The Swan Who Flew After a Wolf (15 page)

from a nearby pack, knowing it would serve Tucker well when the

time came for him to take over as Alpha in Hal’s stead. Of course, she

couldn’t have Paris lead, even if Paris was the oldest. He was a

pathetic weakling, and he couldn’t be relied on.

“Leave Tucker alone,” Hal shouted at her. “He can pick his own

mate. He doesn’t need you to do it.”

“I know what’s best for my son, thank you very much,” she

replied. “He will listen to me.”

Hal gave her a disgusted, angry look. “He doesn’t have to. You’re

not Alpha of this pack, I am. And I say my sons can make their own

choices.”

“I don’t have to listen to you,” Aria said stubbornly. Well,

technically speaking, she did, but she could make Hal bend to her

will. She had done so in the past.

However, this time, she’d misjudged him. No sooner had she

finished the phrase, than Hal was on her. He pinned her down to the

floor, demanding her submission. “How dare you question me? I’m

your Alpha. You’re breaking pack law, and I’ve had it with you.”

For a few moments, Aria actually thought he would kill her, but

then she remembered he wasn’t a murderer. In spite of the many times

he had lost his temper throughout their marriage, he was always in

control. He would eventually get over his fury. However, she had to

come up with some way to pacify him.

“Hal,” she started, “I don’t think—”

“I didn’t ask you what you thought.” Hal bared strikingly sharp

canines at her, and Aria felt a trickle of apprehension course through

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her. This wasn’t like those other times. She had crossed the line in

questioning him. “You’ve done enough damage to this pack and this

family.”

Aria didn’t know what would have happened had Paris’s voice

not sounded behind them. “Father, don’t!”

Hal turned, his attention now on Paris. “Stay out of this, boy,” he

said gruffly. “I know what I’m doing.”

His hands dug into Aria’s flesh painfully now, cutting off her

breathing. In an unexpected development, a small wolf jumped on

Hal’s back. Having not expected the attack, Hal was taken by

surprise, and his hold on Aria loosened. It was enough for Aria to

manage to free herself. In a flash, she rolled away from Hal, ready to

flee his wrath.

With the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Hal throwing Paris

against the wall. Then, Hal turned toward Aria again. Aria froze. If

she tried to run now, he would catch her. He was Alpha, and faster

and stronger than her.

But to her shock, Paris got up. Stealthily, he retrieved a heavy

trophy off the mantle case and lifted it above his head. Closing his

eyes, he hit Hal as hard as he could.

It was a coward’s attack, but it knocked Hal out. The larger wolf

fell in a crumpled heap to the floor. Paris dropped the impromptu

weapon, obviously frightened at what he’d done. Then, his gaze

turned to her, and he seemed to find his focus.

“Come on,” he told her. “We need to go, before he wakes up.”

Aria grimaced in distaste. Hal had obviously wanted to eliminate

her, perhaps not kill her, but certainly exile her. Staying here and

dealing with the aftermath of the argument was out of the question.

“You’re right,” she said. “Hurry. I know exactly where we need to

go.”

It had been that stupid disagreement that led her here, where she’d

ended up the laughingstock of the Wade pack. She should never have

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left. She should have just blamed the entire thing on Paris, apologized

to Hal, and stayed with him.

Hal still loved her. He must have known for quite a while that

Paris wasn’t his kid, but he had never actually said anything about it.

Of course, Aria had done her best to go along with his hatred of Paris,

and she thought that her agreement to his attitude had been the one to

keep her Alpha bitch. She’d been too ambitious that time, but she

could learn from her mistakes.

“I’m sorry about what I said,” she told him. “You’re right. I

disrespected you, and I deeply regret it.”

“Uh-huh. Then why am I hearing that you’re planning to mate

Anson Wright?”

“It’s not my fault,” Aria cried. “Please, you have to understand.

How could I possibly choose a pathetic beta like Anson over you? I

didn’t realize Paris was his son until it was already too late, and I had

no one to turn to after our argument.”

“You still mated with me after fucking another man,” Hal snapped

at her. “How can I believe a word you’re saying?”

“Oh, please.” Aria was getting quite angry. “Do you mean to say

that you were a virgin when we married? Or perhaps that you

expected me to be one? You knew the score, and you knew how

things worked with werewolves. We’re not a chaste bunch, so don’t

go self-righteous on me.”

She had him there, and they both knew it. Instead of pursuing the

previous line of conversation, he asked, “Why didn’t you abort the

baby when you figured it out?”

His tone was strange, and Aria couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“I couldn’t,” she replied. “The thing is…I only figured it out after he

was born.”

It was kind of ridiculous, and she should have known better. But

her little fling with Anson had meant so little to her that she’d left it

all behind when she’d become Alpha bitch. Upon finding out about

her pregnancy, she’d figured it was Hal’s child. It was only when

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Paris had finally appeared into the world that she had realized the

truth. He was weak. Hell, to take Hal out, Paris had been forced to

attack from behind, like a jackal. Of course, she’d done that, too, in

the past, but it was different. Paris didn’t have her courage, or Hal’s

strength. He just submitted to whatever other people wanted to do.

