Following him inside, she waited until he’d closed the door before answering. “Good I think.” They’d spent two and a half hours going over what they expected of her as beta, and in turn what she expected of them. “They’re a great unit. I feel like I’m cheating a bit.”
“How so?” He led her through into the kitchen, and the smell that had teased her at the front door filled the room.
She breathed in deep. “Oh wow, that smells amazing.” Remembering herself, she quickly added. “Sorry. It’s been ages since breakfast.”
“I’ll dish up while you talk.” He moved to the hob, glancing over his shoulder expectantly when Rachel didn’t immediately reply. “Is everything okay?”
Mentally giving herself a shake, she nodded. “Yeah, I’m a little distracted today, apparently.” Taking a seat at the table, she watched as he poured thick-looking soup into two bowls. “Gareth not joining us?” She’d wanted to ask him a few things about work.
“No, he’s down at the warehouse.” As Cam brought the bowls over to the table he asked, “Did you need to see him?”
“Yes, but it can wait. I’ll catch up with him later.” She watched Cam move about the kitchen, fetching spoons and a plate of rolls, and debated how to phrase her answer to his original question. “When I was a beta in my father’s pack, we didn’t have units as such. I mean, the four of us were always available for anyone in the pack who needed us, but I didn’t have a specific set of people to look out for.”
“And now you do.” Sitting down opposite her, Cam gestured for her to go on.
“Yes, now I do. They work incredibly well together, but none of it is my doing.” She met his gaze and offered a small shrug. “I’ve inherited this well-oiled machine, and I haven’t had to work for any of it.”
Cam picked up his spoon. “Do they feel like your team?”
“What do you mean?”
His smile was wry. “The fact that you didn’t answer with an immediate yes tells me that no, they don’t. They might be a great unit, and they should be—they’ve been together a few years now—but to keep them that way, they need a beta they can trust and look up to.” Pointing his spoon at her, he added, “That’s what you have to work for—their trust and respect. They function so well together because they knew they had a beta who would always have their back. You need to give them that again.”
He was right.
For a second, Rachel’s confidence faltered. Gareth had left huge boots to fill.
Am I up to the task?
Cam’s hand on her arm startled her. “If I didn’t think you could do it, I wouldn’t have offered you the position of beta.” He might not be her alpha, but there was no denying his presence had a calming effect.
Rachel felt the tension trickle away under his touch. “Thank you.”
With a smile, he gestured towards her soup. “Now eat before it gets cold.”
WITH A SIGH, Rachel sat back in her chair and smiled. “That was delicious. Thank you.” She stood to collect their bowls and took them over to the sink, but when she reached to turn the tap on, Cam stopped her.
“Leave them, it’s why I have a dishwasher.” He gestured towards the living room. “Come and sit down. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“Oh?” Rachel eyed him curiously but did as she was asked and took a seat on the sofa. As far as she was aware, they’d covered everything they’d needed to. “Have I done something wrong?”
“No. Not at all.” He sat opposite her on the armchair and scooted forward a little. “I had an interesting conversation with Alpha Wallace when she was here.”
A shiver raced down Rachel’s spine. “About me?”
“Sort of.” He met her gaze, and Rachel swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat. “The council are aware there’s some sort ofdisputebetween your pack and the neighbouring Pentarren pack.”
Rachel smothered a laugh. “Dispute?”
“I suspect Alpha Wallace was being intentionally vague. They’re not involved, so the less they appear to know, the better.”
“I suppose.” And hopefully they would never be involved.Isn’t that why I’m here?
“Alpha Wallace also implied that the council, particularly Alpha Celia Cornell, are aware that Gallen uses his mother-in-law’s position on the council as a scare tactic.”
“He does,” Rachel replied. Hadn’t they been through this already?
Cam paused and leaned forward. “She told me that Alpha Cornell isn’t overly fond of Gallen. Whatever he threatened your father with regarding the alpha council is based on lies. They wouldn’t intervene unless asked to do so, and nothing Alpha Tregarrak has done would warrant their punishment.”
