“It could be worse.” Zeke shrugged his shoulders as he shook my hand. “But it could also be better since this grumbling shouldn’t have started in the first place.”
“How many of them listened to Heather’s bullshit?” I asked as Larrisa sidled up next to me.
She tilted her head back to look up at me. “Can’t you just use telepathy to find out?”
“Telepathy?” Allegra gasped, her eyes going wide with shock before she turned to glare at Zeke. “I think you skipped a part of my shifter education. Have you been able to read my mind this whole time?”
“Whole time?” Larissa giggled, leaning into my side. “You’ve only known him for like twenty-four hours.”
“Like you can talk,” Allegra snorted, jerking her thumb in my direction. “You’ve known him for way less than that.”
Larissa nodded. “Yeah, that’s fair.”
Acutely aware of the fact that my pack was waiting inside for us, I interjected, “To answer the original question before you two completely lose track of this conversation…I never use my telepathic skill against pack members unless someone’s life hangs in the balance. It would be a violation of their privacy, and I wouldn’t do that to people who trust me.”
“You’re such a good man.” Larissa went up on her toes to press a kiss to my cheek.
Zeke nodded. “That’s a big part of why he’s the alpha.”
“I’m not too good to crack some heads together when needed, something certain pack members apparently need a reminder of,” I growled, and my wolf raked his claws at the thought of anyone talking shit about our mate—let alone someone who should’ve had her back since she was mine. “Thanks for getting everyone here for the meeting. I won’t let this shit fester and destroy us from the inside out.”
“Whatever you need, I’ve got your back,” Zeke promised.
“No, we’ve got your back,” Allegra corrected with a grin. “My ride or die status with Larissa goes for you too now.”
“Although it goes without saying, I have your back, too,” Larissa added, lacing her fingers through mine. “So let’s get in there and face whatever’s waiting for us like the team that we are.”
From the day I’d taken over the role as alpha—hell, even before then—I’d been confident in my ability to lead. But I’d never felt more invincible than I did while walking into the pack house with my mate at my side. Heads turned our way as we strode through the room. I led her to the big, stone fireplace and turned to face my pack. Holding our hands in the air, I announced, “This is Larissa, my fated mate. Every one of you should already be well aware of this, but I expect you to treat her with the same respect you would me.”
There were a lot of confused expressions and nods, with the exception of six people who looked less than thrilled to be here. Heather—the instigator of this drama—was sitting with Luke and their parents to my left, but I decided to focus on the two unhappy pack members on the other side of the room first since the reason behind their animosity was at least semi-understandable. “Damon, Cason…I get why you’d have concerns about Larissa after what happened with your brother’s mate. Fate dealt Aaron a shit hand.”
“From where I’m sitting, I’m not sure she did you any favors either,” Damon grumbled. “You’re the strongest shifter in the pack, but who knows what your kids will be like with a human for a mom. And that’s if she even sticks around that long.”
“I’m cutting you a very small amount of slack because I know you’re hurting over your brother going lone wolf after the woman who should’ve been his mate turned out to be more interested in money than happiness,” I growled, my hands fisting at my sides. “It fucking sucks that she decided she’d rather marry a rich guy she had zero feelings for instead of mating the only man she’d ever desire. But I won’t stand for you punishing Larissa for that bitch’s mistakes.”
“Dude, that’s all kinds of fucked up,” Allegra muttered, shaking her head. “Larissa would never do something like that. She’s ridiculously loyal to the people in her life. Like to the point I could call her in the middle of the night to ask for help after murdering someone, and she’d show up with plastic sheeting and a shovel to bury the body and a carton of ice cream and wine to help me feel better.”
“Nah, I’d bring nitric acid to dissolve the body,” Larissa corrected with a grin. “I wouldn’t want to run the risk of getting caught while we moved the body.”
Cason elbowed his younger brother in the side. “We may have overreacted. She seems very different from Karen.”
“Of course, she’s fucking different,” Zeke barked, moving to stand in front of Larissa and me. Going down to one knee, he added, “Without knowing anything about shifters, she accepted our alpha’s mark within an hour of meeting him. She’s honored our ways and deserves our respect.”