A few hours later, things were finally clearer–Jake had definitely been undermining Duncan's authority for a few months. While Duncan had known he had an issue, he hadn't been able to pinpoint the source until tonight. And unfortunately, he'd trusted a portion of his pack to the wrong man. Everyone was supposed to hang back and wait for Duncan's orders once he brought his group around back of the Monroe property, but obviously that hadn't happened.
"I don't want to run my pack like my dad," Duncan said quietly, looking down at his folded hands–he'd sat down next to Lexi on the hearth about an hour ago. "I thought I could win over his old guard but..." He shook his head, "I guess not."
"It's time for the ultimatum, Hayes," Malcolm said gruffly, surprising more than a few people with his use of Duncan's first name. He'd pulled a dining room chair in the living room, turning it around when he sat so that he could cross his arms over the back of the chair. "They either conform or they leave. If your pack stays unsettled, you'll lose people anyway. No one wants to feel uncomfortable in their own home."
"Unless you want to fight all of them," Ryker said, glaring over at Duncan. He was sitting in an armchair as far from Duncan as he could get while still being in the living room. Jo, on the other hand, had chosen a more neutral position, the loveseat between the couch and the hearth.
Every now and then, he would look over and meet her eyes and know she wanted him to come over there. But distance was all he wanted from Duncan right now. Instead, he tried to convince her with a few lifts of his eyebrows to come sit with him, but either they were having trouble communicating or she was ignoring him.
Judging by the way she rolled her eyes, it was the second option.
The rest of them seemed willing to hold out an olive branch. Or at least his dad and Jo and Brett did. Aaliyah seemed more reluctant, like him. Ryker definitely wasn't willing to do the first name thing yet. Duncan had been making life extremely difficult for the past few months.
His dad might've been willing to shove all that away just because Lexi thought Duncan was her mate, but Ryker... Someone had to answer for terrorizing Jo and Aaliyah and the kids and generally bothering his family.
And that someone was sitting beside his sister, occasionally giving her moon eyes when he wasn't frowning at the rest of them.
"I don't want to fight them," Duncan said, scowling right back at him. "I just said I don't want to be like my dad."
"You've done a hell of a job proving that."
"I was trying to keep my pack together." Duncan tensed, his shoulders rigid.
"And all it got you was Jake trying to take over the Alpha position," Ryker said with a dark smirk, "And he didn't even respect you enough to challenge you outright for it."
Duncan bristled, his fangs popping out. "Shut up, Monroe."
"Hayes." Malcolm's voice was soft but heavy with warning. But Duncan wasn't the only one in trouble. Ryker, don't start a fight in this house.
"I'm only telling you the truth," Ryker said, deciding to not listen to his dad. "You have to face it, Duncan. Maybe it's because you've been an underhanded snake the past few months, going after Aaliyah and the kids and Jo and letting your pack run wild."
"Not exactly the best example of leadership," Brett put in, though he seemed to be teasing more than scolding.
"Like you guys have never made mistakes," Lexi huffed, "He just became the Alpha."
"And he hasn't exactly done a great job," Aaliyah said. If her mood was visible, it would've been a dark cloud stretching from her to Duncan. Maybe with some lightning bolts. She clearly didn't like him any more than Ryker did. "Why have you been targeting us?"
Duncan shifted. "It wasn't personal."
"It felt very personal," Ryker said. Only a few days ago, Jo had gotten seriously hurt because his wolves had crashed the bonfire. Then people had gotten hurt just an hour ago because Duncan was incompetent. Why should anyone, let alone Jake, respect him as an Alpha? Ryker shoved up from the armchair and glowered at Duncan. "Do you really think you're going to harass us, then attack us multiple times, and then somehow get Lexi as a mate with just an 'oh geez, I'm sorry, it won't happen again?' You want it to be that easy, don't you."
"Ryker, sit down," Malcolm said.
"No." His hands clenched, he took a step toward the hearth. "If he wants forgiveness, he's going to have to earn it."
Lexi jumped up and got between him and Duncan even as the blond stood up, unwilling to have to look up at Ryker. "Back off."
"Look, I know you can't help it–"
"I'm not saying he hasn't done anything wrong," Lexi said quickly, "Because he has! And I still want to smack him around too." The glare she shot back over her shoulder at him made Duncan look at the ground. "But he's my mate. And you're not going to fight with him."
"At least not in the house," Brett said with a sigh, "There're breakables."
"Okay," Ryker said with a shrug that certainly looked more casual than he felt. "Let's take this outside."
"Fine by me," Duncan said, stepping up.
"Not by me!" Lexi scowled, shoving at her mate's chest to little effect. He might not be a competent Alpha but he still had the blood and the build, making it not the easiest thing for Lexi to shove him around.
