Alpha's Fate (Black Moon Saga Book 2)

Chapter 13: Mate Showdown

The time spent with Luna’s Grace has been enlightening, to say the least. Much of what Kylie has seen and learned from the pack counters certain assumptions and confirms others. The pack does strictly adhere to reserving leadership roles for men, though women are valued as hunters and their child-rearing is the most cooperative and communal of any packs they’ve seen. They don’t shy away from nudity, although there are customs that dictate when and how clothing must be worn.

Training for battle starts for boys as young as six and girls as young as eight, and pretty much all pack members are trained for combat to a certain extent, even if they don’t end up becoming warriors. The warriors are selected from among the best of the best, and leadership roles are earned through bloody contests that sometimes result in deaths. The impressive willpower that Kylie observed from Commander Darius is something commander-hopefuls practice by enduring many years of discipline and deprivation, but achieving the rank of commander is an honor they find to be well worth the sacrifice.

Most of this they learn over dinner with Alpha Magnus on their last night of their stay. He seems entirely open and forthcoming, gladly answering all the questions Kylie or any of her guests happen to fire at him. He even seems to warm up to Tian once he becomes aware that he is the very same Bastian Ambrogio who wrote one of their most prized history texts. Tian does not mention his connection to Dorian, still uncertain about what all the pack has had access to of his writings as well as how they might take the knowledge that their prophecies were recorded by a warlock when they seem so wary of magic.

Magnus eventually turns the topic to a discussion about mates, revealing perhaps the most surprising discovery of them all. Not only is the Alpha not required to be mated to assume the position, but in fact, the traditions allow him to reproduce with any or all the mate-less women of the pack, those who are without a mate because of the deaths of their true mates. Though chosen mates are not allowed, it seems that the pack traditions do not have much to say about Alphas keeping mistresses and concubines. Magnus even goes so far as to call his pet to the dining hall so that he can introduce her to Kylie, not even recognizing how appalled she is by the whole encounter.

“The prophecies also state that when the Divine-Touched has come and her war is upon us, she will have by her side her two Alpha mates,” Alpha Magnus mentions casually after dismissing his paramour, his gaze appraising Kylie in a new and somewhat unsettling way. “I can’t help noticing that you seem to only have the one,” he adds slyly.

“I’m not interested in two,” Kylie insists, not allowing his shift in demeanor to faze her.

Adam, however, is struggling to contain his wolf. He knew Alpha Magnus was keeping something up his sleeve and is irritated that this seems to be the surprise. He’s appalled at the insinuation that Kylie should mate with him as well, some young stud who admits to keeping mistresses. His subtle warning growl in Magnus’s direction seems only to amuse the younger Alpha.

“But the way it is written would suggest that if you truly want to have yourself and your army in strongest form, then it would be in your best interest,” Alpha Magnus persists.

“Look, Magnus,” Kylie practically spits at him as she sets her fork down on the table. “The way I see it, you need me more than I need you. We’ve come for your army’s assistance, which you have assured me I have secured. You’ve repeatedly called it ‘my’ army, in fact. From what I saw earlier, these people are ready to follow me, with or without you. If I tell them that your loose interpretation of the holy texts has resulted in you taking the liberty of claiming women who are not yours to claim and then attempting to insult me with an offer to mate you, someone who is proudly loose with his virtue and who, quite frankly, does not deserve me, then I have no doubt they’ll be offended on my behalf and perhaps even turn against you. So, when you say it is in my best interest, what you really mean is it would be in your best interest because you know you have already lost them, and I’m insulted that you think me ignorant enough to fall for it.”

Magnus keeps his cocky, charming smile plastered on his face through the duration of her speech, though she does notice that the sincerity and warmth have left his features. She can sense how worried he has become, probably because he is not used to people daring to tell him that he is wrong or denying his advances.

“Kylie, why do you think this pack is known as Luna’s Grace? What you fail to see, my dear, is that you are the Luna we have been waiting for. It is not only your destiny, but your duty to take your place by my side,” Alpha Magnus continues his pursuit of her.

“There you are wrong once again,” Kylie retorts, rolling her eyes at how ridiculous she finds him now. “I have skimmed enough of your texts to understand, better than you apparently, that the Luna being referred to is the Moon Goddess Selene, the prime Luna from which all other Lunas gain their power and position. It is she who chooses Alpha’s mates, after all. No, dear Magnus. I am no one’s Luna, least of all yours. I am meant to be Alpha, even you can see that. That is the path Selene has chosen for me, but sadly for you, she has not chosen to include you in it.”

She picks up her fork and begins eating again, adding casually with a shrug, “Besides, I already have two Alphas at my side.”

