great Luna." Davy was getting on my nerves, but I wasn't going to engage with him.
"Dad, I need some advice."
"What is it?" He leans back in his chair, settling in to hear me out.
"I think I pissed Sydney off, and I am not sure how to fix it." Both my brothers shut up and took a seat around dad. That was one thing we all did when dad talked. We listened.
"Tell me what happened." Dad listens intently as I tell him how things were going great, but then she pulled away and closed herself off and even told me to call her Alpha Syd.
"This is why females shouldn't be Alphas." This was a complete shift in Cory's attitude from earlier when he was an Alpha Sid superfan.
"She cares about her pack and wants to do a good job. How does that constitute her not being fit to be an Alpha? If you say it's because she doesn't have a dick, you're a bigger idiot than I thought." I was not going to let anyone talk behind my mate's back. I needed advice, not criticism.
"I'm just saying she got all emotional for no reason. Shows she not fit to be Alpha." Cory's words send Bram and me into a rage, and I jump out of my chair and pounce on Cory. "Make fun of me all you want but don't talk about my mate." We fly backward in the chair as I pin him to the ground.
"Silas David Youngblood, get off your brother right this second! Cory, shut your mouth. I raised you better than that." Dad was no longer the pack Beta, but he was still our dad. I get off my brother and sit on the sofa instead.
"Don't ever talk about Sydney not being a fit, Alpha. You don't know anything about her!" My blood is still raging.
"Like you know her all that well? Please, you just met her, and you two are already fighting. Abby would never act like that." Cory didn't know what he was talking about.
"Cory, it's one thing to tease our brother, but you can't go around disrespecting the new Alpha." Davy was a jerk sometimes, but he wasn't stupid.
"Whatever, Davy, you know I'm right. How can you trust someone who turned on her own pack." Where's this coming from?
"Seriously, Cory, what's your issue, really? You don't even know my mate. She's here to learn how to run her pack; how is that a bad thing? She's trying. You also don't know the circumstances of why she did what she did." I was about to pounce on him again when dad interrupted.
"That's enough! Cory, I don't know what your problem is, but I don't want to hear another word! Davy, be respectful of your younger brother. His title is Lumiere, and he outranks you now. Lastly, Silas, you're being uncharacteristically hot-headed and impulsive. Get it together, son.
"Yes, dad." We say in unison, then glare at each other.
"Now, if I may, I do actually have a bit of wisdom for my youngest son, and maybe you two should listen up as well! Might help you." Cory sits across from me. His lip is bleeding serves him right. Davy comes and sits next to me. "Every one of you has a fated mate. Remember, your fated mate is the same rank as you are. You think women are so different and hard to understand, but they are not. She's an Alpha, and you were raised as a Beta. What is the one thing that both the Alpha and Beta have in common?" Dad looks at me for an answer.
"The pack comes first." I huff.
"Exactly. Tarlo messed up her pack, and now she's alone to fix it. Along you came and flipped it all on its head before she even has a handle on anything. Son, she needs you. She doesn't have anyone. Tarlo killed her mother. Her father was killed when she was eight. It doesn't matter how strong you are. You still need to lean on someone sometimes." I let dad's words sink in.
"I don't know, dad. I don't know if she wants me or a mate in general." My biggest fear is that my mate would reject me.
"Silas, the goddess has chosen her as Alpha. It's her Lumiere's responsibility to stand by her side and fight with her, not for her. She had the odds stacked against her in so many ways, and she's fought them all so far. She's not your average she-wolf, and you're not average either. Stop acting like a warrior protecting a damsel in distress and start acting like the partner of and Alpha."
"Dad, what am I supposed to do? I just want to tuck her away and protect her."
"Protecting her heart is not the same as fighting her battles for her. Cherish her, and she will cherish you. You two were mated for a reason. Give her time, son. Just think about it." I sit there for a second and let dad's word sink in.
"Just reject her and get it over with." I can't deal with Cory anymore. Dad grabs my arm before I can pounce on Cory.
"Cory, I think you and I need to have a serious talk, son. Davy, I'll be borrowing your office." Davy and I get up and walk out without saying a word. We have all had one of dad's talks before.
"So, what are you going to do, Si?" We step out into the hallway.
"About what?"
"About what? Alpha Sydney?"
"I don't know yet. Right now, I want to go on a run until dinner. I need to clear my head and think about what dad said." Davy pats my shoulder.
"You're going to be a great Lumiere, honestly." I hug him.
"Thanks, that means a lot." We break the hug, and I turn to leave the packhouse.
I head to the tree line. The last person I want to see comes running up as I am walking. "What do you want, Samantha?"
"I just want to talk, is all." She tries to grab my hand. I jerk it back.
"Do not touch me." I keep walking. I had enough on my mind without Samantha's bullshit.
"Miles was a mistake. I'm sorry. Can't we work it out?" This again? Well, I had a surprise for her.
"Samantha, I found my mate today. So, no, we can't work it out, and even if I hadn't found her, I wouldn't trust you ever again." I'm close to the tree line. I start unbuttoning my shirt to shift.
"So, it's true. You're mated to that she-devil Alpha Syd Vicious." Hearing Sydney's name come out of Samantha's mouth pissed me off.
"It's pretty funning hearing you call someone else a she-devil after what you did." I'm on my last button, and all I want is to shift and clear my head.
"You're comparing me to someone who turned on her own pack and Alpha." That's it.
"You have no idea what those monsters did! I would have done the same thing she did! I would have fought for what was right! I would have fought to save everyone I could! I don't trust words, Samantha, and I trust actions. I trust Sydney's actions over yours any day of the week. Now go back to whichever dick you are hosting this week." I pull my shirt off and toss it on a branch.
"You changed, Silas. I don't like it." What did I ever see in this girl?
"You're right. I changed. I'm not your doormat anymore." She storms off, which is good because I was fighting Bram for control the whole time.
I take the rest of my clothes off and shift. It's so freeing. Bram took control. He was itching to get out, and I needed a break. My mind, of course, is filled with Sydney and our short time together. Then dad's words make their way to the surface. I need to cherish her and protect her heart. The confrontation with Samantha made me realize what his words meant.
"Bram, let's head back. It's almost dinner. We have a mate to escort."