Bastien’s POV
“What the hell are you talking about?” I hiss.
“Hey, I was surprised myself,” Rafe answers snidely. “I thought you were finally ready to bury the hatchet, but from the looks of it you Novas are every bit as inbred and backward as I always thought. Can’t even throw a funeral without things devolving to bedlam.”
I brush off his insults, “No one invited you, Everhart.” I announce, mentally tracking my enforcers as they covertly move in, surrounding our assailants on all sides.
“I beg to differ.” Rafe quips, pulling an embossed parchment from his jacket and extending toward me.
Keeping one eye on the goading Alpha, I accept the paper, unrolling it swiftly and scanning the contents within. Sure enough, it contains an exact copy of the official invitations sent around to various packs and allies over the last few days, complete with my signature.
I pass the parchment to Donavon. “Unfortunately I must tell you that this invitation is not genuine.” I force the words out between clenched teeth. It’s true I did not sign any invitations to the Gemini pack, but someone has clearly been at work sowing the seeds of chaos.
“It has your signature Durand.” Rafe reminds me coolly.
“A forgery.” I clarify, “I needn’t remind you that my father was murdered. It can’t come as any surprise that there are players at large seeking to harm the Nova Pack. Unfortunately it seems you are a pawn in their schemes.”
Or an accomplice. Axel interjects, thoroughly put out not to be in the driver’s seat.
“Tsk, tsk.” Rafe chides, “It sounds to me like you don’t have control of your pack.” He adopts a theatrical pout, “I suppose that’s what happens when you leave a pup in charge.”
Enough with the diplomacy, Axel grumbles, let me take a bite out of this bastard,
I do that and I give him exactly what he wants. I argue back.
“You have my word we’ll get to the bottom of this.” I vow ominously, “All those responsible will pay. You and your men are free to leave – for the time being.”
Rafe narrows his eyes at my patronizing tone, belatedly scanning the group around us and discovering the counter moves I deployed while we spoke. Understanding sours his expression. He could order an attack now, if he had a death wish. We have them surrounded, a man within throat-ripping distance of his every last envoy.
The Gemini Alpha offers me a deferential nod, though his eyes are full of malice. “Until we meet again, Durand.”
I do not offer him the same courtesy, simply acknowledging his name as he turns away. “Everhart.”
When I’m certain the Gemini wolves are out of hearing distance, I turn to Donavon. “Send sentries to follow them out of the territory. Make sure they’re out, and keep tails on them. I want to know if they’re meeting with anyone from the pack.” I growl. “And find out where on the Goddess’s green earth that invitation came from.”
Donavon takes his marching orders proudly, showing me the same esteem he always afforded my father. “Yes Alpha.”
_______________
Selene’s POV
“That’s ridiculous.” I object, “They can’t blame you for what happened. The council knows Gabriel’s death was foul play, they must know this was malicious too – not incompetence.”
Bastien is pacing around his office, slowly wearing a hole in the carpet. “The fact is I didn’t see the Gemini’s coming.” He grouses, dragging a hand through his hair. “They’re right to question me. I fucked up.”
Indignance floods me on behalf of my husband. It isn’t fair for the elder council to judge him so harshly. “You were grieving.”
Bastien huffs out a weary laugh, pausing in front of me to stroke my cheek. “Alphas don’t have the luxury of personal feelings, little wolf. The pack has to come first one hundred percent of the time.” His handsome features seemed to have aged years over the last week. “There’s no excuse for letting enemies through our defenses.”
“That is an unreasonable standard.” I insist, “One to which they would never hold themselves.”
“You’re right.” Bastien agrees. “They wouldn’t, but they aren’t Alpha.” I latch onto his hand when he tries to pull away, convincing him to sink onto the sofa beside me. “These are the consequences of so much power. There’s no end to the responsibility, and no room for error.”
“How is anyone supposed to live up to that?” I demand, “How are you supposed to have a life if you can never take your eye off the pack?”
“It’s not about living up to it, or fulfilling my own wants.” Bastien reminds me, “I have the strength to lead, so I will – because I love this pack. That’s all there is to it.”
