Chapter 8: 8: Supper Secrets

MELANIE

I’m puzzled by the sudden change in our usual dinner seating arrangement. I look around, but it seems like I’m the only one who’s bothered by it.

I exchange a confused glance with my brother Max before we take our seats, but he just shrugs in response.

Jaydon is seated next to Macy, and they’re whispering to each other. Macy giggles and the table falls silent for a moment.

All eyes are on her. The silence is broken by Beta Jackson clearing his throat.

Macy’s face turns bright red as she stares down at her plate. Selene bursts out laughing and asks Macy to pass the butter.

Just like that, the strange tension dissipates and dinner continues as if nothing happened. We always eat family style, passing the serving dishes around.

My father has always been the type who doesn’t want his house staff to work any harder than necessary. He believes that having them serve us during casual dinners makes us lazy and indulgent.

As the dishes are passed around, Beck hands me the bowl of mashed potatoes, warning me that it’s hot. I look up at him as I take the bowl and our eyes meet.

He’s grinning at me. I return his smile nervously and thank him.

I can’t help but think that this entire night is suddenly really strange. I clear my throat, deciding to start a conversation.

“Max, do you know when you have to leave?” I ask. Max looks at Dad, who nods back at him, giving him permission to answer.

That’s odd. Now I’m curious why this was a secret.

“I have a tentative date right now. But it should be confirmed by the end of the week,” Max says.

“Why the end of the week?” Beck asks, seeming just as surprised by the answer.

“It seems that there are some delays for the next alpha training, due to some issues with a few other packs and their future alphas,” my father replies.

I look up at my father who is seated at the head of the table, my mother to his right. She takes his hand that’s resting on the table and gives it a squeeze.

It looks like she’s trying to soothe him. My father is usually unflappable, but I notice a twitch in his jaw that only appears when he’s angry about something.

I’m not sure if we should continue this conversation but now I’m curious and it seems everyone else is too, as all eyes are on our alpha.

His eyes are glazed over, which means he’s having a mind-link conversation with someone. I scan the table, trying to figure out who he’s communicating with.

My eyes land on Beta Jackson. He’s usually the life of the party, always laughing and teasing my father.

But right now, his jaw is tense as he and the alpha have a private conversation. The silence is deafening, and I regret asking the question.

I look at my mother and mouth “I’m sorry”. She just gives me a half smile and mouths back, “Not your fault.”

Beck, who’s so much like his father, tries to lighten the mood by asking his little sister Macy, “What was so funny over there little sister?”

He winks at her and she blushes again. “None of your business,” she replies softly as she looks back to her plate and takes a bite of her pot roast.

My brother Jaydon leans over and whispers something in her ear. She turns and glares at him.

Jaydon smiles and turns to Selene. “So did you give Carter an answer yet?”

Jaydon is seriously asking for trouble, because Selene does not tolerate his teasing. Ever.

To my surprise, she just grins wickedly at him and says nothing more. I chuckle quietly because I now know, my little sister has a plan for Jaydon.

His smile fades as he recognizes that look immediately. He’s about to retort when Dad starts to speak again.

“I think it’s fair to tell you all, as you’re going to hear sooner rather than later, I’m sure. You’re all aware of the Half Moon Pack?” he asked.

We all nodded. That was Mom’s pack in Colorado.

“There are some problems there. Seems Derek got into a confrontation with the alpha heir from another pack in Colorado, the Denver Pack.

It’s a large pack, not as big as ours but they have several thousand adult wolves and I’m not sure how many pups.” He sighs before continuing.

“Anyway, they got into a fight in Denver. Derek was obviously in their territory, though it was in town, so considered a neutral area.

Didn’t matter though, because Derek had done enough to piss off the Denver alpha, to end up with the council knocking on Alpha Damien’s door.”

I watched my mother’s face, having recently learned about her past with Alpha Damien. She had a look of disgust on her face.

“I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Mom whispered, but loud enough for us to hear her.

Dad glanced over at her, giving her a half smile. I am again thankful that he ended up being our mother’s mate.

He was always so caring with her. They always supported each other, and it was a love I hoped I could have one day.

“Anyway, let’s just say that Derek was caught with the alpha’s daughter, from the Denver pack. Her brother didn’t take too kindly to it and jumped Derek with a couple other guys.

The council was called in to settle the matter, so now we are behind schedule, but we don’t know how far along it will be. Could be a week, could be longer.

The council has put the word out that they will give us an answer once they decide what to do about the two young alphas.” Dad picks his fork up and goes back to eating.

“Either way, it gives me more time here with my family. It also means though, that I could potentially be gone for a lot longer too,” Max says.

“I don’t really want to be gone any longer than I need to be, my place is here with my pack.”