Ryker felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, a scent of fire and earth and warm vanilla wash over him. Jo didn't say anything, but the light tug against his abdomen told him what she wanted–not to fight, not here at least. Ryker settled for a warning growl but let Jo hold him back, despite the fact there wouldn't be much she could do if he was really determined to attack Duncan right this instant.
Duncan growled right back, ignoring Lexi's own frustrated growl.
"I want an explanation too," Alliyah said, breaking through the growling. She stood up, Brett immediately following, and paced forward a few steps until she was right in front of Duncan. "If it wasn't personal, what was it? Because I am very uncomfortable with the idea of you ever being around my kids right now." She shot Lexi an apologetic look, but it was obvious the she-wolf wouldn't back down while she felt her children were being threatened.
Duncan sighed. "I didn't expect the kids to be with you guys that day, I just smelled Monroe..." he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's why I left pretty quickly. I didn't want to scare them too much, but my dad's old Beta was there, and I couldn't back down from what I started without looking weak to him."
"What's weak is the fact you're afraid to be true to yourself around your own pack," Ryker snapped. "An Alpha should have strength of mind and character, not just body." He ignored his dad's snort–Malcolm could have plenty of time later to rub it in Ryker's face that he was now quoting the alpha lessons he'd complained about as a kid.
"Easy to say when you've never had to go against most of your pack," Duncan said, pushing forward against Lexi's restraining hand. "Easy to say when you don't have to change anything, when you inherit an already well-run pack, when daddy lets you go to college and get your life together before you take over."
Ryker shot forward and this time it was Brett who had to bodily insert himself, shoving the two of them apart. "Hey! Breakables!" he shouted in reminder, glaring at the two of them as Malcolm joined in, hauling Ryker even farther away.
"Enough! This is my pack and my house," Malcolm said, growing at Ryker before turning his attention to Duncan. "And if you want to be accepted by my family as my daughter's mate, you agree to make some changes this instant. Otherwise, you and your pack will no longer be welcome here."
"Dad!" Lexi said, staring at him. If she accepted Duncan as her mate, Malcolm's ban would include her too.
The realization was enough to cool Ryker's temper for a moment. While he was furious about her mate, he didn't want her to be gone forever. Or to have to choose right now between Duncan and the rest of them. Now he had Jo, he knew how impossibly difficult that choice would be and where she would eventually land.
Jo's hand clasped his wrist. When his dad had pulled him back, she had stepped away, but now she was back at his side.
Duncan moved back but his eyes were narrowed. "You wouldn't do that to her."
"Don't test him," Brett said.
"I already said I was going to do things differently," Duncan said. "Isn't that good enough?"
"What're you going to do differently?" Malcolm asked sternly.
"I'll let whoever wants to go," Duncan said, "And I'll..." His jaw tightened. "I'll give you some of my territory on our border. Since we'll be smaller." He gritted his teeth. "It's an apology."
Ryker tried to not let his surprise show. Giving up territory, even a little bit, was almost unheard of in the packs in their area. It was a huge show of submission and a massive blow to an Alpha's ego. Plus his pack wouldn't be happy about it. Most likely it wouldn't put any of their houses in Monroe territory, but still...
"And you won't antagonize any of the other packs, and you'll try harder to get along with everyone," Lexi said, pressing against his side, urgent.
"And you'll report to me for training," Malcolm said, "And you won't mark or marry Lexi for at least a year, to show us that you're committed."
"Dad!" Lexi exclaimed, wide-eyed, "That's ridiculous."
"You want to immediately trust him?" Malcolm asked. "With all he's done?"
"No, but a year?"
"Other people have waited longer," Aaliyah said.
"You and Brett only waited a month to get marked."
Ryker was highly aware that he and Jo hadn't had the marking conversation in a while–he'd let it go, knowing she was human and felt a little weird about letting him "chow down" on her as she'd put it, and claim her. But now he could tell from the way her eyes darted from each person that she was piecing together exactly how important marking was in the werewolf community.
"We have to talk about it," Duncan said, "But...we can maybe agree to that."
"I'll let you discuss it. Here. In the kitchen," Malcolm said, nodding back with his head toward the kitchen. "You can have thirty minutes."
"Come on, this is crazy," Lexi said, her hands curling into fists. "You can't make us decide so quick!"
"I'm sorry, Lexi," Malcolm said, his voice rough but firm, "But it has to be this way."
"Ryker–"
"He's not Alpha, I am," Malcolm cut in, "So you listen to me."
With a snarl, Lexi grabbed Duncan by the arm and hauled him in the direction of the kitchen.
"Well, that was awful," Brett sighed.
Ryker felt an insistent tug on his wrist. He looked down and met Jo's intensely curious brown eyes.
"I think you and I need to talk about this Marking thing again."
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A/N: Dun Dun duuuuun! Hope everyone is having a good holiday season! Thanks for reading, commenting, and voting! :D