Chapter 14 #2
“Something I didn’t mention outside but will address here within the more intimate leadership setting—you will realize that we do not do things the traditional way here.
How could we, with this many different magical creatures, each with their own traditions?
We have a leader for each magical faction in this convocation.
Ours, within this territory, but also those packs and cairns and basajaunak uniting with us.
They are each alphas in their own right, some with more experience and better pedigrees than me.
Than many of you. They are our equals, trusting in me to work with Jess to bring it all together.
To pretend they are anything but alphas and leaders is to tell me you are insecure in your placement and must rely on titles to distinguish you.
Power is in the person, not the name badge.
Besides, if I allowed my alphas to go out there and mingle with your people, you’d probably lose a good few enforcers to their charms.”
“I’d lose my whole cairn to Tristan!” Gerard shouted, holding up his glass. Other gargoyles laughed.
Shifters looked Aljoe’s way, faces tight.
If he were any other “beta,” they might push back.
Austin’s speech would’ve worked against him.
But these shifters knew Aljoe, whatever name he went by.
They knew his legacy. Hard to argue, when not too long ago, he’d been at the top of the alpha pyramid, respected and listened to.
And because they wouldn’t argue about his right to be here, they wouldn’t argue about Sue’s or Tristan’s. They could feel Sue’s power, and Tristan was his own planet, clearly highly respected amongst the gargoyles. They wouldn’t want to cause a problem and not be able to rise to the challenge.
“Is he trying to rile up Armendale?” Nina wandered closer, wearing a tailored suit like Jessie’s with a colored pocket square and lace-up shoes.
“I thought the plan was to announce that you’d joined the convocation later on in this thing?” he asked.
She sipped her wine. “Sue called.”
“Oh?”
She gave him a stern look. “In an official capacity.”
He put his hand to his heart. “I would never meddle in your dating life.”
She snorted. “Since when?” She turned to look at all the alphas chatting and mingling. “He’s smart. Definitely an alpha. Obviously, he has the power, but he’s got a certain something that some of the powerful lack.”
“He does. He’s really come into his own under Austin’s tutelage.”
“Hmm,” she said thoughtfully. “Speaking of Austin, you vouched for him. Publicly.”
“I did. I believe in what he and Jessie are doing here.”
“It’s not like you to stick your neck out.”
“I couldn’t really afford to back in the day.
When I did, it so often came back to bite me.
This is different. If someone tries to cut the legs out from under me, there’ll be a female gargoyle ready to rip that someone apart from the inside out.
” He smirked. “I’d kinda like to see it, too.
She seems sweet, but she can really widen the eyes.
I saw a video of her handling a corrupt pack.
” He paused for a beat. “What magic words did the Formidable Sue say to change your mind about how you attended the conclave?”
She gave an annoyed huff at his needling. She tended to be a very private person about her romantic life, and very choosy. Given her body language, though, and the slight embarrassment, Sue definitely had her interest.
“We got to talking. He mentioned his past. Heart-wrenching.”
“It is. He’s not the only one. I’ve heard a lot of stories about how mages are going about their…business, we’ll say.”
“Yes. It terrifies me when I think it could’ve been us.
We got lucky the mages didn’t come for our pack for whatever reason.
We are larger than Kingsley’s, but that doesn’t seem to matter.
We have a lot to discuss. It’s a pity we have to do it in this conclave.
Half the people here can barely hang on to their beasts.
There’s going to be unsanctioned fights regardless of what Austin said. ”
“I know. We’ll handle it, you’ll see. We’re prepared.”
She took another sip of her wine, paused, and then made a disgruntled sound. “I know about Sue’s past, but he seems…” Her shoulder twitched upward. “He seems interested. When I was here, he seemed attentive and open to chatting, and then when he called, he didn’t rush off the phone. He lingered.”
“Are you actually asking for advice?” He smirked at her. “I’m touched.”
She huffed. “I’d rather not, believe me. You’re proving why right now.” He nudged her with his shoulder playfully. “It’s hard to read him. He’s subtler in his movements than I’m used to. Has he said anything?”
“No, but he’s often quiet and standoffish with people. A lot of people are saying he’s coming out of his shell, though. If he’s making an effort, I’d say it’s probably a good sign. But I’m no expert.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” She nudged him back. “Speaking of, when are you going to get out there? There’s nothing holding you back now. Maybe it’s time to finally take a mate.”
