Chapter 81

Tyler POV

Moonrise Entertainment - Tyler's Office (Executive Level)

I'd gone into the office to keep from brooding over Rachel's travels to Moonglow Pack. I trusted the Alpha Inspector to keep her safe though I still didn't know how I felt about Nathan Lewis being her designated bodyguard of choice.

Lonnah had been giving me a wide berth all morning after I'd inadvertently growled in response to her daily greeting. I had taken to getting my own drinks from the staff room if for no other reason than to have a few more feet to cross outside my office a few times a day.

Part of me hated I had become so belligerent my personal assistant recoiled every time she saw me while another part was glad to see I hadn't lost my edge without my wolf.

Under no circumstances could my father learn my wolf was sleeping. John Wright would oust me from my position in the pack, the company, and his family the minute he found out I was as crippled as my older brother William.

I had been pacing a path in the floor of my office all morning as I tried to contain nervous energy and pent-up frustration I hadn't been insistent I take Rachel to visit her mother's pack. My desk was littered with open files whose contents I couldn't even begin to decipher in my current frame of mind; I thought I would spontaneously combust if I sat in my chair for even one more minute.

Draining the last of the water from the bottle I'd recently fetched, I tossed it into the waste can before jerking my door open again.

I stalked by Lonnah's desk -if I didn't look at her directly, she might not know I'd noticed her jerk away from me- to let myself into the staff room to retrieve more water. I decided to try every variety we had in stock. I'd have a reason to stare into the refrigerator even if I couldn't taste a difference between any of the bottles.

Didn't all water just taste like water?

As I went back to my office, I heard my father's office door open. I could practically feel the weight of his gaze on me without turning to look at him. Sometimes I wondered if there was any benefit to being an Alpha wolf at all as all it seemed to do for me was make me paranoid or stir up my anger.

I heard my father striding toward me so I saved us both time by leaving my office door open. I moved to my desk where I placed the water carefully along the edge of my blotter as if it mattered to anyone how clean I kept my desktop.

I didn't bother to sit down. I always preferred to stand in the presence of my father for the edge it gave me as I was tall enough to look down on him which he hated.

No Alpha was good at granting an edge to any challenger---not even if their opposition was their own flesh and blood.

"Have you heard from her yet?"

"No. I doubt they've cleared the territory by now. It isn't a fast drive."

I wouldn't pretend to misunderstand exactly who he meant.

Rachel was all I could think about and I had decided everyone was allowed to know my mind was preoccupied with thoughts of my mate. There was no shame in caring for the mother of my child. Her trip to Moonglow Pack was common knowledge in the building at this point. Why should I hide my worry for her safety?

"I have no doubt she's safe. All you need to do at this stage is make sure to check in on a regular basis. Train her to expect a call at specific hours of the day. That way she'll begin calling you if you don't call her first."

Trust John Wright to find a way to turn natural concern for a partner into a lesson on control.

"I don't need her to call me on command. She's my mate, not a pet."

"Mates are pets if you treat them accordingly. You have to learn to differentiate your role as Alpha from your subordinates."

I clenched my teeth to avoid the urge to tear into him. My father had his own view on how an Alpha was meant to behave; I was not going to change his mind with any argument I could make.

"Besides. She's your former mate. I have been in contact with House Lewis to negotiate a mating arrangement for Charlotte with their boy. There are plenty of fine females ripe for mating. Several houses have reached out to me for alliances with William and he's worthless. Imagine what kind of deals we could make for you."

No other female would ever share my bed as far as my wolf was concerned, but Alpha Wright expected me to fall in line the way he wanted me to train my mate to follow my orders. He believed he was the ultimate decision maker on all matters as a part of his rights as Alpha to House Wright.

In his eyes, I wasn't his son: I was his asset.

I vowed never to treat my daughter with the casual disregard my father afforded me.

"How does Charlotte feel about Lewis? Is she in favor of the match?"

"Charlotte will do as she's told. She's in favor of this family which is what you should be, too. We can't make stupid alliances. There's a seat opening on the Alpha Council if my sources are to be believed and I want to claim it for our line or one of our secondary houses. We would be a force to be reckoned with if we had two seats to call our own on every vote."

I didn't question how he'd come to the knowledge. Sometimes it was better if I was kept in the dark regarding my father's machinations. I did wonder at the likelihood of the Alpha Council allowing themselves to become unbalanced by giving over two seats to the same pack.

"You believe they'll allow an imbalance? Is there precedence for two seats being held by the same pack?"

Father put his hands into his pockets, sinking back on his heels as he studied me. I could feel his judgement better than I could feel the clothes on my back. He swept his eyes over me from the top of my head to the tips of my shoes before seeming to decide I was worth answering.

"There is precedence. It has been a long time. But. This would not be a first for the Council. Why? Are you thinking you'd want to take a seat? I hold ours by right now. You'll have to wait on your ascendancy before you can hold mine. I'm certain they won't approve both of us holding a place at once."

I knew he would respect a power play from me more than any other line of inquiry. I had no faith he would give me any kind of honesty if he thought his position in the Alpha seat for House Wright was to potentially be compromised.

"I can wait to hold a seat on the Council. I don't have time for the Alpha Council, Moonrise Entertainment, and my mate. I know which you would choose between your mate and the Council. However. I am not you."

"More's the pity. House Wright needs strength. Sentiment is for the weak."

"House Campbell appears to be steeped in strength so you may yet get a strong connection out of me if Rachel solidifies her connection with Moonglow."

Father gave a slow nod, his eyes appearing troubled as his brows drew together. I wondered if he had failed to consider the weight of a connection to Moonglow's Alpha House. He was certainly a man who was rarely surprised by any potential alliances.

"Have your female suggest the potential for an alliance with Moonrise. Tell her we aren't giving her permission to negotiate. Just suggest the possibility then report back to us how they responded. Do you think she's capable of that much?"

I hated the idea of using Rachel to make alliances, but I did prefer Father on our side than scheming against us.

"I'm sure she's very capable of many things. I'll tell her when she responds to me. She should be arriving soon."

Father snapped at me then, "Go ahead and leave for the day now. You're too distracted to accomplish anything and seeing you pacing around is giving the staff the wrong idea. You're going to be House Alpha. Behave like it."

He turned on his heel and left without giving me an opportunity to explain to him I was not a boy to be dismissed.

Thinking over the amount of work I hadn't accomplished so far, I decided to take the offer to leave the office rather than staying out of stubbornness. I retrieved my laptop along with a few folders which fit into my briefcase. I felt a weight lift off my shoulders as I left my office behind, giving a quick request to Lonnah to hold my calls for the day.

I took my phone out on the elevator and texted Rachel, "Contact me as soon as you arrive."

Lewis and the Alpha Inspector had better protect my mate or an alliance between Moonrise and Moonglow would be the least interesting thing happening in the wolfen world.