Page 34 of Crossed Fates

My mood soured. “In the fucking shoulder.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Well, this pack can use a strong female. What kind of wolf is she, anyway?”

“Not one I recognize,” I muttered. “And she won’t tell me.”

“Interesting,” he replied. “I’d say Lycan, but she’s too pretty. And she’s not feral enough to be Totemic.”

“Lycans can be pretty.” Not that I’d really met any. I shook my head. “Yeah, I don’t know what she is. As I said, we met this morning.”

He nodded. “Well, whatever she is, something tells me a few enforcers are going to have their hearts broken by her.”

I rolled my eyes. “No one will have any hearts broken because she’s not theirs.”

“So she’s yours?” he countered, the taunt clear in his tone.

My jaw ticked. “I’m not having this conversation.”

“We’re absolutely having this conversation,” he countered, some of his mirth dying behind a mask of seriousness.

And here comes the alpha,I thought, downing the rest of my drink for some much-needed liquid courage. I might be an alpha, too, but if anyone around here could put me on my ass, it was my dad.

“I shouldn’t have implied that she wasn’t welcome at Tyler’s home,” my father said suddenly, shocking the hell out of me. “I was hurting. Hell, Iamhurting. And my anger over the situation was misdirected. I’ll make an apology to her directly as well. She’s obviously welcome here. Just like you.”

“Am I?” I asked, meaning it.

“Of course you are, Alaric. This is your pack.”

“But is it?” I pressed. He started to open his mouth, but I lifted my hand. “No, please, hear me out, Dad. I haven’t lived here in over a decade. I left to allow Tyler to lead. I barely know these people now. Yeah, I grew up with a lot of them, but I’m not the boy I was at eighteen.”

“No, you’re a man at thirty,” he countered. “A man who belongs here with his pack.”

“Do you think the others agree with that?” I wasn’t blind. I’d felt their wariness, had seen some of their uncertain looks, had experienced the awkwardness of those hugs outside. “Whenever I’ve come back, I’ve been forced to run alone. I’m too alpha for the enforcers. Too lone wolf for the pack in general. How am I supposed to lead?”

“Oh, Alaric. You were born to lead this pack.”

“Yeah?” I arched a brow. “Then why was I born second?”

“Because you needed the extra push to succeed,” he replied without missing a beat. “Fate intended for you to challenge your brother, but you walked away instead. And now…” He trailed off, his gaze going to the fire. “And now she’s forcing your hand.”

“Are you saying Tylerdiedbecause I didn’t take up the mantle of alpha?” I demanded, furious by the insinuation in his statement. “Because I decided to let my brother lead rather thandestroyhim?”

“You wouldn’t have destroyed him,” my father muttered, ignoring my other comment entirely.

Because he believed fate had done this to right a wrong.Mywrong.

My fingers curled into fists, shooting a spasm up my arm to my shoulder. But fuck if I could feel it. Not over the rage boiling inside me. “I left for the betterment of the pack,” I said through my teeth.

“You left because you didn’t want to take down your idol,” he corrected, flashing me a look that was all wolf. “Tyler was a worthy alpha. But that doesn’t detract from the fact that you are stronger, faster, and more appropriate for Silver Lake.”

More appropriate, I repeated to myself, growling through the words. There was nothing appropriate about being pit against one’s flesh and blood for a position we’d both been trained for.

“Why haven’t you found another pack?” my father asked suddenly, his eyebrow arching. “You’re an alpha, son. It’s your natural inclination to find other wolves to mentor. Yet you haven’t been drawn to any of the surrounding packs. Why?”

“Because I was too busy making a life for myself with E.V.I.E.”

He laughed without humor. “Bullshit. You didn’t find another pack because none of them called to you like Silver Lake.”

My jaw hurt from clenching my teeth so hard. Rather than reply, I just glared at the fire.