MAX

I am not surprised that my father is so upset about the entire situation with Derek. What he didn’t say out loud, and for good reason, was what exactly Derek had done.

As our mother said, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Derek was no exception.

He’d been out at a club, one that is actually owned by the Half Moon Pack and that Mom had said was a large money maker for the pack.

He had met the Denver alpha’s daughter there. She had snuck in with a fake I.D.

This wasn’t unusual in our community to have fake I.D.’s, and that in and of itself wasn’t the issue. The issue was that Derek had taken the little princess into the manager’s office.

The manager had walked in to find the little princess on her knees, giving Derek a blow job, his hand fisted in her hair.

The manager happened to be married to the luna’s sister. The sight of his niece, a mere seventeen-year-old, on her knees with some guy, sends him spiraling into a rage.

The young girl, who he fondly calls Princess, had been at the club with her older brother and their friends. Derek is ambushed the moment he steps outside the club.

I’m not exactly thrilled about the prospect of training with him now. I wasn’t particularly excited before, but this incident just cements my reluctance.

Melanie has never been a fan of Derek, always calling him a creep. He has a habit of shadowing her whenever we visit our grandparents and Uncle Elijah in Colorado.

Uncle Elijah also happens to be the current beta of our pack. Melanie leans forward to catch my eye around Beck, her eyebrow arched in her signature questioning manner.

Damn. This means she’ll be grilling me later for more details. I’ve tried to convince her that Derek isn’t a bad guy, but she’s never bought it.

I can’t say that getting a blow job makes him a bad guy. But she’s seventeen, he’s twenty-one, and he knew exactly who she was from the start.

I wince, already dreading the upcoming conversation. Beck chooses this moment to address his father, saving me from having to respond to Melanie’s probing gaze.

“Can we discuss the final courses I need to take for the upcoming year? Since we are talking about the future of the pack and all?”

Beta Jackson leans back in his chair, clearly mulling over this. Typically, the beta handles a lot of the financials, like auditing books and looking for signs of fraud or embezzlement.

Our mom took over that role as luna since she studied forensic accounting and business in college. The responsibility would need to shift back to the beta once Beck was ready.

“I think we need to review what you’ve completed so far. The luna would have a better idea of what you still need to finish. You know I’m not a numbers guy.”

Beta Jackson flashes his trademark half-smirk. He’s always been better with people than numbers, so he manages the daily operations and liaises with the humans who run our businesses in the city.

He has this unique ability to intimidate them yet make them feel comfortable enough that they find it hard to lie to him.

“Beck, I’d be happy to sit down with you,” my mother offers, her smile warm and welcoming.

Beck nods in acknowledgment. “Thank you, Luna. How about tomorrow?”

“That works for me. Now, if you’ll excuse us, the alpha and I have some matters to attend to.”

That’s my mom’s subtle way of getting my dad to leave a room without making things awkward. I watch as his jaw, previously clenched tight, relaxes slightly.

He’s always been irritable around other alphas, which gives us a bad reputation. And by us, I mean all alphas.

It’s a lesson he’s drilled into me over the years, and one I’ve taken to heart. It’s also why I’ve avoided dating, especially that wild she-wolf Patrice.

Don’t get me wrong, many men would kill to be with her. She’s incredibly fit, with a body that could stop traffic.

But she’s also notoriously promiscuous, which isn’t my cup of tea. “Are we still on for sparring tomorrow?” I ask Beck, turning to face him.

We had planned to spar tomorrow morning since we hadn’t had much time to train recently. He’d been busy wrapping up his studies for the quarter and had just finished his finals.

“Yeah, man, no problem. Meeting with Luna won’t interfere with that. We’re still meeting at five a.m., right?” he asks.

Suddenly, Melanie bursts into laughter. “What’s so funny?” I ask, puzzled.

“Just thinking about how obsessed you guys are with working out and training. It’s Saturday, for crying out loud. Don’t you ever take a break?” she teases.

Before I can respond, Beck jumps in. He runs his hand down his torso and says, “How else do you think I maintain this physique?”

His comment sends a wave of laughter around the table. Melanie playfully smacks his arm.

“Stop it.” Beck waggles his eyebrows at my sister, and I can’t help but roll my eyes.

Am I really okay with this guy asking my sister out? I take a deep breath, pat Beck on the shoulder, and give him a pointed look as I stand up.

“See you at the crack of dawn, Beck. You better be prepared for what’s coming your way tomorrow,” I warn him, my words laced with hidden meaning.

He just flashes me his usual laid-back smile and shrugs. Goddess help me, I’m leaving my sister alone for two years to fend off Beck and any other potential suitors.

I shake my head as I exit the dining hall, already planning how I’m going to take Beck down a peg tomorrow.