Chapter 4 Duty
Duty
Felix
It could have gone worse. That was the one truth I fixated on as I stared out the window of my study at the tranquil forest that dominated the Redrow estate. I would have much preferred to be alone at the moment, but the lot of an Alpha was rarely so simple.
And one could only stare out the window for so long when another wolf was pacing behind you.
“What is it, Wyatt?”
At the mention of his name, my Beta stopped in his tracks and approached my desk.
“That was an unwise decision, Felix.”
I exhaled slowly, meeting his gaze head-on. “What should I have done then? Stood there and did nothing?”
“At the very least, you should have consulted with the elders before committing yourself to this foolishness.”
Foolishness. Indeed, it was. I wasn’t sure what had driven me to act so quickly.
Logic said it was about control, about preventing the embarrassment from turning into something bigger.
Hunter abandoning his bride at the altar wasn’t just a scandal.
It was an open wound that could bleed into another pack war.
That was why I did it. To keep order. To protect the pack.
The alliance still stood. Monte SanGraal was now a Redrow.
The last line of thought stirred my wolf, an odd feeling rolling through me that I couldn’t quite place and refused to examine too closely.
“What’s done is done, Wyatt. How goes the search for Hunter?” I asked.
“No news,” Wyatt growled. He was a taciturn creature at the best of times, but now he was in danger of letting his frustration take over. In that aspect alone, he had my sympathy. “Tell me, was it really necessary for you to marry the SanGraal Omega? We could have waited for—”
“No, we could not have waited,” I snapped.
“I know my brother better than anyone. I think you are under the mistaken assumption that he will turn up soon, then everything can be put back in its proper place. Unfortunately, I know better. I know that my brother will be gone for a long, long while, enough to ruin the peace we’ve fought and toiled so hard for.
Goddess knows, he might be gone for exactly that long, then stroll back in right after everything falls to pieces. ”
Wyatt grumbled under his breath, but held his peace otherwise. Focusing on his churlishness at least allowed me to stop thinking about the colossal mess that had just fallen into my lap.
I stalked to the liquor cabinet, poured a stiff glass of whiskey. “Tell the search party to keep looking. When they find him, I’ll be the one to drag him back here myself.”
I downed the drink in one swallow. The burn did nothing to lift the weight on my chest. I still couldn’t believe Hunter would risk this, especially knowing the tension within the pack and how eager some were for any whiff of an excuse to challenge my leadership.
The elders had been whispering since the ceremony. Most pretended to believe this had been part of a contingency plan, but no one was fooled. They saw the farce for what it was.
And I’d heard their quiet judgment myself. If their Alpha couldn’t even control his own brother, then how could he possibly lead his pack?
I clenched my fists, not realizing how hard I was trying to control my fury until my claws bit into my palms. Wyatt silently watched as he usually did, unflinching and loyal to a fault.
He’d been at my side through every hard decision, every bloody fight, never once questioning where his loyalty lay.
In truth, he was a better second than my own brother had ever been.
Hunter was supposed to be my Beta, my right hand. Instead, he’d vanished, abandoning both his duty and me when I needed him most.
“It’s been a long day,” I stated, pouring myself another glass. “You can retire for the night.”
But Wyatt didn’t leave. He stood his ground, his jaw stubbornly set and a fierce frown on his face.
“What about finding your Luna?”
My eye twitched. I hadn’t thought that my mood could get any fouler, but this particular reminder had managed to do the trick.
“Now that you’re entangled in this mess, you can’t dedicate yourself to searching for your mate,” Wyatt continued stubbornly.
“If you’re right, and Hunter is going to take an age to return, then we will have to wait even longer until then to find your Luna, until after you are free of the SanGraal Omega. ”
Mercifully, he didn’t continue that line of thought to its logical conclusion.
If the pack waited that long, it would be too late.
We were already restless with internal fractures, and with Hunter’s disappearance, I could sense the quiet fear that I might also up and abandon them.
A Luna would silence that doubt and reassure them of my loyalty.
We would be whole again. As it always should have been.
My mind drifted, unbidden, to the peculiar Omega who had stood beside me at the wedding ceremony.
