Chapter 83: Admissions and Truths

REIGN

^The mirror of a man’s heart is in his actions…^

Jordan stood up straight, a dumbfounded look on his face. Maddox’s words hung in the air.

~“I’m Reign’s mate.”~

Jordan looked at me. “You have a mate? Since when?”

My mind was racing. Before I could answer, Maddox stepped in front of me.

“I don’t see how that is of any relevance to you,” he snapped.

Jordan swallowed thickly, his mind ticking over everything that had been said.

“But when? We—” His eyes darted from Maddox to me and back again.

“You may be her beta, or so you say. I have only seen Milly do it. But I don’t appreciate you coming in here and stressing my mate out. Let alone threatening her. It is time for you to leave.”

Maddox stepped menacingly toward Jordan, whose attention snapped to Maddox and off me finally.

He growled, “I’m not going anywhere until you stop lying to me. I was the beta for twenty years.”

Maddox stepped in front of me again, a rumbling growl building in his chest. I noticed he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

I tried to hide my blushing cheeks, but the sparkle in Milly’s eyes told me I hadn’t done a very good job of it.

“So found yourself a mate, eh?” she whispered, nudging my shoulder.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered darkly.

There was still the matter of my mate finding out I almost slept with my beta, who was twice my age, all before he showed up.

“Jordan, I think it’s time you leave.”

He glared at me darkly.

“While I have appreciated your services, and you have been a great asset to the pack house and the pack, I think your time as beta has come to an end.

“You were my father's beta, not mine. Perhaps you could use your newfound time to repair your marriage.”

He winced at my words. “So you’re firing me?” he snapped.

I nodded, staring him down silently, daring him to challenge me with two royal wolves ready to jump to my defense.

“Yes, Jordan, that is correct. I am firing you. You have served this pack well. You should be proud of what you have achieved in your time as beta. However, I feel a fresh beginning is for the best.”

I folded my arms across my chest, swallowing back the guilt building up inside me.

“Permission to leave the pack then, ~My Alpha~.”

“Why?” Milly pipped up.

Jordan stared at her. “There is a position opening up in the cousin pack on the coast. Perhaps Hayley and I can go there.”

~Yes!~

“Permission granted. Please know that you will always be welcome in this pack. You have not been made rogue.”

He chewed his tongue, nodding silently. He turned on his heel and left, pausing at the door, looking over his shoulder slightly. “Thank you, My Alpha. Congratulations on ~your mating~.”

My heart jumped up in my chest, threatening to make me throw up.

Maddox turned to face me. “I think we need to talk.” His voice was gentle, a vast difference from how he was speaking previously.

Milly looked between us both. “I’ll leave you guys to it.” She walked out the door. “Maybe I should fix these? Might give you guys some more privacy.”

With a wave of her hand, the doors flew up off the ground and slotted neatly back into their closed position.

“Sorry about those.” Maddox pointed to the doors.

I waved my hand, sinking into the nearest chair. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve enough witches and craftspeople around the place to fix anything. You’re not the first wolf to burst through those doors.”

He stared at me wide-eyed.

“My uncle, many years ago, did the very same thing while my father was alpha.” I looked out the window.

~How did I end up in this situation?~

“So I take it that guy is the one the scandal in the papers was about then?”

Maddox lowered himself into a chair across from me. I bit my lip, nodding silently, not trusting myself to speak just yet.

“We all do questionable things through grief. Some stuff can be forgotten; some leaves reminders. Not all of it is wrong. You were grieving a loss, and I’m sure at the time he provided comfort.”

Tears rolled down my cheek at his gentle words.

~Words I didn’t deserve. Is he being nice to reject me gently? After I was so horrible to him yesterday?~

“I’m guessing you’re still battling with the idea of being mated?”

I looked over at him, wiping my eyes. “Yes, I am, truth be told. I fought hard for this position. When the council finds out I’ve mated, they’ll assume you will take over the role.”

He nodded, looking around the room, tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair. “So how do you want it to go, then?”

I blinked at him, completely dumbfounded. “Excuse me? How do I want what to go?”

He looked back at me, his eyes a sunset shade of gold, his rippled chest rising and falling with each breath. His brown curls rested on top of his head, some falling softly into his eyes.

“How do you want to break it to the council that you will be remaining as alpha?”

I froze. ~Is he serious right now?~

“I, uh, I haven’t thought that far yet. Some of them have been quite backward about the whole thing.” I shuddered at the thought.

He nodded, glancing over his shoulder. “Well, I do have a pretty full-on party past, so I guess we could spin it that I’m not prepared to be an alpha.” He shrugged.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’ve a party past?”

He laughed. “Hey, we all have a past, okay? Whatever you want to do, whatever way you want to handle it, I’ll support you.”

“Thank you.” My words were quiet. I wasn’t sure if he heard them.

He shrugged again. “It’s nothing. You’re my mate.“

“You don’t think any less of me?” I played with my hands on my lap, suddenly nervous.

I never cared what people thought of me before. Not when I pushed Axel out of the way to become alpha. Not when I faced uproar because of being female.

Not when news of what Jordan and I had done broke out.

But suddenly, what my mate thought of me meant everything.

“No.”

My eyes snapped up to his.

“I think you were grieving and seeking comfort in the arms of another. I think the close relationship both of you had for your father meant you had a shared grief, and things happened.

“That doesn’t make you any less my mate, and it doesn’t make you any less of a good person.”

His words were genuine; that much was true. My phone buzzed on my desk. I stood to pick it up, clicking into the message from Axel.

~“Hey, Sis. Pops wants family dinner tonight. He’s gonna make sure Diego behaves himself. We haven’t seen you in forever, Reign. Please come. Mom’s worried about you.”~

I locked my phone, letting out a heavy sigh. My heart was racing.

I tapped my fingers on my phone, clutching it to my chest, lost in thought. Maddox sat in silence behind me, letting me have my moment, which I appreciated.

I spun around suddenly, taking him by surprise

“How would you like to come to family dinner?”