Alpha Magnus sits and stews over her words, trying to devise some opening to argue with her further without risking her wrath. He knows he is already on thin ice even daring to be as argumentative as he already has been. He had really been hoping her ignorance about their texts and the teachings could be played to his advantage, though he hadn’t counted on how quickly she seems to be able to absorb their knowledge.

“It is true,” Tian comments in agreement with her train of thought. “I was once mated to the last Divine-Touched Alpha female and known as Alpha myself. I have already pledged myself and my service to Kylie, thereby satisfying your prophecy.”

“But you are not mated,” Alpha Magnus counters weakly, fearing he has already lost. He wonders bleakly how long it will be until she figures out that she has the power to remove him from his position, and that his people already know that. He is bothered by how she has already perceived that the people follow her now.

“We are in all ways but the formalities,” Tian returns. “I would argue that the bond is more important than the title.”

Magnus begins to speak his response, but Kylie holds out a hand to silence him.

“You should know that I can sense what you are feeling, Magnus,” she begins to explain in a gentler, friendlier tone. “I can feel the desperation and I believe that your desire to mate with me has left your mind open to me in a way that I am beginning to be able to almost reach out and touch your thoughts. I can’t hear them the way I can with Adam, but I can sense them, and I think I am starting to understand what troubles you. Let me just say that I have no issue with leaving you in charge of this pack because I also have no interest in leading it. Give me no further reason to doubt you, and I will give your people no reason to either. As we’ve said before, we’re only here for the army.”

Alpha Magnus exhales in relief, his smile returning. “You truly are a remarkable woman, Kylie.”

*************************  

Despite the unexpected turn of events during dinner, Adam agrees to stay in the guesthouse that night as planned, though he moves up their departure from after a formal lunch the next day to first thing in the morning. He does not want to give Magnus any further opportunities to pull any more stunts like that. He does, however, find himself feeling proud and even a bit turned on by how Kylie handled herself with him, though he knows this is neither the time nor place for that. Tian is with them, and Kylie is tired.

Though fatigued, Kylie finds herself lying awake most of the night while Adam snores peacefully beside her. She is agitated to a certain degree about Magnus, but even more so by what she feels is unresolved business with Adam’s former mate, Melissa. He seems to want to brush off her odd behavior and give unsatisfactory excuses like they have always had a close relationship but never a romantic one, but that doesn’t sit well with her.

After giving it a great deal of thought, Kylie has determined that it’s not romantic potential that irks her. It’s etiquette and respect, or more specifically, the lack thereof. Since they’re leaving in the morning, it weighs on her that she may not get another chance to speak with Melissa about it. Through so much of their visit, she felt constrained by what they needed to accomplish and there was never a right moment to confront the issue head-on. She is struck with the realization that now might be the time she has been waiting for, since she is not sleeping anyway.

You’ve blocked yourself off from me, so I cannot tell what it is that troubles you, Tian finally mind-links her from where he sits reading the leather-bound texts Kylie acquired from Magnus.

He has known that Kylie is not sleeping, despite her best efforts, and senses that her restlessness has reached a new height suddenly.

There’s something I need to go do, she replies as she makes her way out of the bed and begins putting some clothes on.

And you do not wish to have company, he states what he already knows.

I do not. But don’t worry. I can’t go anywhere without a guard detail. I’ll be fine.

And what should I tell Adam if he wakes?

Tell him that I’ve gone to resolve some unfinished business.

She makes her way out of the guest room and is met by her security detail, as expected. She informs them that she would like them to take her back to the Morgans’ apartment, and they readily agree.

Standing in the sixth-floor hallway of their building with a guard flanking either side of her, Kylie knocks briskly on the door and waits for a response. Richard answers in nothing but a pair of lounge pants, groggily rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Kylie?” he asks, in momentary disbelief. “What is it? What’s wrong?” After taking a moment to look around and notice the absence of her mate, he adds, “Where’s Adam?”

“He’s still asleep. I just needed to come talk to Melissa before we leave in the morning. It’s important, or at least I think so.”

“Sure, sure. Come in,” he says pleasantly, still fretting over why she has come.

He likes the girl, but she does have a way of unsettling him sometimes. And though he has not been present to witness most of her interactions with Melissa, he also senses a deeper tension there that he has never fully understood. It does not seem entirely unlike the subliminal sense of agitation he can’t quite get a handle on around Adam sometimes.

Melissa makes her way from down the hall after hearing Kylie’s voice. She is dressed in only a somewhat revealing nightgown loosely covered by an open robe.

“What’s going on?” she wonders as well.

