Alpha's Fate (Black Moon Saga Book 2)

Chapter 2-2: Tall Pines

Alpha Mitchell sighs defeatedly, pinching the bridge of his nose as though he has a headache.

“I never should have invited those people into my home,” he declares his remorse and regret.

Tian and Kylie have just finished telling him about Abby and both of her kidnappings, her two younger daughters still held as captives, and Kylie’s relationship to the current Alpha of the Black Moon Pack.

“I don’t know that it would have changed anything in the end,” Tian consoles him. “It seems that your pack has been a target of theirs for some time. All the evidence points to their witch being the one who cursed your family. Chances are that they would have kept circling you like vultures until they found some other way in.”

“And from what I understand, your pack isn’t the only one at risk. Tian has been telling us of all the shady, backhanded ways they’ve gone about expanding their territory and increasing their membership,” Adam adds.

Alpha Mitchell runs his hands down his face, obviously stressed about the situation. “I am aware. I’ve been wondering for some time when they’d finally come after Tall Pines, and worrying that when they do, I won’t have much choice but to roll over and let them have it.” He turns to Jonah seated next to him and puts his hand on his shoulder. “I know you’re probably excited at the prospect of being Alpha, and I wasn’t planning to rain on your parade by telling you about all this yet, but this is the truth of it.”

He sighs and shakes his head before continuing, “Things around here are tense and could go sideways on us at any point and we probably won’t even see it coming. I have allies, but as I’ve discussed with Tian previously, I don’t know how much good they’ll do me when push comes to shove. I’ve done what I can to fend off the vultures and keep my pack safe, but there’s no way to tell until they come for us whether we’ll be able to stand against them. My warriors are decent, and we have a fair amount of them, but from what I’ve heard, that’s not how they do things. It will be a plague, an exotic parasite on our crops, or some other sneaky way of bringing us to our knees begging for Black Moon to save us. So, there it is. That’s the legacy you’re inheriting, Jonah.”

Jonah reaches up to put his own hand on top of the hand his grandfather holds on his shoulder, and gives him a couple of reassuring pats.

“I already know this. It’s why I’m here,” he tells him reassuringly.

Alpha Mitchell’s eyes go wide with surprise.

“You have a plan,” he realizes excitedly.

“We do,” Kylie confirms with a smile. “How soon do you think you can gather your supposed allies so we can meet them?”

“Well, I could probably place some calls and have them assembled here as soon as tomorrow or the next day. But understand, and I say this with affection and respect, Kylie, I know you are a clever girl and probably have made invaluable contributions to your brother’s plan, but you will not be able to attend that meeting. Your mate is an Alpha, but he is no longer Alpha of his pack, and you are not even a Luna. My own daughters do not attend political meetings, either.”

“Alpha Mitchell, you misunderstand,” Tian informs him, rising from his seat to stand behind where Kylie is seated and put his hands on her shoulders. “She has to be there. Kylie is the plan.”

Alpha Mitchell removes his hand from Jonah and sits back in his chair, as though he was just punched and had the wind knocked out of him.

“I’m not sure I want to hear you explain what you mean by that, Tian.”

“Alpha Preston is my biological father and has no other children. His pack is my birthright as an Alpha,” Kylie explains as though it should be obvious. “So, we gather your allies, tell them about Jonah taking over your pack, and see how many are willing to stick by him when he declares war on Black Moon. Then we go in so I can claim what’s rightfully mine. Granted, if we don’t have enough of an army, we might have to add a bit of gathering more allies into our plan, but yeah, that’s the gist of it.”

Alpha Mitchell is quiet for a moment, just staring at her and considering how to respond to her plan.

“You know, you sitting here in front of me and saying it like that almost makes me believe it’s possible,” he says finally. “You’re a force, Kylie, and I can see that, but I don’t think you’re going to have much luck convincing anyone else.”

“You haven’t seen her in action, Grandpa. Anyone dumb enough to deny her is not someone we need as an ally, if you ask me,” Jonah declares. Then he turns to Kylie and suggests, “Maybe you should show them some of your weird magic stuff so they can see what you can do.”

Kylie begins to laugh at that but sobers when she sees Tian shake his head.

“My suggestion, Kylie, is that you hold back your abilities as much as you can,” he advises. “Do what you need to get people to listen to you, and no more. We don’t want word getting out about you too soon and making you a target, especially not knowing who is friend and who is foe.”

“Agreed,” Adam chimes in. “Besides, we wouldn’t want you to create any problems for Jonah, so try to avoid shifting until he is securely bonded to the pack.”

“I’m obviously missing something here,” Alpha Mitchell comments, prompting Tian to begin explaining to him the power and rare abilities that Kylie possesses, assuring him that she has what it will take to lead an army and take on her father. Alpha Mitchell remains skeptical, but also begins feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time.

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At dinner later that night, Kylie, Adam, and Tian are seated at a table with her Aunt Evelyn. Jonah and his parents are with Alpha Mitchell and Luna April at the table right next to them, and Isabel sits elsewhere with some of her friends. Kylie listens as her aunt tells them more stories about her and Abby when they were younger, but her attention is drawn to Jonah when he starts acting strangely.

