Leader of the Pack (39 page)

Keith nodded, knowing better than to interrupt and waited patiently for a Cullen to pause in his tirade. “I know what you’re saying. That’s why nations love war so much. United in a common cause. Blah blah blah. Everyone says that they want peace. Then they get bored. So they turn on each other. So what do you suggest?” Keith leaned against the door frame and waited.

“As far as the unplanned mating goes. We keep it quiet. Not even innuendo about it in public,” he said with a hard look at Keith, who put his hands up as if he was giving in. “We’ll start with arranging as much time, uninterrupted, alone with Aislinn as I can manage. And you’ll actually wait to be let in after you knock. Beyond that, we’re going to have to play it by ear. We need to set up some drills for the troops and lay into them about the lousy show they made yesterday. Not to mention the fact that I wasn’t taken seriously. That pisses me off more than anything else. I say there are people we need to watch for in our own pack and no one really believed it. What? Was I just talking out my ass? They ignore my warnings and question my ability to lead?” Cullen finished by violently tying his shoes and standing up. His hair was still wet, and he shook his head like a dog, splattering Keith.

“Funny,” Keith groused. “At least it was just water and not getting slammed into the wall. I’m thinking that I need to get out of here before she’s out of the shower.”

“Oh come on. I wouldn’t have killed you.” The two men headed for the hall, knowing that Keith was right about how Cullen may react to Aislinn being wet and naked with Keith in the room. Cullen called an omega over to send for clothes for Aislinn, then turned back to Keith. “Anyway, the sat-phone call.”

“Hell, I nearly forgot. Right. Liam has everything under control for the most part. Ranaild and Elise showed up at the den this morning. Ranaild is apparently his own jailer, and Elise spent the morning telling Liam what happened to her and trying to convince him to advocate for Ranaild when you get back. Apparently, when Elise was being held, there were a significant number of others being held as well. I’m gonna guess that there’s a scary correspondence between the guys you dungeoned before we left and the women who Elise has reported as being held.”

Cullen nodded gravely. “Maybe I can talk to Jenna. Who knows. We might be able to reach an amiable solution and get Jenna to let them all go. It appears as though the Tairneach have allowed her to step in as alpha without too much complaint. With Gregor dead that gets her main opponent out of the way. She may be willing to back off and just be happy about being able to follow in Brennus’ footsteps. As far as Ranaild goes,” Cullen growled. “I better spend some time with Aislinn before dealing with him. He’s lucky things worked out. If she had been permanently hurt or had left me, I don’t know if I’d be able to reason my way around a very painful death for him. As it is…” Cullen had to stop what he was saying. His wolf was pacing in his mind like a caged beast and wanted to go charging back to the den.

Keith nodded. “Who all is going back to Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh now?”

Cullen leaned against the wall. He was watching for the omega to return with clothes for Aislinn. “If we’re going to have to go on a rescue mission, then we’ll need all the betas. But I’m still thinking I may be able to talk Jenna out of having another fight right now. Let’s leave it as me and Aislinn, and I’ll take Sarah along. You stay here and get things ready in case we have to go charging in to get the rest of ours out of there. I want to try talking first. If we leave within the next half hour we can be back at the den by dinner. Taigh-O
è
sda,” Cullen said with a nod. He was in the mood for steak. Keith shook his head and laughed. “If you want to get the sat-phone out and call the den around 10 tonight I’ll make sure that either myself or Sarah is able to answer.”

“Yeah, I’ll call Sarah.”

With that, the omega came back carrying jeans and a t-shirt similar to the ones Cullen shredded earlier. The omega bowed her head and disappeared down the hall. Keith watched the girl walk away intently. “I wonder how Jay’s doing. I hate not being there, but she’s been getting so bitchy the closer she gets to having the litter. I swear she’s gonna kill me for nothing. And,” he stared at the omega’s butt as she turned down the stairs. “I’m so damn deprived right now, it’s not funny.” He looked back at Cullen who was grinning and laughing to himself. “Yuck it up now alpha boy. Just wait ‘til Ais is pregnant, and you’re not getting any. We may have to clear the den, if your behavior now is any indication.”

