TrIstan
"You do realise that you're in serious trouble, right?" Bridget spoke as she walked behind me.
"Is the luna secure?" I asked, ignoring her statement.
"Tristan, forget Crystal for a second and let's talk about you. You ordered Captain Park not to interrogate her. What do you think the rest of the council is going to think when they hear about that? She's one of the most respected individuals of the pack, your mother chose her herself, she mentored you and has always treated you like a son. And now it looks like you're choosing Crystal over her."
I stopped and spun around. "That's because I am." I told Bridget.
She rolled her eyes. "Right. You're choosing the Van Cliffe wolf, who is also the girlfriend of our packs current number one most wanted over the woman who was there when you were born."
"Watch it, Bridge." I growled.
She took a step forward, not at all intimidated. "You chose me to be your beta because I give it to you straight. Because I've been your best friend since diapers." She used a finger to poke my chest. "Because I have your back, always. Because I'm your ride or die. And, T, I'm telling you, you can't keep choosing her over everyone."
I shut my eyes and squeezed them tight before opening them again. "I can't control it, okay?" I admitted.
Bridget frowned.
We were in the hallways of HQ, just leaving my office. The hallway was empty. Everyone was probably preparing for the meeting downstairs in the conference room.
"This isn't love, you know that, right?" She asked in a quieter voice.
I clenched my fist. "What is it then? What do you call it when God gives you a person you can call your own? A person who consumes you and your every thought? I know a smart alpha wouldn't make the calls I'm making right now. But every bone in my body tells me to trust her, to protect her."
"That's not the mating bond, T." She spoke softly. "That's you. You always trying to save people. Crystal is your mate but she's toxic for you. You need to drop her before she destroys you."
Crystal didn't want me. I knew that. After all this was done, she would reject me.
But I kept telling myself that it was okay. If I could protect her from Roman and his propaganda. It would all be worth it.
"Crystal isn't going to destroy me." I told Bridget.
"What happens after she rejects you, T? Huh? You can play house with her all you want but this won't end well. And I don't want to see that happen to you."
Bridget tried too hard not to show her emotions. But I had known her too long.
She was concerned.
I was trying my best to not bring emotions into this arrangement. But all I had to do was look at her and my defences would come crumbling down.
"Bridge. I need you with me on this. I need you to be my friend, my second in command. I've made this decision and I need you to be my beta and support me."
Bridget rolled her eyes.
"Of course I'm with you, T." She punched me playfully but 'playful' for Bridget still hurt. "I'll help you protect your little damsel. I just know it won't end well."
I sighed. "I know that too."
I could try to deny it all I wanted but this would end the way it had begun. With me in pain.
But there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to push those feelings back and do my job. My job was to protect everyone in my pack, that included Crystal.
"Is she worth it?" Bridget suddenly asked.
I grinned. "Yeah. She is."
I thought I saw her face drop but she quickly covered it up.
Bridget's feelings for me didn't go unnoticed. We were usually in each other's heads and we knew each other, probably better than anyone else.
Shes been around since I was in diapers. She was there the first time I went through the changing, she was my first kiss and she was the girl I lost my virginity to, she was there when my parents died, when I took my place as alpha...
She has always been there, by my side. And even though the lines of our friendship sometimes got blurred, I knew I could always count on her.
The only other people who had been by my side as much as her were Raphael and Peter. Peter is my childhood friend and I trained for the army and went to war with Raphael. An experience like that is always sure to create an unbreakable bond.
And even though his attitude towards Crystal is rotten, I know he's a good guy.
It's just that he has had a bad experience with halflings in the past. A lot of members of my pack have. That's why it's so hard for them to accept outsiders.
"Have you talked to your little damsel about the mating ceremony?" Bridget asked. "First full moon is in two weeks."
That's a topic I had very pointedly been avoiding actually.
"Crystal's a minor." I told Bridget, like I had done many times.
Bridget rose a brow at me. "She's also turning eighteen next month. Your grandmother and the other elders are pretty strict about tradition."
That was true. But the mating ceremony definitely wouldn't happen. I would never disrespect Crystal like that.
"Then we just have to find Roman before that." I told Bridget.
She smirked. "Right. So that you can kill him." She spoke casually. "What was that about you wanting to protect her again?" She asked sarcastically.
"Hey, T!" I heard Peter call my name as he walked towards us.
"The meeting is set. The council members are downstairs, all they need is you." He told me.
"Thanks, man." I told him. "Take the rest of the day off and go check on May."
He nodded. "Thanks." I could see the relief on his face.
Peter was a loyal apprentice and even though he was one of my most loyal friends, he never took advantage of that.
He did his job and never slacked off or asked for special favours.
Not even to be by his mate's side at the hospital.
