Resisting the Alpha Triplets by Cara Anderson

Ch. 39 Alpha Stand-Off

Mallory’s POV

Nathan took my keys and slid into the driver’s seat of my car, insisting on driving me home after my hysterical tirade. I’d been ready to march into Blood Claw territory and confront Alpha Quade with nothing more than my wolf and my warrior training for protection. Something he only just managed to convince me would be a suicide mission.

After ranting and raving while pacing Nathan’s office for over an hour, I was drained, if no less impassioned. I wanted to go home, speak to Alpha Carl, determine what could be done to free my parents’ pack from the oppression they were suffering under that tyrant. But given my emotional state, Nathan hadn’t trusted me to get there safely on my own.

Mikhail followed behind us in Nathan’s SUV. Not only would he need a ride home, but Nathan thought he might be of help planning strategy if I was determined to take back Hazelwood. Winter Woods was a smaller pack with little to offer in the way of warriors or resources, but he and Mikhail both were known for their cunning minds. He could offer me that.

“Mallory, please try to relax.” Nathan clasped a strong hand over my knee to stop my leg from bouncing anxiously. ” I know you’re upset and I don’t blame you. But you’re going to have to find a way to calm down. Alpha Quade is a powerful man. He won’t be taken down easily. It will take planning and preparation. That won’t happen overnight.”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“How long then?” I demanded, “How long is a reasonable amount of time to let people suffer and die while we stay safely tucked away in an office strategizing?”

Nathan blew out an exasperated breath, wanting to answer me honestly, to lay out all the prerequisites required in planning a successful campaign, but clearly sensing the danger in doing so. My ability to think rationally was slipping through my perfectly manicured fingertips with every breath I took.

“Look. Mal. I shouldn’t have sprung that on you. I had no idea you would react so .” My eyes bored holes into the side of his head, daring him to call me crazy, but he didn’t. “So passionately.

“But the truth is, my information was all second hand. We have no idea what the reality of the situation is. We need intel. That can be dangerous to obtain and takes time. I know you’re worried about the innocent people there, but acting rashly will only send others to their deaths unnecessarily. I know you don’t want that.”

It was my turn to heave a sigh. I knew he was right. If I ran in there headlong, uninformed and unprepared, we could fail. And failure meant the people of Hazelwood would continue to suffer and even more men could die. That helped no one.

“So what would you advise?” I asked in resignation, but sincerely interested in his input.

“Pull together a team of experts, people you can trust. Then we all put our heads together and come up with a plan. But you need to think long and hard about what you want, love. Freeing the pack from a raging lunatic Alpha is one thing, but taking on the responsibility of ruling a pack is another. It’s a lifelong commitment and those people deserve stability. You need to be sure before you take that on.”

Nathan squeezed my hand and left me to my thoughts. What did I want? I hadn’t looked beyond my blind rage to imagine what the future would look like with Alpha Quade out of the way. Did I want to be an Alpha?

I didn’t know those people and they didn’t know me. I hadn’t grown up among them as I was meant to. But some part of me still felt responsible. Whether that responsibility was to avenge my parents and take down their murderer or to stay and restore the pack to its former glory, I wasn’t sure.

The reality was, I didn’t know my parents. I had no idea what kind of leaders they were or what they wanted for their pack. That was a conversation

I needed to have with my mother as well as Alpha Carl and Luna Erika, the people who knew them better than their own daughter. Only then could I decide if I was up for the job.

My wolf was conspicuously quiet on the subject, seeming content to let me decide. She was an alpha wolf but that didn’t mean she desired the title. Becoming a Luna to her mates was higher on her priority list. Still, I felt her willingness to support me if I chose to take on the role.

When we entered Black Moon territory, Nathan drove to my home first per my request. I wanted to speak to my mother before anyone else. Maybe she had friends or family in Hazelwood that could verify the veracity of the horrors Nathan described. However unlikely, I held on to a shred of hope that things weren’t really as bad as he believed them to be.

