Bloodlines

Dean

"Hey, are you cool if alcohol is served at this party?" Bennett looks at a checklist when he sits at the conference table.

I stare at him. My uncles stare at him. Katie stares at him. Even Sara stares at him.

"Bennett, we're kinda in the middle of something."

He looks up as if noticing everyone for the first time. "It's a yes or no question." He stares at me.

My uncles look at me. I don't know how to answer. If I say no, he's going to get mad, but if I say yes, I'll never hear the end of it off my uncles.

"Yes," Sara says. "Now shoo."

He smirks and leaves the conference room.

When the door is shut, I continue. "I want her followed. If she doesn't leave the pack with Sara or me, I want a patrol on her. Actually—if she leaves with one of us, I still want her followed."

Sara looks at me. "That's a little drastic."

"I smelt East Wolf on her. What if she's—"

"Dean, she's friends with an East Wolf. He's in her photography club."

I stare at her. Katie looks at me and then Sara, and then me again. My uncle's eyes are on Sara. Everyone looks at Sara, but she doesn't break away from me.

"Don't patrol Anna."

Clenching my fist, I suppress my wolf. She knows a wolf outside of my pack. An East Wolf at that. And yesterday, when she left, she went to see him. Him.

"How long?" I clear my throat. I take a look at Katie. She eyes me warily.

"Since the beginning of this school year? I don't keep tabs on her friends. She's also friends with a human, are you going to patrol her for that too?"

"Sara, you can leave."

She pauses. "I have somewhere to be anyway." She pushes off from the table and leaves the conference room, slamming the door.

I tap my nails on the table. "I think we're done for today." I look around the room and land on Katie. She gives me a slight nod. I stand.

Warren and Sean stay seated. Katie looks to me. I nod. Katie stands and leaves. I sit back down and stare at Warren and Sean.

"We're going to be absent for the next few days." Warren says. He looks at Sean who places his hands flat on the table.

"Why?"

"There's something that needs to be finished that your father never got to."

Sean's words take me by surprise.

"Well, what is it?" I look between my two uncles.

They look at each other before looking at me.

"It's nothing that concerns you." Warren says, looking down.

"If it was something that concerns my father, the alpha, then it concerns me, the alpha."

"Dean." Sean stands. "Its something so minor there's no point to spare you the details."

Warren nods, following his older brother and stands. I stand, feeling threatened. My wolf wants to jump out again, but I suppress him.

"If its so minor, why are you trying to hide it?"

"Dean, Sean and I will be taking a leave of absence. There's no more discussing it." He juts his chin out.

I narrow my eyes. My uncles are my advisors, they're here to give me advice that the other wolves wouldn't feel comfortable doing. They can voice their opinion without the fear of me making them submit. But right now, I wish they weren't my advisors. I want them to submit.