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Fool - 16
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Alpha Brent sat in his chair, leaning forward with his elbows resting on the top and fingers steepled as he listened to me. “I understand, Nicole, but the laws are very clear. Challenges are made from alpha to alpha, meaning alpha males only. It’s an outdated thing going back to the days where our women died so often in childbirth before passive silvering rose the survivability rate.”
I wanted to growl and slam my fist against the desk. Dean laid his hand on my knee and gave it a quick squeeze. I let out a breath and forced myself to focus on finding a solution. “There has to be something. We have women leading packs fine or is it until some guy decides he wants to be alpha and since women don’t count for crap, they have to step down?” Hell, his niece by mateship was leading her pack alone for a whole year before she mated Mike Howe.
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The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 17
Dean~~~“I feel like I’m a broken record, but I’ll ask again,” Dad said, leaning back in his chair, watching me with an intense glare. “What is the plan, Dean?”Man, not this again! “What makes you think I have a plan?”“Dean,” Dad said, looking exasperated.“Why should I have a plan for every little thing?”Dad pinched the bridge of his nose and said nothing for a long moment. “Dean, listen to me, you need to be ready for the fallout.”I looked at him, confused. “What fallout?”He
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 18
After my training and shower, I sat on the front porch of Alpha Brent’s pack house, despite the chill, letting my mind process everything that had happened when Dean found me. “Hey,” I said, running my hand over my head, vowing to cut my hair. It was getting too long for my tastes. “What did your dad want?”“The usual. What about you? Anything new?”“No luck with the laws so far, but Sadie has an idea. What is the usual? Does he want you to convince me to be a good girl and stop making waves?”Dean gave me a half-smile. “The usual is him complaining I’m not like my brother. He isn’t against you leading, Nic. He believes it’s going to be impossible.”“So does everyone else, it seems.
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 19
“Sorry, Nic,” Jon said with a shrug of his shoulders. He, Wesley, Sadie, and I sat in the game room. Dean helped Wesley get the records we needed, but had to leave to cover someone’s shift at the hospital.I forced a smile onto my lips. “No worries. If pack law states no women challengers, then we’ll find something else. What did you guys find out about Brandon?”Wesley didn’t seem any happier than Jon did when he cleared his throat. “Brandon came along with the alpha of Orlando. It seems a year or so after he left us, the alpha there took him in and they’re now best of friends, apparently.”“Ah,” I said. My chest tightening and my breathing was becoming harder. “Is there anything in the law books preventing a champion of sorts? Could Dean
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 20
Dean pulled me over to the couch. He sat next to me, his arm laid around my shoulders, and tucked me right against him. Again, I found myself struck by how nice this was. “Nic, we have to talk about this,” Dean said, sounding serious. I didn’t like him so serious.“Dean, there is nothing to talk about. I don’t even understand why you’re insisting. This should be good news to you,” I said, letting frustration enter my voice.“Is that what you really think?”I shrugged, not sure why he seemed so upset.“Okay, come with me,” Dean said, standing.I stared up at him, confused. “What?”“Come with m
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 21
“Hey, Nic, where you bee — whoa, what happened to you two?” Jon asked as Dean and I left the gym. He shook his head, held up his hands. “Actually, I don’t think I want to know. So we’ve been waiting for you and to figure out what we’re going to do next.”“Back to work,” I told Dean and rubbed a kink out of my shoulder. “I need a shower, and then we can discuss the what next. Meet you guys in thirty-forty minutes, okay.”“Sure thing,” Jon said, giving us an odd stare before turning around and going back to where he came from.“Well, rain check on the pampering. I’ll get some sleep and catch you later,” Dean said, and slung his arm around my shoulders and hugged me. “But don’t let them keep you up too long
