Needless to say, the party was very subdued when Simon and his cohorts entered the packhouse, but even though there were some mutterings about allowing them in, no one raised a voice in complaint. There were plenty of glares, however, and Simon returned each glare with equal contempt. Everyone knew the story of how his father Adrian had treated Dorothy, and all the "accidents" she'd been subjected to after fleeing her old pack, and no one was inclined to treat Simon very kindly. But we were a polite bunch, and even though the glares were plentiful, the courtesy was just as plentiful, almost painfully so. In fact, once one pack member got the bright idea to drop the glares and start with the smiles, everyone followed suit. I think after half an hour, Simon was wishing for the glares to come back!
Doreah was a little confused at first, especially when Dad decided to keep her close, but once he'd told her that Simon and his men weren't to be trusted, she stuck to his side like glue. One could argue this was possibly influencing Doreah against her uncle's pack, but we had no real reason to trust them, so Doreah kept close by Dad, although she smiled when Simon congratulated her on her first successful shifting. In fact, she happily shifted when he asked to see her wolf, but that was when the smiles died again.
"She's too much like her mother!"
And just like that, the party was spoilt. Again.
Dad immediately came to Doreah's defence, glaring at Simon as Doreah scampered away to Dorothy's side. "Say that again," he said in a deadly soft voice.
Simon met him glare for glare. "I said, she looks too much like her mother!"
"And how is that a problem?" Brayden demanded. Dad's cousin, he'd declined the role of Beta when Michael, another cousin, passed away a year ago. But Brayden remained very loyal, and he was often considered an unoffical Beta, which made my job easier.
"I don't want her looking like her mother," Simon snapped.
"Oh for God's sake," Dorothy muttered. "Simon, drop it! This is why I ran away! Your stupid prejudice is what made me leave, and now you're visiting it on my daughter! How dare you!"
"I dare, because she is my niece," Simon retorted. "Bloodlines are important, little sister. That's why Father hated you!"
Dead slience reigned, and Dad looked ready to murder Simon on the spot. "Is that what this is all about?" he said angrily. "Bloodlines?"
"Yes," Simon replied, glacially calm. "You don't think we'd let just anyone mate with us? Why do you think we gave Dorothy such a hard time? She's too much like her mother, and now her daughter is repeating the same crime. This cannot be allowed to continue."
"Hold the phone," Brayden warned, stepping up to join Dad. "You can't change her DNA, you idiot. And there's no way in hell we're letting you get your hands on Doreah either. That little outburst of yours cost you dearly. She won't be joining your pack now."
Dad winced. As did everyone else. "Brayden, that's not helping," he said.
And indeed it wasn't. "Oh, so you're planning on claiming her without giving her a choice?" Simon said softly, a dangerous threat underneath his urbane tone. "Is this what the noble Greenfields pack is reduced to? Coercing its children into choosing them before other Alphas have had the chance to imprint?"
To his credit, Brayden was quick to try and recover some face. "Of course not," he said crossly. "But neither are we giving you a chance to convert her to your racist, classist way of thinking."
Dad groaned. "Brayden, shut up," he said.
Simon shook his head. "And you keep digging yourselves in deeper," he said. "Very well. Since you wish to play it this way, I call War!"
And with those words, he turned and stormed out of the packhouse, leaving us all stunned. Brayden's face was very pale as he realised what he'd done, and Dad's voice was like steel as he turned to his cousin. "Since you got us in this mess," he said, "you can get us out of it. I'm sending you to our allies, and you're going to garner their support. And no, you're not going to get out of telling the truth either. I hereby Command you to tell the truth, and let the other Alphas judge you for your stupidity."
Brayden winced as the Command settled into him; a Command from an Alpha was a powerful thing, and disobeying it was literally impossible. Brayden certainly looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders as he left the packhouse, and Dad's face was like iron as he turned to the rest of us. "We don't know how long we've got, but we're not wasting any time," he said. "Training commences in an hour." 172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYBZDcARXR
