Ronan’s POV
When Malia told me that Lila had caught her and Ryder in a compromising position, I was beyond pissed.
She had tried to convince me that it wasn’t that bad and Lila was just being overly dramatic but it did nothing to lessen my anger.
Why was he always interested in what I wanted? I wondered.
He had always known that I had a crush on Lila and yet he went ahead to ask for her hand.
I knew Lila was power-hungry and wouldn’t have chosen me, a beta, over an alpha. But still, Ryder’s betrayal hurt like a sting.
Malia was mine. She didn’t know it yet. She might feel she doesn’t have a place for a man in her life but she was soon going to realize that I was the right man for her.
I was still furious even after I’d left her room but I knew I had to stay calm. I couldn’t just go confront the Alpha about a woman even though he was my brother.
“Ah. So nice of you to join us, Ronan,” the Gamma Lucien greeted as soon as I opened the door to our conference room.
The other guards were already seated and turned to face me as I strolled inside the room.
Lucien had been my father’s close friend and confidante much to the annoyance of the former beta.
He smiled broadly as I approached him and spread out his arms wide for a hug.
I hesitated and he chuckled. “I thought it was only teenage boys that didn’t like being hugged.”
I rolled my eyes and moved into his embrace.
“Good to see you kiddo,” he said, patting me on the back.
“Good to see you too,” I murmured.
“You two should please get a room,” someone joked.
Lucien laughed as he released me. “You guys still haven’t changed.”
“We thought you weren’t coming back till next year,” I said.
He made a face. “So you aren’t happy to see me?” He joked.
“Hell no. You’re only going to make us work twice as hard now,” I replied with mock frustration.
“You bet,” he said, a grin on his face.
“Just like your father, I love all the training and fighting. All of it. There was no way I was going to stay away for a whole year. I even feel bad for taking a vacation.”
“We all know that it was a vacation well earned,” I reminded.
“Whatever. I’m here now and I don’t regret it,” he replied.
“Now, how’s our Alpha doing? He asked as he sat back down.
“As unpredictable and stubborn as always,” I answered, settling on a chair beside Derek.
“I heard he postponed the Luna ceremony,” he said and the room was soon filled with murmurings.
No one had expected Ryder to do that. An Alpha needed his Luna. The pack also needed its Luna. Ryder was already taking far too long to name a Luna.
I felt my stomach tighten in anger as I thought about his intention to make Malia his Luna.
There was no way I was going to let that happen. Maybe Lucien could talk some sense into him.
Lucien cleared his throat loudly and the room fell silent. “We don’t have to be so worried about that. I’m going to have a talk with him.”
“Now, to what I called this meeting for,” he began, and I could tell that he had everyone’s full attention. Even I sat up straighter.
“As we all know, a few days ago, some of the soldiers of the silver crescent moon pack came in search of a young woman whom they didn’t find here at the end of their search.”
“She still hasn’t been found but they’re quite sure that she’s still in the country. So they’ve asked for our help and the help of other packs, in involving more people in the search.”
“A price has been placed on her. Anyone who finds her is going to be handsomely rewarded. The Crescent Moon Pack’s Alpha thinks this is going to make more people interested in looking out for the woman of interest.”
“I just thought I should inform you guys first before the rest of the community knows. I’ll be passing the information across to the Alpha when he’s ready to see me. Then he’s going to make a public announcement,” he finished.
“The Alpha is not going to like the fact that you told us first before telling him,” I said.
He grinned. “He doesn’t have to like it.”
Lucien was the only one who could dare to annoy the Alpha. Ryder had a soft spot for him anyway. He considered him a father figure.
“Aren’t we supposed to have a picture of the woman we’re searching for?” Scott asked.
My heart sank. Yikes! How come I hadn’t thought about that? Malia didn’t want to go back and I didn’t even want her to also. I was sure Ryder wouldn’t want to hand her over since he was interested in her.
There was no way he was going to release her picture to the public. I was sure of it.
“We do have a picture. The Alpha is going to release it after the announcement,” Lucien answered and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’ll be all,” he said, dismissing us.
I remained seated on my chair as the others filed out of the room.
Once the room was empty apart from Lucien and I, he spoke.
“Say what’s on your mind,” he ordered.
I exhaled sharply. “It’s nothing serious. I just think that my brother is trying to break off his engagement with Lila.”
Lucien’s eyes widened in disbelief. “There’s no way he would do that.”
“Well, he told me about it,” I said.
“He can’t do that,” he protested, “it’s going to be disastrous.”
“Exactly my thoughts,” I replied.
“But why the sudden change of mind? Has he fallen in love with another woman?” He asked.
“An Alpha’s choice of a Luna cannot be based on love alone,” he quickly added.
I nodded in agreement. “Like you said, you’d have to talk some sense into him.”
“I sure will,” he replied.
He regarded me in silence for a moment.
“What about you?” He suddenly asked.
“What about me?” I returned, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.
“When are you going to choose a mate?”
Oh, here we go again.