A Tree Too Weak To Stand

Oliver

Everyone was so certain they would lose me in one way or another if we didn’t get Lya back in one piece, but I felt like I was already gone. The way she had locked away her wolf, I could hardly feel the mate bond anymore, and it scared me that I might not be the first to know if something did happen to her.

I hadn’t moved in hours. I stayed sitting in my office chair, staring at the wall. Someone had cleaned up the broken glass, and Cody was stopping in regularly to give updates.

My own pack members were tracking her for a while. I wanted to rip each person who had aided and abetted in this scheme limb for limb. But I wouldn’t get her back if I did that.

I understood the reasoning. I understood why it had to be Lya. But there was nothing that would make me agree to jeopardizing my mate.

There is strength in numbers. Our pack had stayed safe and not experienced any of it, but hunters were ramping up. Over the past three years, five packs had been decimated by them. Sure, you could chalk it up to those packs being quite small, necessitating higher levels of integration with human communities, but the fact of the matter was they were striking more often and harder. It would only be a matter of time before they started coming after the bigger game.

But it was my mate on the line. And I could do nothing right now to protect her. She was already in the fire.

I heard the door open, but I didn’t even look over to it. I made no effort to discern who it was that entered, either. Delicate footsteps tapped along the floor, and a hand reached out, taking the now empty decanter from my grip.

“What do you want?” I growled at the presence.

“I want you to listen.” The response was stern and familiar. I glanced up, a little surprised to see my grandmother. “Oliver, your time as alpha has been painfully simple, and now? Now you need to step up and actually show your pack that you are worth your salt and worth the dedication and the commitment they show to you.”

I let out a huff. “My pack has betrayed me, Grandma.”

The elder sat down on a chair and began playing with the ring she wore on a chain around her neck. “Our family line is very new to the alpha position of this pack.”

“I know, I’ve read the history books,” I mumbled. “You transitioned from Luna to Alpha when your mate was challenged and lost the pack.”

“Yes, but do you know what the history books and pack records leave out?” she asked. I just shook my head. “Well, they don’t tell you who challenged the alpha, or why. I made sure those were left out. But it was me.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “You challenged your own mate?”

“Well of course,” my grandmother said. “You see, he started to make choices that affected the entire pack based around the comfort of me, not what was actually best. I ignored it for a little bit, but then he elected to ignore a rogue threat to a pack south of us. The rogues had been kidnapping lunas, and he didn’t want me to be targeted by getting involved.”

“Is that not reasonable?” I muttered. “As an alpha, you need to look out for your own.”

“I agree, but as an alpha, who is your own?” She spoke as if she was lecturing a child, and at this moment, I felt like one. Just a lost puppy, really. “The entire pack. All of werewolf kind. That is your own. Rogues ended up destroying a large portion of that pack, and when I found out, I was disgusted. Our pack has always been exceptionally large and strong, we could have easily jumped in to stop it and save many, many lives. Instead, my mate just increased our own border security.”

I chuckled dryly. “Where were the Wulvers then?”

She shook her head. “You misunderstand their purpose if you think they are the ones exclusively responsible for solving and preventing problems. They seem to have the gift of knowing when something needs to play out instead of being covered up.”

I stood up, walking over to the bookcase filled with pack records. I needed to reread about this transition. “So what did you do?”

“Well, I went to the Wulvers. I presented the issue, declared our alpha was blinded and no longer fit to lead a pack.” She paused for a moment, voice caught in her throat. “They told me I clearly knew the solution, so I needed to fix it.”

“I’m guessing that’s when you rejected him as your mate and challenged him.”

“Yes,” my grandmother confirmed. “I was really hoping I would die in that fight, but he couldn’t even defend his leadership of the pack. He just conceded and left. I took the pack south of us in as our own, and I began remedying our relationships with rogues. As an alpha, all of werewolf kind is our own.”

I pulled the record off the shelf, aimlessly flipping through pages. “Does Lya know this story?” Lya had spent quite a bit of time with my grandmother, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew more about this woman than me.

“No,” she said. “She knows the mate I had my child with was a chosen mate, and that I rejected my fated mate. Lya is strong, Oliver. If you don’t turn yourself around, I will encourage her to do the same to you. A person who can manage a feat like this? Well, that is an individual fit to be an alpha.”

I looked up at her, pain written all over my face. I couldn’t even claim she didn’t know the pain I was going through, because she probably understood it better than me. “She is protecting the pack and all of our kind in a way I wish I could personally do myself.”

“But you can’t,” she reminded me. “It’s incredibly easy to demonize the ones who step up when you are unable to. Just remember your pack and your mate did not go behind your back to spite you. They did it to make sure the good of all was upheld first and foremost, even when it would be too difficult of a decision for you.”

“I would have backed it up if it was anyone else,” I insisted.

My grandmother stood up and walked over to me, giving my hand a supportive squeeze. “The Goddess knew what she was doing when she selected the lost Wulver for you. All you can do is trust not only your mate, but the ones you have hand picked to surround you and your decisions.”

I gave her a quick nod. I could feel the tears pricking my eyes, and I knew if I spoke, the floodgates would open. She left me standing in my office, alone with my thoughts. I wished I could just turn my brain off for a moment - something not even the alcohol had been able to accomplish.

I sat back in my chair and closed my eyes, willing myself to go back in time. Maybe when I opened my eyes, it would be two weeks ago and Lya would be perched on the arm of the couch, reading pack records again.

“What in the world are you still doing in here?” I had asked. “Weren’t you girls going out for lunch?”

“Hiding from Anna,” she laughed. “She’s really angry at Trevor.”

“Rightfully so,” I chuckled, walking over to her and pulling her to her feet. “Stick around for lunch with me, then?”

Lya laced her fingers with mine and pulled me out of the office. “Much preferable.”

“So what do you think of the whole Anna and Trevor thing?” I asked her, studying her face for a reaction. Her expressions typically said more than her words.

Lya bit her lip, focused on perusing the refrigerator. Her brow creased, and I quickly noticed that she wasn’t really seeing what was in front of her. The girl got lost in her own thoughts so easily. “I understand why he hid everything from her, but she needs to forgive him. Anger won’t turn back time and change the past.”

I reached past her and pulled out some leftovers, stashing them in the basket she had grabbed. “I understand why Anna is so upset. Four years is a long time that they could have been happy together.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Lya mused. “But what’s it going to fix now? Her point has been made.”

“It sounds like we are talking about a lot more than just Trevor and Anna.”

“Maybe,” Lya said with a shrug of her shoulders. “The same logic can be applied to most anything. I dunno, I just get wanting to keep the people you love at arm’s length so they don’t get wrapped up in your messes.” She looked up at me with a sincerity in her eyes that I just couldn’t argue with.

I leaned down and kissed her, taking my time to memorize the outline of her lips.

“You’re a better person than most, Lya,” I murmured when we finally separated. “Most wouldn’t be able to look past something like that.”

“It’s just the same courtesy I would hope others give me,” she whispered.

I slipped my arm around her waist, pulling her toward the patio doors. “C’mon, let’s go find a place for an Anna-free picnic.”

Lya looked up at me, one of the corners of her mouth curving upwards in a half smile. Her amber eyes were soft and warm, and I was certain they could see right into my soul. Her soft, absent minded smiles were a thing I would never forget.