赤裸裸的滑稽故事

“Whether gone or lost doesn’t matter… if you choose to continue waiting for them, the only thing you are doing is guaranteeing that this pack, the one he gave his life to protect… will destroy itself.”

Galen took sharp breaths through his nose as he let a low growl. He sprung forward and grabbed hold of Landon’s shirt.

“You shut your mouth!” Galen snarled.

“You failed in your duty,” Landon stated.

Galen growled again and pulled Landon closer.

“I have always been loyal to my Alpha, always had his back!” Galen growled, baring his gritted teeth as he spoke. “You have no right to say otherwise!”

“Your duty is no longer to your Alpha but to your pack!” Landon growled back.

Galen was caught off guard by the statement. His growl fell away into the pit that was forming in his stomach. He swallowed and slowly let go of Landon’s shirt.

“I have done everything I could to—”

Landon let out a low, menacing growl.

“Lie to yourself all you want,” Landon said. “But I don’t want to hear it.”

Galen looked away.

Landon smoothed his shirt and stepped closer to Galen.

“You and I both know what it means to be the Beta of a pack,” Landon said. Leaning in toward Galen. “He chose you, and you accepted.”

Galen lowered his eyes.

“Do you still dare to tell me you haven’t failed your duty?” Landon growled.

The guilt and shame that had made a home inside of Galen over the past three years was stirring. He clenched his jaw as the feelings melted into a twisted and painful anger.

“He’s not dead,” Galen said quietly. “He’s still out there and could come home anytime!”

“Or never,” Landon replied coldly.

Galen lifted his eyes to the other man. His jaw shook with the anger and pain he held back.

“I told you already,” Galen growled. “I am loyal to my Alpha.”

Landon held Galen’s gaze. He took a breath through his nose and let it out slowly.

“Will he thank you for it?” Landon asked.

Galen furrowed his brows.

“What?”

“Alpha Caleb faced a horde of fae so his people could escape to safety. He left his mate twisted in suffocating vines to chase after the Dark Queen. And then sacrificed himself to ensure that she couldn’t escape. He did all of that for the wolves. For his people. For his family.”

Landon paused, licking his lips and swallowing some of the frustration that had been building since before he even came to Summer today.

“If he does come back,” Landon continued, “Will he be grateful to see how heavily Fiona now leans on her cane? How the light has dimmed from her eyes?”

Galen clenched his jaw as the ache in his heart grew. He had seen it. Fiona continued daily as though she was fine, but she wasn’t.

Landon took a deep breath.

“The woman whose strength and fire have shaped and forged this pack, the one that gave him life… will he thank her for holding his place after she is crushed beneath the weight of that hope?”

Landon clenched his jaw angrily.

“After everything that he sacrificed, do you think that Caleb will find the cost of retaining his title worth it!”

Landon took another step closer to Galen. He took slow, deep breaths.

“He won’t,” Landon said quietly. Shaking his head. “He won’t.”

Galen closed his eyes, taking in a shaky breath.

Landon took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He knew he had pushed too far but couldn’t stop thinking of Fiona. Of how small she had felt in his arms, of the sadness in her voice. Of the fear that had overwhelmed her when he mentioned that she could become Alpha.

She was tired, exhausted. The hope of finding her son should have given her some relief or joy, but all it seemed to do was eat away at her slowly.

Even Galen, a brave and powerful man, one that Landon would have easily trusted to lead his own men, was crippled by his hope.

Landon didn’t understand the way the Summer wolves handled their grief. They lied to themselves and each other. Pretending not to feel the pain, hiding from it again and again for years until it was all that was left.

Both Fiona and Galen were stuck and could not force themselves out of the depths of their grief. They hadn’t even become aware that they were feeling the effects of being without an Alpha.

As much as Landon wanted to believe that Fiona was feeling the same draw to him as he felt for her, he could recognize that more than anything, the wolf in her wanted to submit to his Alpha.

Landon touched his scar. He had struggled to escape his own loss. But when it came time, he knew what Jonas would have wanted him to do. Stand up. It didn’t matter if it still hurt. The next day, it would hurt less.

Right now, Summer needed help to stand.

His concern for Fiona aside, Summer was the second-largest pack, and his respect for Caleb was genuine. He could not just stand by as all those wolves teetered at the edge of their sanity.

The only solution was for an Alpha to be named and accepted.

Summer didn’t need an outsider to come in and take over. They didn’t need someone new. They already had the person they needed.

“He didn’t choose you as his Beta to be his assistant,” Landon said low and steady, “or because you were his friend.”

Galen clenched his jaw, saying nothing.

“He didn’t ask you to wait.”

Galen bit down harder as his eyes grew hot, and his mouth twitched from the strain of holding back.

“He chose you because you were the one he wanted to lead Summer if ever he couldn’t,” Landon said. “That is what it means to be Beta of a pack.”

Galen swallowed. He sniffled as he wiped the tear that had escaped his eye.

“He could still come back,” he whispered.

Landon nodded and took a deep breath.

“He could, but that doesn’t change anything,” he said, “You said that you are loyal to your Alpha, that you have his back.”

Galen lifted his wet, red eyes to look at Landon. He nodded.

“Alpha Caleb chose you, Beta Galen,” Landon said gently, reaching out and touching Galen’s shoulder, “and you accepted.”

Tears fell from Galen’s eyes. His emotions were all over the place. But he felt as though something inside of him had crumbled. Something that had been weighing him down immensely.

Galen took a deep breath, slowly releasing it. He looked at Landon and nodded.