"Oh, by the way," Peter spoke, "Just a heads up, Captain Park is pissed."
I turned to Bridget who simply had an 'I told you so' look on her face.
I sighed.
"Let's just go."
I led the way back to the first floor.
The board room was in the back.
The minute Bridget and I walked in, everyone rose.
I gestured for them to all sit down.
Taking the title of alpha had been one of the hardest things I had ever done.
I didn't even know if I had wanted to take the very title that had gotten my mother killed. So I stalled and went to college first so that I wouldn't have to do it full time. But I knew that my pack needed me and that it was my responsibility.
The hardest part, by far, though was being in charge of people way older than me. People who had been my parents friends.
People I should have been respecting.
"Thank you for being here." I told them all as I stood in front of the curved table.
"Another attack, Tristan?" Rodger, the head of social welfare asked in annoyance and disapproval.
"You know all this does is make us look weak. Once other packs hear that the Slvercrest borders are not secure enough to keep rogues out, we'll get more frequent attacks and then what will happen?" Kenny, the head of the foreign affairs divsion spoke up.
Suddenly there was a breakout of different voices as everyone tried to speak up at the same time.
"Order!" Bridget yelled. "The alpha only has two ears, so one at a time."
"Alpha, your mother would have had this handled by now and yet, here we are asking you for answers and you don't know anything. Is this the kid, Roman?" Mary, the head of food and nutrition asked. "Is he responsible for these attacks?"
"I don't think so but I believe he's definitely part of them." I told her.
"Why don't we have answers alpha? It's been months and we still don't have leads." She continued.
Her words frustrated me. I knew that we didn't have leads and of course it drove me crazy that I still didn't know who Roman had been stealing information from.
"We successfully managed to capture the rogues who attacked us today." I told her. "I have complete confidence that - with Captain Park's help - we'll finally be able to get answers."
"You have them? Here? In Woodfell? " Rodger asked, his eyes widening.
Rodger's bark had always been worse than his bite. He talked and sounded tough but there's a reason my mother put him in charge of social welfare and not under security and defence. His words were moving but when it came to action, he was a coward.
"Yes." I replied.
"Where are you holding them?" He pressed.
"That's above your clearance level." Bridget spoke up.
I gave her a grateful look.
The last thing we needed was Rodger spreading the word that we had rogues right in the secret prison under HQ.
He gave Bridget a nasty look.
As if she cared. I might have had a problem bossing around these adults but Bridget definitely didn't. From the get go, she had taken up the beta job with no trouble.
"The only people who know where they are being kept are Captain Park and Councillor Majory." I nodded at the other older woman who was my head of the Justice wing.
"Do we get any information?" Rodger asked in annoyance. "How are we supposed to reassure the pack if we're blind in this?"
"This is a sensitive investigation. Giving too much to the pack could cause panic." I explained.
"Like the fact that we're now dealing with Van Cliffe wolves." Captain Park spoke.
My head shot towards her and where she sat casually.
I narrowed my eyes.
Now she had done it.
"Van Cliffe wolves?" Mary yelled. "Alpha, tell me you're kidding."
"The Van Cliffe's are back?"
"Is that who the traitor was spying for?"
"Does this mean another war?"
"Isn't the new luna a Van Cliffe?"
The last question caused the room to quiet down as they spoke in quieter voices among themselves.
Each of them looking at me with accusatory glances.
I felt my anger towards Captain Park growing. This is exactly what I had been avoiding.
She had just opened a can I hadn't wanted open.
"The luna grew up among humans. Her werewolf heritage might come from the Van Cliffe's but she's as much a Van Cliffe as you and me." Bridget spoke. She might not have wanted to support Crystal but she knew the importance of the alpha and beta sharing a united front.
When Crystal moved here, I hadn't even been around. I had been consulted about her case but other than that, I didn't know her.
I knew her uncle. His migration to the Silvercrest pack had been a scandalous one. He was packless when he met his mate and moved to Woodfell but that didn't change the fact that his heritage was still Van Cliffe.
A lot of people had been against his moving here. But my mother still let him in. It was either that or have him and his wife be packless and no upstanding alpha with a conscience would ever do that to one of their own.
But Victor fit in, he was a good hardworking member who didn't cause trouble and of course everyone accepted him. Especially because of how beloved Sarah was.
I didn't see the problem in letting his niece in. The file said that her parents couldn't take care of her in a human world now that she was going through the changing so I didn't really think before I signed off on letting her in.
Captain Park had done a thorough background check on her and she was by every definition, harmless.
That is until the trial. She might have been declared innocent but much damage had already been done to her character. Especially her being exposed as a Van Cliffe.
It wasn't even supposed to matter. Everyone knew she had grown up among humans. And she is the niece of two upstanding pack members.
