Tangled Hearts - The Alpha's Baby Mama
Chapter 51: The devil I know...

Chapter 51: The devil I know...

Selene POV

The Alphas were in good spirits and in no time, the table became empty.

As they sat back, picking their teeth, everyone seemed to be in a relaxed mode, Xavier rose to his feet, clinking his glass with a spoon to get everyone’s attention.

"Thank you all for making time to grace this occasion. I’m truly grateful for your patience especially and for running the council while I was gone. At the beginning, I mentioned that a few things would change and the first one would be the venue,".

The Alphas exchanged a confused look. Kyle, Alpha of the Shadow hunt pack finally spoke up.

"By Venue? What do you mean?"

"Starting from the next meeting which would be at the end of the week, our meeting venue would no longer be at the Regional Council Hall, it will be held rather in my pack and we would continue hosting each meeting rotationally,".

There was silence as everyone blinked their eyes in confusion... even me, I was confused.

"Are you trying to say that the meeting would be held in a pack every meeting?" Alpha Mason asked.

"Exactly," Xavier nodded "I think it’s time we bond properly and I’m sure a lot of us haven’t had the time to visit most of the packs here because we’re so busy with state affairs and running our pack. So, this would be a perfect opportunity. What do you think?"

Silence reigned for a long time until Alpha Zed rose to his feet, a displeased look on his face.

"Alpha, I don’t think it’s a good idea," he started "For each meeting we hold, we would have to finance the meeting with food, drinks, logistics. What if there are situations where we must stay back and all that? It’ll be too much strain on my pack and I’m sure a lot of Alphas share the same sentiment with me,".

"True," Alpha Kyle chipped in rising to his feet "We all know that this farming season didn’t favour a lot of our packs. We’re trying to recover,".

"I think you all are making a fuss," Jared scoffed and then rose to his feet "It’s not like we hold these meetings every day. We hold it once every month except for emergencies. So, a lot of us won’t host it until after some months. It’s not a big deal and I support the Alpha,"

"Speak for yourself, Jared," Alpha Jason hissed "Your pack is small compared to ours. I’m sure you won’t understand the pains of trying to provide for the people every single time,".

"You don’t have to be abusive," Jared’s eyes flashed with annoyance "No one here is talking about the size of our packs and...".

"That’s enough, gentlemen," Xavier interrupted him "I simply asked a question that requires a simple answer. It doesn’t call for fighting and since we cannot agree, then the venue of our meetings would be here... Greyhound Pack,".

The announcement was met with a stony silence. I could see that they didn’t like Xavier’s decision but no one was willing to complain.

"Moving on, we’re going to establish the office of the Luna," Xavier announced.

"What!" They said in unison "What do you mean Alpha? Do you know what you’re talking about?"

"Yes," Xavier said calmly "The office of the Luna existed long ago, before it was abolished but I’m bringing it back. I’ve already asked our legal team to draft the decree. It’s high time we get our wives to do some of our duties,".

"There was a reason why it was abolished in the first place," Alpha Kingston spoke for the first time "It’s no news that allowing or giving a woman power doesn’t always end well. I hope you can have a rethink, Alpha,".

"I have indeed thought about it and my decision is final," Xavier said stubbornly "This is me informing you all so I would not be accused of making decisions without our consent,".

"In packs where there are no Lunas? What would they do?" Alpha Jared asked.

"Appoint any female from a noble family who is diligent, intelligent and knows her stuff," Xavier replied.

"Why are you all acting like this is, okay?" Alpha Mason shot to his feet "Why is no one saying anything? It’s not cool and you all know this,".

"What exactly is your problem, Mason?" Noah hissed "A lot of regions are beginning to incorporate women in key positions and these women have proven to be good in these areas. Take me for example, 45% of my closed cabinets are women. There’s even a woman among the pack elders. So, what’s the problem?"

"Our wives will turn against us if we let them wield power," Alpha Mason said "Even right now that they don’t have any power, they’re controlling and make lives living hell for us. It’s easy for you to make these decisions Alpha, you’ve never been married,".

"Well, it means that the rumours are true, then," Noah said coldly "Reports have reached my desk several times about how you maltreat your wife, to the extent that you lock her out for days not to mention your numerous marriage indiscretions,".

"If you had maintained this same energy on me on your nephew, your majesty... he would have had a broken marriage," Alpha Mason retorted boldly.

I could see the shocked expressions on everyone’s face at his words. They weren’t expecting his boldness and response to Noah, including me.

"How dare you talk to me in that manner?" Noah’s eyes flashed dangerously "Have you forgotten your place?"

"I did not," your majesty," Alpha Mason said "It’s just that I hate how hypocritical the whole situation is. We all were witnesses to Alpha Xavier’s affair with a woman called Belinda for seven years while he was married to his wife. Or did you conveniently forget?"

"And you think I didn’t do anything?" Noah’s eyes turned red as he rose to his feet "You think I just sat there and watched everything without making an effort? What kind of man do you think I am?"

Mason wanted to say something else but decided against it.

I didn’t know what he knew that was giving him such boldness. Xavier went over to Noah and placed a hand on his arm, trying to calm him. Noah gave Mason one last hard stare before taking his seat.

"Anyways," Xavier continued "Starting from this moment, the office of the Assistant Leader of the Eastern Werewolf Pack Coalition is empty. As it is customary, I have the right to choose who I want as my assistant. That will be announced to everyone at a later date and for clarification case, Alpha Mason’s behaviour just now is not the reason why he was stripped of the position,".

"Then what other reason is there?" Mason challenged "You’re taking advantage of your position, Xavier. We’re all Alphas, here... we manage our packs more efficiently than you can ever do. So, think about that before you jump to hasty conclusions.

"Is that so, Mason?" Xavier gave a short laugh. "One of the reasons why I had you dropped was the role you played when I was on sabbatical. Greyhound Pack stopped receiving invites for meetings. You went ahead and made a lot of decisions without informing me, to mention a few,".

"We stopped inviting you because of your, Beta. He was...".

"That is not an excuse, Mason," Xavier thundered "I am your leader and I earned it. It was handed over to me like the rest of you. I’ve fought wars, disbanded thousands of rogue groups, put myself, my family and my pack on the line several times. How dare you think you can suddenly act without taking my permission?"

Mason fell silent and lowered his gaze. The rest of the Alphas shifted uncomfortably too. I could tell they were lowkey scared. Some seconds passed before Xavier cleared his throat.

"Finally," he sighed "I’d like to make an official announcement. Darling, can you come here for a while?" he stretched his hand towards me.

I wanted to refuse but I noticed all eyes were on me now. So, I rose to my feet and approached him.

"You all know that I and Selene had it rough in our marriage. Our bond was an unusual one and you all know the story. So, we had a conversation and we’ve decided that going our separate ways would be the best thing for us,".

I felt every part of my body freeze as I turned to him with surprise etched on my face. I hadn’t been expecting that. Of course, our contract would end today... but I didn’t think he would be so willing to reject me.

I should be happy... but I wasn’t. Rather, an overwhelming sense of loss filled me. As I stood next to him, I suddenly was fearful...what if Noah turns out to be worse than Xavier? They say the devil you know is worse than the angel you don’t know.

Was this truly what I wanted? Why was I hesitating.

"So," Xavier continued "We thought we should make it official in presence of everyone," Then he turned to me and reached for my left hand as we faced each other.

"I, Xavier Steele, Alpha of Greyhound Pack reject you, Selene... as my Mate, Luna and Wife,".

My eyes misted with tears as I stared at him. I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.

"Selene..." he called out gently "We’re waiting for you,".

"I..." I hesitated "Accept your rejection,".