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 22
When Dean joined me on the front porch, we walked back to the pack house. Something had been bothering me since I spoke to Harry. This plan for a better pack wasn’t something Harry just came up. It’d been something he’d been working on for a while. So why was Dean only telling me now?“Well, what do you think?” Dean asked after we’d been walking for a few minutes.“It’s a great idea. Something like this should’ve happened long ago,” I said and with some hesitation added, “Harry didn’t seem to like me too much. Is that why you didn’t tell me about this before?”Dean scoffed and gave me a sidelong glance. “You’re kidding right?”I frowned at him. “No, I’m not.&
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 23
“Relax,” Sadie said as I paced the room.Relax? How could I relax when I was waiting for Dean to come here to ask him on a date? An actual date. Me and him. On a date. “This was a bad idea. What was I even thinking?”“It’s a fine idea. You only have to relax,” she insisted.Easy for her to say. She wasn’t going on a date. My stomach tightened, and I was pretty sure I was going to get sick soon. The knock on the door nearly made me jump right out of my skin. Sadie chuckled as she opened the door.“Hey, Sadie, right? I heard Nic was looking for me,” Dean said.“She’s right here,” Sadie replied, opening the door as I contemplated jumping out the window
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 24
“So,” Dean said as we sat down on one of the couches in the small room. “What is it you want to talk about?” He sounded almost nervous.I chuckled to myself. He was nervous? Dean had nothing to be nervous about. “Well, I told you I appreciate what you’ve been doing for me since I arrived and well, I wanted to let you know that I, uh, am ready to accept you as my mate,” I told him then added, “And, I understand if you aren’t. We know little about each other, so it’s okay if you’re not sure or if you’re not ready.”When he said nothing for a moment, my nerves ratcheted up, and I ran a hand through my hair. Perhaps I was doing this wrong? Perhaps I misread things. When he asked, “You’re kidding right?” I stared back at him, not sure what he meant. He scooted over closer
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The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - Epilogue
It’s been five months since Antoine took over the pack back while Harry agreed to let me be the alpha of his better packs project. After a few days of arguing, we settled on the name Genesis pack. It’s not a large pack. We only have thirty members. I, Dean, Harry, Jon, Andy, and a woman named Ambria serve as the ruling council. As Alpha, I deal with the physical threats to the pack from the outside. Harry manages our finances, Jon, and Andy work on our security. Kara deals with intelligence with Ambria, who does public relations.Dean serves as the voice of the pack. If anyone is unhappy with what we’re doing, they can contact him about it, all the while remaining anonymous to the council. This way, they will never have to fear retribution from us. He also helps resolve internal conflicts between members and I’m not being biased when I say he does it well. He’s very good with
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 30
“Thanks, Dean,” I said as we left the infirmary.He grinned. “You need to stop thanking me for doing normal, decent stuff, Beautiful.”I rolled my eyes and hugged him as a red-faced Marquice marched up to us. “Where have you been? Do you realize what’s going on?”I stiffened, narrowing my eyes at him. “Yes, my father was attacked. I was with him now.”“I’m not talking about that,” he said. “That… that pretender. He’s been taking over, acting like he’s alpha. Do you know he’s been organizing the enforcers to search and track Brandon?”“And? Marquice, did you forget he is the alpha now?”
