Chapter 21: 21: Good of the Pack

ALEX

I walk along the perimeter of the forest, catching lingering rogue scents. Dom is on the first day of his honeymoon, so my commands go straight to General Dave. My thoughts keep returning to the events of earlier today.

After calming Lola down, I finally convinced her to get some rest in her guest chambers.

I still can’t believe the negligence that Ariel has shown in guarding her. I knew she would hate this assignment, but someone could have been seriously hurt. Or worse.

~Is it simply that she’s jealous of Lola’s presence here?~

It all feels so unlike her.

When my mother suggested guard duty, I told her I didn’t think it was a good idea—especially given my…history with Ariel. But she insisted that Lola would be more comfortable with a female guard, and Ariel is one of our best.

I still feel nothing short of torn in my current predicament.

There’s Ariel, tough and unpredictable, who I’ve grown to trust implicitly. And I can’t deny that I’ve had other feelings for her, but this purposeful negligence in guarding a royal guest reveals another side of her. Almost vindictive.

~Maybe I don’t know her as well as I thought.~

Then there’s Lola, sweet and gentle, who reminds me so much of Olivia that it’s intoxicating. But I can’t tell if what I’m seeing is truly what’s in front of me or if it’s wishful thinking.

She clearly feels something for me, and my mother seems to love her, but it’s all going so quickly that I feel like I don’t have time to think.

And Olivia, my beautiful, graceful, destined mate…what would she think of all this?

~Liv…I wish you could just tell me what to do here…~

I shake my head at my thoughts. This shouldn’t be my priority. There are rogue scents everywhere I turn out here.

They’ve been gone for a while, but it’s their numbers that bother me. I need to call a meeting with all of my warriors.

***

I stand in front of my warriors, with my squad leaders occupying the front row of chairs in the meeting room. Ariel sits in the back, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed. I meet her eyes for a split second, but she glares and looks away.

Dave stands next to me as warrior general and pulls down the map of our territory.

“Good morning,” I say as a hush falls over the room. “I’ve called this meeting to discuss the lingering scents of rogues at our borders.”

“I’m upping the perimeter watch to two squads per shift over the next several days. This is going to mean more hours for everyone, but we need to keep an eye out given today’s incident. I’ll turn the rest of the time over to General Dave.”

Dave steps forward. “As many of you know, there was also a rogue incident today in town. Ariel was in the right place at the right time and neutralized the threat.”

Some whistles and claps make their rounds through the group, congratulating Ariel on a job well done. She doesn’t respond. Just looks at the floor, arms still crossed.

“Alright, alright.” Dave gets his warriors back under control. “Now Ariel did a great job, but she was there by chance, and there were civilians everywhere. It could have ended much differently.”

He pauses to let that sink in before continuing: “This rogue shouldn’t have made it all the way into town, but somehow he got past our border patrol.”

“This is why, in addition to two squads per perimeter shift, I’m also going to be placing a squad in the middle of town during business hours and enforcing a strict, packwide curfew for all non-warriors.”

Dave’s eyes move over the crowd.

“I don’t have to tell you all how strange this rogue behavior is. Most make an attack and move on, but this group is the same one we’ve been dealing with for months.”

“We counted about a dozen rogue scents at the first attack. Between all the subsequent attacks, we’ve neutralized at least half of them, but that leaves at least six of these bastards still snooping around.”

He takes a breath, then issues his order: “Stay on high alert and watch out for each other. Warriors, see your squad leaders for new patrol assignments. Dismissed.”

After all of the warriors have their new assignments, I wait for Ariel in the hallway. She’s the last out from Steve’s squad.

“Ariel.” I catch her as she walks by. “Stay for a minute, will you?”

She lets out a sigh and stands in front of me like an impetuous child.

“What’s up?” she huffs.

“I’d like to talk to you. About what happened this morning.”

“I stopped a rogue from hurting anyone in town while I was on guard duty,” she says smugly. “There’s nothing else to talk about.”

“Ariel,” I begin, “I know you didn’t want to guard Lola”—she rolls her eyes when I say the name—“but it doesn’t sound like you were doing the best job of keeping watch over her. How did a rogue manage to get so close?”

“Alex, I told you!” Her voice is already raised. “She wouldn’t listen to me!”

“Why wouldn’t someone listen when they’re being warned about being in danger? Ariel, it doesn’t make sense.”

“So then, it doesn’t make sense!” she spits. “I told you I tried to get her to safety the second I scented the rogue. I don’t know what else you want from me.”