“I came to talk to you,” Kylie explains. “I’ve tried to just let things go, but I really can’t, Melissa. I feel like we need to have a talk, and I’m leaving first thing, so it has to be now.”

“I see,” Melissa responds, feeling a bit perturbed. She is well aware that she has made some faux pas while Kylie has been here, but she also thought she had sufficiently smoothed them over and hoped they could just move past her errors. “No Adam?”

“Not this time. He is resting, and I thought it best that he not be here. When he is, I get such a strong sense of his desire to sweep things under the rug and not have a confrontation that I shift into alleviating rather than resolving the situation, and then nights like tonight happen when I just can’t even sleep because it bothers me so much.”

“Kylie, let me just start by assuring you that I have no romantic interest in your mate,” Melissa says, assuming that it is outright jealousy that eats at the younger woman. “I am completely devoted to Richard, and there is no one else I would ever be interested in that way. Not even Adam, who I was married and mated to for nearly thirty years. It’s just that he and I were brought up together, in the same house, almost as siblings, and we’ve known each other most of our lives. There’s a certain level of familiarity and comfort that I have with him which is difficult to shake. My instinct is to be affectionate with him, even when I know I shouldn’t. It doesn’t mean anything that would threaten your relationship with him. He is obsessed with you, Kylie. I know him well enough to be able to tell.”

“See, now, that smugness there is a bit of a problem, you assuming that you know what he wants or how he thinks when you couldn’t possibly. It’s me who feels what he feels and can hear what he thinks,” Kylie begins defensively, before catching herself with the realization that this line of argument is counterproductive.

“But you know what? That’s beside the point,” she shifts tactics. “I know the two of you do not have a romantic connection. He has told me that as well, and because of our bond, I know he is being sincere. Both of you are missing the problem by trying to write it off that way. It’s not from a sense of romantic competition or jealousy that I take issue with your relationship. I bought into that explanation at first, largely because I’m rather new to being a werewolf and I trust his insight. He tells me I’m especially territorial because I’m an Alpha, and perhaps that does factor in somewhat, but after a good deal of thinking on it, I have concluded that the problem is much simpler than that. In a way, I actually take a bit of offense that people keep shirking my feelings and treating me as though I’m overreacting because they expect it of me.”

“I suppose I’m a bit lost then,” Melissa admits, exhaling a breath. The three of them remain standing in the foyer, and it occurs to her that this might take a bit.

“Perhaps you should come in and sit down,” she invites her guest to the living room with a gesture.

Kylie does take the opportunity to sit in one of the chairs across from the sofa, while Melissa and Richard opt to sit together opposite from her.

“Melissa, here’s how I see it, and mind you I began to form a bothered opinion of you when I was just a teenager and still only had knowledge of humans. Even then, it disturbed me how you interacted with Adam, and I’ll admit that I still harbor anger that perhaps I shouldn’t about that. I remember observing you, a married woman, hanging all over Adam and interjecting yourself into his conversations with others in a way that even as a human I felt was inappropriate. Now that I know about mates and the fact that werewolves are a bit on the territorial side, it makes even less sense that you behaved that way.”

“To be honest, Kylie, it has always bothered me as well, and I can relate to what you say about how they make light of it and make you feel like you’re the one being unreasonable. They’ve done the same to me, and I’ve learned to fight my irritation and keep my mouth shut,” Richard admits. “And if I’m being completely honest, it is a factor I considered when we decided to move here instead of to Spirit Moon. I couldn’t bear the thought of having to deal with their interactions on a regular basis.”

Melissa turns her head to look at Richard, her expression a mix of surprise and irritation.

“I wish you would have brought that up with me before now,” she snaps at him.

“I have,” he says shortly. “But I’ve also always been brought to the conclusion that since there is no romantic intent between the two of you, then I have no room to take issue.”

“It goes so much deeper than jealousy or possessiveness, though,” Kylie continues. “It’s a matter of respect, the way I see it, and him saying that only leads me to believe further that I am right. Let me put it to you this way: If I were to come over there and nuzzle Richard’s neck or toy with his ear, or even reach down below and tease him, would you have an issue with that? Even if I told you sincerely that I'm not interested in him romantically?”

“Of course, but that all crosses a line that I would never cross with Adam,” Melissa argues. “We barely even did stuff like that when we were mated.”

“No?” Kylie turns her attention to Richard. “What does your mark on her mean to you? And do you ever give it special attention when you’re being intimate?”

Melissa swallows nervously, now seeing where this is going. She knew that was a serious misstep even when she did it, though she felt her position defensible because she has never experienced what it is like to mark someone. Her wolf would never dream of doing so. But admittedly, she is aware of how Richard feels about his mark, and she should have assumed Kylie would view hers in much the same way.

