Page 58 of Brutal Reign
The pack cheers, obviously pleased with this turn of events, and I step aside to watch numbly as people begin filing out the front door of the packhouse. Within ten minutes, they’re all gone, and it’s just us and River’s family left behind. We wander toward the living room where they’re convened, River’s aunt and uncle glancing between Seb and I warily while her cousins and their mates exchange words in low voices.
“Somebody wanna clue us in as to what’s going on?” River’s Uncle Gray asks calmly, folding his arms across his chest.
River steps over to the nearest couch and falls backwards onto it, resting her elbows on her knees and burying her face in her hands. My wolf pushes forward with the urge to help or comfort her somehow, and Seb must feel it to, because he speaks up to clear the air.
“We’re her mates,” he announces.
The room falls so silent that you could hear a pin drop, everyone holding their breath in shock.
“Who?” River’s Aunt Fallon questions, wrinkling her nose.
“Both of them,” Sloane states, the corner of her mouth lifting in the faintest smirk.
Madd shakes his head with a scowl. “That’s impossible.”
“Not impossible,” Gray murmurs, swiping a hand over his chin in contemplation. “I’ve heard of it happening before. Never to anyone I’ve known, but it’s not completely unheard of for one shifter to be bonded to two mates.”
I release a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding, that tidbit of information bringing more relief with it than anything has thus far tonight. If bonding to two mates is in fact possible, then that means all hope isn’t lost. This could still work if we can somehow fix everything we’ve destroyed over the past few years.
Avery’s mate groans beside her, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Learn something new every day,” Cam mutters, shaking his head.
River’s shoulder’s sag in defeat and Fallon rushes toward her niece, dropping down on the couch beside her and slinging an arm over her shoulders in comfort. Avery picks up on the cue and quickly follows suit, taking up residence on River’s other side while Sloane crouches down in front of her, all three women lending their support and whispering quiet words of reassurance.
Meanwhile, Madd’s eyeing me and Seb as if he’s contemplating how to kill us both and dispose of our bodies.
“This can’t get back to my dad, not yet,” River says, her voice muffled behind her palms. “He’ll freak out.”
“Shit, I didn’t even think about Theo,” Gray mumbles. “He’s gonna…”
“Gray!” Fallon snaps, cutting him a glare that has him clamping his mouth shut.
River finally lifts her head from her hands to look around the room. “Seriously, he can’t know,” she rasps, pale-faced and wide-eyed. “There’s already enough drama with the challenge…”
“What challenge?” Seb snarls, cutting her off.
She glances back at him, wincing slightly as she says, “Jake declared a challenge for Alpha rank tonight.”
“Against Theo?” Gray scoffs.
Riv gives a little shake of her head, her expression solemn. “Againstme.”
It feels like those two words suck all the air out of the room, my heart tripping over its valves.
“But you’re not Alpha yet,” Fallon points out, blue eyes widening in bewilderment.
“Apparently that doesn’t matter,” River grumbles. “I’ve been announced as the next Alpha, so that means I can be challenged.”
“That’s true,” Gray confirms with a reluctant nod. “Are we talking about Jake Decker, Cory’s son?”
River nods grimly.
“What the fuck,” Seb growls, pushing off from the wall and pacing across the room toward her. “How dare he? I’ll pulverize that little fucker, he won’t be able to challenge you if I break every bone in his body beforehand.”
River rolls her eyes, groaning. “Can you just stop? I don’t need anyone to fight my battles for me, and for the record, you’re still on my shitlist. So juststop.”
“But how are you gonna…?” Avery starts to ask, promptly cutting off when River snaps her head in her cousin’s direction to deliver a pointed look.
They’re hiding something.There’s more to this than the audacity of Jake’s challenge, I can feel it.