But because of her association with Roman, people hear the word 'Van Cliffe' and they say; 'no wonder'
'That explains it.'
'She can't be trusted.'
That's why Captain Park reminding everyone of her heritage is a huge problem.
"And how can we believe that for sure? After all the alpha hid the fact that that she was his mate for almost four years." Rodger yelled.
"My private life is my private life. I don't have to share it with you." I snapped.
Rodger scoffed. "Incase you forgot, kid, you're the alpha. Your private life affects the whole pack. Especially who you choose to be your luna."
I clenched my jaw.
"Call me a kid again -"
Rodger shot up.
"If you don't want to be called a kid then act like a freaking adult! Act like the alpha of the freaking largest pack in the hemisphere!"
I took a step forward just as Captain Park also stood up.
"Councillors, clear the room." She announced.
Everyone immediately got up and started leaving. Rodger stayed in his position, glaring at me.
"Do you want to challenge your alpha, Councillor?" Captain Park asked him in a threatening tone.
Rodger didn't take his eyes off me. "Maybe not today." He spoke before turning to leave with everyone else.
It was now just me, Bridget and Captain Park.
The room felt silent and all I heard were Captain Park's footsteps as she marched towards me.
"I sure hope you're proud of yourself." She spoke.
"Why would you do that?" I growled.
"Do what? Tell the truth?"
"Distribute sensitive and private information!" I I yelled.
"I told everyone in this room what they needed to know. I told them the truth, something you should have done yourself."
"The truth puts everyone in danger!"
"No, it puts her in danger and you know it." She moved closer so that she was right in my face now. "Face it, Tristan, this girl is clouding your judgement. I personally mentored you to take the alpha's spot so I know that wasn't you thinking with your head screwed on straight. I know the council says things that might make you mad but how you respond tells what kind of man you are." She spoke so quickly, I couldn't say anything if I tried.
"And the way you responded today just showed your immaturity. What were you going to do? Fight Councillor Rodger? Make him submit? He might be old and fat but what if he had won? What if he had stolen the alpha title from underneath you because you were too emotional to control yourself? Or worse yet, what if he goes out there and tells your pack about how childish and immature you are? What if they all line up trying to challenge you?"
She let out a sigh. "Tristan, I'm on your side. But you have to stop giving them a reason to believe you don't deserve your title. The cards are already stacked against you with your age. Now your luna and you want to add recklessness to that list?"
She placed a hand on my chest which I hadn't realised had started heaving.
"Breathe."
I took in air through my nostrils and let it out, trying to let out the extra rage.
"I'm on your side, remember that." Captain Park spoke again.
I knew that.
She's one of the only councillors who believed I could take over being alpha after my parents died and not just because she had been good friends with my mother. She took me under her wing and advised me every step of the way.
I trusted Captain Park as one of my inner circle men.
But her turning everyone against Crystal was not cool.
"You just made things so much harder for Crystal." I told her once I felt myself begin to breathe normally again.
"Crystal is a problem. I'm just surprised that you of all people don't see that." She told me.
Her eyes darted to Bridget who was leaning against the wall in the corner with her arms across her chest.
She raised them. "Hey, don't look at me, I already told him that."
Gee, talk about my supportive beta.
I guess now that the audience was gone, she didn't have to pretend.
"Crystal is innocent." I spoke.
"That's what you want to believe but Van Cliffe wolves are following her for a reason, Tristan."
And it frustrated me that I didn't know what that reason was. Why did trouble keep following this girl?
"Listen, Tristan, I'm not judging. The mating bond is clouding your judgement. So let me - your head of security and defence - do my job without you holding me back."
I looked at Bridget. She just shrugged.
I knew why she didn't want to say anything. She of course agreed with Captain Park but she knew I wanted her on my side.
I felt like I was backed into a corner.
On one hand, my pack's safety expected me to take the proper precautions. And on the other, my gut knew Crystal was innocent. She didn't ask for any of it.
"You have complete control over the investigation, Captain Park." I finally spoke. "But I handle Crystal.'
There was no way I was letting Crystal go through a witch hunt trial again.
Captain Park didn't look happy. "Suit yourself, alpha but I'm telling you, you won't be able to protect her forever. Now if you'Ll excuse me I'm starting by questioning the only other Van Cliffe wolf we know. The uncle. You didn't say the family was off limits." With that, captain Park walked off.
As soon as she was gone, Bridget approached me. "You know she's right." She said.
I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration.
"Just get me the updates from the tail we assigned to Crystal."
I ordered.
"Yes boss." Bridget replied with a roll of her eyes.
I watched her walk off.
As I said. I would do anything and everything to protect Crystal this time around.