Bonded To The Dysfunctional Alpha

Chapter 20: East Border

Tyler’s POV

Brandon came back to the office within minutes, “they’re gathered Alpha.”

I put down what I was holding and walked out.

The pack hall felt different when I stepped through the door, every elder straightening slightly in their seat, eyes coming to me.

I sat down and looked at all of them and got straight to it, “I want to know how many of you are in support of Naomi coming back to this pack.”

A pause, and then one by one they indicated yes, some with words, some with nods, the whole room landing on the same side, and I sat there and felt the fury of it move through me slowly, hot and controlled, because losing my temper in this hall would cost me more than it would cost them.

“Are you aware,” I said quietly, “of what she did, of what she said when she left, all of it, are you aware of that?”

“We are aware Alpha,” one of the senior elders said, his voice carrying the particular patience of someone who had prepared for this exact question, “but awareness of the past does not change the present situation, Naomi is the most qualified person available to us right now, her medical knowledge, her familiarity with this pack, her background, nothing we have found comes close, and with the rogue situation worsening we cannot afford to be without a pack doctor for much longer.”

“There are other options….”

“We have exhausted them Alpha,” another elder said, leaning forward slightly, “and beyond the practicality of it, if you refuse Naomi’s return publicly, after everything she has already said about you, people will start asking why, and the answers they come up with on their own will be far more damaging than simply allowing her to return in a professional capacity.”

I looked at them, all of them, and knew that every word they were saying was calculated and considered and probably not wrong on paper, and I also knew that none of them had been the one standing in that room when Naomi walked out, none of them had carried what she left behind, and sitting here listening to them tell me to let her back in like it was a simple administrative decision made something cold and hard settle in my chest.

I stood up.

“Naomi does not step foot in this pack,” I said, and I kept my voice even and final, the voice I used when something was decided and I was not reopening it, “not until I give the order myself, that is where I stand, and any elder who goes behind that order and invites her in without my approval will see a side of me that has nothing to do with the calm and reasonable man standing in front of you right now, are we clear?”

Nobody spoke.

“Good.” I looked at each of them long enough to make sure the message had landed properly, then turned and walked out of the hall with Brandon falling into step behind me.

I pushed through the front door and kept walking and didn’t stop until I was in the open air and had put enough distance between myself and that hall to breathe without the fury sitting on top of every inhale.

“Drive me somewhere,” I said to Brandon, “a bar, somewhere quiet; I need to be away from this pack for an hour.”

Brandon nodded without question, we walked toward the car and I was reaching for the door when I heard boots moving fast on the gravel behind us.

A guard, coming at a pace that meant it wasn’t good news.

I turned before he even reached us.

He stopped in front of me, slightly breathless. “Alpha, east border had a rogue attack; it happened fast. Three guards went down before anyone understood what was happening; they’re still holding the line but….”

“How many rogues,” I said, already pulling the car door back open and reaching past Brandon for the radio on the seat.

“We don’t know yet, Alpha; it happened too fast. Whoever coordinated it knew exactly where to hit.”

I looked at Brandon over the roof of the car and something moved between us in that look, the same thought landing on both of us at the same time, because a coordinated attack on the east border hitting the exact spots we had doubled security on was not random.

“Get every available unit to the east border now,” I said to the guard, “nobody moves without my order when I get there, tell them to hold the line and wait.”

The guard turned and ran.

I got in the car and looked straight ahead and let the Alpha part of me take over completely because that was what this moment needed.

“Who knew about our border rotations, Brandon?” I asked quietly as we pulled out.