An Alpha's Duty

Chapter 3

Fingering the unassuming letter in front of him, Ryan heard the door to the meeting room open and his mother enter. He couldn't tear his eyes away from his name written in neat print on the envelope.

Something so small, so innocent and yet it could bring either their downfall or survival. Ryan had yet to decide on what he thought it all meant for his pack.

His mother pulled out the chair next to him and ran her hand through his hair trying to comfort them both. She could always tell his emotions even if he was trying to hide them.

"What's happening, Ryan? What is the letter about?" Rather than explaining he pushed the letter towards her, he couldn't talk, not yet.

The letter had been hand delivered by a smug member of a neighbouring pack, accompanied by two council enforcers. If it wasn't for the presence of the enforcers Ryan knew the pack members on patrol would have ripped the other wolf apart for trespassing. However, as their hands had been tied, due to the enforcers, they had to less than graciously accept the letter.

Once the exchange had been completed, they had observed the group until they wandered outside of the pack boundary, before reporting to Luke.

He looked towards his mother as her eyes poured over the letter, a little scrunching of her forehead the only telltale sign that she wasn't happy with what she was reading. As usual, his father hadn't told her anything but had focused on taking care of the pack members.

In this one instance Ryan had been glad his father had stepped in to see the other members out of the house whilst he gathered together his thoughts. They'd spent hours hauled inside the meeting room trying to decipher what their next steps should be, but their options were limited.

Ryan wanted his mother's opinion on the whole thing but he needed her fully informed if she was going to be useful to him.

It still ate at him that his father never treated his mother like his equal and never seemed to pass on information to her. During meetings she wasn't allowed in the room but busied herself by keeping everyone fed if the meeting was a long one or entertaining the other women if it was a short one.

It was a tireless task, trying to always please everyone else and putting herself second. Most days she was run ragged by the pack similarly as Ryan's father was.

Why they didn't take more time for each other, he couldn't understand. Yes, the pack could be demanding but they didn't need to go to them to make every little decision.

Ryan knew that many would still approach his parents for decisions over trivial things even after he'd given them permission to make their own decisions. To the pack, his parents were still the ones they enjoyed going to for advice.

Ever since the day his father had chosen her for his mate, Ashley King had been the epitome of the perfect Luna. She was always there and supportive but silent. His father would use her to sway the pack with smiles and giggles when his harder approach wasn't appropriate. Mostly though she stayed away from pack politics.

They were considered the perfect pair. One to protect the pack whilst the other was their approachable contact if they felt like they weren't getting heard.

But Ryan always felt like his mother had more to offer than most of the senior males in his pack. Most of which were too conscious of bettering their position to be helpful. He'd tried to bring her into these meetings but she hadn't wanted to intrude despite his insistence. According to her, it wasn't her role to the pack to be part of the meetings.

Despite her words, however, Ryan felt her yearning to accept his offer of inclusion, sometimes he knew her role as Luna irritated her. Despite being one of the most important roles within the pack, he knew how limiting it could be for her and it wasn't always the most gratifying.