Chapter 8: Fight
1467 Words
***JUSTIN POV***
After jamming for three hours, we all realized that we had to work in the morning, and Kristy and I still had one more meeting we needed to get to. All of us could tell that we had an absolutely incredible time and that we were going to be spending a lot more time together, for more than one reason. We said our goodbyes at around 11 and Kristy and I headed back to the pack territory.
"For as much s**t as he's gone through and how horrible he has been treated by people who supposedly love him, deep down, Michael might be the kindest and most genuine soul that I think I've ever met, with the exception of you," Kristy stated.
"I agree with you completely, my love, but I think we need to pump the breaks on naming him Alpha just yet. I've got a germ of an idea festering in my head that I can't get rid of on how to make this happen," I replied.
"Good. That's what is going to make you such a damned good Beta," Kristy replied, and she laid her head back to rest and think before our leadership brainstorming session in James' office.
Upon our arrival at the packhouse, both this generation of leadership and the next were ushered into Alpha James' conference room on the fifth floor. The entire team was there: Alpha James and his Luna Stella; Mira, as Pack Princess Royale; my parents, Robert and Amy; and Craig and Phil Jessen, the Gamma and Gamma-in-Waiting. James never felt the need to fill the Delta position, so when Mike was going to be ready, that was going to fall to him. Never again would I ever want Mike to feel the need to make a decision based on what others expected of him. He would be the brother to myself, Phil, and whoever he picked.
"I am not the one who called this meeting," Alpha James started out once everyone was settled. "It was Justin who did, and as Beta-in-Waiting, he has the floor to begin the proceedings. I believe the Princess Royale will have something that she is going to want to contribute to the conversation as well."
"Thank you, Alpha," I responded and I rose to speak to the room. "Fellow leadership of the Crescent Woods Pack, both this generation and the next, I am sure you have already heard that our Princess Royale, Mira, has found her mate."
There was a silent acknowledgment, nods, and smiles all around the table at that acknowledgment.
"What also might not be known is that her mate is human," I continued.
"Woah! He's a human? That's so cool! Mira, when are you going to turn him?" Craig asked her.
"Well, that's one piece of a three-part problem," Mira answered. "I am yet to actually "meet" him, face-to-face. All of my interactions with him have included patrolling his property, listening to him play music, and howling when hearing some of his stories. When I realized he was human, one of the first things I wanted to do was incorporate his house and property into our pack boundaries."
"Spoken like a true Delta supervisor!" Phil congratulated her.
"Thank you, but the problems run deeper than him being a human. If anything, that's the least of our worries," Mira stated.
"I know that turning someone is absolutely brutal, but how could there be more?" Mom asked.
"Michael is really fragile right now and is trying desperately to get back on his feet," Kristy explained. "He just traveled several thousand miles in order to be here right now anyway. He also just bared his soul to Justin and I, and the man has been through hell and back. The way he phrased it, the two women he's trying to escape from could come out here and cause problems if they wanted to."
"How bad are we talking about, Justin?" Alpha James asked.
"In his words, he's been assaulted, manipulated, and just overall abused. He actually had one of his ex-girlfriends open up five different credit cards in his name and completely trashed his credit," Justin explained.
Phil's eyes turned yellow, meaning his wolf Madison was at the surface. "Did the same woman trash him financially and hit him as well?" Madison asked.
"I don't know," Kristy answered. "I really don't. We've now relayed a pretty good summary of what he told us, and I genuinely think he's holding a bunch back. The one person who is going to have to do a lot of the heavy lifting in that regard is Mira, which leads us to our third problem."
"I don't know how the third one could make the situation any worse than everything that you've shared so far," Craig grumbled. "I genuinely feel like he's not going to want to take over the Alpha position, which means Robert and I are going to be stuck in our jobs ad nauseam."
Kristy snorted. "It just complicates things. Mira and Michael are going to have to take things insanely slow. Michael has absolutely zero trust in women right now. As his mate, Mira can do a lot to fix that, but we're going to have to take things one step at a time."
"Agreed," said Stella, and she stood, making everyone here stand as well. She then addressed her daughter, with her full Luna voice on display.
"Mira," she began. "Whatever that boy needs, you provide for him. You're a strong, sweet, loving girl, and you'll do so well to have Mike join the family one day."
"Yes, Luna," Mira stated and bowed.
"Justin," she said as she turned and faced me. "Are you becoming friends with him because you're wanting your dad to retire, or do you genuinely care for the Alpha-in-Waiting?"
"I care for the Alpha-in-Waiting as a man, and if he saw it fit that he'd want someone else to be his second in command, I'd acquiesce in a heartbeat. In fact, when he takes on the role, I'll offer my letter of resignation as Beta. If he doesn't take it, then I serve at the pleasure. On my honor," I replied.
Damn, you've got big brass balls. You must have to carry them around in a f*****g wheelbarrow when you're at school, Phil linked me.
f**k you, I replied, hearing Phil smirk next to me.
"Good," Stella replied to me, paying absolutely no attention to the fact that Phil had linked me. "You'll make your father proud as a Beta when he retires." Dad bowed in response to that.
"Thank you, and I actually have a germ of an idea that has been dancing in my head since we left Mike's property, but we'll need your help, Phil and Mira," I announced to the room.
"What do you need us for?" Phil asked.
"Wanna hang out with the three of us, with you two posing as a couple? We can have Mira and Mike strike up a conversation at a bar and see where that goes," I stated.
"I'm down!" Phil said, elbowing Mira on the arm. "How about it, Cuddle Muffin?"
Mira turned the shade of a tomato. "Cuddle Muffin? Is that the best you could do?"
Phil laughed. "Yep, so let's roll with it!"
"That's all," I said before Mira could respond. "Thank you all for coming," and we all filed out, with Mira mumbling curses under her breath. This will work, I thought to myself. We just need to make him comfortable.
***RICHARD POV***
If that pretty boy thinks he can set up a useless human to become my alpha and steal my Luna, he's got another thing coming, I think to myself. I am Mira's mate, and I am going to be the one who will run this pack. She's just going to have to reject the skin bag and mate with me.
"Dude," I text my best friend Bradley and school bully, which is probably why the two of us got along so well because we hated everyone. "We need to start some bullshit tomorrow at school and expose the pack as being wolves. Let's freak out the human so much he never comes around again."
"I'm in. I'll start a fight with one of the omegas tomorrow. I'll act like I'm your Beta-in-Waiting and see how far that goes," he responded.
"Good. Let's let our human try to play the hero and try and pull you off the kid," I texted him again.
"Sounds like a plan," Brad replied, and I took the picture I had taken of Mira when she was sunbathing by the pool. I kissed it and placed it back on my desk.
"I'll see you as my mate tomorrow, Poppet. Just you wait."
- Writer
