Page 42 of Hidden Nature

All three of them paused in their eating to look at one another. We’d started to have this conversation before Finley shut it down due to my brother wanting to fight it out with Zander and we never got back to it.

“Officially, no...” Zander responded. “We’ve talked about it, and that is our hope, but it’s something we plan to bring to the attention of the rest of the pack before just making that change.”

“Keep your mouth shut,” I warned Mason. “Even if she really wants to get out of being a senator, we don’t need to air out our pack issues in front of her. This is going to happen and you’re going to have to get over it eventually.”

“At least he said that he wants to address the pack before it happens this time,” he retorted.

I would settle for that answer, for now, knowing there would be a fight between the two of them eventually. It had been the same way with Colt and Lane as well. Mason didn’t always know how to leave matters alone, needing to push and push until they pushed back.

“Can this pack support three alphas?” Peter questioned, his tone betraying his doubt on the subject.

A warning growl slipped out of Zander as he pinned the man with a glare. “You know very well that this pack doesn’t need to support me. I’ve got enough wealth to my name to run this whole pack for the next twenty years. Not to mention that Colt and Lane’s business is doing extremely well for itself, adding to the pack’s accounts on top of what each member brings to the table.”

“Wait, if you’re officially an alpha to the pack, do I get a raise?” Mason blurted out, sidetracking the whole conversation.

“What the fuck, twin!” I snapped.

“Pipe down. If he says yes, that means you get one too, and we can spoil Finley like the others,” Mason countered as he waited for Zander’s answer.

“Seeing as you are Finley’s mate, making us… gwa… gawn…” Zander started stumbling over the new term Rath taught us. “Whatever the fuck the elf term is, that makes us family. Which means what’s mine is yours. The same reason you’re all moving into my house, or I would’ve moved in here with all of you. We essentially are a pack within a pack, so if you want to consider it, getting a raise, then sure, we can call it that.”

“Huh, maybe this guy isn’t such an asshole, after all,” Mason commented.

I let out a huff of laughter. Leave it to my twin to be swayed by something like this. It’s not that we were poor or didn’t have everything we needed, but we’d come from a pack that never seemed to get their head above water. Half of what we made, we secretly sent back to take care of our mother since our dad was a bit of a deadbeat and blew most of it gambling. He was a beta, but not a respected one that had a place in the pack as we did. Instead, he went from one dead-end job to the next. If it weren’t for us always looking out for our mother, they would have never been able to keep the house we grew up in.

“While that is a nice gesture, that is not how it works in a pack,” Morwyn corrected. “The pack needs to support their alphas. It’s how they show them respect and allegiance. If they are not beholden to you and your care, then what’s to keep them from turning on you? I’ve also noticed how lenient you are in allowing a beta to speak to you in such a manner with no repercussions.”

Lane’s brows shot up at this observation. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand? Mason was simply asking a question.”

“Hmm, it’s clear that you’re a bitten wolf and never been part of a true pack growing up. The beta is a born werewolf and should have known better than to speak to his alpha in such a way. In our pack, he would have been punished publicly for others to learn from his mistake and ensure that it didn’t occur again. An alpha’s role is to protect their pack and maintain order, keeping their pack in line. A submissive pack is the mark of a healthy pack,” Peter explained as Morwyn nodded in agreement.

Colt slammed his hand down on the table, startling all of us as well as drawing our attention. “I would remind you that you are a guest regardless of the fact that you’re a senator. Your opinion on how we run our pack is unwelcome and not wanted if you plan to spew bullshit like that. Need I remind you that you came to ask our omega to kill your mate because he will harm you and your unborn child? To me, that gives you absolutely no ground to speak on how packs should be run.” Colt took a shaky breath, trying to calm himself, but it didn’t look like it was working. “Your pack might be powerful, but I never wish to rule mine by fear and threat of punishment. I grew up in a pack where all members respected each other, growing and becoming prosperous until we were attacked.”

“It was having a weak pack that caused it to be destroyed,” Peter snarled. “They didn’t have the discipline to defend themselves. That’s what’ll happen to this pack if you don’t change.”

“Not if we demolish the Senate since they are the ones who are behind packs being attacked,” Elias interjected, his voice low and deadly. “You can’t deny that it happens. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The screams of my family still echo in my ears. Why bother asking us to do this for you if you don’t actually want change in the world? Think of that baby growing in your mate. Is that the type of pack you want your child to grow up in? If you believe that only the strong survive, then by that logic, if her mate does kill her, then good riddance. She deserved it. Clearly, you were too weak to protect her and your pup. If it wouldn’t harm Finley, I’d kill you right now and save her mate the trouble while protecting that pup from growing up in a toxic world.”

My jaw fell open at the venom in Elias’s words. Never had I heard him speak to an alpha, or anyone for that matter, in such a way. Ever since Finley appeared in our lives, she’s slowly started to change Elias, drawing him out to show us the man behind the wolf. Here he was, staring down an alpha and her bodyguard, who was also an alpha, after having told her he would kill her. The balls on that man astounded me.

Peter shot to his feet, snarling, his eyes flashing as his wolf pressed to be released and protect his mate. This set the others off, and now everyone was poised, ready to attack if there was so much as a hint of movement.

The only two who remained calm through this whole conversation were Morwyn and Finley, but the two women were in their own battle, eyes locked on each other. Soon the tell-tale tingle of Finley’s magic rippled over my body, warning me she was going to do something, and we probably weren’t going to like it.

twenty-three

Why must everything result in fighting? Verbal sparring I could handle, but when it got to the point where all the men were ready to attack each other, I just couldn’t let it slide. There were many ways to deal with our problems that didn’t come down to physical attacks. In all the training I reserved, it was always the last option, and if it was your first, it meant being impulsive—and impulsiveness led to death.

My eyes were locked onto Morwyn, hoping she would bring this silly argument to an end, but she just sat there watching me.Wasn’t she an alpha, a leader of her pack? Why in the world would she want her true mate to pick a fight with my men and leaders of this pack?

If we started a fight with each other, then it would make fulfilling her task all that much harder. The Senate would be keeping a careful eye on us more than they already had if we developed problems with a senator. There was another angle to this I wasn’t seeing yet, but I was close. Worrying about this fight was pulling my attention away from what was important here.

With a flick of my wrist, I sent my magic out and froze everyone where they stood, silencing them so I could think. Did Morwyn honestly want us to destroy the Senate just to protect her child? Was there a way to tell if she was pregnant, or had I been played? What does she get out of this if I kill her mate and the Senate? Of course, it would leave a power vacuum, and someone or something would need to fill it. Was she hoping to be that person even though she said she wanted to walk away from it all? Could a woman who’s been in a place of power actually leave it all behind?

Closing my eyes, I pulled a bit of my power and tossed it toward Morwyn, letting it travel through her veins until it reached her uterus. At that point, I let the power spread taking stock of what I could find, but there was nothing unusual or something that would indicate she was with child.

Morwyn had lied to me.

She wasn’t pregnant.