Leviathan
“Hold on, now,” I said. “Let’s relax and talk this out.”
Fear and anger swelled in my chest, a rising tide that threatened to drown me.
This was not how I’d anticipated this going.
Not at all. I’d truly thought that once the news was out, June would be relieved.
It was one less thing to worry about. I’d figured Eugenia would challenge her, but I never thought June would accept.
In my head, I’d pictured her rejecting the challenge, then I could speak to Eugenia in private and tone down her vitriol.
June welcoming the challenge had thrown a massive wrench in my—admittedly—poorly planned idea.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Eugenia said, a self-satisfied grin on her face. Her eyes flashed with rage. “June and I will settle this like women.” She turned to look at June. “See you soon. I hope you’re ready.”
With that, she spun on her heel and stalked off, pushing her way through the crowd.
The rest of the pack, looking bewildered, began to trickle away, heading back to their cabins.
I clenched my jaw. How the fuck had this gone downhill so quickly?
I was angry with myself for misjudging the situation, but I was angrier with June and Eugenia.
June shoved past me to get off the stage, almost knocking me over.
“Wait,” I said, calling after her, but she didn’t acknowledge me.
Hurrying down the steps, I rushed over to catch up, reaching her before she could go inside the bunkhouse.
“June, hang on,” I said, gently touching her arm.
She ripped her arm away and turned on me, face red and eyes blazing. “Why? What could you possibly need me for? You do whatever the fuck you want no matter what.”
I backed away a step, surprised by the anger radiating off her like heat from a fire.
“June, I thought—”
“You thought what?” she snapped. “Thought I was only joking when I said you needed to wait to introduce me as your mate? Thought I was being a silly little girl?” She shoved me for emphasis, jamming her palms into my chest.
This was going way worse than I’d imagined, and I was kicking myself for assuming.
Deep down, I’d believed she wanted the pack to know she was my mate, and that it would be a relief to have it out in the open.
I’d relied on my ability as a leader and peacemaker to smooth over any objections that might erupt.
Now, I saw that I hadn’t understood how serious June had been about it all.
In trying to do the right thing, I’d screwed up beyond belief.
“Okay,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender. “I understand I screwed up.”
She snorted and folded her arms across her chest. “That’s putting it mildly.”
“Yes, I messed up,” I agreed, “but so did you.”
I hadn’t believed she could possibly look angrier. I was wrong.
“Excuse me?” she hissed. “Did I go out there and break a promise to someone? Did I go back on my word like you did?”
I winced. My wolf let out a sad whine at the rebuke, but I managed to maintain my composure.
“No, but you put yourself in danger, June. You can’t survive a fight with Eugenia when you can’t shift. You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“Maybe, but since you told the entire pack that I’m your mate, I didn’t have much of a choice.”
“Yes, you did, goddamn it,” I growled, clenching my fists. “You could have listened to me. You could have rejected the challenge and let me and Rainier fix things behind the scenes.”
“Right,” she said with mock sincerity. “And then the whole pack knows I’m a coward and that I backed down from a rightful challenge. They’d never have respected me after that. I had to say yes. Though, I was so fucking pissed at you, none of that mattered. I just wanted to punch something.”
“Well, you aren’t fighting her,” I said. “I won’t allow it.”
“You won’t allow it?” She glared at me. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
“I’m the alpha,” I snapped. “This is my pack, and you’re my mate. This is final.”
“Well, I’m not officially part of this pack yet,” June said, “I’m my own person, and I say I am fighting her.”
I growled with frustration. “You can’t do this,” I said, then muttered under my breath, “Naphele would never have been this reckless—”
“I am not Naphele! I’d appreciate it if you stop comparing me to her.”
My anger slipped, cascading deep into my chest, where it reformed as surprise, shame, and fear. “June, I didn’t—”
“We’re done here. What I said is final. If you want to talk to Naphele that damn badly, go sit in your room and stare at her painting.”
With that, she stormed off, slamming the door to the bunkhouse behind her, leaving me alone outside. All the energy flooded out of me. Had I ever made a mistake this bad? I didn’t think so.
Covering my face with my hands, I stood there, trying to will time to go backward. Ten minutes. That’s all I needed. Ten minutes ago, things were great. Now they’d all fallen apart. Even after a hundred years, you could still screw everything up in the blink of an eye.