* * * *

Sarah was waiting in the great room as Cullen and Aislinn came down the stairwell. Keith had let her know that she’d be leaving with them to head back to the den. She would have to deal with the reorganization of room assignments depending on what Cullen decided to do with the traitors. He still wasn’t sure. Every time he thought about it a pain hit him in the stomach, and he thought about grabbing Aislinn, taking off and not dealing with it at all.

As Cullen walked up to Sarah to see if she was ready to go, Gaven and Hagan approached them. The two men looked cowed and miserable. They were both bowing more than usual and Cullen instantly got a bad feeling about it.
How many of my men did he get to!

“We were hoping that we’d be able to go back to the den with you. We’ll accept whatever punishment you intended for the others. We’re the last of the men in the pack that you’ve been looking for.” Cullen’s jaw tightened. The gaze he leveled on the men was pure death. “We just want to be there when you bring the others home.” There was a tear in Gaven’s eye that overflowed and ran down his cheek.

Aislinn could almost feel Gaven’s misery, and she was the only one present who knew how hurt Cullen was by what was happening in his pack. Between how unhappy the traitors were about failing their leader, and how unhappy Cullen was about believing the pack didn’t trust or want to follow him, Aislinn was feeling inundated by miserable emotion from all angles. Considering she had her own lot to carry, the last thing she needed was additional outside baggage. She sighed.
Cullen, this isn’t your fault. Rafe did this. It doesn’t mean-

Don’t,
Cullen violently thought back at her.
You said that he couldn’t do things to them that they weren’t inclined to do.
Cullen’s eyes never left Gaven, and everyone in the room was holding their collective breath to see what would happen. The alpha’s eyes flashed with fury.

Aislinn butted her head into his shoulder and reached for his arm. Her actions, in the face of Cullen’s stance, caused a murmur of amazement through the room. The consensus was that she was either incredibly brave or very stupid.

Aislinn tried to send comfort to Cullen.
Rafe had their mates and loved ones. Everyone is this pack is very close. They’re all inclined to save their lovers. You came after me. It doesn’t mean that they were inclined to turn against you. It means they were inclined to do anything they needed to in order to save their mates. You’ve made this pack to be close and caring of each other, as well as loyal. Are you really going to hold that against them and berate yourself for it?

You’re not going to turn this around,
came a growling thought. Aislinn knew which half of Cullen was talking.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Do you really expect your men to behave differently than you do? You set quite the example Lord Arnauk. Drag your entire pack out here, knowing you were outnumbered, no plan, and all because Rafe had someone you loved. How many bodies are on the pyre?

Cullen growled and ripped his arm away from her. She could feel how deep her comment had stung him. His glare shifted from Gaven to Aislinn, and there was more than one elder in the room that took note of the far too meaningful eye contact between the two.

Aislinn didn’t even flinch. She released him.
I wasn’t trying to hurt you. Just make a point. I love you Cullen. I may well have done the same thing. And each of the so-called traitors were doing exactly what you did. You’re hurt because you were left out of the secret, and they are all your friends. But who do you expect them to love more? You or their mates?

You don’t know how a lycan pack works,
Cullen growled.

Maybe not. But we’re dealing with hearts here. Not packs or logic.

Cullen was pacing back and forth. There was a strong part of him that agreed with her. That left them where? He couldn’t just let it go. The wolf would never be able to let Ranaild go. He had to do something. He was just so pissed.

Sarah came over to Aislinn. She spoke very softly. “You two are being watched.”

Aislinn looked over at Sarah and then around the room. “He was going to tear them apart where they stand,” she whispered.

“That may be so. But as it is, all anyone saw was you both sharing an intense gaze and Cullen acting strangely. With all the mind control stuff going on with Rafe, and you being an unknown around here, do you know what that looked like?” Sarah was speaking cautiously. She didn’t want anyone standing by to overhear. If they weren’t already thinking it, she didn’t want to give them ideas.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to help,” Aislinn said softly and lowered her eyes.

Sarah shook her head, and looked over at Cullen. She could see that he was overwrought. It wasn’t like him at all. He always kept his emotions in check. Aislinn was having quite the effect on him. “What’s going on between you two,” she asked confidentially.