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 29
“Come with me,” Wesley said, eyeing Antoine and Beth with obvious distrust. He tried to herd me away from them.I stepped away from him. We didn’t have time for these stupid games. We should be over that by now. “Tell me whose blood that is now!”Giving me a look that told me he didn’t approve of my reaction, Wes blew out a breath. “Your father’s.”“What happened?” I demanded, and waved for Antoine and Beth to follow. Wes licked his lips, glancing at the others. “Stop being an idiot, Wes. These are the new alphas. They may hear whatever you say.”“I was heading back when I saw it,” he began, grief washing over his face. “I didn’t realize what was happening at first. Your
The Alpha and the Mistake Food - 28
The next two days, I spent training hard, preparing myself for what was going to be an awesome fight. What wasn’t so awesome was the amount of ‘helpful’ tips everyone thought they were entitled to give. I appreciated most of them, especially those given to me by Wes, Jon, and above all, Dean, but the ones from my old pack members or my father were, honestly, unwelcome. I finished listening to anything my father had to say, just about anything. If it wasn’t for Dean running interference, I’m not sure what might have happened.I couldn’t be more thankful to Dean. He had been just what I needed since I came. Thanks to him, I knew no matter what happened in the challenge fight, Father and my old pack were safe. My instincts told me his intentions were honest. He only wanted to protect his growing family. I don’t think he’d do any kind of ‘cleansing’ w
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 27
Dean~~~“Antoine Bell is our challenger,” the man, Marquice, said as we sat around a large oval table. The name sounded familiar to me, but I couldn’t place where I’d heard it. “He’s been in the country for ten years, and we’re not sure what exactly brought him to this country. He’s been living down in Louisiana—”Louisiana. It hit me. I knew who Antoine Bell was, and that he was challenging Nic’s father couldn’t be an accident. “Did he come with someone?”Everyone turned to look at me, confused. “What does that matter?” Marquice demanded.“Answer the question,” Nic said, though I could tell she was as co
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 26
“This is crazy,” Marquice demanded, and to ensure it was very clear, he gave me the look of bewildered horror. “Your father will never agree to this.”“Then that’s his choice, but if he wants my help, he is going to agree to those terms. I will not save his ass, just to have it all fall apart at the next turn. What happened to Father’s dignity?”He scowled at me, but took out his cell and tapped the screen. “Alpha,” Marquice said with a much softer voice when the call connected. “She’s agreed to help, but with conditions. Yes, Sir, I told her the pack was at risk. Yes, she still insisted.” Marquice glared at me for good measure, and I replied with a grin. “The first condition is Brandon may never become alpha, no matter what happens in the future, and second—”
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 25
Brent allowed me the use of one of his larger offices. Whatever Marquice had to say, I wanted all of my people to hear it. Dean joined us as well. Brent and his mate — Emily, were there as well.“I appreciate your help, Alpha Brent. However, this is a Golden Plains matter to be discussed,” Marquice told him.Before I said it, Brent did. “None of the people here present are members of the Golden Plains pack per your new alpha’s orders.” I appreciated the icy edge to his voice as he spoke.Marquice looked from the alpha to me. “Nic, this is a pack matter, and I’m under orders to tell you what I have to say, and only you.”“As the alpha said, I’m not pack. I am a guest here and in no position to ask the alpha
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 24
“So,” Dean said as we sat down on one of the couches in the small room. “What is it you want to talk about?” He sounded almost nervous.I chuckled to myself. He was nervous? Dean had nothing to be nervous about. “Well, I told you I appreciate what you’ve been doing for me since I arrived and well, I wanted to let you know that I, uh, am ready to accept you as my mate,” I told him then added, “And, I understand if you aren’t. We know little about each other, so it’s okay if you’re not sure or if you’re not ready.”When he said nothing for a moment, my nerves ratcheted up, and I ran a hand through my hair. Perhaps I was doing this wrong? Perhaps I misread things. When he asked, “You’re kidding right?” I stared back at him, not sure what he meant. He scooted over closer
The Alpha and the Mistake Fool - 23
“Relax,” Sadie said as I paced the room.Relax? How could I relax when I was waiting for Dean to come here to ask him on a date? An actual date. Me and him. On a date. “This was a bad idea. What was I even thinking?”“It’s a fine idea. You only have to relax,” she insisted.Easy for her to say. She wasn’t going on a date. My stomach tightened, and I was pretty sure I was going to get sick soon. The knock on the door nearly made me jump right out of my skin. Sadie chuckled as she opened the door.“Hey, Sadie, right? I heard Nic was looking for me,” Dean said.“She’s right here,” Sadie replied, opening the door as I contemplated jumping out the window
