199
Tony
I walked into my office with a scowl etched deep on my face. The meetings with various business representatives had gone well enough, but the gnawing feeling of unease hadn't left me. It wasn't the business deals that troubled me; it was the underlying fact that I was doing a job that I had no rightful claim to.
Our father was the alpha of Blue Moon. He should be in these fucking meetings. I should be refusing to go, but the guilt tugged me from bed and sent me out to make sure that the pack didn’t go destitute or veer toward destruction the way it had been when our father had been alpha was too strong to ignore.
Besides, I had nothing else to hang on to now that Matt and I were so distant, Lucy was a distant goal, and there was no one I could rely on. I took a seat behind my desk, my fingers drumming restlessly on its surface.
Not once had our father seemed interested in actually running the logistics of the pack. Cline wasn’t helpful, too busy scheming with him to do what, but at the least, this should have been his job.
I wasn’t our father’s beta. Neither was Matt.
Matt…
The pain of not feeling him on the other side of the link struck me again, and I ran my hand through my hair. I leaned back, rubbing my temples in an attempt to soothe the headache that was threatening to take hold. The pack was at a delicate juncture, with tensions simmering just beneath the surface. Our father’s behavior, his power plays, and the fear that he seemed to thrive in were casting shadows over all the work Matt and I had done over the years. It wasn’t that anyone was outwardly frustrated. They were all just genuinely begrudgingly still here.
There had been no one to leave. Our nanny had taken up the position as de facto luna, spending her time pleasing our father in whatever way he wished. I wondered if she had always been waiting for him to come back or if this was a new thing since our mother was dead. Maybe she was his breeder once upon a time.
I frowned. Did we have siblings I didn’t know about? I doubted he’d answer that question if I asked.
I glanced over at the pile of mail that had been piling up. It was all addressed to him, but he had yet to move back into the alpha’s office.
I huffed. I knew at least half of them were about the representatives he gutted in our home. I didn’t know what happened to the bodies, and I didn’t really care beyond the fact that his ruthless tactics were driving a wedge between us and the other packs. Pretty soon, anyone who wasn’t necessarily on David or Peter’s side before would join them, and then we’d be more than just outnumbered.
The businesses would start suffering, and then we’d really have a problem. Part of me wanted to walk away from it all, to wash my hands of the entire affair. But another part of me felt the weight of responsibility for the pack.
I sighed, leaning forward and resting my head in my hands. I needed to find a way out of this or to make our father see reason.
As I looked out of the window, my thoughts drifted to Matt. If Matt were here, he’d have an idea, or we could at least brainstorm together. A pang of remorse went through me. All the times I told him that he did nothing for the pack, that he avoided his duties seemed to flash through my mind.
Matt didn’t manage business stuff. He was a disaster with spreadsheets or accounting, but he managed people well, incredibly well. Better than me. It was probably why all of his actual exes were mostly sensible people. That degree in psychology helped him navigate interpersonal negotiations before they even became issues for the pack. It had been my mistake, my frustration with the situation our father had left us in, that had made me say those things.
One day, I’d find the words to tell him that.
I glanced at my phone, half-expecting a message from Matt. But there was nothing, just a blank screen. I ran a hand through my hair, the tension in my shoulders refusing to ease.
“To hell with it,” I said, abandoning any thoughts of doing any more work.
If our father didn’t want to do the work of an alpha, at least for today, I wasn’t going to do it. I went to my room, got undressed, and stepped into my shower.
The hot water cascaded over me, washing away the grime of the day. I closed my eyes and let the warmth soothe my aching muscles.
As I stepped out of the shower, wrapped in a towel, I couldn't help but think about Lucy. If she hadn’t been stolen, if I had just managed to keep her here, most of this wouldn’t have happened. I’d fix it as soon as Blue Moon took over White Moon again. At the least, our nanny should be able to teach her what it means to be with an alpha even if we aren’t mates.
I got out of the shower and reached for my clothes, thoughts still swirling in my mind, when a knock at the door jolted me from my reverie. I hastily wrapped the towel around my waist and went to answer it.
I opened the door and was met with Quillan's hopeful eyes looking up at me. His presence caught me by surprise, but there was an eagerness in his gaze that I couldn't ignore.
"Hi," I said, a little nervous. “Did you… need something?”
"Hi," Quillan responded, a slight blush gracing his cheeks. "I was wondering if maybe we could play?"
His request was genuine, and it tugged at something inside me. Quillan seemed like a sweet kid. And as awkward as it was for me, I recognized the importance of building a relationship with him. Our father had already accepted him, as had Matt.
I nodded, a small smile forming. "Sure, Quillan. Let's go for a walk."
His eyes brightened as he offered me his little hand. I took it cautiously. That warm tug seemed stronger now. I led him downstairs and out the back doors.
We stepped outside into the cool evening air, the forest enveloping us in its serenity. I could sense Quillan's nervous energy, but I also felt at ease walking with him.
As we walked along a well-worn path, our footsteps softened by the blanket of fallen leaves, Quillan finally broke the silence. "Do you really turn into a wolf?”
I nodded. “I do… and when you’re stronger, you probably will too.”
“That’s so cool. Am I going to be fluffy? When did you turn into a wolf for the first time?”
My lips twitched. “I was… five, I think.”
He scrunched his nose. “I’m only three.”
I chuckled. “There’s no need to rush it. You’ll shift when you’re ready. Even though you’re only a half-breed, you’ll be stronger than most full-blooded werewolves.”
“Really? Is that cause you’re really strong?”
“It is. I—“
A faint scent caught my attention—the unmistakable scent of blood.
My instincts kicked in, and I stopped abruptly. I lifted Quillan into my arms and turned back.
“What’s wrong?”Confusion flickered across his face.
“Nothing for you to worry about,” I said as I hurried back to the house.
My heart pounded in my chest, the urgency of the situation propelling me forward. There were only a few reasons that the scent of blood should have been that strong. There had been an attack.
I set Quillan inside and gave him to one of the kitchen servants.
“You,” I said, turning to someone. “Take a group and search the woods. Someone is injured.”
I headed further into the house, looking for Matt, but he wasn’t there. I didn’t even get his scent.
Then, the front door opened. It was Matt coming in, looking nervous and sleepless.
I glared at him. "Where were you?"
He ran a hand through his hair, fatigue evident in his features. "I couldn't sleep. I needed some air. What’s the problem?”
There was so much to say to that.
But just as I was preparing to lay into Matt, the members of our pack whom I had ordered to go out and search caught my attention. They hadn’t moved. Their expressions were downcast. Fury filled me.
The only reason they were still there was because our father had ordered them not to listen to me. It was a slap in the face, a reminder that my position within the pack was no longer the same as it had once been. I clenched my fists, my jaw tight with suppressed anger. But when I glanced at Matt, I found him watching me with eyes that saw too much.
“You—“
"Tony," Matt cut in, his voice calm, "Let’s go.”
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