Aislinn looked over at Cullen. He walked to a large window and was standing with his arms crossed staring out. She could feel the war inside him. His human half was trying to convince his wolf that Aislinn was right. Aislinn was uncertain as well. She needed to be trusted by Sarah. She was logical enough to understand that Sarah was the alpha female, and if Aislinn wanted to fit in she was going to have to be friends with her. Besides, Cullen trusted Sarah, and someone was going to have to help Aislinn understand and fit in with the women. Cullen obviously didn’t have the knack for that.

Sarah’s patience was waning. She didn’t know what was going on but she knew what it looked like, and so did the rest of the elders.

Aislinn finally leaned in to talk to Sarah. There was a suspicious murmur that ran through the hall, when Aislinn spoke softly into Sarah’s ear. The whispers were suggestions that the druid already had the alpha male and was now out to control the female alpha as well.

“Cullen and I,” Aislinn took a deep breath. She couldn’t believe how nervous she was. She pressed her hand to her stomach to try and stop the butterflies from bursting out. “We mated,” she said so softly that Sarah almost missed it. “We just couldn’t stop. It started as an apology and ended well… Now he’s so worked up about everything. And we can hear each other’s thoughts. It’s amazing and scary. I don’t really know what to do.”

Sarah pulled back and looked into Aislinn’s pleading eyes. She smiled gently, but wasn’t sure what to think. She was torn between hating Aislinn and being happy for Cullen. Sarah was positive that none of the other women he had been interested in could have threatened her position as alpha female the way Aislinn could. The girl may not be there yet, but she would be. Sarah could see it.
Well, I’ve been Cullen’s sister for so long. Maybe it’s time.

Sarah reached out, pulled Aislinn close, and hugged her. That sent another murmur through the room, before she stepped back. “Cullen, we need to go. Are they coming or do you want them penned up here?”

Cullen turned around to see Aislinn and Sarah standing together while Gaven and Hagan waited for sentence to be passed. “Bring them with us. They can join all the others.” Cullen looked around the room. Everyone was staring uneasily. It didn’t take a genius to understand the uncertainty. They had never faced an enemy like Rafe before. It was going to haunt them all for a long time.

Aislinn felt a strange calm come over Cullen, and his face seemed to relax. He made eye contact with each of the men and women staring at him in turn, as he spoke. “I know we’ve been through a great deal recently. You all have doubts and concerns. Some of those concerns involve me. I can tell you that the battle with the unseen enemy is over. The inside threat is under control. I would not say that if it wasn’t true. Remember, it wasn’t your family that caused the betrayal, it was Rafe. That beast is dead.”

Gaven and Hagan were virtually shaking. Compassion and a strange compulsion flowed through Aislinn. She stepped up to the man and reached out to brush the tears from his face. When she touched his skin, a lightning shock seared through her, and she fell to her knees with a cry. Her eyes were wide, and she was staring up at Gaven in tears, trembling. Gaven stepped back with his hands in the air, as the alpha growled a warning that sent fear through all those assembled. “I didn’t touch her,” he pleaded in terror.

Cullen ran to Aislinn, vaulting the couch and stared into her face. The feeling he was getting from her was nothing like when she had been attacked. She had the same look she’d gotten at the Taigh-O
è
sda when she had the vision about the mating ceremony. His wolf retreated, knowing that he could be of no help, and Cullen was torn between trying to get her attention and waiting for the vision to run its course.

* * * *

Aislinn couldn’t help wonder why the visions were suddenly so strong and so frequent. She was standing inside the Tairneach manor again. This time she was human. The room was cold, and she was naked. She wrapped her arms around herself. Details of the room faded into view slowly, as she looked around. There was dim light and shadows spread eerily across the bloodstained floor. There were no windows. People were chained to the walls. All of them were women, naked, bruised, and bleeding. Aislinn could feel fear and determination throughout the room. One woman drew her attention. She was heavily pregnant and lie on the floor whimpering, holding her stomach. Aislinn knew, when the woman returned to the Arnauk, she would no longer be pregnant. A terrible sadness over came her, and Aislinn began to cry for the woman.