“I’m sorry?” Thomas asked. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”
Phoebe inclined her head as if sharing his confusion before saying, “You’re daughter attacked and maimed a she wolf yesterday. I would think an apology is very least we should expect.”
“Y-yes..well..that she-wolf insulted my daughter first.”
Phoebe’s gaze narrowed as she frowned, “I take it then you approve of your daughter’s action and you also believe attacking a pack member, slashing their face with silver-laced claws is an appropriate response when the wolf in question has forgotten to add pepper to your omelet.”
Phoebe enunciated every word carefully and gauged his response. It didn’t surprise her he was unaware of the details of yesterday’s incident. Katrina didn’t strike her as a particularly truthful wolf.
“Then please tell me Alpha Thomas what is the appropriate punishment for your maid when she forgets to fluff your pillow: a week in the cells I suppose?”
Jason struggled to contain his mirth as Thomas’s face reddened. But Phoebe wasn’t done. From the start the incident left a bad taste in her mouth and Mani pushed her to speak her mind.
“Alpha Thomas, having a face scarred by silver claw marks may not seem like a great hurdle for you and your warriors but for a young, unmated she wolf the prospect is quite devastating.”
“W-well…um..”
“Sh-shut up!” Katrina suddenly leapt to her feet. “You b***h!
Jason growled but Phoebe barely acknowledged her. She had ignored the she wolf’s presence but suddenly turned her gaze on Katrina, her gray eyes shimmering silver as Máni pressed close.
“If you intend to act like a child you should expect to be treated as one. Since you can’t handle a simple conflict without involving your daddy I suggest you sit down and be quiet. The adults are talking.”
Katrina’s face burned beet red as Jason and Luke fought to keep their laughter contained. Phoebe was so calm it was hard to believe she was the same, shy she-wolf they met in Washington. Even Thomas’s escort was having a difficult time maintaining his composure.
“Y-you.. You’re nothing! A nobody,” Katrina declared. “Im the one meant to be Luna here!”
“Now we both know that isn’t true…or else you would be in my seat.”
Jason squeezed her thigh hard struggling to appear calm while inside he and his wolf were rolling with glee. Katrina’s mouth dropped like a codfish. No one ever talked back to her.
“But…l thought Katrina and Jason were mates,” Thomas finally said trying to regain some control of the conversation.
“And what gave you that impression?” Jason asked. “
Everyone knows how long I’ve been looking for my Goddess-given mate.”
“B-but,” Thomas hesitated. “Katrina’s eighteenth birthday.
We held it here because our packhouse flooded. She said she scented you and knew you were mates. You were just playing hard to get.”
Jason growled but the tingles Phoebe’s caressing fingers made kept his rage in check. However it was her reply that stunned him completely.
“Well, she told you half the truth,” Phoebe said. “She did scent her mate…a delta warrior named Garrison who she rejected two seconds after meeting him. You remember don’t you? You said his name when you rejected him.”
Phoebe again looked to Katrina who stood in utter silence.
The she wolf was pale almost lifeless at hearing her greatest shame thrown at her.
“You’ll be happy to know hes one of our most highly-decorated warriors now,” Phoebe said. “He also met his second chance mate. A she wolf named Amber. They have an adorable, two-year-old son Billy and they are expecting again. Garrison is hoping for a little girl.”
Jason shot Luke a confused look but the beta could only shrug. He knew of Garrison. The young warrior had made a name for himself by volunteering for some of the most dangerous assignments. Luke thought he was like most young males always testing the limits of their near immortality but now…It sounded more like a wolf dancing on the edge of self-destruction trying to forget his mate’s rejection.
Luke remembered being relieved after Garrison met his mate. The gentle she wolf calmed the warrior and he stopped taking so many risks. When their pup was born Garrison couldn’t stop grinning ear to ear.
“H-how do you know that?” Katrina muttered. “Y-you weren’t even here.”
“I met Garrison today when he dropped Billy off at the pack daycare,” Phoebe answered. “He was surprised when I asked him if it was difficult getting over his first mate.
Apparently he never told anyone about his rejection except
Amber. I told him wolves recognize our own kind.”
“Your own kind?” Thomas repeated.
“Jason is my second chance mate. He’s already done so much to fill the hole my previous mate left…but a rejection isn’t something you just forget. It stays with you, lingers, festers,” Phoebe answered without shame. “That’s why I was curious how he coped.”
“W-what would you know?” Katrina scoffed. “You’re just a rejected cow. And you’re a liar.”
“If you like we can settle all this right now,” Phoebe said.”
As Alpha Thomas’s daughter you have a natural resistance to his command and as Jason’s mate I have the same resistance to his. So let’s have Jason command you and tell the truth and I’ll have your father do the same to me.
Well see who is lying. Or we can just summon Garrison. I’m good with either. Or you could sit down… and be quiet.”
Katrina sank into her seat. She had never told a soul about her first mate and hadn’t thought about him for a moment since the rejection. It was her assumption he left with his tail between his legs and wasted away somewhere. Never once did she consider the possibility he stayed with the pack or that he made a reputation for himself let alone started a family.
“Alpha Thomas,” Phoebe turned her attention to the shocked alpha who seemed to be seeing his daughter for the first time. Her tone until now had been harsh but now she spoke gently, “I know it’s late but I want to offer my sincerest condolences on the loss of your mate. I can’t imagine how difficult it had to have been for you.”
“..Thank you.” Thomas managed even as his gaze glistened with tears at the mere memory.
“It’s amazing how you have carried on in her memory and I understand why you have doted on your daughter so much,
“Phoebe continued, “but I hope you are beginning to understand that spoiling her has done her no favors. Since she rejected her Goddess-given mate she will have to take a chosen mate. Right now I’m afraid you will be hard-pressed to find one willing to settle with her even with Blood Moon pack as their prize.”
Thomas grimaced but there was no anger left in him or his wolf. Both were shocked by the revelations she had given them and were beginning to understand their princess had become someone else entirely. He couldn’t help but think how different it would have been if his mate survived.
Katrina lacked a strong female example in her life which was why he encouraged her to spend so much time with Blue Moon hoping Norah could provide that example. But whenever Norah criticized or tried to discipline Katrina Thomas stepped in to shelter his precious daughter. Now he saw he had done more harm.
Suitably chastised Thomas nodded in agreement. There would have to be drastic changes. He looked again at the young woman perched on Jason’s lap. It was almost laughable he thought Jason and Katrina were mates. It was clear the Moon Goddess planned something important for the young alpha to give him such a regal mate.
“Thank you for your kind words,” Thomas said. “I think my daughter and I have much to discuss. The she wolf she hurt…if there is anything I can do…”
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