‘You believe?’ though he was glad the man had checked on her, knew it was just to feel her out himself. Had likely either tried to connect a mind-link or felt for her tether.
‘Mm, I mind-linked to Lindal about an hour ago.’ He sighed a little heavily ‘she’s also still mad. Though I did tell her that Yuri and I were blindsided as much as Ori herself was. And that we only found out a few minutes before your father made the actual announcement. That seemed to work to get her to talk to me. Believed me, I guess. Though she is still mad herself.’
‘And?’ he prompted.
‘That’s it. Nothing else to tell, Ori was asleep in the spare bedroom when Lindal got up. She was out cold, were the words that Lindal used. I did ask her to let me know how she was doing when she wakes up…’
‘Didn’t like it?’ Slade sighed.
‘No, told me to just leave her alone, and not to expect Ori to come tonight.’
‘I already knew that wasn’t going to happen.’ He told them ‘Likely going to avoid the packhouse and all of us altogether, anywhere we go or hang out…’ he murmured ‘Sorry Palmer, Yuri, I had no idea they were going to do that myself.’
He’d already apologised to them, told them that, but what else could he do right now, but apologise again? It was likely they’d just lost one of their closest friends as well as he had. Only they’d done nothing to warrant it, simply losing her because they were part of his unit was all, and she would not want to be around him, therefore them.
‘Father and his unit.’ He asked.
‘Downstairs in his office, your mother and their mates are all with Dariah as expected on a day like today.’ Yuri answered him.
‘So, everything has just gone back to normal then?’ he muttered.
‘Yes, Yuri murmured, ‘your father said it was best for things to blow over quickly, if life moved on quickly as well. Though Anders is unhappy, stalking about the place when having to do his duties. Are you coming downstairs at all today?’
‘Yes, coming now. Meet me for breakfast.’
He strolled out of his suite to find Hayden just standing in the hallway. He glared right at that boy, did not want to see him at all. “Slade, I just wanted to say…”
He was on that boy, shoving him up against the wall across the hall. “Don’t you dare speak to me after what you did last night, and just so it’s clear to you, I don’t want you for my Beta. In case you didn’t catch that last night. I may have to have you as the Beta right this minute, but that does not mean I accept it, or want it. But you will not speak to me, period, you will learn your place and learn what respect is. I will make sure of it. You, Hayden, from now on, will speak to me, only when spoken to, otherwise I’ll beat you one for irresponsible behaviour.”
“I was just trying to apologise.” He gasped.
Slade glared right at him, yanked him off the wall and slammed him up against it. “Did I ask you a fucking question?” He snarled at the boy. Then he could smell fear coming off Hayden as he finally realised, that although he may have gotten what he wanted; taking over Ori’s position. That Slade was not his actual friend, didn’t in fact like him at all.
“I don’t want to see you come and go from the Beta Suite, and you step out of line just once, smile, laugh, be happy or gloat about where you are or what you have, I’ll make sure you remember who is supposed to be standing next to me. And that, ain’t you.” he pushed his face up close to Hayden’s “Do I make myself clear, Beta?”
“Yes, Alpha,” Hayden half whispered.
“Oh, and one more thing. Whatever you did to Ori’s car the day she took me to Alpha College, and I know you did something. Because we switched cars before we left the pack, I’m going to ask Lindal what it was, seeing as your sister never dobbed your ass in.
“Despite all the things you did to sabotage her, Hayden. Not once did she tell your father, or mine, about it. That is how a Beta should be. Not piss and moan about things, like you do. She never once tried to stop you, just took it all in her stride, that you, her own brother, a whiney spoiled baby, thought you had the right to take the position of Beta, even though you don’t deserve it, didn’t earn it, or work for it.
“One word out of your mouth will see your life be a living hell. I’m your Alpha now, and I can and will punish you for every infraction, everything I hear or see that is considered irresponsib le. Right down to being happy about getting what you think you are entitled to, but are not worthy of the role itself.” He shoved away from the boy and stalked off down the hall away from him.
He was going to be looking for a new Beta bloodline, he was never going to be able to accept that boy as his Beta. Not after everything he’d done to Ori, the way he’d gotten his position. Ori would be the last Vale of the Beta bloodline in this pack. He would find and bring in a new Beta if he couldn’t convince Ori to come back to the position herself.
He was going to wait and see, and if the moon set, and she was not his Mate, he was going to beat the hell out of his father and the unit, demanding she be reinstated, and a full formal apology be announced. With all the facts of what his father and hers had done. Admit they were wrong, in front of the entire pack.
Try and get her back where she belonged, next to him as he’d always seen it. He knew he himself also had some explaining to do, but he would do it. He already knew he was going to, and before he left tomorrow as well, he wasn’t leaving here until she talked to him, that much he knew.
Slade
He’d seen the dozen messages from Audrey when he’d gotten up, had sighed and been going to answer them, but had come across Hayden in the hallway. Then his temper had flared. He didn’t want to see that boy. But he had seen that his wolf had healed him from yesterday. He also noted as he sank down with Palmer and Yuri, that Palmer himself was healed up, “How’s the face?” he asked the man.
“Alright, she really does pack a wallop when ticked off. She has never hit me that hard before. “He muttered, “Broke my bloody nose, though that wasn’t my biggest concern.”
“What was?” he asked curiously.
“The one thing you don’t want someone in a bloodlust or almost there, smelling: the blood.” He’d sighed. “I had to leave her and flee to not let her smell it, and have that bloodlust evolve fully. Why I left her instead of staying with her.”
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