Page 109 of Moon Claimed

“Rhona, I’ll always love you,” I whispered. “I know this doesn’t make sense, but we can survive what’s happening. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

She glanced out the window. “Love from someone like you doesn’t mean much when all youcando is love others.I mean, you could hardly love yourself.”

18

“I wasn’t sure at first, but he turned up at the riverside apartment when I was there once,” I said for the fifth time.

Rhona was nowhere to be seen and the head team wasn’t inclined to involve her in this discussion after the display on pack lands.

I was on the verge of fainting from exhaustion. I had to shift and yet this talk had to happen while I had their sympathy. From most of them anyway. Valerie was off Team Andie for good.

“We can use this to our advantage,” Roderick said. “He put antlers on her chair. The pack leader is inclined to be softer where Andie is concerned. I think there’s truth in this.”

That was a nice way of saying Sascha had a boner for me—which was essentially what I’d said.

“Why are we only hearing of this now?” Pascal asked. She’d been silent for the last half an hour.

I sighed. “Because I’m new to the valley, new to being a steward, new to head stewardship, and new to basically everything here. I thought this information could be detrimental and cause division between the stewards. I didn’t really know any of you, even when Herc asked me to sit in on your meetings for Rhona sometimes. I thought this could harm the way stewards and this team perceived me. It was a risk I didn’t want to take.”

“You sat in on head meetings?” Trixie asked.

I lifted a shoulder. “I thought Herc was embarrassed Rhona wasn’t around at the time, but now I wonder if he did it on purpose.” I looked at them. “What are the thoughts moving forward?”

Nathan looked around the table. “I’m inclined to agree that this should be kept from general steward knowledge. We can strategize in private.”

“The stewards have a right to know what their head steward is up to.”

It was time to put Valerie in her place. My patience for her bullshit ran out sometime last week. “Valerie, while you offer valuable contributions to this team, I will always, no matter how you feel about me personally, listen to your opinions.As longas your opinion is made with the welfare of this tribe in mind. I understand that you loved my father, and that you greatly prefer his second daughter to myself. I understand that you dislike me so much it’s very hard to keep it under wraps. But as long as you can keep your opinions of me separate from your advice, you’ll find I don’t care.”

“What, like you’re doing?” she sneered.

I smiled. “Can you name one instance where I brought my issues into this room?”

“Rhona—”

“Exactly,” I cut her off. “Rhona.”

Valerie’s jaw set.

“Do you understand what I’m telling you?” I didn’t move my gaze from hers until she glanced away. And I had a feeling that my wolf got involved there.

“Yes,” she muttered.

I glanced at the others. “Today has upset us all, me included. In the interest of keeping the tribe strong and in the interest of protecting Rhona’s feelings, I’d appreciate everyone keeping what happened to themselves.”

“The pack leader asked that Rhona not be present in future meetings,” Pascal said as I rose. “We need to vote.”

“So we do.” I locked my shaking legs and leaned forwards on the table.

We need to shift,my wolf urged.

Five minutes.

“All in favour of the pack leader’s request?” I called.

Keeping Rhona from future gatherings would make life easier, but her anger would spill out in other areas. I may not be present in those areas to damage control.

“Andie? Your vote?”