Twice Tempted: Between Two Alphas (Mia and Cameron) novel Chapter 65

Chapter Sixty-Five

Morgan looks worried.

If I’m honest, I am too.

I've put my brother in an impossible position.

We follow him in one of the SUVs and when it drops him off in front of the mansion, Morgan and I get out a few seconds later and follow him inside.

I want to ask about Michail and make sure he’s healing, but in deference to the command that was given, I keep my mouth shut.

Respecting our hierarchies is essential to pack. All wolves are aggressive and territorial and combative. If we don’t have strong leadership, our packs dissolve into in-fighting.

I have Alpha blood too.

I never embraced it because my brother was firstborn and the eldest inherits the right to rule. There was a time in my teens, when some packmates called me the ‘spare heir.’

I think about that sometimes, how different my life could’ve been…

“Step inside, Jace.” Cam glances at Morgan. “Miss Deveraeux. Please have a seat. I’ll be with you shortly.”

Morgan’s gaze cuts to mine.

I’m not thrilled with this either.

I lean in and kiss her forehead. “Won’t be but a minute,” I reassure her.

We step into Cam’s office and he closes the door behind us.

The space is big.

Vaulted ceilings. Hardwoods on the floors and walls. Bookshelves along one wall. A grand fireplace at the other.

There is a conference table. A media center.

And at the far end of the room is Cam’s giant desk.

He sits behind it and steeples his hands.

I walk up to the polished wood surface and clasp my hands at my back. It’s a military position and a show of respect.

Cam doesn’t pull any punches. “How compromised are you?”

Okay, we’re jumping right in. I clear my throat. “She is my mate.”

“Hmm.” His green eyes flash gold for an instant. “I see.”

I don’t elaborate. I learned long ago not to fill the silences. The person who did had the weaker position.

“That witch attacked our Elders and burned several wolves. She just torched Michail.”

“Because I told her to. And Michail would’ve bled out otherwise.”

“You’re my brother and next in line to rule this pack, until my son comes of age. Answer me this… with her powers is she a threat?”

I open my mouth but Cam cuts me off.

“--Don’t answer yet. Think. Think hard. Not of the witch as a woman or as your mate. Evaluate her as to how she would impact this pack. Her powers. Her coven. Her enemies…”

Fuck.

But her powers could be used for protection, for good.

“No,” Cam says as if reading my mind. “Don’t think of her as an asset.”

I rock back on my heels.

Morgan possesses power…more than I’ve ever sensed in another living being.

This is bullshit, brother. She’s a good person. Nothing at all like you’re making her out to be. She’s risked her life–multiple times–for your mate and kids!

I acknowledge this. Just as I hope you can acknowledge that as Alpha, I have to make the choices that are best for the whole of our people.

Fuck this.

“I need to leave, Cam.”

He flattens his palms on the desk. “Why?”

“You know why. And if you don’t, I’m sure you can guess.”

His eyes turn pensive. “Mating bonds…complicate things.”

That’s an understatement.

I decide to put all my cards on the table. Lies won’t benefit either of us. But I speak to Cam mind-to-mind. Maybe I’m ashamed or I just don’t want to hear the words that reveal my treason.

Cam…you should know….I couldn’t kill her. When Father gave the decree… I didn’t slit her throat as he wanted. I take a deep breath. I set her free.

Cam nods. I suspected as much. If you hadn’t, Mia would’ve been executed.

The fact remains… I defied my Alpha and I protected my mate.

Cam clears his throat and resumes speaking aloud again. “I’ll expect you to vacate the premises immediately.”

“What?”

“You’re being exiled.”

I open my mouth but I’m not even sure what I want to say.

“If you weren’t attached to this woman, perhaps there could be a different solution. But since you are…and you have admitted your intention to continue your alliance with her…” He pauses and breathes deep. “For your crimes of treason, Jace Healmsworth, and the betrayal of our species, you will leave these lands. Henceforth you are no longer Pack.”