Now that Bastien has relaxed next to me, my own energy overflows in anxious flutterings. “That’s the other thing I don’t understand.” I gripe, “Does the council honestly think there is anyone in the pack more capable than you? Stronger than you?” I wriggle half-heartedly as Bastien tugs my body on top of his, propping my elbows on his chest and resting my chin in the cradle of my hands. “What’s the point of trying you when no one else is fit to be Alpha.”
“That’s exactly why we have them.” Bastien sighs, petting me absentmindedly. “To give challengers the opportunity to step forward and make a claim for leadership. If no one does, it goes on the record as a public censure.”
“So that future challengers can drag it back up years later to smear your good name.” I complain, my musings taking a decidedly vindictive turn. “I’d like to dig up every mistake the council members ever made when they were young and rub them in their wrinkled faces.”
To my surprise, Bastien laughs, the vibrations shaking my body fiercely. “Goodness, I had no idea you were such a vengeful little thing.” He teases. “Where have you been hiding all this ferocity, baby?”
I shrug. “I haven’t had a reason to channel it before.”
“Well I’m honored you tapped into it for my sake.” Bastien grins, pulling me up for a kiss.
In moments like this I can almost forget everything that’s happened between us. All the pain and rejection, the pain and loss. I can almost forget he doesn’t want me. I can almost pretend we have a future.
It won’t be long before reality sets in again. So rather than dwelling on everything that cannot be, I throw myself into the moment; pretending with every fiber of my being that this moment, and all this affection, will never end.
_______________
Bastien’s POV
My mother’s haunted face stares at me through the crowd, her eyes red-rimmed and once-golden skin pallid. Of anyone, the hearing has been hardest on her. Yet, as twisted as it probably sounds, I think my struggles have been good for her. The inquisition has helped keep her in the present and supporting me has given her some purpose in all this uncertainty.
I don’t know if I should be guilty for wanting to keep her here without her mate or not, but I know I’m not ready to lose her too. Perhaps it’s selfish, expecting her to find a reason to carry on without her mate. After all, I’m not sure I would want to live in a world where Selene no longer existed.
The grief assails me at the strangest of times. Sometimes it feels as if nothing which has happened over the last week is real, others the truth of my circumstances feel so overwhelming I can’t even draw breath.
Now, as I stare down the elder council, weathering hours of questions about my fitness to rule the pack, I want nothing more than to turn back the clock and beg my father for advice.
“Forgive us Bastien, but you’ve been Alpha for less than a week and we’ve already borne an attack on Nova territory.” The same pack elder has been droning on for the better part of an hour, litigating every last moment of the Gemini intrusion during my father’s funeral. “It’s true you neutralized the threat, but the fact remains the threat should never have gotten through our defenses in the first place. Why should the people of Elysium maintain faith in you as a leader, when this is what your brief tenure has granted us?”
“Esteemed council members,” I begin, making no attempt to withhold the innate Alpha authority of my tone. “I cannot deny that the appearance of the Gemini contingent at the Alpha’s memorial was unexpected and extremely unfortunate.”
I circle on the spot, directly my words now at the assembled pack. “They should never have made it past our borders and I take full responsibility for that lapse. However,” I continue, “despite my best efforts, I am just a man. I cannot see the future, and I am not immune to grief.”
“And like all men, I make mistakes.” I concede, returning my attention to the council. “I take the security oversight extremely seriously and plan on doing everything in my power to prevent such failures in the future. But there can be no denying we are under threat. The Alpha was murdered in his own office, in his own home.” My mother flinches with every word, and I’m eternally grateful Selene is there to wrap her in a hug.
“This is not just a threat to my family, it is a threat to the entire pack.” I growl. “Whoever did this came onto our territory and saw fit to inflict violence at the highest levels.” Heads nod in my periphery, giving me hope that my words are landing with the people if not the council.
“I want what is best for the Novas; I always have and always will. So if there is anyone out there who believes they can do a better job defending us, then I welcome your challenge.” I extend my arms, circling on the spot as I survey the assembled audience. “If any among you think you have what it takes to lead, speak now. Make me earn my place, or prove yourself more worthy.”
Behind me, the council murmurs amongst themselves, too quietly for me to decipher their words. Finally, the head councilor raises his voice above the din. “Well, are there any challengers?”
