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“Now Darius, Jace fought for his spot on the council. It was well earned and not once in two years has he shown any bias towards his brother or the Coldridge pack.” Julian spoke. Ryan cast the other man a smile offering silent thanks that he’d spoken up in support of the plan.
“I know it is difficult to freely share information among our groups but if you lost a child and your mate suffered that loss as mine has you might feel differently.
Julian’s pain was so thick it clogged the air in the room until they were almost choking on it, Ryan’s compassion and respect for the other man increased two-fold as the others in the room finally seemed ready to listen.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Clay has volunteered to begin the search for our pack. I can’t stand to see the pain in my mate’s eyes she longs for another child and it isn’t as easy as it was when she conceived previously.” Ryan watched as Julian held each alpha’s gaze in turn, recalling the slight woman he’d arrived with.
He had paid his respects to her as tradition dictated, but he’d been more focused on challenges that he faced by having all of the other alphas in his territory. It was incredibly dangerous and rarely done since their natural inclination was to fight each other for supremacy.
Julian’s mate had worn her sadness around her like a heavy cloak that she couldn’t shake off. It made Ryan wonder how recently the woman had lost their child.
A shudder ran through him at the thought of that sadness touching Kelly. So far, their matting hadn’t been an easy one and the idea that she could suffer more had guilt riding him hard.
Of course, they would have to solidify their union first, and there was still a chance that she wouldn’t want to remain with him once she was healthy. The thought made him want to howl with rage. It was a prospect that he didn’t want to consider.
It had taken an hour of arguing with the other lycans for them to even agree that they needed to investigate the issue and another forty-five for them to consent to Clay being the one to start collecting the details.
“I don’t trust this.” It was Darius who spoke again. His mistrust was evident, and it was clear that everyone in the room was beginning to get frustrated with his uncooperative nature.
“Let him start in our pack Darius. If you are uncertain of his intentions, then perhaps it would be best to monitor the process early.” Edmund, the council member for the Sourwind pack spoke, focusing his wisened gaze on the younger alpha with a laser-like precision that made the other man stiffen, and dared him to speak against the council member.
Darius gave a slight nod, and Ryan had to bite down on showing any outward emotion knowing that if he did he might lose any progress they’d made.
He looked at the clock on the wall and fought the urge to reach out to Kelly, knowing that his attention should be on the meeting and the people in the room with him.
Despite his best intentions though, he couldn’t resist the urge for long. He let their connection crack open and was bombarded by Kelly’s feelings.
She was overwhelmed, emotional, and on the verge of tears. Feeling that, Ryan no longer cared what was going on in the meeting with the alphas. He wanted them out of his territory and away from his pack.
“Kelly, what’s wrong?”He asked the question but she didn’t answer. He could feel her pull back trying to close their connection off again.
“Don’t!”he demanded harshly. “Don’t close yourself off from me. What’s wrong?”He shifted his attention to his brother wordlessly communicating his need to have the meeting wrapped up before turning his focus back to her.
“You need to focus on the meeting Ryan it’s more important than me. I’ll be alright. I just don’t feel well.”
Ryan fought the need to growl at her. “Nothing is more important than you. We are almost done here, I’ll come to you.”She wasn’t telling him the whole truth. He could sense that she felt weak and unwell but that wasn’t the end of it. She was emotionally distraught as well, and it set him on edge that someone would be so disrespectful to her.
“I’m sorry, there’s an urgent matter that I need to attend to.” He stood and was halfway to the door before he thought to thank the others or try to smooth his exit over at all. “Thank you all for coming and for working together to resolve this crisis. Please enjoy the remainder of the evening and entertainment before you begin the journey back to your territories.” He gave the room the customary slight nod before making a hasty retreat.
When he found her, it was in the large kitchen area that the pack used for big gatherings. Several of his pack were there but the visiting mates and other members who had come with the other packs were present as well.
At first glance, the room was filled with laughter, the mood much lighter than the meeting he’d just left. Kelly was off to the side, her complexion pale, her features pinched as if she were in pain.
Her demeanor reminded him of how she behaved with the pack in recent years, preferring to blend into the background rather than assert any dominance or make herself the center of attention.
Ryan suffered a pang of doubt while observing her. He was the alpha, and she needed to be able to stand confidently by his side. It wasn’t a trait that could be taught. She either had it or she didn’t, and if she didn’t, he wasn’t sure what that would mean for them.
Her head snapped up and her eyes filled with tears, assuring him that he’d mistakenly let that last thought slip through their link.
FUCK!He let the frustration and anger he felt at himself through. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
She looked away from him, stonewalling him with her silence. The others in the room stopped speaking as if they felt the tension change in the room.
“If you’ll excuse me.” It was the only explanation he offered the others in the room before he strode to Kelly.
She wouldn’t look at him, and once he got close he could feel her body trembling – with fear or anger or restrained tears he wasn’t certain, but he wouldn’t stand by and continue to allow her to hurt.
