Scratch the Surface. Amy Lee Burgess

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СКАЧАТЬ turned down Alpha status because of Jonathan’s jealousy. He’d known the position would eventually come to us and we were young, in our early twenties, and had plenty of fertility time left.

      Pack women could only give birth once. Live or stillborn, if they carried a pregnancy to the end, they would become barren after the birth. Twins were slightly more common than singles.

      While triads could be made up of two men and one female, most of them consisted of two women and one man in order to give two women the opportunity to bear a child at the same time. Only Alphas could have children. All the other women in the pack took birth control or had to have abortions.

      I think it was both evolution’s and our own cultural way to avoid detection by the Others. Our population stayed small and underground. Secret.

      Again Councilor Allerton waited for me to say something. I admit I felt a surge of sympathy for both Nora and Callie. Callie was over forty, near the end of her childbearing years and Nora, who was three years older than me, was now barren.

      They were at risk, of course, of losing their bond mates, who still had the chance to bond with a fertile female and become Alpha so they could procreate. A lot of us created such strong connections with our bond mates, very few left in search of a chance to be Alpha and to have a child. The ambitious ones would, but normally love conquered ambition.

      I knew Peter would stick with Callie. He loved her with a steady and deep adoration. I wasn’t sure about Vaughn. I was never quite sure of his feelings for her. He and Peter were close as brothers, but I wondered if that was enough to keep him bonded.

      Jonathan, the bastard, I could see him ditching Nora in a millisecond if someone better came along. He was such a coward, he wouldn’t do it until he was sure. I’d bet he’d spent the better part of the Great Gathering looking for just such an opportunity. The fact that he was still a member of Riverglow proved he’d failed. That afforded me some small satisfaction.

      Again, after he was sure I was declining his invitation to make a comment, Allerton continued. “They were able to convince a pair from Mac Tire to leave that pack and join this one with the understanding they’d be Alpha when it was quite sure Callie was past her childbearing window.”

      “Mac Tire?” Murphy stirred in his chair. “Paddy never mentioned that.”

      Allerton held up a hand. His nails were professionally manicured and he wore an expensive Cartier wristwatch with a chased silver band around his wrist. I could hear it ticking if I tried hard enough.

      “They’re from the English branch.”

      For some reason Murphy’s eyes darkened and he went very still. I was confused because, while I expected Murphy to know the members of his pack in Ireland, I didn’t think his personal knowledge would extend all around the UK. Mac Tire was a huge pack, but each country had separate Alphas who presumably knew each other and interacted, but I hadn’t thought it trickled down to the entire membership.

      “I believe you know them. Him at least,” said Allerton, his expression bland enough, but something in his voice made me come to alert.

      Murphy’s gaze was flat and hostile.

      “Colin Hunter and Devon Talbot.”

      Murphy reacted to the names like gasoline poured on fire. “Oh hell no,” he snarled, pushing back his chair. “Oh, fucking hell no. You could’ve told me this on the phone, Allerton, leaving me the opportunity to decline your invitation. Now I’m just gonna have to friggin’ walk out.”

      I leaped to my feet too, grateful for an opportunity to escape.

      Murphy saw me and snapped, “You sit back down. I’ll be back for you tomorrow, Stanzie.”

      He’d promised to stay with me. He told me he would be with me when I had to confront Grandfather Tobias and listen to what he wanted to tell me. Now he was halfway out the damn door all because of some man named Colin Hunter, and I hadn’t the slightest clue who he was or why Murphy despised him so much. Hatred was all over his face and in the barely controlled violence of his movements. He was one step away from breaking something. He would have attacked Allerton if he’d dared, but he was putting distance between them instead.

      I’d never seen Murphy so furious. The tone of voice he’d used on me was unfamiliar too. He’d never spoken to me so angrily, as if I didn’t matter, as if I were just one more obstacle in his way out the door.

      I had nowhere to go if Murphy walked out. I didn’t even have my purse or any money. All of that was in the trunk of the car with our luggage.

      The door slammed behind Murphy then five seconds later the front door slammed too. Absurdly, I wondered whether he’d taken his coat. It was bitter cold outside.

      I stood there like an idiot, clutching the back of my chair. I struggled against bursting into cheated tears of frustration and betrayal. The weight of my bond pendant was heavy around my throat. The peridot and pearl hung suspended from a long chain I’d tucked under the edges of the turtleneck sweater.

      The peridot was my birthstone; the pearl Murphy’s. Together they symbolized our bond and were the Pack’s version of a wedding ring.

      Murphy had one too. He wore it beneath his sweater and never took it off unless we shifted.

      “I’m sorry, Constance. I knew he’d be upset, but I’d hoped he’d handle it better than this. Please sit down.” Allerton’s tone was gentle and kind, and I responded to it obediently.

      The conference room door opened and I spun around in my chair, ridiculously hoping it was Murphy. Instead, it was Kathy Manning with coffee and cookies.

      “Is something the matter?” She hesitated at the door, her expression uncertain, but moved forward when Allerton gestured her inside.

      “It’s all right, Kathy. How’s dinner coming along?”

      “Under control.” She flashed him an attractive grin. “I’m making a seafood casserole. You might want to look at the wine we’ve got on hand and choose some. Oh, and for dessert, your favorite. Creme brulee.”

      “That sounds delicious.” Allerton reached for the carafe of coffee so he could fill the china cups. He filled all three and invited Kathy to sit with us.

      She unhesitatingly pulled out the chair opposite mine and regarded me with bright curiosity. “You’ve come up in the world, haven’t you?” She sounded as if she were personally responsible for it. I suppose she’d had an indirect hand in it, helping pave the way for me to be expelled from Riverglow. “Isn’t it exciting to be an Advisor? I was an Advisor for seven years back in my twenties. Gave it up when Matt and I were named Alpha. Then I had my son, served as Alpha for a few years, and the next thing I knew, I was invited to join the New England Regional Council. I imagine you’re in line for some of the same.” She took an appreciative sip of the coffee. She drank it black with no sugar. “Quite a difference from being the bottom of Riverglow, I would think. And now you belong to Mac Tire. Well done, Stanzie.”

      I felt as if I were a character in an absurdist play and all communication was slowly being rendered meaningless while everything I thought I knew crumbled and became distorted and weird.

      I remembered how this woman had judged me. She’d sat in silent disapproval as she listened to my pack condemn me. The entire Regional Council of СКАЧАТЬ