Alpha's Legacy (Black Moon Saga Book 3)

13. Dinner Guests

For the most part, it does seem like Tian was being a bit of a worrywart. People here have been friendly to both me and Rowan. I’ve noticed that it’s actually Tian that many of them seem to take issue with, though only once he has turned his back. To his face, they’re all smiles.

But as promised, Alpha Magnus is the friendliest of all, and his affection for Tian seems genuine.

“You know, your dad and I are old war buddies,” he tells me at the dinner table.

It’s the first that he’s spoken to me directly other than during our initial introductions, though it’s not as though he’s been ignoring me. He was just busy giving us a tour of his massive packhouse and showing us our rooms in one of the many guest houses on the property. Everything about this pack oozes wealth, which I suppose makes sense considering what Tian was telling us earlier about this Alpha’s business endeavors.

But now that we’re all seated at a long, formal dining table with me and Rowan next to Tian on one side of the Alpha and the Alpha’s own family on the opposite side of the table from us, there’s more space to chat.

“So I’ve heard,” I answer Alpha Magnus. “From all my dads, actually. I’m well aware of your invaluable contributions to my mother’s cause, and the help you provided during the war.”

“I’ve heard that he’s the reason why any of the Redwood warriors even survived,” Rowan chimes in, but then almost immediately blushes crimson and shoots me an apologetic look.

For someone so talkative and friendly, keeping quiet seems to be the hardest thing he’s ever done. But I don’t think that comment was misplaced or will be considered offensive. He was just admiring their Alpha.

Alpha Magnus gives Rowan an appreciative smile before raising his glass and nodding at my Uncle Robbie seated not far from me, just on the other side of Rowan.

“Actually, that would be Beta Robert who came to their rescue,” the Alpha corrects Rowan. “When the Luna passed along Alpha Gregory’s distress call, he as much as volunteered to go and help him.”

Rowan turns and looks at Uncle Robbie, nodding at him respectfully.

“Well then it’s you I should thank,” he tells him. “Many of my friends wouldn’t have fathers if not for you, and their younger siblings wouldn’t even exist. So, thank you for your bravery and for all you’ve done for the people of Redwood.”

Uncle Robbie smiles back at him but doesn’t get a chance to say anything before he’s interrupted by one of the Alpha’s sons.

“I thought the Redwood pack was absorbed by Black Moon after the war,” he says.

“It was, but the orchard is still known as the Redwood orchard, and the people who live and work there could still be considered the people of Redwood,” Alpha Magnus explains.

“And not to mention, pack identities are hard to let go of,” Tian points out. “Alpha Kylie has been understanding of that, and even allows the people who came from Redwood to wear a special pin or patch as a reminder of their heritage. Same for any of the other packs Black Moon has absorbed, both before and after the war.”

“That seems risky,” the Alpha’s son goes on. Alpha Magnus only gestured at his family and introduced them as his family, so I’m not even sure of his name.

“If it’s pack loyalty you’re worried about, it’s not an issue,” Tian assures him. “I would even argue that by allowing her people to keep their identities even though they’re joined to a larger society now, she has secured both their love and their loyalty. They may wear the symbols of their former packs, but they also pledge their allegiance to Black Moon and show how much they mean it every day of their lives.”

“But how can you know that?” the young man continues to press the issue.

“I can answer that,” Alpha Magnus jumps in. “I know it’s quite a different way of doing things than we’re used to, and it may even be that it only works for the Luna because of who she is, but she keeps an open-door policy. That means that should anyone wish to leave the pack at any time or for any reason, they need only submit a formal request, and she’ll let them go.”

“But why would she –” his son persists, until Alpha Magnus holds up his hand to silence him.

“Because she knows what she’s doing,” he explains using a tone that offers no room for argument. “And it’s not your place to question the Luna. Besides, it works. How many people have requested to leave your pack since she implemented that policy, Tian?”

“None,” Tian says simply, not giving away to the untrained eye how satisfying he finds it to be able to say that to the young man. I can tell, though, because I know Tian.

“Oh,” the Alpha’s son says, and that seems to quiet him down.

Him and everyone else. There are a few moments of blissful silence before anyone speaks again. And surprisingly, it’s Tian who breaks the silence.

“So, your father tells me that it’s just about time to pass the pack over to you, Leopold. Next month?”

And to my relief, it’s not the son who was so full of questions a moment ago who responds to him. It’s the taller, quieter one to his right.

“It’s Lee,” he says flatly. “And yes, next month.”

“You should start getting used to people calling you Leopold, since they’ll be doing it all the time after next month,” Alpha Magnus points out.

“Perhaps I should legally change it before the ceremony then,” Lee retorts, still not even bothering to look up from his dinner plate.

I do that too, but I suspect it’s for different reasons. He just seems to be uninterested in the people and conversation at this table, and annoyed that he’s being called upon right now.

“You’ll do no such thing,” Alpha Magnus insists. “I won’t allow it. And before you go saying that you’ll just wait until you’re Alpha, keep in mind that the law won’t allow it either. Do you think I love being called Magnus all the time? It sounds like a sneeze, or someone coughing up phlegm or something. But nevertheless, it was the name given to me according to our family’s traditions, and it’s been my task to wear it with pride. You’ll do the same if you wish to avoid dishonoring yourself with your people.”

“Perhaps I’ll just take it to the Luna then and see if she’ll change the law for me the way that she did for you,” Lee answers him, his tone dripping with sass and disrespect.

I’m honestly shocked that he’s being allowed to go on like this, especially in front of guests. If Emerick pulled a stunt like this, and Goddess knows how much he enjoyed doing just that, he would immediately have been sent to his room and kept under guard until one of our parents went to deal with him. That way, the humiliation would be his and his alone.

