Chapter 13
TALBOT
My mind reeled from Vance’s dropped bomb. They were fated mates. How had he kept it a secret for so long? How had he even survived, knowing that his fated mate was across the country, married to another man, and pregnant with his cubs?
I shook my head. Why didn’t he tell us? That was the question that stung a little. No, not a little. That fucker hurt like a bitch.
He’d known she was his fated mate even when we gushed about her as teens, convinced she was the girl for us. We believed she would marry us and move into our den, and we’d have our happily ever after.
The whole time, he knew she was his goddess ordained happily ever after, and that there was never any hope for us at all.
Vance slid a look at me, and his eyes were filled with apologies, though he’d never say them out loud. That wasn’t the Alpha way.
“Your office?” Franklin asked, still blissfully unaware, though he must have known something was off because he was shooting me worried looks. He probably thought it had something to do with whatever Alexander had said after he’d left.
“Let’s go to the sitting room. It’s more comfortable than the office.”
I wanted to storm off and pout somewhere, but I couldn’t drag myself away from Dawn, so I followed along behind the group as they walked toward the suite situated between Dawn’s new bedroom and Vance’s, connecting the two—the Alpha family rooms that he’d eventually take for his mate and his family.
My steps faltered as the full ramifications hit me like a truck.
If Dawn was his fated mate, but she could no longer have kids, then Vance’s bloodline stopped.
He wouldn’t have any heirs. We bears didn’t really follow bloodlines anyway, but Vance had been the strongest of us for years, and his uncle before that.
We stepped into the room, and my feet led me to my spot—a recliner in the corner. We usually watched pay-per-view UFC fight nights here, as well as just hung out. This was our space to just be Vance, Franklin, and Talbot, the men, and not the leadership hierarchy of the den.
Dawn looked tiny ensconced in the huge couch. Vance stared down at her, the look in his eyes something reverent that I couldn’t believe I’d missed. “Did you have enough to eat?”
Dawn smiled so brightly, it was almost blinding. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this full. Thank you.”
Franklin flopped down on the couch beside her, making the couch cushions—and Dawn—bounce.
Vance took his recliner across from her, his expression turning serious.
“The convocation member has given us permission to take out your Alpha. Are you okay with that?”
She was unnaturally still for a moment. “Yes,” she whispered. I had to strain to hear even with my shifter hearing. She looked pale, and Vance frowned.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded her head, and I could see the steel climbing up her spinal column. “Yes. What will happen to the rest of the pack?”
Franklin pulled her closer. “Is there anyone acceptable enough to lead? Another Alpha maybe?”
Dawn released a mirthless smile. “Alpha cubs met with tragic accidents, until my Alpha actually started just selling them off. There are a couple of strong betas, but—” She swallowed hard. “I’m not sure they’d be much better. They are products of the toxic environment we were raised in.”
I nodded. It happened far too often. “The convocation will give your pack a choice in that case. If it’s what you want, and what they want, then we can set them here on Black Mountain, or they’ll let them join with another larger pack in the area around Reno.
What they seem to prefer, though, is installing an interim Alpha who is paid by the convocation.
He’ll stay until your pack produces a stable leader, or another Alpha can be found to lead your pack. ”
She nodded, still looking pale. “And the rest of the pack will be safe?”
Vance held her eyes. “I swear it.” He paused. “We’ll need your help with intel, if you feel up to it.”
Franklin gripped her hand. “We can do it without you though, if it’s too hard.”
The stubborn set of her jaw said she was going to force herself to be okay with it, and I wouldn’t stop her. As much as I wanted to surround her in bubble wrap and keep her safe, she needed this for closure. “I’ll do it.”
Respect shone in Vance’s eyes, and I ground my teeth. I cleared my throat, and his eyes slid to mine. Yeah, I wasn’t going to let him sweep this bombshell under the rug like a dirty little secret. She had a right to know, as did Franklin.
How she hadn’t realized herself was probably more to do with being gaslit her whole fucking life. She didn’t trust her instincts, not her Omega ones nor her wolf ones.
She deserved better. I’d hold Vance accountable, Alpha or not. She wasn’t going to start her time with us under lies and omissions.
Vance sighed, rubbing his hands over the back of his neck and up over his skull.
“There’s one more thing, Dawn, something we need to get out into the open before we progress any further.
” He stood, moving closer until he knelt in front of her, lowering himself to her level so he could meet her eyes properly.
“Shit, I don’t really know how to say this.
” He glanced quickly at Franklin. “But you’re my fated mate. ”
Dawn gasped, or maybe it was Franklin.
My twin looked… shell-shocked. “How long have you known?”
“Since the first time I saw her at the gathering.”
My eyes bounced between the three of them, and I was too slow to stop Franklin’s rapid backswing, then his huge fist connecting with Vance’s jaw.
Well, that wasn’t how I saw this going.
To add to the shock of the situation, Dawn threw herself in front of Franklin, her eyes turned away, but her body angled to take a blow, like she’d stood in front of someone’s fist before.
“Alpha, please. He didn’t mean it!” Her words were whispered but filled with an Omega softness, and the sensation of those words ran along my skin, slowing my heartbeat. It was like Vicodin in pheromone form.
I’ve never seen Vance’s face so filled with self-loathing, or maybe it reflected her pain.
He melted softly in front of her, back on his knees again.
“He did mean it, Dawn, and I deserved it. I promise, I love Franklin like a brother. It would take more than that for us to have problems. Bears tend to be rough with each other, but we will curb our violence around you, won’t we, guys? ”
He looked at Franklin, who paled at her reaction. “Of course. It’s okay, sunrise. We’re okay.” He laid a hand on her back, and none of us missed her flinch. Fucking idiots.
That was enough. I moved toward them, scooping Dawn into my arms. “I’ll take you back to your room and let these numbskulls figure their shit out,” I crooned and let out a relieved sigh as she clung to me.
Her damage ran deep. We needed to remember that, or we’d do just as much damage as her former pack mates.
I strode from the sitting room, and I knew I should take her to her room, but I wanted her in my space, surrounded by my scent.
She held onto my shoulders, her face buried in my neck like she found it comforting.
I blindly turned the handle on my door and kicked it shut behind me, then I walked to the neatly made bed and pulled the covers back, sliding her beneath them.
“This is your bed,” she whispered.
“Yes.” I tucked her under the soft flannel sheets and toed off my boots, then I climbed in after her. I pulled her on top of my chest and wrapped my arms tightly around her. I just wanted to hold her and prolong this last moment of peace in case it all came crashing down around us.
As if she could pick up the turmoil of my thoughts, she buried her nose in my chest. “I’m his mate.”
I made an affirmative noise. “You are.” I squeezed her tighter. “I don’t care. You aren’t property. He doesn’t own you.” I ran my fingers through her hair, and it tangled at the ends. “The only opinion that matters is yours. I don’t care if it’s ordained by the goddess or not.”
She tilted her face up and met my eyes. They were too big in her face.
“I’m a broken mate for an Alpha.”
I hushed her. “You’re perfect for anyone.” I leaned down and brushed my lips against hers. I couldn’t help myself, which probably made me just as much of a numbskull as Franklin and Vance. “Now rest. You’re still healing.”
She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, until her breathing evened out, and it became a reality.