But as we pulled into the drive, Nathan’s chest rumbled in a defiant growl. My head snapped up to see two hulking figures stalking toward my car, all their slabs of hard muscle on display. Cary and Clay.

Their chests heaved with every angry breath and their fists clenched at their sides. The pissed off expressions they wore had me cowering in my seat, but not my wolf. She panted at the sight of them like a dog in heat and I had to admit they were a mouthwatering sight. One look at them had me feeling wet in other areas too.

I jumped out of the car in a rush, either to spare Nathan the scent of my arousal or to head them off before they committed homicide, or maybe both.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Cary questioned in a low growl, not stopping until we were standing nose to nose.

My hands automatically went to his chest, gently caressing a line over his pecs to calm him. He immediately relaxed under my touch, his breath slowing and his shoulders loosening. His forehead dropped to rest against mine and for a moment, I lost myself in the cobalt blue eyes staring so intensely back at me.

Clay had posted up next to me with his back to us in some kind of Alpha stand- off, almost like he was trying to hide me from Nathan’s view. His arms were crossed over his chest, a posture that had his shirt pulled tight against his back, highlighting all the delicious lines of his broad shoulders and defined lats. One of my hands left Cary’s chest to slide up Clay’s spine and I could have sworn I heard the man purr.

“Now that nobody is about to wolf out, could we all go in the house and have a sane conversation?” I ventured, my voice barely above a whisper so as not to reawaken their beasts.

“Sure, darling.”: Cary spoke first, pulling me into his side.

“Of course, little wolf.” Clay eventually relented, though he continued giving Nathan the side-eye as we walked inside.

Mikhail followed a safe distance behind, keeping Nathan within arm’s length like a good Beta, ready to defend him at the slightest hint of aggression. I rolled my eyes internally at the brazen display of male dominance. These men were definitely drowning in excess testosterone.

“Mom!” I called as soon as we stepped in the door, stepping away from my mates now that I felt reasonably sure they wouldn’t murder anyone.

“She’s in the kitchen making us lunch.” Clay supplied, a sheepish look on his face. “We tried to tell her it wasn’t necessary but she insisted

“What were the two of you doing here anyway?” I hissed. “I thought I told you to go home.”

“Pfft.” Cary snorted. “Like that was going to happen. Not when our mate goes running off to see another man. You should go change. I can smell him on you and Roan wants to rip his head off for touching you.”

“Fine. But sit down and be nice.” I ordered, narrowing my eyes at him. ” There’s a reason he and Mikhail are here. It’s important and I need to talk to my mom.”

Cary grunted, and figuring that was the closest thing to agreement I was going to get, I rushed upstairs to change my clothes. Not that I cared if Nathan’s scent on me bothered them, but I needed them to focus on what I had to say. And for that, their wolves needed to be calm.

Thankfully mom cooked enough for an army so we all sat around the kitchen table, plates piled high with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and homemade bread. Metal utensils clanked against porcelain as everyone dug in but three sets of eyes remained fixed on me as they waited for me to speak.

“Um. mom. What do you know about the Blood Claw pack? Specifically the part that used to be Hazelwood?” I opened tentatively.

Maeve gasped and her hands trembled, though she tried to hide it from my notice.

“Not much.” She shrugged. “Alpha Carl sent some men to find out what happened to your parents when a week had gone by and we still hadn’t heard from them. They said the pack was in chaos but that wasn’t surprising given the takeover. They confirmed your parents hadn’t survived the attack and after that, I put it out of my mind and focused on making sure you were happy and healthy, untouched by all that ugliness.”

“Did you have family or friends there? Anyone who might still be there you could call?” I pushed.

“Mallory, what is this about?” She looked at me with a fear in her eyes that said she already knew the answer.

“That’s what I’d like to know.” Clay interjected.

I started to explain but Nathan put his hand up, clearing his throat to cut me off.

“I should probably answer that.” He said. “Mallory is intent on going to war and I’m afraid it’s all my fault.”

From the growls erupting around the table, it looked like war was about to break out right there in Maeve’s kitchen.