“That’s enough,” Alpha Magnus orders, allowing some of his Alpha aura to creep into his tone.

Everyone except Tian and the person the tone was meant for pauses what they are doing to either bow their heads or bare their necks to their Alpha. But Lee just sits there eating like nothing has happened. Now I’m wondering if Alpha Magnus has waited too long to pass on his Alpha power. It seems to have waned a bit too much if his next-in-line can no longer be intimidated by him.

Or maybe it’s just that he didn’t throw the full force of his aura into his command. I truly hope that’s it, for his sake. How embarrassing to have to deal with Lee acting like that for another month, and how worrisome that someone so sulky and disrespectful is about to be given power over the second largest pack, our strongest ally.

The rest of our meal goes on a lot quieter, and thankfully, neither Lee nor his brothers seem to have any other comments to make. It’s not really even my place to be wondering it, but I can’t help but wonder why all of Alpha Magnus’s children seem so spoiled and unruly. I mean, having a rotten one of the bunch is one thing – even my own mother wasn’t immune to having one like that – but from where I’m sitting, it kind of seems like they all might be sassy troublemakers, and some of them are already grown and probably harder to control because of it.

But as our meal concludes, I shake it off. It doesn’t matter in the long run. I’ll only be here long enough to share a few meals with these people, and then we’ll be off to wherever we’re headed next.

It is strange, though. Margot really seems to like it here, and she has as much as told me that she enjoys the company of the Alpha’s children. Maybe it’s not Lee or the other brother who was so outspoken at dinner though. Maybe she meant the younger boys who seem more her age. And now that I think of it, she has mentioned the Alpha having daughters before, and yet I didn’t meet any at dinner.

We part ways with the Alpha’s family, though Alpha Magnus stays with us as we group up with my Aunt Emily and Uncle Robbie, who intend to walk us through the packhouse. Now that I think of it, their children weren’t at dinner either, boys or girls.

As we’re making our way back through the packhouse headed to our guest rooms for the night, I’m starting to hear the din of lots of voices grouped up together somewhere nearby. Coupled with the smell of food wafting through the halls, I finally put it together that ours wasn’t the only dinner going on in this packhouse. There must be a meal being served in what I assume is the pack dining hall, and maybe the young people who were missing from our table are taking their meal there instead.

It’s Rowan who captures my notice next. He’s slowed down, pausing to dramatically sniff the air, visibly fighting his wolf back as he takes in whatever he’s smelling. I only smell the same chicken and vegetables that we were served upstairs, but I suppose since he’s older and has his wolf, his senses are probably keener than mine.

“Are you a big fan of our chef’s chicken parmigiana or something, boy?” Alpha Magnus asks teasingly, pausing to watch Rowan sniffing the air like that.

“No, there’s something … something that I can’t quite put my finger on because of all the other scents, but it’s driving my wolf insane,” Rowan explains.

Magnus glances around, first at Tian and then at my Uncle Robbie, and grins.

“It looks like we might soon be claiming another one from you, Tian,” he says good-naturedly. And then to Rowan he adds, “Come, Rowan. Let’s go in and find your mate.”

Giving one last look at Tian, who nods once in response, Alpha Magnus takes Rowan by the elbow and starts leading him down the hall, disappearing into one of the doorways with him.

“Even if it is his mate that he smells, Alpha Magnus doesn’t really mean to keep him, does he?” I feel a need to ask, looking at Tian first before realizing that it might actually be Uncle Robbie I should be asking since he’s from here. “I mean, they’ll have a choice of which pack to join together?”

“I couldn’t say for sure because Magnus does seem to be more willing to bend the rules for your mom and people from her pack, but no, that’s not usually how it works,” Uncle Robbie tells me gently, reaching out to grasp my shoulder reassuringly. “If your friend does find a mate in one of our pack’s women, he won’t be given the option to reject her, and most likely, she won’t be given the option of leaving the pack with him.”

“Quite honestly, Anna Jade, I suspect that Rowan will want to stay anyway,” Tian adds. “He’s of an age and build where he will be required to join the warriors, which is what he has been wanting. I have a feeling he’ll be ecstatic about this.”

And I didn’t even make it a whole day before I lost my new companion, which as selfish as it may be, is what has me feeling so down currently. I’m happy for him finding his mate, assuming that’s what’s going on, but I was starting to hope from how he and Tian have been getting along all day that I might be able to convince Tian to let me bring him along with us on the rest of our trip. I was already letting myself look forward to more days like today, which has been the best day I’ve spent in a long time.

“Magnus is reporting in that your friend has located his mate, and he’s eager to claim her,” Uncle Robbie tells us. “So, if it’s alright with you, Tian, he’s offering the boy a private suite so he can spend the night with his new mate.”

“I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye,” I protest selfishly, holding back the childish tears pricking at the backs of my eyes.

“We’re not leaving here just yet,” Tian reminds me. “I’m sure you’ll get some time to see him tomorrow and perhaps even meet his mate.”

I don’t have much to say to that, only grumbling my acknowledgement as Tian makes arrangements with Uncle Robbie. My Aunt Emily comes and takes me by the arm, and she looks and smells so much like my mom that I can’t fight the urge to lean on her and soak in the comfort she is offering me.

I suppose Tian is right, though. It’s not like I was going to spend the night with Rowan anyway, and I can still see him tomorrow. I’m sure he’ll be a bit preoccupied with his mate because that’s how the newly mated tend to be, but maybe I’ll still be able to steal a hug or something.