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It could ruin his relationship with Blake. That wasn’t something she ever wanted for Xander. She also knew how much Blake cared for Xander. That had to be more important than anything she was feeling at the moment.
She set the food down between them and they dug in hungrily at the same time. They made some small talk as they ate, but most of their attention was on the spread in front of them.
Blake was easy to talk to and it was not hard to be in his company, Eleanor discovered. They avoided any topic that would create any awkwardness expertly, their minds working in remarkable synchronization.
After their meal, Blake leaned forward over the kitchen table. “Down to business. How do we go about preventing the wolves in Yellow Cicada and Moon Shadow from facing our same predicament?”
Eleanor laughed. “Predicament?”
Blake raised a brow. “You don’t think so?” He gestured around. “What does this look like to you? Xander and I practically dragged you here in the dead of the night, and I forced my last name on you. How is this not a predicament?”
Eleanor laughed harder. Obviously, he was failing to add the fact that their biggest predicament was the sexual tension between them that was bubbling through the roof. “Fine, predicament. Do you have any ideas?”
“A few,” Blake replied. “I had a few ideas while I was on my run this morning. I think the best course of action is for us to earn the trust of the elders as a couple. Not just the elders, but the members of our packs as well.”
“And how do we go about it?”
“We have to show them that we respect them, and that we also care about the pack’s traditions,” Blake said. “To be fair, we don’t have a strong case, seeing how strongly you protested the match. Not to pin this on you, but I’m only saying. We have an uphill climb if we’re going to get them to change their minds about you. About us.”
“Do we need to?” Eleanor asked, a slow frown spreading on her face.
“I think we do. We need as much leverage as we can get when the time comes. The only way I can see us leaving this ridiculous tradition behind is by proposing to abolish it during a general pack meeting, and voting on it.
“To get there, we need to be sure to have a good number of people on our side. There are several pack events we’ll need to attend here and in Deepwood to show that we are a beautiful, loving couple. I know you don’t enjoy pack activities so much, but I think we can do this. Together. I’ll be there with you every step of the way.”
Eleanor bit her lip, thinking about how to respond. She didn’t like it, but she couldn’t argue with his logic. Blake was watching her hopefully. Their entire plan hinged on her. Everything depended on her. She’d come so far already. Why quit now?
“Alright then.” She set her jaw. “Looks like we have a plan.”
“Looks like we do.” Blake beamed happily, and all Eleanor wanted to do was kiss him. How badly she wanted to kiss him.
Chapter 10 - Blake
“Don’t you two just look splendid together!” Isabel said, clapping her hands together when she saw Blake and Eleanor.
Blake smiled and slipped a hand casually onto Eleanor’s back. “Isabel, I’d like to introduce to my wife, and mate, Eleanor. Eleanor, Isabel, one of the elders of the Yellow Cicada pack.”
Isabel showed impeccable white teeth as she smiled and shook Eleanor’s hands. Just a few years shy of seventy, the only evidence of Isabel’s advanced years was her thick mop of silver hair that ran all the way down to her waist.
She barely had any wrinkles on her face, and could have passed for a middle-aged woman in a town where she wasn’t well known. Stories had been told about how beautiful she was as a young wolf, and those stories didn’t seem exaggerated at all.
Blake had heard the rumors that she had some witch blood somewhere in her family tree, but no one ever said it to her face, or in her hearing. Just small-town gossip among small-town folk.
Her husband, Jeffery Richards, had been the elder. After his death a few years ago, Isabel had fought tooth and nail to keep her husband’s place among the elders. It had led to a fracture among the hierarchy of the pack, fragmenting them into two groups.
A large majority had wanted to replace the late Jeffery with a young, powerful wolf who had made a name for himself through his fierceness and success. With what little support she’d gotten, Isabel had done battle with the rest of the elders for her late husband’s vacant seat.
In the end, Blake had needed to step in to prevent things from getting out of hand. Although he’d been following the events closely, he’d also thought it would be best to give the elders a chance to settle things between themselves. Plus, he didn’t have any real authority over them. More often than not, they were there to keep him in check.
So, it had come as a shock to the council of elders when he’d thrown his full weight behind Isabel. His support had tilted the decision in her favor, and she’d ascended to her husband’s seat, becoming the first female elder in the pack in over half a century.
While he wasn’t openly challenged, Blake’s decision hadn’t made him a lot of friends among the elders and he’d been working to repair those relationships for years ever since. On the flip side, it had won him one fiercely loyal and powerful ally.
Blake had identified her to Eleanor as the first piece that they needed to secure. That was the only reason they had come to the feast at all—to make sure that Isabel Richards’ loyalty was still to her alpha, and that he would be able to count on her when the time came.
“Eleanor, my dear, such a pleasure to meet you.” Isabel’s smile deepened and a few lines appeared around her eyes. “I must say, I’m terribly sorry that I missed your wedding. I was out of town on personal business. But I do hear it was one lovely event.”
Eleanor returned the smile with a healthy dose of charm. “The pleasure is all mine. And trust me, you didn’t miss much.”
