Chapter 41 Chapter 41
ALPHA XANDER'S POV
"Why are you even bothered?" I asked Donovan. He has been pestering me to tell him where I was all through yesterday, not that there was a problem telling him but I just didn't think it was worth it.
"Because I want to know just how pussy hooked you are." He gripped his chin with two fingers like he was deep in thought. "Except. You haven't even gotten any pussy yet." He let out a loud dry laugh that grated on my ears. I still refused to give him the benefit of getting a reaction out of me. He knows well enough that I would throw his ass out when he annoyed me well enough.
"You don't just disappear for hours when the pack needs you, that's not how an alpha acts." I groaned loudly. "Do you just never give up?" I kept the pen that was in my hand and gave him a blank look. We could keep doing this for hours and it wouldn't bother him, but I had work to do.
"I'm just asking, Xander. You could say, I'm even worried about you, and the pack." He was speaking slowly, like he was trying to make a child understand something. If I didn't know Donovan as well as I did, I guess I would have fallen for it. He was manipulative, cunning in a way that he would drill his ideas into your head and make you believe it's what you have been thinking, or what you want. Daciana always had her reservations against him and has multiple times asked me to banish him. I wanted to right our father's wrongs, and doing that wasn't going to get rid of the problem. He would leave if I banished him but that wouldn't be the end. The issues he would bring after that happened is what I'm trying to avoid. She still has not understood that.
"Because if just a week with one woman you haven't even fucked yet, is making you ignore the pack. Then heaven's forbid what will happen after you fuck her, or even get her pregnant." I growled in warning. He has to stop talking about her that way. I may not banish him from the pack but there were things worse than banishment.
"Maybe I'm just the one that thinks a little too deep." He shrugs. "You know you can step down, fix your shit and come back after right. With the way you're acting, I don't want to know the stories that will be going around."
"This is what you've been wanting to get to, isn't it?" I asked him, a small sarcastic laugh leaving my mouth. Donovan's face hardens and he releases a low warning grunt. "I'm never stepping down as Alpha, Donovan, you know that perfectly well. Stop trying to convince me," he raises both hands up in surrender. He has a smile on his face now, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. If I wasn't so annoyed, I would have been impressed by how well he plays his cards.
"No need to get upset, alpha." He said the title with a mocking drawl. "I was just giving a solution. Your sister, whom you trust more than me, can assume your position until you're ready."
"Daciana has no interest in being the alpha of the pack. And I can handle my private life and my pack well enough. Thank you for your concern though." I finished with mock humility. "Why are you so worried about Adriana anyway? You said she was weak yourself, why is her presence bothering you?" his mask slips for a moment before he recovers.
"I'm just warning you. Your reputation is on the line. Taking a bride is understandable, but being whipped and acting like her little bitch is an entirely different thing." I raked my hand through my hair and sighed heavily.
"Donovan, I have work and real issues to deal with. If you're done, you can leave." I didn't wait for his response, I got back to the papers I was checking. "And we still have the rogue situation to worry about. If you want to talk about that, I'll be more willing to listen." "Fine then. t wasn't that big of a threat, they were just passing by. Seems like the nearby packs are getting a little tighter with their security, a few of them have been captured apparently, so they are trying to find a way out and new places to stay." That sounded simple enough.
"They shouldn't stay around here. If they aren't trouble, you can meet with a few-"I paused, what he said clocking in my head. If he thought they weren't that big of a threat then why did he "But why did you mind link me and tell me the warriors were dying?" I asked, my brows furrowing in confusion,
Donovan looked as confused as I did, it wasn't his usual fake expressions which meant he was telling the truth and he had nothing to do with it.
"I never mindlinked you." Donovan stated, matter of fact.
I thought it was weird that there were no casualties after I asked this morning when I got back. The most they said was there was a bit of an altercation between them and some of the rogues.
Most rogues were people banished from their packs for heinous crimes, others were unhinged wolves, mostly those whose mates have died, and they more or less went crazy. Not all were bad and some have a lot of potential, which is why I tried to get some of them to join my pack. We have a lot of great trainers and they can help them.
But because of the stigma around rogues, their first instinct is to always attack, so I wasn't very surprised that they attacked after they saw the warriors approach them. Other alphas' verdict for rogues in their territory was death. I believed in only attacking when they
attack first.
"But you did. The pack went into lockdown." Donovan shook his head.
"No, I went there and they already had it under control. Just a few warriors were hurt." I pinched the bridge between my eyes and cursed when I realized what actually happened.
"So, now are you going to tell me where you went, if you thought I mindlinked you? I presume you went to the place 'I called you to after telling you the rogues were killing warriors?"" he shook his head with a laugh. "You really fell for that, Xander? That's like the easiest form of mind manipulation."
"How do you know so much about this?" he stared at me and smirked.
"I fucked a witch once. I'm guessing whoever you were with was a witch?" I nodded, there was no use keeping it away from him
anymore.
"Who was it and what did she want?"
This was what I didn't want it to get to.