“Fine.” Hal took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t blame you for

Paris. You can come back to the pack if you want to. On one

condition. You need to prove to me that you’ve changed and you

won’t disobey me again.”

“Actually, I was thinking about that.” Aria took her chance. “I

appreciate you understanding that I can’t be judged by Paris’s actions.

But at the same time, I believe Paris will always stand between us.

We could have been so happy without him there.”

“So what do you suggest?” Hal drawled. “If he’s pleased with his

real father, he can stay there, and end of story.”

“My idea was somewhat more final. As a gesture of goodwill, I’ll

kill him for you. I know you wouldn’t want to get your hands dirty

with something like that.”

There was a long pause at the other side of the connection. Aria

wished she had bought a phone that allowed her to see Hal’s face

while they talked. This cheap piece of shit looked like it had been

made in the last century.

“Do you mean that?” he finally inquired.

Was it her impression, or did he sound excited?
Oh, yes
. She had

known that his hate for Paris would bring them back together again.

She would once more be Alpha bitch. She would have the power she

needed. And her children, her actual children, not Paris, would do

whatever she wanted them to.

“I never say things I don’t mean,” she replied.

“Very well, then,” Hal answered. “But keep my name out of it.

Elder Wade is already leaning toward replacing me, and that wouldn’t

do.”

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99

No, that wouldn’t do at all. Without Hal, Aria couldn’t reach her

goals, either. A question popped into her head. Who else had reason

to resent Paris? Of course! The swan. Reed Denning-Holden. No one

would be too surprised if it turned out that Reed had felt threatened by

Paris’s presence and had decided to take him out.

“Don’t worry,” she told Hal. “I have a plan. No one will suspect a

thing.”

“All right. Keep me posted and be careful.”

As they ended the call, Aria had the urge to do a happy dance. She

was close, so close to getting back what she’d lost. Now, she just

needed to figure out how to get Paris and the whore swan from their

hiding places. Yes, this would be brilliant. She couldn’t wait.

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“So how do you like it here so far?” Reed asked Paris as they sat

down to get a drink.

Paris beamed at the swan. He actually beamed. There was no

other way to put it, because he hadn’t felt such happiness in a long

time. His mother’s rant was the only thing that shadowed it, but he’d

managed to put it behind him and focus on all the interesting people

he’d met.

“It’s great,” he replied. “You have great friends. And little Shea

and Elian are so cute. I just want to hug them.”

Reed laughed. “They like you.” His expression turned serious and

his tone almost somber. “Be careful, though. If you fall under their

spell, there’s no going back. Look at their poor parents. They’re

wrapped around their offspring’s little fingers.”

Paris burst into laughter. “And happy to be so, I think.”

“Yeah.” Reed grinned again. “They’ve all been through a lot, but

managed to stay true to each other.”

“Like you and my dad,” Paris offered.

When he’d first seen Reed, he’d been shocked at how young the

swan was. They were only months apart in age, and yet Reed was the

mate of Paris’s father. It wasn’t all that difficult to fathom, in their

world. Shape-shifters aged very slowly, and a twenty or thirty years’

difference between mates meant very little. Still, even having that

knowledge, Paris had been taken aback when facing the actual

situation.

But that had changed as days passed. Paris and Reed had become

fast friends, and Paris felt like he could tell Reed anything.

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101

Sometimes, he still had his “huh” moments when his dad kissed Reed,

but he was mostly over it.

For his part, Reed seemed quite excited at Paris’s presence. “Kind

of.” His smile turned distant, and this time, the serious expression was

real. “We had a lot of ups and downs.”

Paris had heard that his dad had been injured in the first battle

with Tyrell. It must have affected Reed a lot. He decided to change

the subject as soon as possible. He didn’t like seeing Reed upset.

“You seem so happy together,” he finally said. “I wish I had a

mating like yours.”

Reed’s eyes glittered with interest. “Anyone in particular you

have in mind?”

Paris felt his face flame. He really did not want to talk about that,

at least not here, where they could be overheard. The sound of the

phone ringing saved him from the conversation. “Just a second,” he

told Reed.

Paris retrieved the cell and frowned. It was his mother, and there

went his good mood. Well, perhaps she’d changed her mind about

earlier. Knowing her, it was somewhat doubtful, but Paris could hope.

Suppressing a sigh, Paris took the call. “Hi, Mom. What is it?”

“I wanted to apologize for earlier,” came the reply. “I was way out

of line, and I’m sorry for ruining your big day.”

Her voice was sedate and apologetic, if not completely devoid of

its usual harshness. Paris wondered if she’d realized she had no other

options but to stick around and hope for the best.

“It’s okay,” he replied, even if it really wasn’t. “Do you want to

come back to the party?”

In his mind, Paris was begging for her to say no. The last thing he

wished for was to have her here again. He almost did a happy dance

when she replied, “No, thank you. I think no one is very eager to see

me right now.” Her tone became almost eager. “Anyway, I was

wondering if maybe you and I could talk in person. You can bring

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Anson and Reed, if you like. I think we have a lot to sort out and

we’ve kind of been dancing around it.”

Secretly, Paris agreed with her. He bit his lip, uncertainty flowing

through him. He didn’t know if he should accept or not. It would be