Alpha's Blind Luna novel Chapter 84

Hector and I stumbled through the pack house door. After the incredible run through the forest, Faris and Rydere tried to race. Well, really it was Faris trying to keep up. After they were spent, Hector and I decided to grab some clothes and head into the town on the other side of the forest and hit up a bar. Which now lead us to laughing, crashing through the front door late into the evening.

“Fucking…fuck…”

Hector let out a chortle. “That’s a door, Z.”

“I know that.” I may have been worse at walking but Hector’s voice was slurred much more than mine.

“Have fun did you?”

Looking up, Vale was standing on the stairs with his arms crossed over his chest. The sour look on his face made me laugh even more.

“Goddess, you look like Leo when he was going to fucking scold me for being…well…not Alpha.”

Vale came down, his steps reverberating in the dark house. Everyone seemed to have cleared out or gone to bed.

“Well, it’s not very Alpha-like to get drunk on a Tuesday.”

I shrugged. “It’s a good thing I’m not Alpha anymore, isn’t it?”

Hector snorted and turned away, obviously trying to his his smile.

“Zeke, what has gotten into you? This isn’t you.”

Scoffing, I brushed past him. “Isn’t me? That’s the pot calling the cauldron black.”

“Kettle.” Hector chimed in.

I threw up my hands. “Whatever! I’m going to bed. I have training in the morning.”

“Zeke need to talk about this night.” Vale turned on Hector. “And you. Shame on you.”

Hector sighed. “I’m not getting scolded nor lectured from you, Vale. I changed your diapers.”

“I am your Alpha! Not to mention the Alpha King! You may have helped me grow up but I’m not that little kid anymore. I won’t be treated as one.”

“When did I ever treat you like a child? All I’ve done is treat you as an adult. Even when you were little, I focused on letting you try things so you could learn. You were Auri’s baby, not mine.”

Vale reached out and grabbed his arm. “You’ve lost your edge. You’re not who you were.”

Hector pulled his arm out of Vale grip easily. The force even made Vale stumble a bit. I started to turn around to go back down the stairs when a hand held my shoulder. Bryan was standing on the stairs with me, a serious look on his face. He wasn’t looking at me, but at the two at the bottom of the stairs.

“Just kick me out, Vale. You’ve been wanting to do it ever since I got back. Just do it.” Hector’s eyes flashed dangerously to Rydere’s.

“I’m not trying to get rid of you. I need you to get your head out of your ass!”

Shaking his head, he slapped away Vale’s attempt to grab him again. “In what way is my head in my ass? I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me since I’ve been back. Not a single time did I say shit about how ass backwards you’re doing things. The warriors are stronger than before. Your mate is stronger than you are. The patrols are smooth and there hasn’t been a single complaint or transfer. All the paperwork regulating the safety of the pack has been completed and processed accurately. So please, tell me where my head is at.”

“You’ve been corrupting Zeke into thinking that Auri is in the right over what she’s doing. That he is justified in still feeling like he’s been broken. He’s healed already. You can’t just rope someone into your sad excuse of a life. Don’t try to bring Zeke into your lonely miserable half-baked existence as though he’s going to turn into a younger you.” Vale’s chest was heaving, his eyes flicking between amber and gold. Even through the connection, I could feel Naresh step back away from this.

Before I could open my mouth, a power swept over all of us. My eyes widened at the intensity of it. It sobered me completely and I struggled against the weight of it. Bryan didn’t stand a chance, his neck bared and now the hand on my shoulder was helping him stay standing; just barely. I was about to chastise Vale when I saw Vale struggling to keep his head from baring his neck to Hector. Rather, it was Rydere who was present with his eyes bright. Growling at Vale, he grabbed his collar and pulled him close.

“You’ve gone too far, pup. I don’t care if you’re Alpha, King or God himself. You have no right to say that shit to my human. You have no idea what he’s been through, what we’ve been through. You’ve done nothing but feel threatened since we came back but not wolf enough to step up and confront us. We’ve known you since you were born. Since Auri cried in our arms when she told us you’d been cursed with the Alpha King gene. We’ve done nothing but help you and protect you. We helped you and stayed silent when making an ass of yourself. You saw Hector’s changed? The moment you found out that your mate was taken, you changed. You turned into your father.”

Vale growled and grabbed Rydere’s wrist but was unable to break free. “Bullshit. I’m…not…”

Rydere cut him off. “Secret guards watching your mate. Refusing to allow him to go anywhere unaccompanied. Cutting off his friends and family. Leaving him behind to do dangerous missions. Go ahead, why don’t you tell him where you’re planning on going before you pick up your pups.”

“How do you know…about…that?” Vale was struggling and Bryan had sat on the stairs, the weight of power too much. I braced myself with the railing of the staircase.

“The point is that your mate should know. You’ve become your father. I hope you see that before it’s too late. Before you lose him like your father lost Auri.”

The pressure let up and Bryan let out gasping breaths. Hector let go of Vale who staggered back, finding stability from the back of the chair. Rydere didn’t retreat as he headed up the stairs. Ruffling my hair, he reached out and lifted Bryan up by the arm.

“Sorry my brother. I didn’t mean to affect you so badly.”

“We…need to talk.” Bryan was still catching his breath.

Rydere hummed. “It will have to wait. When Hector comes back, you can have your chat.”

Bryan nodded and they both headed back up; Rydere disappearing into his room and Bryan up the stairs to the third floor. I looked down at Vale, as he was catching his breath.

From our years together, I realized the absolute worst insult to Vale would be comparing him to his father. I’d only met the man once and while he seemed like an asshole, if it weren’t for the times I jumped into Auri’s later memories, I’d wonder why it was so bad. Auri said that her kids didn’t know how bad it had truly gotten. His fear of her dying again overruled all of his emotions. Seeing how bad he was, I couldn’t help but look at my mate more wearily. He must have caught my emotional shift because he looked up at me.

“Zeke, I’m not…I would never…”