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"Is Tristan not… fond of the mating bond?"
There have been snippets of conversations, passing remarks, and stern looks around the subject. Is there something deeper there than the simple strangeness of my situation with their Alpha?
"You could say that," Lucy says slowly, and I'm suddenly aware of the intensity with which she's staring at me, monitoring my reaction.
I hold her gaze, trying to remain neutral but not indifferent.
I want to know. I need to know.
"Please," I say simply. There's no pretense or ulterior motive behind my plea, and I can only hope it's apparent in my eyes as Lucy surveys me. "He's my mate."
Nico sighs, nudging Lucy softly with a look that says, 'come on… just tell her.'
I offer him a small smile, which he returns.
"Fine," Lucy says with a sigh, twirling an ebony curl around her index finger. "Yes, Tristan isn't fond of the mating bond. In fact, he bloody hates it. Always has."
"Well, not always," Nico corrects, and Lucy nods in reluctant agreement. "Just since his father was killed."
My lips part in surprise. Tristan mentioned things had been complicated after his father's passing, but there is a big difference between 'died' and 'killed.'
"What happened?"
"His mate happened," Lucy says gravely, and I feel as if the world around us has gone silent. There are no birds chirping, no piano song, no trickling fountain, no distant chatter—only the horrific, deafening implication of Lucy's words.
"How much do you know about the Rovers, flower girl?" Nico asks me, and I'm ashamed to answer.
I know that they are a group of outcasts and rogue wolves that became a pack. I know that they're led by a man known as the Exiled King, who is my mate. I know that my uncle spoke ill of them like they were a lot of rabid mongrels instead of a true pack, and the stories that surround them are not kind.
"I know that the rumors are not to be trusted," I say at last.
Nico and Lucy look at each other, and I swear there's a ghost of a smile in their exchange. There's something else that twinkles in their eyes, something unexpected but not unwelcome.
Pride.
Lucy turns back to me, taking a breath before launching into the history lesson, "So… before there were the Rovers, there was the Albion pack. Tristan's father, Ector, was a merciful Alpha and a good man."
"Too good," Nico chimes in with a bitter little shrug.
"He believed that Omegas, Rogues, and all sort of mutts and runts in the pack should be regarded as equals," Lucy goes on. "His mate, Elaine, was young when they found each other. They fell in love, and Ector made Elaine his Luna. They seemed like the perfect pair, but years passed, and Elaine was displeased with the disrespect the Albion pack faced from other neighboring packs. Other Alphas viewed Ector as weak, and she was clever enough to notice and ambitious enough to be bothered by it."
I'd never heard of the Albion pack. I'd never heard about any of this. Then again, my education was a cruel joke, and my knowledge of Silvertooth Peaks is laughable.
"Elaine might have found a way to move past that. She could have helped Ector build a stronger pack, but Joseph had other ideas."
"Joseph?" I ask.
"The Beta of the Albion pack, Ector's best friend," Nico clarifies. "Ector considered him a brother, but where Elaine was cunning, Joseph was cruel. He played the part of the loyal Beta, but he seduced Elaine in secret. Ector was too trusting. He couldn't see what was happening under his nose."
"Or maybe he didn't want to," Lucy adds, a distant sort of sorrow filling her grey eyes. "I heard that he loved Elaine right until the very end."
There's a brief, forlorn sort of pause, and I'm filled with a quiet, mournful dread at what comes next.
"Elaine and Joseph plotted to overthrow the Alpha," Nico goes on, and I get the sense he's sparing Lucy from the hardest part of this story. "When Ector had to face their betrayal, he was devastated. He had to face Joseph's challenge while his beloved Luna sided with his opponent, a man who Ector had considered his brother. Who knows who would have won in a fair contest, but Joseph was calculating. He played his cards right so that Ector had to face him at his lowest point."
"Even the strongest of men can be weakened by heartbreak. Joseph and Elaine's betrayal destroyed Ector. It cost him his life and his pack," Lucy says softly. "Sometimes I think that's why Tristan chose Mark as his Beta. My brother doesn't hold things back, and he never keeps secrets. It's not in his nature. Sure, he can be an ass, but he's an honest ass."
"And he's loyal," I add softly, almost to myself. I've been among the Rovers for less than a week, but even I can see it. I have no doubt that if it ever came to it, Mark would take a silver bullet for Tristan. He's given his life to protect his Alpha. Perhaps that's part of why he seems to dislike me so much. He doesn't trust me. I suspect that his hostility toward me is Mark's own way of protecting his king.
