Page 14 of Alpha's Rejected Warrior
“He can order us to put him to death,” Akila says. “That’s the law.”
Thea sits up and looks to Xander. “Oh. . . oh, no. Xander, you can’t kill him.”
“I don’t want to kill him, but if the Alpha King gives the order. . .” When he doesn’t say any more, her eyes widen, urging him to speak. He sighs and adds, “Thea, I don’t know that I have any other option.”
“Luna,” I say, “when we found him at your apartment, he told us that there were people looking for you. Now that he’s gone,there will be people looking for him as well. If we let him return, they’ll want to know where he’s been.”
“He’d never tell anyone.”
“We can’t trust that,” Xander says softly to Thea. “There’s a reason these laws exist. They come from centuries of betrayal by humans. We simply can’t risk it.”
“But you broughtmehere.”
“That was different. The seers already knew that you weren’t human.”
Her bottom lip starts to quiver with frustration. “Then I understand your position,” she says. “He can’t go back. He has to stay here. With us. With me.”
“Thea—” Xander starts.
“He’s my best friend, Xander. He’s the only person in that entire town who ever treated me like I wasn’t some poor, idiotic girl. His life is invaluable to me.”
Even I’ve got to hand it to her, I think.That girl has more fire in her than anyone I’ve ever met.
“My love,” Xander says, “The law says that he can’t know about us and live.”
“Well, that’s a stupid law,” she says, her voice cracking. “You’re the Alpha here. Can’t you change it? At least here in Kortan?”
Xander shakes his head. “I can’t change a law that applies to all of Clarion.”
There it is. The real problem. There are very few laws that are as black and white as this one.
Thea’s face crumples, tears threatening to spill any second. Xander scrambles for a solution before the waterworks start flowing.
“Okay.” He pats her hand. “Maybethe Alpha King will let him stay if we can justify it. But what will he do here? Whatcanhe do? He needs a role in our pack.”
Thea’s crystal blue eyes bounce around slightly as she searches her mind for a solution. “He— he can be my personal guard.”
Thoughts of Ethan waving his puny little knife around flash through my mind. I seriously doubt he’s capable of such a task.
Conan voices what’s on all our minds, barely holding in a laugh. “No offense, but that’s a terrible plan. He’s no fighter. I’m pretty sure you’d end up protecting him instead.”
“Can he cook?” I ask.
“I don’t think so,” Thea says. “He always took food home from the diner.” She thinks for a moment. “How about my personal assistant? No fighting or cooking involved. I’m a very pregnant, very needy wolf right now. I could use someone to run errands for me.”
“You have that already, Luna,” Akila chimes in. “Servants and anyone else who crosses your path grant any request you might have. And you have me. Are we not close enough for me to fulfill that need?”
She sighs and looks at Akila. The two of them have become fast friends during her time with us. I imagine Akila might feel a little left out of this conversation.
“Of course I have you, and you do more than enough,” Thea says, “but your true duty is to serve as part of the guard, not babysit your Luna. Ethan could help me when you’re busy.”
“I’m sorry, Thea,” Xander says gently. “I doubt the Alpha King will think that being a Luna’s personal assistant is a good enough reason to keep a human in Clarion.”
Thea lets out a disheartened and frustrated sigh. “There’s got to be something we can do.”
After a few moments of pensive silence, Conan offers his thoughts. “I’ll say, it is pretty interesting that he was able to get out of the cell without a key. You know, it’s possible that he’s nothuman at all. He could have used magic. Maybe he’s like you, Luna. Maybe he’s not what he appears.”
“He doesn’tsmelllike anything other than human.” Akila wrinkles her nose.