She notices him tense up as he clenches his jaw and fists and hears him growl lowly, so she follows his gaze across the room to where she sees a young woman with long jet-black hair being escorted into the room by a man she assumes is the woman’s father based on the age difference and resemblance.

“Oh no,” she exclaims under her breath, then rises as she realizes Jonah is about to charge across the room after that woman.

She moves to intercept him and grabs his shoulder to spin him around to face her. He turns to her and growls, the veins in his neck bulging.

“Move, Kylie!” he barks out, and she notices people around them clearing the area to give them space.

“Jonah, don’t. He’s her dad! Her dad! Did you hear me? Don’t hurt him!” she pleads with him.

She grabs both of his hands and quickly tries to transmit some calm to him, which seems to be working until he looks up at where the woman is still leaning on her father, who has his arm around her.

Jonah shrugs off Kylie’s touch, then continues on his rampage across the room with his sister chasing after him. When he nears where the woman is standing gaping at them, he grabs her and pulls her to him, glaring at the man threateningly.

“Mine!” he declares, as though challenging the man to argue with him.

Kylie moves to shield the woman’s father from his wrath, reminding him again, “He’s her dad, and part of your pack. Control yourself.”

She focuses on the same scene in her mind from before that provides a sense of calm for her, attempting to project it in a radius that contains the girl’s father as well. She doesn’t want Jonah’s first interaction with the pack to be fighting his mate’s father because he’s irrationally jealous of him.

“You are her father, right?” she turns to the man and asks.

He clears his throat. “Uh, yes I am. I’m Eric Leighton and this is my daughter, Elizabeth,” he responds, gesturing to his daughter as he introduces her.

“That’s perfect. I love that name,” Kylie comments, thinking of how their adopted mother is named Elizabeth as well.

She sees that her brother and his mate seem to have accepted each other, judging by how their bodies are now entwined and they seem oblivious to the rest of the room around them, and smiles.

“He seems to have forgotten his manners, but this is my brother Jonah,” she informs Eric. “And apparently, he’s your daughter’s mate.”

“I see this. If I’m not mistaken, he is Alpha Mitchell’s grandson and our next Alpha?”

“He is. Sorry about his behavior. That’s not how he usually conducts himself.”

Eric chuckles and brushes it off. “Totally understandable, and her mother will be thrilled. She’s around here somewhere.”

He glances around the room for a moment seeming to look for her before abandoning the search and focusing on Kylie again.

“Nice to meet you …,” his sentence drifts off as he looks at her questioningly, and she realizes she forgot to introduce herself.

“Kylie.” She takes the hand he is offering her and shakes it. “Nice to meet you, too. We should probably get back up there, though, don’t you think, Jonah?” She taps her brother on the shoulder gently to grab his attention.

“Yeah, but I’m bringing her with me,” he insists.

Elizabeth grins and breaks away from his embrace, opting to take his hand instead. He leads her back up front and Kylie follows behind.

She returns to her table and meets Adam’s questioning gaze, then explains, “Jonah found his mate and was determined to rip her father’s head off.”

“Oh, so just a normal day with the Logans,” Adam quips, and Kylie smacks his arm playfully.

“Well, that’s exciting, and good timing too. Having a Luna at his side will only strengthen his claim,” Evelyn reminds them. Then she sighs wistfully. “Why is it so easy for everyone else with their mates?”

“I wouldn’t say everyone,” Tian comments.

Kylie reaches over to squeeze his hand, knowing chances are good that he has struggled more than anyone else in the room. And then there’s her own mother, whose history with mates is nothing to be envious about, but of course her sister doesn’t know the details of all that.

Moments later, Alpha Mitchell stands and silences the room. He has Jonah stand with him and makes the official announcement introducing Jonah to the pack and declaring his intent to challenge for the Alpha title in three days.

At the end of his speech, he turns to look at Jonah while still addressing the room and says, “I think that’s about all I had to say before we have the food brought out. Jonah, is there anything you would like to add?”

Jonah shakes his head and smiles. “Nope, I’m good. Let’s eat!” he declares, clapping his hands together.

People around the room laugh, cheer, and applaud, and platters of food start arriving at the tables. Kylie looks around and tries to get a sense of how the people here are responding to Jonah and is pleased to discover that they seem to like him. There is a lot of excited chatter about the prospect of having a new Alpha, and she can’t pick out anyone who seems to be upset about it.

Adam catches her eye and smirks at her. “Guess you only have three more days before you have to start calling your little brother ‘Alpha’ Jonah,” he teases.

She returns his smirk. “It was bound to happen eventually,” she dismisses the comment, waving her hand around as though the idea is inconsequential.

Soon their attention is drawn to the food placed in front of them, which includes course after course of salads and slaws, soups, side dishes, and hearty meat, fish, and poultry entrees. Evelyn explains that her father’s choice to serve comfort food and lots of it shows how excited he is about the occasion. Rather than choosing between them, Kylie decides to have the pot roast and the roasted chicken, and samples some of Adam’s salmon. Tian doesn’t partake of the feast, of course, but does enjoy their company and watching Kylie thoroughly stuff herself in a very unladylike manner.

After an eventful day and a hearty and satisfying dinner, they finally retire upstairs and settle into their guest rooms to rest and prepare for the long week ahead of them.