Chapter Nine
Amelia forced herself to not interrupt while Lucinda confessed to what she did and why she did it. The Alphas both looked grim and told the werewolf female they would decide what to do with her at another time and sent her on her way. After she was gone, Timothy hung his head, staring at the floor as he stumbled over an apology.
"I don't know if I can forget it that easily," Amelia said slowly. "I'm also not so sure that I can really forgive you right now."
"I understand," Timothy said. He glanced up at her. "If the tables were turned, I'm not sure I'd ever want anything to do with me again."
"But that doesn't mean I'm going to leave again."
"It doesn't?"
Amelia shook her head. She leaned against him. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't angry over the whole situation – it was still very raw and new. Of course, she was still angry. "In the future, though, you have to promise to hear me out, no matter what you think. No more leaping to conclusions and then attacking somebody. I'm sorry for jumping to my own conclusions. I think we can try to start this over. "
A light knock on the door interrupted them. Xavier sighed, but left Timothy's side and went to see who it was. Amelia leaned to one side, trying to look through the kitchen to the front step, but she couldn't see who it was. Timothy stayed where he was, holding Amelia's hand.
"I'm sorry for everything I thought about you," he said. "It was stupid of me."
Amelia nodded her agreement but shifted closer to him. "Not any stupider than what I thought."
Xavier returned to the room then, tension radiating from him. Behind was a dozen or so old werewolves who looked just as ill at ease as he did. Timothy tensed when he saw them and got to his feet. The two Alphas stood together. Amelia didn't hesitate before she took her place beside them, her shoulders back and her head up.
One of them stepped forward. "The council has discussed the situation."
"Have you decided to abide by our leadership or challenge us?" Xavier asked calmly.
The old man scowled. "Even if we are not pleased with our Alphas mating a human, we have to remember what is most important, and that is the solidarity between the packs. We are aware that my granddaughter's efforts to separate you from the human could have had disastrous consequences."
So this was Amelia's grandfather? The man who told her she deserved to be the Alpha female? Amelia narrowed her eyes.
"We will accept the human, if only because a human female Alpha is better than tearing our two packs apart when we need one another."
Did he really think that it was going to be that easy? Amelia put her hands on her hips, glaring at the old man. "Excuse me, but that's not good enough."
The council all looked at her with raised brows, clearly caught off guard that she would speak to them. Or maybe it was her tone that they were surprised about. In any case, if they thought that she was just going to be the wallflower in this triad and let them talk about her as if she wasn't in the room, they were sorely mistaken.
"First off, Lucinda didn't get those ideas in her head by herself. This falls just as much upon you and how you have been telling her that she was going to be the Alpha female from the time she was a little girl. Second, I am not just some human that your Alphas are going to mate instead of another werewolf. I am the completion of their Alpha triad, and I will not be spoken of like I'm a Band-Aid slapped on a problem, understood?"
Lucinda's grandfather stared at her with a slack jaw.
"Third," Amelia continued, taking his silence as understanding. She realized too late that she didn't have a third point. "Uh… I want an apology. And from this day forward, you will not talk about me as though I'm not present."
The council stared at her. The old man mumbled an apology, but a smile tugged at his lips.
"Are you sure she isn't the Alpha female of another pack?"
Amelia put her hands on her hips. "What did I just say?"
"I'm sorry. Are you really human?"
"Yes," she replied. "And don't you forget that. It doesn't make me any less worthy of being mated to your Alphas."
"I see that now." The old man nodded. "Welcome to the pack, Amelia."
Amelia nodded graciously back. Well, that was over easier than she thought it would be. She supposed the Alphas fighting was enough to get anybody to come to their senses.
Now it was just a matter of introducing her two mates to her brother…
***
A couple weeks later, Amelia had Adrian over to her house so she could introduce her brother to her two Alphas. He arrived, scowling, and her heart sunk instantly. Fortunately, he didn't bring Mr. Abs with him, which was something he had threatened to do for a while. The Alphas wore dress shirts with jeans, looking very neat and presentable. As nervous as she was, Amelia had high hopes that this would go well.
Adrian, however, didn't seem to be interested in having pleasant conversation. "So which one of you was it that had my sister calling me in tears because she thought you were just after her to be a breeding mare?"
Amelia winced. "Adrian, it wasn't either of them. I told you that. There was a woman who lied to me about it."
"Lucinda," Xavier added. "She has apologized for her actions, and we believe she is sincere."
"That's it? You're not going to punish her?"
"We're Alphas, not dictators," Timothy said. "As personally upsetting as it is, she didn't break any laws. If we used our position to settle personal grievances, it would be an abuse of power, wouldn't it?"
Adrian relaxed a little, drinking his cup of wine. "I'm glad that you two seem reasonable, because if either one of you ever makes my little sister cry again, I'll have to come after you with a twelve-gauge shotgun."
"Adrian!" Amelia stared in shock at her brother. "Why couldn't you have been this protective when I said I didn't want anything to do with Mr. Abs? You pushed and pushed me to be with scumbags. When I finally find two guys who I actually like and who don't say 'Babe, make me a sandwich,' all the time, you threaten them with a shotgun? What is that?"
"I'm just looking out for you."
Amelia rolled her eyes and threw her napkin in her plate. He was an idiot. "I'm going for a walk. I can't handle this right now."
***
"I'll talk with her," Xavier said, getting up from the table.
“Great,” Timothy mumbled, not looking forward to be alone with Amelia's brother, who clearly didn't like them.
"So, Adrian," he said, trying to mimic Xavier's calm way of talking. "Why do you object to Xavier and I? Is it because we're werewolves?"
"I don’t have anything against werewolves."
That wasn't what it sounded like, but Timothy elected to go a different route. "Then is it because of the triad dynamic?"
Adrian made a face but shook his head. "I can't pretend to understand that, but if it's what Amelia wants…"
"Then why? Amelia has told us about your friend Mr. Thompson. Why are you so insistent that they be together?"
Pushing back from the table, Adrian folded his arms. "Daniel would give her a good, stable life. He'd provide for her, she wouldn’t want for anything. He would protect her. Yeah, he's a bit immature, but he'd change once he realized what a catch Amelia was. But with you two, how does she know what to expect? You've known each other for how long? It's already been a roller coaster. At least with Daniel she knows he won't just up and leave her!"
"And neither will Xavier and I," Timothy replied calmly. "Yes, our relationship didn't get off to the best start, but we have made a commitment to communicate from now on. I'm confident that we can make it work. Xavier and I love your sister. We have a steady income; she won't want for anything. We will protect her – to the death if need be."
Adrian narrowed his eyes. He muttered something in Spanish but stuck out his hand. “I will try to be more supportive of my sister's choices. But I'm serious about the shotgun. If you ever hurt her…"
Timothy nodded seriously as he shook Adrian's hand. "I understand. We hurt her, we get our heads blown off."
Adrian cracked a smile. "Good. Now, let's go find my sister. Food's getting cold."