I sat in the chair next to him and ducked to catch his gaze. “But there has to be some—”
“Robyn.” He took my hand and looked right into my eyes. “I appreciate your trust, and on some level, I even appreciate your indomitable spirit, as infuriating as I find it in this moment. But for the next half hour, I’m still the Alpha here, and you are not allowed to argue with the Alpha.”
That was the first thing he’d said in the past few minutes that made sense.
“Fine. So, who will replace you? How does that work, anyway? You appoint someone?”
“Yes. I think. Though technically anyone can challenge the Alpha to a fight, at any time, and if the challenger wins, he’s the new Alpha.”
“Or she.”
That drew a smile from him. “Yes. Or she.”
“So it doesn’t really matter who you appoint?”
“If the men still have any respect for my opinion and experience after they hear about Morris, then they’ll believe that whoever I appoint is the man most worthy of the job. If not…” he shrugged.
“They know you better than I do. If I can tell that this is more complicated than a simple attack, they’ll believe that too.” Yet Brandt hadn’t, because… “If youletthem believe that.”
Titus gave me a quiet smile, but he looked unconvinced.
“So, who will you appoint? Jace?”
“Jace is the most qualified, but…”
“But he’s not here?” I guessed, when Titus’s voice trailed off.
“That, and he’s natural-born. They like him, and they’re fine with him here in an advisory position. But they won’t want to be led by someone they think holds himself above them.”
Did they really think of Jace like that? What about Abby?
“My other concern with Jace is that he’s already insisted that putting him in charge won’t help our case with the council. If they wanted to recognize Jace as an Alpha, they wouldn’t have exiled him in the first place.”
“So then, Drew?” I guessed.
Titus nodded slowly.
“You look doubtful.”
“I’m not sure he’s ready, but he’s my only real option. Fortunately, he has the best interest of the Pride at heart, and he’s been with me from the beginning. I’m sure he’ll accept advice from both Jace and me behind the scenes.” Titus blinked, then shook his head, as if he were trying to wake up from a long nap. Or emerge from shock. “I’m sorry. That’s nothing you should have to worry about.”
Which was clearly just a nice way to say it was none of my business, and if he’d been thinking straight, he would never have revealed an Alpha’s private doubts to an outsider.
Titus stood and squared his shoulders, and I could practically see him donning determination as if it were an article of clothing. “You don’t need to come to the meeting. None of this has anything to do with you.”
“Seriously?” I stood and stepped into his path, so he’d have to stop and reconsider. “So once you step down, your deal with the council will be void? I can take off whenever I want?”
“That’s not what I meant.” Titus ran one hand through his hair. “Drew will uphold our agreement. That’s in the Pride’s best interest. You’ll get the rest of your two weeks.”
“And after that? What if I don’t want to leave here? Does Drew have the experience and backbone to stand up to the council?” Would he do that for someone he’d just met? Someone who wasn’t ready to pledge loyalty to him as an Alpha?
“I don’t know. I’m sure he’ll do the best he can.” He tried to step around me, heading for the stairs, but I grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Titus. What’s going to happen to them without you? Where will your enforcers live? Can Drew afford to pay them? I may not know much about the inner workings of a Pride, but I know they can’t operate without enforcers. Or funds.”
“He’ll figure something out. Alphas have been running territories for generations without a fortune to fall back on.” Titus shrugged. “I’ll fund them for a while and then maybe he can get a day job and charge dues, like the other Alphas. But that’ll be up to him. I can’t really think about that right now. I have to…” He gestured for the staircase, then stepped around me and took the steps two at a time.
I followed him out of the guesthouse, around the pool, and into the kitchen, where he stopped. Listening.
