Page 37 of The Alpha’s Unclaimed Mate

“She is my granddaughter.” His voice is soft. “If there’s anyone or anything that can pull me out of a pack meeting, it is Bella.” He looks at me steadily. “What happened? Tell me the truth of it.”

“It was wolfsbane.”

His face goes white. He rises slowly and begins to pace. I count the ticks of the grandfather clock against the wall.

“You’re certain,” he says at last.

“I received alpha training.” His shoulders stiffen mid-pace, and I pretend not to see it. “I know the scent, and I’m certain.”

He turns. The smile is still on his face, but his eyes have gone careful. “Alpha training was a long time ago, Marcus. Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Where is the vial?”

“It disappeared.”

He stops pacing. “That’s not possible.” He says it gently, as if correcting a child. “Wolfsbane has been wiped out. Every pack, every territory, for over a century. If there were any trace of it within reach of this pack, I’d have known. Someone would have told me.” He resumes his slow circuit of the room. “Are you certain it wasn’t something she was allergic to, something in the yard?”

Frustration tightens my chest. He’s too calm, too willing to find another explanation. “She inhaled a substance that put her down in seconds and had her sick for days. I know what wolfsbane does to a wolf. This was wolfsbane.”

“And your first thought is hunters.” He doesn’t make it a question.

“Who else has ever used it?”

He lifts a hand, dismissing it before I’ve finished. “The hunters haven’t been active here in years, Marcus. They operate as real organizations now. As long as we aren’t the ones causing trouble, they have no interest in us. You’re making a big deal of something that may have a much simpler explanation.”

“I’ll look into it myself,” I say. “And the other packs should be warned. If it’s crossed our border—”

He stops to look at me, and for just a moment, the warmth thins. “I see what needs to be done, Marcus. That’s mine to decide.”

“I know. That was advice, nothing more.”

His smile returns, his hand settling on my shoulder, a familiar weight. “I know, and I appreciate it.” He steers me a step toward the door. “Let me handle this. You focus on Bella. That’s where you’re needed. I’m more concerned about you and your single status.”

“Uncle.” I frown.

“Sloane came to me this evening, deeply upset.” My uncle gives me a disapproving look. “She’s a good match for you, Marcus. She comes from a good family, and her brother worked with you for years. The girl likes Bella, too. What more do you want?”

“I don’t like her that way,” I say sharply. “She’s seven years younger than me. And she’s vicious. I don’t like that about her.”

My uncle scoffs. “What woman isn’t? You had no right to insult her and throw her out of your home.”

I get to my feet. “I have every right. She insulted the company I was with. On top of that, I’ve already told you I’m not ready to get married or take a mate. Bella’s doing fine with me.”

My uncle studies me and sighs. “Fine. But give Sloane a chance at least. She’s in love with you.”

He walks me to the study door himself, and I let him. At the door he adds, behind me, “I’d have preferred you came to me the moment you found the vial. Whatever’s going on with the pack, it concerns all of us.”

“Understood.”

“Stay out of this, Marcus,” he says mildly. “You have enough on your plate.”

“How can I not get involved?” I ask. “Bella suffered because of this.”

“Bella is fine now, isn’t she?” His voice is gentle. “Focus on her and let me focus on the pack.”

I clench my jaw and leave.

The door closes at my back. I stand in the hall with the clock still ticking, and the frustration sits heavy in my gut. I’m glad I didn’t tell him I asked Adrian to look into it. He’s a good alpha, but sometimes he reaches for the convenient explanation instead of the harder truth underneath it. My alpha instincts are going haywire, and I couldn’t tell him that either. I sigh and head back outside.

The drive home takes twenty minutes, cold air moving through the open windows. By the time I pull up my own drive, the house is dark, too large, and the only sound is the wind through the firs behind it.