AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes, sweetheart?”
Ah. So he feels the crackle of our auras bumping up against each other, too. “You said we can put it to a vote. Talking this to death isn’t going to change either of our minds. If the council says yes, I go. If they say no, then we figure something else out. Okay?”
He nods. “Okay. All in favor of Gemma going to the Wolf District to rescue Trish?”
Four hands shoot up. Bobby. Dorian. Jace. Duke.
I bite back my smile.
Ryker’s face is expressionless. “All opposed?”
The other three members hesitate before raising theirs.
“Four to three,” I point out.
A muscle tics in my mate’s jaw. Though I can sense his frustration, the tiny jerk in his face is the only sign that this meeting didn’t go the way he hoped it would. “Okay. I guess we have it.”
As a majority of the members quickly flee from the den and their ticked-off Alpha, I admit that I do kinda feel bad for the whole pack council. I know there isn’t a single one of them that wants to go against their Alpha. Whether they agree that I’m right or not, Ryker’s still the wolf they owe their loyalty to. I’m not even a little mad that three of the wolves—Grant, Benjamin, and Forrest—voted with him. I expected it.
Just like I expected that the four wolves that make up my guard would feel the urge to side with me.
Whoops.
* * *
Compromise.It’s all about compromise.
Me going through with this is the last thing Ryker wants, but once the pack council backs me, he’s all in on helping me figure out what’s next. It’s his way of maintaining some control so, even though he takes over the planning, I let him.
Shit. I’m still kinda in shock that he’s not secretly planning on following behind me or something.
If it wasn’t for Warren, I really think he would be thinking it; not because he doesn’t believe I can do this, but because his wolf would be nudging him to keep me within arm’s reach. After the pack council, Ryker had a one-on-one with Warren, but the outcome was the same. The older wolf had meant it when he said that he was stepping down again. He’d already made arrangements to visit a cousin in the Northern Pack, so even if he was willing to take control of Accalia for a few days, he was leaving the next morning for a month-long leave that Ryker had already approved.
My mate is a good male, and a better Alpha. Though it frustrated the hell out of him, he would never take back the permission he gave to one of his packmates. Warren would be gone the next morning, and once he reluctantly agrees that I can answer my bio-dad’s invitation, I’m heading out the day after.
Well, me, Jace, and Duke are.
That’s another compromise. Me? I was all ready to head back to the cabin and pack my bags the second the council meeting was over with. Not Ryker.
When the den cleared out, Jace and Duke lingered behind so that we could come up with the best way to do this. It’s a quick discussion, mainly because I want to get started, but as soon as Jace and Duke follow the rest of the council out, my mate turns to me.
“You know, I think you should wait until after the full moon.”
What? I thought we just decided that we’d leave ASAP.
“But that’s days away,” I argue. “I get not wanting to jump right away when Walker beckons, but I don’t think we should wait that long. What if he figures I’m not coming and something happens to Trish?”
Because that? That right there’s my biggest worry. That he’ll snap and, instead of pretending to play nice, he’ll use his bargaining chip against me. For a male who’s gone through more than a hundred Betas, and won just as many Alpha challenges, what’s another death on his hands? He wouldn’t lose any sleep at night, but I sure fucking would.
“It’s been almost two weeks since she went missing—”
“Exactly. A few more days won’t matter.”
I’m not so sure he’s right—but I do understand what’s bothering him.
The Luna.
We’re already passed the new moon phase, closing in on the third quarter. In less than ten days, it’ll be the full moon again.
