Mated To The Wrong Alpha
Chapter 13

Ava wondered what she’d been going to say. Before what? Had the word been ‘Marla?’ From what she’d seen so far, it was definitely a possibility that Marla had been in the running for the position of Arthur’s future mate. Yet, if that was the case, why hadn’t Arthur bonded with the woman already? Why had he agreed to this political joining if he cared for someone else?

Julia continued talking, disturbing her train of thought. “Anyway, I really had planned on greeting you. I was waiting for Thomas to come home, thinking we’d go over to meet you together but then…” She broke off as her voice cracked and she blinked rapidly obviously trying to hold back tears.

“Julia, it’s okay. Thomas is fine and neither Arthur nor I mind that you didn’t make it over. To be honest, there were so many new faces swirling around me that you could lie and say that you were there. I wouldn’t even know the difference.” She tried to lighten the mood, feeling sorry for the other girl who was worried sick about her mate.

Julia gave her a watery smile. “Thanks. I’m good now. It’s silly of me to be feeling teary now that I know he’s going to be okay. Delayed reaction, I guess.” She dug a tissue out of her pocket to wipe her eyes, then pasted a smile on. “So… Tell me about yourself.”

The two of them sat on a bench outside the infirmary and started talking, soon discovering that they had several things in common. Ava began to feel more at ease and Julia seemed to be forgetting the drama of the past day, at least for a while. They were so engrossed in discussing a recent book they’d both read that the sound of the door opening behind them caused them both to give a start.

It was Nadia announcing that she was going to get something to eat but would return in half an hour. Julia agreed to watch Thomas and page her if there was any problem. Nadia seemed to be a no-nonsense sort of individual who didn’t have time for idle chatter. As she briskly strode away, Ava hoped she wouldn’t need the woman’s services any time soon. While she was probably good at her job, Nadia didn’t seem that friendly towards her.

Julia leaned over and whispered conspiratorially in Ava’s ear, while keeping one eye on the retreating figure of the nurse. “I’ve never seen Nadia smile at anyone except Arthur. Everyone else is afraid of her and I think she likes it that way.”

Ava looked at her new friend with relief. “So it’s not just me?”

Julia couldn’t suppress a giggle. “Nope, she treats everyone that way. I think it’s actually all part of a secret plan. If she’s grumpy enough, we’ll all stay away, and she’ll have less work to do.” Stifling a chuckle, Ava decided that Julia had a fun, quirky personality.

By the time Arthur was ready to leave, she had agreed to meet Julia for lunch the next day. Happy to have made a new friend, Ava hummed to herself as she and Arthur walked back to the Alpha house.

“You and Julia seemed to hit it off.” Arthur commented as they walked down the driveway.

“Uh-huh. She’s about my age, says she likes to shop, and has a great stash of books that I can borrow.”

“She’s a runner as well; out every day rain or shine.”

“Really? Great! Maybe she’ll let me go with her.” She bounced at the prospect. Things were definitely looking up.

“It’s all right with me, as long as you keep to the areas we have marked off as safe. After Thomas’ accident, we’ll be patrolling the pathways daily, but we can’t do the whole territory. I’ll be giving everyone in the pack the same message. No free roaming for the next while.”

His decree brought another conversation to mind. “Arthur, last night Helen and Carrie mentioned something about traps that were being set, but not by humans. They wouldn’t explain and said you’d told them not to tell me.”

Arthur was silent, seeming to consider his words. Eventually, he gave a heavy sigh. “They’re right. It’s a complicated situation and I want to make sure you have the facts, not some part truths.” He looked around and spotted a log near the edge of the woods. “Come on. We’ll sit over here and talk. There’s less chance of being interrupted outside than there is at the house.”

She followed him to the place he’d indicated curious as to what he’d have to tell her. Whatever it was, he looked grim. Sitting down beside him, she waited for him to speak, studying his profile out of the corner of her eye. His jaw was set and his brows were lowered but the dark hair that fell across his forehead softened what might otherwise have been a stern face. When he finally spoke, it wasn’t about Thomas, but about an incident that had happened several months earlier.

“Remember how I told you that Zack had been killed in a car accident? He was coming home, took a curve too fast, and ended up going over the edge of the cliff. The strange thing was that Zack wasn’t a fast driver and had driven that road all of his life. Negotiating the curve was something he should have been able to do in his sleep. When we checked the vehicle afterwards, we found that there were no brakes. There was a hole in the line and the fluid had all leaked out.”

“Were the hoses old and worn out?”

“No. It was a brand-new truck. Helen had given it to him on his fifty-fifth birthday, two months previous.” “Then…?”

“It could have been a flaw in the material, but we suspect that someone actually tampered with the brakes.”

She gasped. “That’s awful! Did you call the police?”

“No. We left it as driver error. The police would have asked too many questions. The risk of being discovered was too great and outweighed the need for a formal investigation. Nothing could bring Zack back.”

“But who would do such a thing? And why? Surely you need to replace out.”

“At the time we didn’t really have any leads. John and I have some suspicions, but no proof.

Actually, only a few of us even know about the brake line. We didn’t want to upset the whole pack. I’ll expect you to keep this to yourself.” Arthur looked at her for acquiescence and she nodded.

