Page 96 of Moon Claimed
“Wade said you spoke with Foley after,” Roderick said to me.
I swallowed. “I did.”
“She’s got a lot on her plate.” Nathan peered to the door. “I’m worried about her.”
“Something else must have happened,” Valerie pressed.
“I’ll speak to my sister after the meeting,” I said. “Otherwise, I agree with Pascal’s earlier words. Personal problems have no space in here.”
Scanning each of them, I gave space for their disagreement.
They didn’t give any. Probably because steam was coming out of my ears.
“Back to my point,” I said. “I’d also like to restart a team that Mrs Frey tells me once existed. This team will brainstorm ways we can display greater care of the land in our grids. The team was disbanded ten years ago, and I can’t help wondering, with the progression of environmentally friendly technology in recent years, if we’re doing everything possible to ensure the wellbeing of this valley. This is a fundamental clause in the contract, and I don’t want to give the Luthers any excuse to challenge us in the future.”
“The team could analyse the Luther’s grid care for weaknesses too,” Trixie said.
With half a mind on the discussion around me, I released a pent-up breath.
Stretching my hearing in the direction of the office, I listened for sounds of Rhona’s breathing or pacing, unsurprised when I didn’t hear signs of life.
Rhona was making a stand for head steward.
And she held the ace in her hand.
* * *
“Shit and fuck.” Wade gaped.
I flopped on the bed. “Tell me about it.”
Ironically, turning into a wolf was the easiest part of my week. Rhona had made the last three days a living hell. She’d ignored my summons to talk and evaded attempts to track her down. She’d returned to head team meetings with barely veiled animosity but had set her intention to contributing to the best of her ability. I could tell some of the head team were impressed at the sudden change.
“That explains a lot.” On the couch, he sipped on a cider.
I wouldn’t mind a bottle of gin right now. Sabotaging myself had never held such appeal. “Like what?”
“Uh, she’s sprouted some weird views in training the last couple of mornings. That we should take a more violent approach with the Luthers. That the wolves were able to handle a literal landslide and with the two hardest grids coming up, we can’t restrict ourselves to a soft approach.”
I stared at the wood ceiling. There was no doubt that more violence would be popular to some stewards. “Right. Dare I ask what the reaction was?”
“She has her supporters, but like me, most people were uncomfortable with her comments and a little confused. She was almost criticising you, but just falling shy.”
I’d always maintained Herc was wrong about Rhona. She had the capacity to lead. Her weakness, in my eyes, rested in her lack of subtlety when it came to managing people.
Because, in short, people didn’tliketo be managed.
It wouldn’t be her weakness forever though.
“Hopefully her words don’t gain momentum,” I said after a beat. “I’m not here to kill Luthers or maim them. Maybe she’s right though—about the soft approach. I mean, I never would have cleared the landslide operation, yet that won us Sandstone.”
Perhaps Rhona was the right leader. Maybe I was resisting a change of leadership that would benefit the tribe. Didn’t I believe her to be the better choice from the start?
Wade dragged me to sitting. “No way. Don’t do thatmaybe she’s rightbullshit, Andie Thana.”
“I’m Andie Booker though,” I whispered.
Wade set his cider down and gripped my shoulders. “I’m all for choosing whoever the hell you want to be, but never for a minute think someone else can choose that for you. If you want to be a Thana, then you’re aThana. Rhona’s hurting. And yes, maybe you could have handled things differently. But what’s done is done. You’re the bestperson for the job. I’m not telling you that because I’m your friend. I’m saying that I’m your friend because of it.”