“You’re the one looking for advice, not me.”
“Just a thought.”
“I’m just trying to fit into a new place. Let’s pump the brakes a bit.”
Her eyes twinkled as she looked over at him. “If you say so—”
She cut off as Sue wandered closer, whiskey in hand. His attention seemed to be on her, mostly. He’d sought her out. That had to be a good sign.
“Speak of the devil,” she said, moving so he could join them. “I mentioned your call about the basajaunak guaranteeing our safety.”
He inclined his head at her. Pleasure to see you.
She replied in kind, keeping it professional. She was terrible at flirting. Always had been.
“I know you guys had a plan,” Sue said to Aljoe, “but she mentioned that she wanted to be part of the legend. Having an elder guard your back is definitely part of that legend.”
“Yes, it is.” Aljoe released a breath. “That elder, Nina… She got my heart pumping. If she’d been on the mountain I camped on, I would’ve turned around and walked the other way.”
“Smart decision,” Sue said. “I wouldn’t care if someone called me a coward. I’d run and hope she didn’t chase me.” His eyes glittered with humor.
“Yes. If they choose to battle with us…” Aljoe surveyed the alphas, breaking off into their cliques to chat. “Austin isn’t keeping to the schedule?”
Much like forming tight, synchronized lines, shifters judged a function’s timing and adherence to a schedule as a sign of good leadership and, therefore, a good alpha.
Sue took a sip. “It’s assigned seating and he’s spread out the cliques. He wants to give them a chance to talk amongst themselves, see who starts a problem when they’re forced into different groups.”
“Any worry the gargoyles will?”
“Doubt it. They’ve had two weeks to figure it out, and they’re all excited to get in on this convocation. I think Jessie’s got that all locked down.” He sighed. “About time.”
“Why didn’t he include a cocktail hour in the schedule?” Nina asked.
“Not adhering to the schedule is part of the plan,” Sue responded.
“He mentioned at the start about not following traditions. Now he’s proving it.
Some shifters will be very annoyed about all this.
At the end of the week, if they make it that long, we’ll see who can loosen up enough to handle the changes. ”
“Was it actually a plan?” Aljoe asked, not having heard about it.
Sue’s lips twitched up at the corners, drawing Nina’s eyes. “No,” he answered. “You should know by now, Al-joe, this group rolls with what comes. Austin had planned to give Armendale a wide berth until direct action was needed. You saw how that went.”
“Yeah, about that,” Nina said. “Is Austin actively trying to incite a challenge?”
Sue looked around. “I don’t think so. I think he’s responding to the threat he feels. His style is to go at it directly. So is Jessie’s.” He paused. “And they are. Neither of them will have any problem fielding a challenge from Armendale.”
Aljoe shook his head slowly, looking toward the bar. He’d planned to order a drink after they sat, but if the schedule was out the window…
“Nessa is grabbing you something,” Sue told him. “She said she’ll put it on the floor at your feet if you have a problem with her handing it to you.”
Nina looked at Aljoe with slightly raised eyebrows, asking if there was something going on with him and Nessa.
“She’s making fun of me and shifter custom,” Aljoe explained.
Nina’s eyebrows twitched up further. Since when do you allow this?
“You’ve met her,” he replied. “She has this way about her. It’s impossible to react too seriously when she’s joking.”
“Truth,” Sue replied.
“Armendale will not challenge Austin,” Aljoe said.
“It isn’t just the power, either, though that is probably a lot of it.
Austin has a raw, ruthless unpredictability about him.
He knows how to fight, and he’s used to winning.
Armendale, on his cloud of generational privilege, probably doesn’t realize the details of that, but he feels the fear of it.
He’s smart enough to know that if he challenges Austin, he will lose. ”
“Just like all those times you wondered if he would finally challenge you,” Nina told him.
“He was a coward then, and he’s a coward now. Nothing will change that. But he won’t want to lose face, either. No, he’ll play dirty. I’ve always heard that’s how he operates. He cheats. He’s good at it, though.”
He paused as Nessa worked her way toward them. She stopped next to a younger alpha who was watching her, frowned at him, pointed at her face, and said, “This is my shifter face. Do I fit in?”
His expression didn’t change, but his body advertised his interest. “Nearly. You’re the mage, right?”
“Low in power, high in ego. A winning combo.”
“Like a few people in here, then.” His body showed the humor. “You are allowed to smile. It would be a shame if you tried to fit in.”