“Who does know?”

“Myself, John, the Elders and Helen. Not even Carrie is aware of all the facts.” “This was all recent, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, two months ago.”

“And then you took over.”

Arthur nodded. “Right after Zack’s accident, the Elders met to decide the leadership, but the decision was split. It caused a big controversy, which was unfortunate given that everyone was still upset over losing Zack.”

“You mentioned that both you and the other Beta were up for the job. His name was Ryne, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” Arthur rubbed his hands over his face, obviously upset by the memory. “We were coBetas and it should have come down to a pack vote, but for some reason Ryne was adamant that the position be decided by a challenge. Several people tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen. It was so unlike him, too. Anyway, as I told you, we fought and it was pretty nasty. Ryne and I are pretty evenly matched. My advantage is I know how to wait and choose my moment. In the end, I won.”

“Do you have any idea where he is now?”

“Originally, we’d heard that he planned to leave the area, but a few of the pack think they’ve seen him in the distance.”

“Maybe he’s cooled down and wants to come back?”

“If he does he’s never approached any of us, and even if he does ask… Well, let’s say it’s complicated.” Arthur sighed. “You see, we suspect Ryne had something to do with the faulty brakes, though hard proof is missing.”

“And you still let him live?” She was shocked.

“We didn’t come to that conclusion until after the fight. That’s when things started to add up.”

“How so?”

“Well, after Zack’s accident, there were a lot of things going wrong around here. Our electricity was turned off for non-payment, even though the bill had been paid. The Fire Marshall was out, wanting to inspect all of the buildings because of an anonymous tip. We’ve had traps set on the property, hunters spotted on our land, an oil slick near the mouth of the river that killed off some of the wildlife. It feels like someone is trying to undermine us. Now we have Thomas being shot last night.” He shook his head and looked as if the weight of the world was settling on his shoulders. “Once word spreads through the pack about that, there’ll be a lot of questions to answer.”

“But all of the things you mentioned are coincidences, a string of bad luck, right? I mean, I’m sorry Thomas was shot but accidents do happen, especially in the fall when it’s hunting season.

The humans aren’t always as careful as they should be.”

Arthur looked at her steadily. “Thomas told me that he scented Ryne immediately before the gun went off.”

Her mouth opened in surprise. “Ryne shot a member of his own pack?”

“Quite likely. We thought his scent was around the traps too. It was vague, but detectable. And the oil spill? Boot prints left behind looked like the kind that Ryne used to wear.”

“So are you trying to catch him?”

“We have patrols looking, but he’s too clever a wolf to stay out in the open. He’s holed up someplace, we just can’t figure out where that might be.”

“So why did you need to tell me all of this? Helen and Carrie said there was something personal involved.”

A curious blend of sadness mixed with anger seemed to wash over Arthur’s face. He picked up a stone and tested the weight in his hand before hurling it into the brush. The dull thud of it hitting the ground broke the silence. Looking at her out of the corner of his eye, Arthur answered her question. “There is something very personal involved. Ryne’s my half-brother.”

She couldn’t keep the shock out of her voice. “Your own brother wanted to kill you in a challenge? And now he’s out there sabotaging the pack?”

“All signs seem to point that way. And as I said earlier, some even think he’s responsible for

Zack’s accident.”

“Did he really want to be Alpha that badly?”

Shaking his head, Arthur picked up a stick and snapped it in half. “I didn’t think so. He never questioned Zack over anything and seemed content as Beta. We both were. Zack was a good leader and a power struggle was the farthest thing from anyone’s mind. Ryne was even talking about settling down. This flared up out of nowhere.”

Not sure what to say, she reached over and laid her hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. I might as well tell you all the bad news at once. There’s one other problem facing the pack. An oil company called Northern Oil wants to do some test drilling on our land.”

“I’ve heard about that. Helen or Carrie mentioned it.”

“Of course we won’t allow it, but the company is trying to pull some legal strings to get their way. At one time, a few of the pack members were leaning towards allowing them in—there’s a lot of money on the table—but in the end, it’s not worth it. Letting the company in would diminish our territory, cause environmental damage, and increase the chances of exposure. Originally, it caused some dissension in the pack, but I’ve had a few meetings and everyone realizes keeping them out is for the best.”

“But will the oil company listen?”

“They’re going to have to. Helen has a daughter, Chloe. She’s in university now studying Environmental Science. I’ve had her do a study of the acreage in question and we have a pretty good case for keeping them out. The area is home to several endangered plants and animals. Chloe’s working with some of her professors to get the northern corner of our territory listed as environmentally sensitive and a protected habitat.”

“Well, that sounds promising.”

“It is and thankfully it’s good news for a change.” Silence fell between them and she noted how tired Arthur looked. Stress lines bracketed his mouth and the muscle in his jaw continued to work. She wished she could ease some of his worry and instinctively began rubbing her hand in comforting circles on his back.

Arthur looked at her appreciatively. “Just between you and me, being Alpha is giving me a huge headache.” He chuckled and stood up, tossing the stick he’d been worrying aside. “Come on, we’d better get back. Who knows what calamity might have occurred in the past hour.” Taking her hand, they headed towards the house.