Page 29 of Dark Auctioned Mate

Rael stood still a moment longer, breathing harshly, then slowly sank back into his chair. Javi followed suit.

“Javi, your fears about the blown mission are justifiable, but they are also of the past. We cannot change what has happened. We can change by adapting and moving on. Rael made a call in the field according to what he knew. He saved lives, and that is all that matters.”

“It does matter, but it also sets us back months. And I am expected to assume that we are now running with a liability on our hands?”

“Alanis is not a liability,” Rael countered, his voice deep and threatening. “She helped in freeing those women. She has been cooperative since—"

“She is shiftless,” Javi deadpanned. “She cannot protect herself adequately, she cannot assist in operations of the pack, and she is putting strain on the pack. Half of the pack believes you should not have claimed her.”

"I don't give a damn what half the pack thinks."

“Well, you should, since it is not only you who has to bear the consequences of your choices. You cause divisions in the pack every time you protect her, every time you fight on her behalf, and divided packs don't survive. You of all people should know that.”

“Leaving out personal feelings,” Silas said. “We have three possible locations where the network could be in operation. What's our approach?"

Rael had to force himself to take a deep breath, to push the anger down and concentrate on the mission. “We need to split up. Cover more ground, gather intelligence simultaneously. If we move on all three locations at once—"

"We risk spreading ourselves too thin," Javi said immediately. "Standard military strategy says you don't divide your forces unless you have overwhelming numbers."

“The standard military strategy, too, says you adjust to the situation. This network has always been a step ahead. But if we strike several areas at the same time, they may be taken by surprise.”

Silas looked at the map on the table. “Rael is right, but we must have dependable support on the ground, somewhere. We cannot go in alone.”

“We could send word to our allies,” Rael leaned forward to take a closer look at the map. “They might be interested.”

“That would do,” Silas nodded. “I will inform August about this. Both of you would go to the eastern point. Javi, you go to the west. I would coordinate here, with the assistance of Elle. She may be able to pick up energy tracks.”

“And what about your mate?” Javi asked. "Is she going to be joining you on this mission? Or will she be remaining here, safe and sound, whilst the rest of us do the actual work?”

Rael's jaw clenched. “Alanis is not trained to work in the field like this.”

"Convenient," Javi muttered.

“What the fuck is it your problem?” Rael snapped. “You want me to put her into a potentially dangerous situation to show her that she is not a burden? That's insane."

“I have a problem with the fact that you are basing your decisions on emotions rather than on logic,” Javi scoffed. “You claimed a woman you barely knew because of some bond you felt, disrupted a critical mission to save her, and now you're defending her at every turn while the rest of us are trying to clean up the mess. When does it end, Rael? When does the mission become more important than your mate?"

“The mission has always been important to me,” Rael said coldly. “But if you believe that I am going to apologize for saving the life of a person, for claiming my mate, for protecting her against assholes who are willing to judge her on issues that she is not capable of controlling at all, then you do not know me at all.”

The silence that followed was oppressive and heavy.

Silas sighed heavily. “We should take a break. We will reconvene at night when everybody has cooled down.”

Javi sat up, pushing his chair back. “I will be at the training grounds, in case anybody needs me.” Then he walked out.

Rael prepared to follow him and clear things up, but Silas caught his eye and shook his head. “Let him go. Give him time.”

"He's being unreasonable."

“He is just scared. We both know Javi does not adapt to change very well, and your mate is a great deal of change to the pack, to our operations, to the relationship between the three of us. He will, however, come around, sooner or later.”

"And if he doesn't?"

“He will. Just give him some time.” Silas stood, collecting the maps. "For now, let's—"

The door to the dining room opened, cutting off whatever Silas was about to say. Elle entered. She looked at both of them with a raised eyebrow.

“Did you guys argue again?”