I wrapped her in an embrace, sinking into her, and for a few seconds, all the road-weariness and stress vanished. Her scent drove me wild. The heat of her body pressed to mine, and her hair tickling my neck was wonderful.
“Where the hell have you been?” she said. “I thought you’d be back sooner.”
I took her hand. “A lot happened.”
I led her inside and closed the door.
“Why don’t you tell me why you looked so pissed off,” I said as I knelt to start a fire.
“Oh god,” she muttered. “Do you really want to hear it?”
After tossing the lit match in and watching the kindling roar into a tiny fire, I closed the grate and turned back to her.
“I think I do,” I said, grinning at her.
“It’s Eugenia,” she said. “I’ve been planning the celebration like you asked, and Linnea told me Eugenia is the best hunter. I wanted something special for everyone.”
I sat beside her on the couch, already wary. Eugeniawasone of our best hunters, if not the best. She had also become a major headache as of late.
“Go on,” I urged.
“She went off on me, said I was trying to seduce you into being with me. She said that if you announced me as your mate, she will challenge me for the spot in front of the whole pack.”
It was like a bomb went off inside me. I leapt back to my feet, eyes wide. “She saidwhat?” I growled.
“Yeah, it was a pretty shitty conversation,” she admitted.
I paced around the room, fists clenching and unclenching as I went. I’d known Eugenia was set on being my mate. Rainier had warned me about it, but I never in a million years would have believed she’d do something as blatant as going against me publicly. To oppose a mate pairing was even more rare than being rejected outright.
“I’ll banish her,” I said through gritted teeth, turning back to June. “She’s done. I’ve let her shit go on too long as it is. I’ll go and kick her ass outnow.”
I was almost to the door when June jumped up, putting herself between me and the exit.
“No. Don’t do that,” she said, putting her hands on my chest.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “She can’t stay here, not after what she said to you.”
“I know,” June said. “But I want to handle this myself.”
My mouth was open before I could stop it, ready to argue and tell her that I was the alpha and knew best, but then I remembered how upset she’d been when I’d interfered before. I didn’t want a repeat of that.
“Eugenia has a large following in town. Tons of people respect her,” June said, shaking her head sadly. “If you toss her out on her ass, how will Ieverget their respect? They’ll look at me like some outsider who got someone they all liked banished. That’s the best-case scenario. Worst? They all get pissed and half the town decides to leave with her. Do you want that to happen?”
I wanted to say I didn’t care, but that would be a lie. These people were all here because of me. I’d brought them in and protected them. If they left, they’d all still be outcasts, rejects, and lost souls. Hell, ninety percent of them were assumed dead in their old packs. Their lives beyond this refuge would be difficult if not impossible. I couldn’t allow that. Plus, there was the looming threat of Desdemona and her Red Maw. If our numbers were decreased atall, there wouldn’t even be a fight, only surrender. I took a deep breath and nodded.
“Okay,” I said, holding up my hands in surrender. “What do you suggest?”
“Let me handle it,” she said.
“How? You have no idea what might happen,” I said, terror overwhelming me at the possibility of June fighting Eugenia.
She put her hand on my chest. “I’ll figure it out. Trust me. We’ll make it work.”
I knew she was right, but how could she possibly hope to defeat someone like Eugenia? I couldn’t step in again. I had to trust that June would find another way to get the other womanto back down or change her mind, because the other option was most likely a fight that June couldn’t hope to win.
“Tell me what you and Rainier found,” she said.
Memories of Desdemona and the hundreds of eyes staring me down as I spoke to her flooded my mind.