Monte SanGraal, he sure was full of surprises.
In the face of what must’ve been the biggest humiliation of his life, he hadn’t fallen apart.
Begrudging as it was, I found myself with a measure of respect for his resilience in the face of having his lifelong calling being turned into a colossal joke.
Whatever had passed between us before didn’t matter. Duty was duty. I hoped he understood that.
Now we both had to live with it.
I threw my head back and downed the second glass, the whiskey burning its way down as I watched Wyatt over the rim.
“What if another wolf challenges you for the pack before then?”
I barked a laugh, my mood immediately improving. What I wouldn’t give for someone to challenge me right here and now. I could take out so very much stifled fury and resentment on them.
I forced my shoulders to relax. Such thoughts weren’t productive for a wolf who was supposed to be a respectable pack leader. Gone were the days of carving our way through wild territory and scrapping at every opportunity.
“All will be well,” I said gruffly. “I know what I’m doing, and I’m sure Hunter will return—or we’d find him—before the Luna situation reaches a crisis point. And once he’s back, I’ll hand his mate back to him. All will proceed according to plan then.”
Wyatt didn’t look convinced. Then again, he wasn’t leaving the room. He looked like he was about to speak, then thought better of it and shut his mouth.
I closed my eyes, feeling the dull throb of a headache building at my temples. “Just spit it out, you know I value your counsel even when I don’t particularly want to hear it.”
Wyatt hesitated for a moment before speaking. “I could’ve done it for you, you know. I could do it now if you gave the Omega to me. I’ll gladly take this burden for you.”
Those words made my wolf prick up, every muscle tensing. The thought of handing Monte over made my stomach twist in a way I couldn’t explain. It wasn’t possessiveness. It couldn’t be. Yet my wolf read it as a threat, rising fast and ready to strike before I even understood why.
I forced the wolf down and met Wyatt’s gaze. “I appreciate that. But duty demands it be me.”
Wyatt held my stare for a moment, then bowed. “As you wish, Alpha.” He turned to leave but paused at the threshold, glancing back just as I sank into my chair. “Are you planning to sleep in here?”
“Yes, at least until another room can be readied. The Omega will be sleeping in my quarters for the foreseeable future.”
“That may not be wise.”
I looked up, frowning. “Why not?”
“You are his temporary husband, but you are still his husband,” he said with a shrug. “Spending your wedding night here would only add fuel to the fire for those spreading rumors.”
“And how exactly would they know?”
“They won’t. Unless the servants talk or the Omega talks. He could claim neglect, even request an annulment.”
“Are you suggesting I should sleep with my brother’s mate?” I forced through clenched fangs.
Wyatt’s eyes widened. Perhaps he finally realized just how close I was to a rare display of true rage.
“Not at all,” he said quickly. “I am merely pointing out that he is currently your husband by law, and if you wish to preserve this state of affairs within the pack and with the SanGraals, until Hunter returns, you need to act like a husband would. Whether you choose to fuck him or not is entirely up to you, but you can’t avoid him forever. ”
With that, he finally left the study, leaving me with a sense of unease that was rivaled only by my bitter disappointment. He was right. The Omega could petition for annulment, and he would have a perfectly reasonable case if I never even slept in the same room as him.
Monte SanGraal was indeed my husband. And somewhere in this house, he was waiting for me.
I leaned back in my chair, loosening the buttons of my collar.
Fuck.
I needed another drink.
This was a punishment I hadn’t earned. A fate I didn’t deserve.
Alone with my thoughts, I could at least admit I wouldn’t have been this unsettled if things had happened differently. If only I hadn’t heard my wolf’s voice snarl Mate the first time I touched him. For one foolish second, I’d believed it. I believed it until I found out who he was.
The little shit.
Sucking my thumb like a tease, right there in front of everyone. Looking at me with those wide, innocent eyes as if he didn’t know what that did to an Alpha like me.
Damn you, Monte SanGraal.
Now I just needed to figure out how the hell I could keep him at arm’s length while still ensuring the marriage remained intact until Hunter could be found.
If there was one silver lining, it was that this couldn’t possibly be as difficult as reclaiming my heritage had been.