Page 75 of Alpha Games
I wasn’t sure what to expect when she stood in front of them, knowing we didn’t do the hierarchy thing and respect had to be earned with these wolves.
Ivan was the first to rise to his feet, baring his neck to Aspen. “Luna.” The rest of the pack followed suit and I could sense their eagerness at having her in our midst.
A deep crimson blush blossomed across her cheeks as she clung to my hand. “Oh gosh. You don’t actually have to call me that.”
I wrapped her in my arms, nuzzling her neck to make sure she was still wrapped in my scent. “What else should they call you?”
“Aspen works.” She relaxed in my arms. “Just don’t call me late for dinner.”
There was an awkward stillness as the crickets chirped and my shifters looked to each other.
“That was a bad joke,” Aspen groaned.
Jenna burst into laughter first, followed by Beau, and then the rest of them joined in. Before I knew it, Aspen was swept away and carried over to the seat of honor at the bonfire.
Someone put a marshmallow stick in her hand and a beer in mine. I sat down to watch as she burnedher first mallow. Mattox leaned over with a dramatic sigh to teach her his special ways.
Fallon squatted down beside me, stretching her fingers out to the fire. “The pack already loves her.”
I grunted. It was apparent with how everyone was inching closer, trying to get a word in with her as she studied the marshmallow turning golden under Mattox’s watchful eye. My beast grumbled, a little jealous all her attention was on them, but we knew being Alpha put us in the spotlight.
“Are you okay with how it all turned out?” Fallon asked. Aspen screeched as the marshmallow caught a flame and hurried to blow it out. She smiled in triumph at me.
I returned her smile, feeling silly. “Why wouldn’t I be? I won more than I ever expected.”
“I’m glad to see you happy, brother.” Fallon grabbed my shoulder, using it to stand up. “Ivan says he’ll finish sorting through the security footage by the morning so we’re good to get on the road. Guess we’ll leave without seeing the fight to the end.”
I stared at the cackling fire, feeling the challenge call to a darkness within me. “Are you okay with how this is turning out?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Fallon arched an eyebrow. “I like Aspen and she’s good for you. She’ll be good for the pack.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Fallon stood, studying the fire. “Mom would’ve never wanted us to get revenge. This wassomething we decided we needed, but we’ll find another way. And I’m sick of this show. Tell me it’s not strange that they denied your favor and set up a cage fighting event instead. Something is fishy. I want to leave before we get caught up in a mess.”
I nodded, knowing my sister was right. “Is the mystery wolf you were running with the other night coming back to McCaw with us?”
She clenched her teeth and growled. “No. Leave it alone.”
“Are you sure?” I started to tease, realizing I had to drag this out. “Because–”
Aspen’s gasp drew my attention.
“So basically Crowley, the Alpha of Tulia Pack’s younger brother, was running drugs throughout the west coast and getting shifters hooked,” Mattox was explaining. “He hit a lot of the outskirt packs, getting locals addicted, and then to save the town,” he air-quoted with his fingers, “Tulia’s Alpha would swoop in buying up small mom-and-pop shops and liquidating shifter run business to increase their companies holdings.”
“How does this involve Ranger?” Tears sprung to her eyes as she looked to me and Fallon. After everything we’d been through, I couldn’t stand to see the pity on her face. I rose to intervene, to stop the conversation, but Mattox kept going without sensing me.
“His mom owned a diner in Canyon City and after she slipped down the ketamine rabbit hole, she lost the business and ended up on the streets. Theymoved to Portland and she died about a year later.” Mattox felt me standing beside him and looked up. He was an honest shifter. I knew he wasn’t gossiping just to run his mouth.
But my beast growled anyway.
Aspen stood, putting herself between us and protecting my Beta from my reprimand. “And then what happened?”
I sucked in a slow breath, not wanting to talk about this right now. Not when everything between us was so new. She bit her lip, turning those tear-filled eyes up to me. Ones that begged for my darkest secrets.
“And then Ranger got dragged into the fighting circuits with half the other kids suffering the same fate we did,” Fallon explained as she came to stand beside me. “He paid back our debt and got us out of the slums, taking over the McCaw Pack when the old Alpha wouldn’t clean up the streets from Tulia’s influence.”
“That’s why you came here.” My smart mate was piecing it all together. “Revenge for your mother and for the rest of your pack. You were hoping to get a favor from Chad that would make Tulia Pack in debt to you?”