“She was right. I needed time,” I told him.
“I’m sorry you thought this was the only way forward. I wished I could have been there for you,” he said.
“Don’t blame yourself, Elder. You were a good older brother, the best I could have wished for. It wasn’t your fault, it was just what needed to be done. I’m happy, I have a good life and I’m in a good pack,” I told him. We let go of each other and took a step back. Elder reached for my hand as if he needed to have physical contact to make sure I didn’t vanish.
“Mom and dad will be so happy. You are okay with me telling them, right?” he asked.
“Of course. I would never ask you to keep it a secret.”
“Will you give me your phone number so I can give it to them? They will want to call you,” he told me. I smiled and nodded. He added my number to his phone. Elder turned his attention to Finlay. Finlay had stood quiet during my reunion with his brother.
“Thank you for accepting my sister into your pack and looking after her, Alpha Finlay,” Elder said and inclined his head.
“It was my pleasure. I couldn’t ask for a better Beta,” Finlay said. Elder’s eyes snapped back to me.
“Beta?” he asked.
“Dad rubbed off on me too,” I told him. He was about to ask me something when both him and me scented another familiar wolf. He gave me a worried look. I should have reassured him, but I was too shocked to do anything. My eyes went from my brother to his Alpha, standing a few feet behind him. James had also changed. But it wasn’t the fact he looked older and more mature that had my heart pumping like crazy. It was the fact I still felt the mate bond between us. I stepped backwards, away from my brother. I instinctively sought out my safe place. Finlay read my body language and he took two quick strides and placed himself between me and both my brother and James. I was confused. Why was the bond still there? Was the moon goddess so cruel that she had given me James as my second chance mate? No. That wasn’t it. I took a deep breath and tried to clear my mind. The bond was there, but it felt weak, like a rope that had been rubbing against rocks.
“Amie,” James said in a voice I couldn’t read. He took a step towards me. I took a step backwards and Finlay let out a low growl as a warning.
“Okay. Let’s calm down,” Elder said. Looking between his Alpha and me.
‘Are you okay?’ Finlay asked me in a mindlink.
‘No. I don’t know what is happening, Finlay. I-I can still feel the mate bond,’ I told him. He stiffened and then looked over his shoulder at me.
“Amie, you are still my mate,” James said.
“What?!” Elder exclaimed and looked at me. “That can’t be. I saw the rejection myself,” he added. I nodded.
“I can feel the bond as well,” I confirmed. “But it’s faint.”
“Alpha Finlay, step aside,” James told Finlay.
“No. I don’t care what bond you have with Amie. She is part of my pack and under my protection. She clearly isn’t comfortable around you so I’m not going to step aside,” he said. I felt myself relax a little. I was still safe.
“This is a mess. What do we do now?” Elder asked.
“We need to talk to the council. They may know what is happening, and they will guide us on what to do,” Finlay said. James and Elder both nodded. Finlay turned to me and I nodded. He put a hand on my back to guide me towards the council building.
‘I swear he rejected me,’ I mindlinked Finlay as all four of us walked together. Finlay made sure to keep himself in between me and the other two. I was afraid Finlay would think I had made up my story.
‘I know, Amie. Something isn’t right about all of this. But I believe you,’ he told me. I relaxed a little more.Finlay
We all walked into the council building together. I made sure to keep Amie separated from the other two. Her reunion with her brother had gone better than expected and I was happy for her. It wasn’t hard to see how much her brother adored his sister. But something was off. This mate bond thing felt off. I had seen the way Alpha James had looked at Amie, like a wish come true. I was not ready to let her go. In my mind and my heart, Amie was mine. By her reaction to all of this, I would say she wasn’t thrilled either. I had never seen her back away from anything before. With my hand on her back to make sure she knew I was there, I walked straight up to the desk where a clerk sat.
“We need an emergency meeting with the council,” I told him. The wolf behind the desk was about to say something as he looked up. He met my eyes and then looked over to Alpha James. He seemed to change his mind about what he was about to tell us.
“Yes, there seem to be some upset feelings. May I have your names and packs and I will tell the council.” We gave him what he asked for and he asked us to wait for one moment. He directed us to wait in separate areas. I was grateful for his tact, as it gave me a chance to make sure Amie was okay.
‘Are you okay to do this? Should I ask Sam to come and take you to the cabin?’ I asked her in a mindlink. She gave me a shaky smile.
‘No. I’ll be fine. I need to do this, I need the answers,’ she replied. She seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then she took my hand. I gave her hand a squeeze to let her know I understood, and then I let her be with her thoughts. She would let me know if she needed me. I had my back towards Alpha James and made sure to block his view of Amie.
“Please follow me,” the clerk said and showed us into the council room. The council members sat around the conference table and we stood at the end of it.
“Alpha Finlay, Alpha James, we were told you needed to speak with us, the head councilman said.
“We do. We need your help with understanding a situation,” I said. “My Beta will explain.” Amie took a deep breath and explained the situation to the council.
“The bond is still there,” she ended her explanation. “I don’t understand why.” The council members looked at each other.
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