“Of course,” Richard responds. “That’s not just my claim on her, but a physical representation of our special bond, and a physical link between us that can bring us both pleasure and deepen our connection when we are intimate.”

“Then can you explain to me what it would mean if another man were to try to touch it?” Kylie persists.

Richard’s eyes go dark at just the thought of that, and his voice lowers threateningly.

“I wouldn’t allow that,” he growls insistently. “It would be as if he were challenging my claim, disrespecting my relationship with her.”

“Kylie, I am so sorry. I apologized even then and I had hoped we were past this,” Melissa begins to explain in an almost pleading manner. “You have to understand -”

“It’s not something you can apologize away,” Kylie snaps at her. “It’s not as if you accidentally knocked over my favorite vase. You sit here before me claiming that you are no threat to me, and yet you stood there that day and unabashedly, unapologetically reached for the most private, personal, and intimate spot on my mate’s body as if you were entitled to do so. What were you possibly thinking could give you a right to do that? That knowing him for longer than I’ve been alive somehow makes him more yours than mine? That being his friend your whole life allows you the right to violate his body that way? That you were so far in the right that you could turn to me and act like I’m somehow the crazy one? And what irks me the most is that in that moment, he felt a need to explain my behavior toward you instead of the other way around, as though despite your disrespect toward me, he still seeks your approval.”

“What in the hell were you thinking?” Richard turns to his mate and demands. “I apologize on her behalf, Kylie, because I did not even know she had done that. I must have been in the other room.”

“I’m not here for apologies, not her kind of apologies anyway, and certainly not apologies on her behalf. I’m here to help you acknowledge that your behavior is inappropriate and to inform you that it stops now. I don’t want to drive a rift between you and your lifelong friend, but I think you both need a reality check. And yes, I’ve been having this same discussion with him, and he is beginning to see the issue as well. I’m here to say fix it, and do not shrug it off any longer. Do not try to convince yourself that it is Richard or me who are in the wrong. We’re not jealous; we’re the mates who only want to be treated with the respect we deserve. Mind your conduct, Missy. Act like the mated woman you are and be mindful of the relationship I have with your friend. That’s what I’ve come to say.”

Kylie rises from the couch, noticing that some of the objects in the room are floating again. She sighs, frustrated that she still can’t seem to keep this one tricky power under control, until she spies the mauve-colored vase hovering over the accent table. She contemplates for a moment whether it would be worth letting that crash back to its spot and likely break, but dismisses the idea as childish and counterproductive. She takes a quick moment to return all their things to their places gently, and then makes her way to the front door.

“Thanks for coming,” Richard calls out to her as she exits. “Be safe on your travels.”

She also hears the din of their continued discussion through the door once she leaves and hopes that her coming has been productive in the ways she intended. She couldn’t just let it go, as much as she tried to convince herself that she should, even arguing with herself that it’s wrong to be upset when Adam has been so understanding of her relationship with Tian.

There is an important difference, though, in that Tian is always respectful and mindful of her relationship with her mate. He would never dare do or say the things Melissa would, and always asks for Adam’s permission and approval. Kylie has concluded that if Melissa behaved toward Adam the way Tian does toward her, it wouldn’t even be an issue. Learning that Richard has always been similarly bothered confirms to her that her impulsive, middle-of-the-night decision was the right one, and she only hopes she handled it well.

When she returns to the guest room, Adam is up and sitting with Tian. They both turn to her, curious about her late-night adventure.

“Do you feel better?” Adam asks her pointedly, and she knows he must have figured out where she went off to.

“Much, yes. I think we had a productive chat,” she responds, making her way over to the sitting area.

“I’m not sure I want to know,” Adam chuckles softly, reaching out to invite her to him.

Once she has joined him in the oversized chair, he winds his fingers gently through her hair and leans his head against hers.

“I’m sorry for my part in it all, you know,” he apologizes softly.

Unlike Melissa’s apologies, Kylie is glad to hear this one. She knows he means it and intends to act on it.

“I appreciate that,” she responds. “I just hope that now that I’ve put it all out there, she thinks about it, and at some point, we can be friends. I don’t hate her. I may not understand her, but I don't hate her.”

“In a lot of ways, I'm relieved that you talked it through with her. I’ve never known how to address it.”

He pauses, soaking in the contact with his mate for a few moments.

“We knew coming here would be an experience and have surely not been disappointed, have we,” he comments. “Back on the road in only a few hours, though. I think it will almost be a relief.”

Kylie is in complete agreement with that sentiment. She’s glad to have come and accomplish what they set out to do, and then some, but eager to finally get back on the road to Oregon.