Without realizing what I was doing or worrying about the consequences, I pushed the door open and started to argue. My mouth spoke of its own free will.
“Is he insane? Or maybe he’s just childish? Ugh, why is this happening?” I ranted, letting everything out.
What was Brandon thinking? He was the Alpha but why would his pack follow him in this? And why did he think this was the best way to handle this situation? Brandon just made it a bigger mess on top of the already big mess. That’s twice the mess of when it started!
Hunk stared at Albert uneasily.
Amelia, you aren’t suppose to be here right now, Albert mind-linked me and he sounded like he was going to kill a whole pack.
I was going to visit Julia in the infirmary when I heard you guys arguing from down the hall. You can’t blame me, I said as innocently as possible. I made sure to widen my eyes to appear childlike. Albert always went easy on me if I acted young and innocent because it reminded him that I was still his younger sister.
“I’ll deal with you later. Right now, I have to decide on what I should do with this.” Albert ripped up Brandon’s letter, all of the little pieces of paper littering the floor.
My heart screamed to let me go and end the war but my head said to stay put.
“Why the hell would he ask for you? It makes no goddamn sense.” Albert’ voice rose in strength.
“To hit you where you’re weakest.” Hunk suggested and it was true. I was one of Albert’ weaknesses, whether he accepted it or not. The only way to get to him was to hit me or his mate.
He banged the table with his fist, almost cracking the wood in two.
“How dare he make demands out of me!” Albert yelled suddenly and I winced at the power of his voice. I was definitely going to be deaf if he continued to yell everything.
“If he thinks I’ll just hand you over, he’s dead wrong.” Albert shook his head.
“So you’re not going to give up Amelia?” Hunk clarified.
“Over my dead body.”
No one else really knew how to reply to that.
Hunk bowed and said that he respected his wishes. He walked out without any argument.
But there was still plenty of room for argument on my side.
As soon as Hunk shut the door, I said exactly what was on my mind. A burning question.
“Why don’t you want to send me? If you do, we won’t have to go to war.” I asked. It seemed like the best choice. Send me to stop the war, war averted. Besides, we already had a major war that killed so many of us last winter. We’ve gone through enough.
“Brandon will never win. If he wants a war, he’ll get a war.” Albert was too honorable, too noble to give up without a fight.
“But wouldn’t it be easier if-” I tried again.
“You’re not going and that’s final.”
I didn’t bother arguing because no one could win against the Alpha.
*****
It was an hour until sundown and still, Albert refused to give me up. He was true to his word but that didn’t mean everyone else wanted me here.
I heard some of the wolves in the hall talking about how I wasn’t even an important wolf and that Albert should give me up.
“Hunk told me about Alpha Brandon’s letter.” Bella said to me during dinner. She was sitting next to me so only I heard her.
“I guess everyone knows by now.” So they’ll all blame me if our wolves die. Just great.
“Why didn’t Albert send you to him? Wouldn’t it help your pack?” She asked curiously.
I looked at Albert at the front of the table, talking to Harper and Hunk. He seemed relieved of his decision to keep me here.
“He said he wanted a war. That if he gives me up, he’ll look weak.” At least, that was what I thought he thought.
“Or maybe he just doesn’t want to give you up.”
I snorted. “Albert sent me away to live with humans. He’ll do anything to get rid of me. That’s why it doesn’t make sense. Shouldn’t he want to get rid of me? Shouldn’t he want to stop the war from even happening?” Albert may be named after the Greek God of War, but I knew that he actually hated sending our wolves to fight. Especially if those wolves were leaving their mates behind.
Actually, before he brought Harper here, he had violent tendancies and loved to kill. But mates change wolves, just like Brandon was changing me. I usually wasn’t so stupid or foolish but I turned to jello when I saw him. I gave in to him.
“Sounds like you want him to give you up.” Bella observed. I smiled sadly.
“Maybe you’re right.”
*****
I found my brother in the hall, walking back up to his room from dinner.
“Albert, I think you should let me go.” I announced and he paused at the beginning of the stairwell.
“And abandon you in enemy territory with that bastard? Think again.” He muttered a string of curses under his bresth, all directed at Brandon. “I should have killed him when I had the chance.”
“But it will save our pack.”
“I’m busy, Amelia. I have a lot to do.” That was his way of telling me he was done talking about this subject. But I wouldn’t leave without winning for once. He never let me win.
“But I have to tell you something.” He never heard me out, never listened.
“Can it wait? Harper-”
“Brandon’s my mate!” I interrupted loudly. He stopped walking and spun around, his eyes wild with confusion and utter horror.
“What did you say?” He was definitely listening now.
“Brandon’s my mate.”
“When did you find out?”
“After you captured him. He escaped and I ran into him, remember? You were there.” It seemed like a long time ago but it was less than a month ago.
“You let him go?” Albert growled.
“No!” I said quickly but corrected myself because that was a lie. “I mean, yes, but-”
“You need to stay away from him. He can’t be trusted. For all we know, he could be using you to get to me. That’s probably why he wrote that letter.” Albert thought out loud, making all the wrong connections.
“I can’t. It hurts, Albert,” I pleaded, dying to see Brandon for whatever it was worth, “You know what it feels like being separated from your mate.”
After all, my brother had to wait six years before he even talked to his human mate. He knew the yearning and the incredibly strong physical attraction the mate bond created.
He sighed, “Has he marked you yet?”
“No.”
“Good. Stay away from him.” His eyes were hard, chipped pieces of ice.
“I can’t avoid him forever! He’s my mate!” I cried hopelessly, not knowing what to do. He was the ruler of his own pack, sitting atop his golden throne, and there was nothing I could do to get to him.
“Brandon is the enemy, he will always be our enemy. I’m only going to say this once, end all ties with him.”