“Ariel, Lola told me what happened. She has no reason to lie. Were you just distracted or…”

“Or what?” she glares at me. “I’m a warrior! I was assigned to guard a guest and I did my job! I would never purposefully put someone in danger!”

I shake my head. “Okay, fine.”

Disappointed, I’m about to turn away when I hear Ariel’s voice again.

“Alex,” she says. “There’s something going on with her!”

I meet her sunflower eyes once more. “What are you talking about?”

“Lola is using you, Alex. I don’t know why, but she’s playing you.”

“Where is this coming from?” I’m genuinely confused.

“She’s a liar!”

“Ariel, Lola is a royal guest! Watch your tone,” I warn.

“Open your eyes, for Goddess’ sake!” Ariel is fully yelling at this point. “She’s nothing more than a bitch in sheep’s clothing!”

“Ariel, I don’t want to have to remind you of your station, but you need to watch how you speak!” I snap. “You’re letting jealousy get the better of you.”

She scoffs. “That is ~not~ what is going on here!”

“Look, I know we… At least I thought we might…” I can’t say the words. “You’re being petty.”

“And you’re just stuck on a pretty blonde because you can’t get over your dead mate!”

I suddenly feel like the wind has been knocked out of me.

A wave of realization washes over Ariel’s face and she speaks again, softly: “Alex…”

I don’t want to hear anymore.

“You’re dismissed, warrior,” I say coldly. “You’d better get going. You’ve got the afternoon shift on perimeter duty.”

“Alex,” she tries again, but I’m done.

“~Dismissed~.”

“Yes, Alpha,” she says just as coldly before walking away.

***

I sit alone on the couch in my room. I’m on my fifth beer and still feel no better than I did when I started. I have no idea what to think about what’s going on. With Ariel…with Lola…

I pick up the photo of Olivia on the side table. Her purple eyes and gentle smile pierce my heart. She was the epitome of grace and patience. The perfect luna. The perfect mate.

I thanked the Goddess when we discovered we were mates. It was as if fate fell perfectly into place. I looked forward to a life filled with her kindness and light.

A tear falls from my eye onto the image of her. I wish I had someone here to talk things out with.

~Of all the times for my beta to be on his honeymoon…~

I hear a knock on my door.

“Alex?” my mother says as she cracks the door open. “Can I come in?”

“Of course,” I say, smiling.

“How is my alpha doing?” she says as she sits down beside me.

“I’ve been better.”

She sees me holding Olivia’s photo.

“You’re under a lot of stress, son,” she says, taking my hand. “It’s difficult to get through times like this without a luna by your side.”

“I ~had~ a luna, Mom.”

“I know, sweetie, but she’s gone,” she says gently. “And she wouldn’t want you to stay stuck in the past. You know that, right?”

~I do… I just don’t know if I’m ready…~

“You were fortunate enough to find your destined mate, Alex,” my mother adds. “Some never know that joy.”

She’s speaking from experience. She and my father never found their destined mates. By the time it fell to him to become alpha, he had to make a choice: rule with a luna by his side, or have a weakened pack. He and my mother decided together to put the pack first.

“It’s eating away at you, Alex,” she says. “You need a luna to rule with you so you can focus your efforts on the good of our people.”

I nod my head. I know my mother’s right. She’s always been practical.

“Lola would be a perfect match, you know?” she adds. “She knows the standards of royal life, and she’s completely enamored with you.”

“Mom…,” I begin.

“I’m only thinking of what’s best for the pack, Alex. You can’t be involved in all of the public relations ~and~ deal with the security issues.”

She squeezes my hand. “You’ve been balancing both for far too long. With a luna to deal with the public, you’ll be able to dedicate yourself fully to leading and protecting this pack.”

My mother pulls out a black velvet box and opens it to reveal a shimmering, iridescent moonstone necklace.

I recognize it immediately.

It’s a Royal Pack family heirloom, forged by the first alpha for his queen and then passed down to each generation’s luna ever since.

It’s the necklace I gave Olivia when we decided to get mated…

“It’s been stored away for too long,” she says, pulling it out of the box and placing it in my hands. “And I’d like you to give it to Lola. As an engagement gift.”

Looking down, I inspect the beautiful gem in my hands. The light reflecting off of it makes it glow with every color of the spectrum.

All I can think of when I see it is how perfect it looked around Olivia’s neck.

“It’s for the good of the pack,” my mother says finally.

I feel my heart drop.

Even if I make Lola my mate…

~Could I bear to see this necklace on another woman?~