34

34
BRANDON
Jack comes wandering across the grounds while I’m sitting in front of the meeting house, waiting for Alicia to come out.
I’m not a fan of Jack. He’s about ten years younger than I am, and he thinks he knows it all. He’s got his nose way up Lonnie’s ass, too-it couldn’t be more obvious that he’s bucking for a promotion, that he wants to be second once Lonnie becomes alpha. I don’t think Lonnie will ever give it to him, because Lonnie knows I’m stronger and faster than either one of them. But it’s annoying to watch the little grubber try to push me out of the way.
Not that I want the alpha spot. The pack politics are just so aggressive all the time. It bothers me.
Honestly, he’s one of the few people left in this pack who runs a regular risk of provoking me to the point of violence. I’ve just about learned how to live with everybody else.
“Hey,” he says when he gets close enough to talk. “Brandon. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Just hanging around.”
“Still on babysitter duty with Alicia?” He shows his teeth. It doesn’t look like a smile-it’s a display of dominance.
I nod. “Like Lonnie asked,” I remind him.
“Shit job,” he says. “You must be pissed he’s not giving you more important things to do. But I guess it just goes to show who he’s putting his trust in.”
“Why?” I ask. “What’s he got you doing?” Jack just shakes his head and grins.
That tells me all I need to know. If he was doing an important job, he wouldn’t be able to resist bragging about it. The fact that he doesn’t have anything to say tells me he’s not involved in anything important.
“I’m surprised he didn’t take you along to The Boneyard,” I say. “Isn’t that your scene?”
He laughs. “Didn’t want to go,” he says. “I’ll go to The Boneyard with him next time.”
“Sure, if he takes you.”
Jack scowls. “He’ll take me.”
I know I shouldn’t antagonize Jack, but really, he came over here to give me a hard time, so I’m just giving it back to him. “What are you doing here?” I ask. “I know you’re not going to the meeting.”
He shakes his head. “Lisette asked me to meet her here.”
“And you agreed?” He’s not the kind of guy to just give his mate what she asks for out of the goodness of his heart.
“Well, you know.” He makes a face. “If I make her happy, she gives me what I want later.”
What a creep. What a fucking creep.
“Damn, I miss the old days,” he says. “When you could just tell a woman what to do and she’d fall in line. But I guess you couldn’t deal with being the only one who ever got pushed around by a bitch. That’s why you set this up, right? You got rejected, and you didn’t want anyone else to be able to control their mates either, since you couldn’t.”
“You’re an idiot,” I tell him.
“I’m an idiot, but at least I’ve got a mate. At least I’m not following the bitch who rejected me around like a kicked puppy.”
“Don’t call her a bitch.”
“Why the hell shouldn’t I? It’s what she is. I’m surprised you don’t want to tell her off. I mean, I get that you can’t, because Lonnie is making you be nice to her. But you should be glad I’m willing to do it for you.”
“Yeah, you’re a real hero.”
“At least I knew how good I had it before you set this shit up,” he says, waving a hand at the meeting house. “But it won’t be long now.”
“Meaning what, exactly?”
“You don’t think Lonnie’s going to let this shit go on once he takes over as alpha, do you?” Jack laughs. “Vern might be a soft touch, but Lonnie would never let women stand up against their mates like this. He knows who should be in charge here.”
I hadn’t thought of that. But now that he says it, it seems obvious. Of course Lonnie’s going to disband this group. Of course he’s not going to let the women of the pack hang onto the little bit of power they’ve managed to acquire over the last decade. Why would he? The only thing Lonnie has ever cared about is getting what he wants-from life, and from women.
“Listen, Jack,” I say. “This pack wouldn’t exist without the support of the women. You can say shit about me because my chosen mate decided to leave,
and that’s fine. But where will you be when yours decides to leave? She’s had a taste of freedom now, and if you and Lonnie decide to take that away, all the women might go.”
“Oh, no, they won’t,” Jack says. “You might not know how to keep a bitch in line, but Lonnie and I do. They won’t leave us because we won’t allow them to leave. And if you were a real man, you wouldn’t have let Alicia reject you either.”
“Now you’re talking about forced mating,” I say. “This pack’s never done that. It’s inhumane.”
“Well, if it works…” he says with a grin.
What a fucking sicko. I actually can’t stand him. And he’s crazy if he thinks I would ever have tried to control Alicia that way. Never.
If he’s willing to consider that possibility, maybe I should let someone know. This is actually dangerous. And it really fucking disturbs me.
I turn away from him. I can’t stand to continue this conversation any longer.
“Have a good one,” Jack says. “Don’t let the bitch get you down.”
I don’t respond. I wait until I hear his footsteps receding before I take my seat again.
Men like him are enough to make me want to go back to my old ways of turning every disagreement into a brawl. But I’m supposed to be showing Alicia that the pack is different. She can’t come out and find me standing over Jack’s beaten body.
But what if I’m wrong?
What if the pack hasn’t really changed at all?