It wasn't long until Ophelia joined us, wearing even less than when I'd first seen her outside... if that were possible. 

"You assured us this arrangement was solid," the visiting Alpha growled.

"It is!" Neal's father jumped in.

"Will you stop lying, father!" Neal crossed his arms. He stood half a step in front of me, facing the rest of the room as if to protect me from any sudden attacks. 

Not that I needed protecting. 

"With all due respect, the arrangement was agreed to prior to me finding my mate."

"Her?" Ophelia wrinkled her nose. "She's not even a wolf. How could she possibly be your mate? She's tainted."

I clenched my fists, holding myself back from doing something I'd regret even more than being right there. 

"I'm more than you could ever dream to be," I snapped back. Well, I had been doing fairly well up until that point. 

Neal put his hand on my arm, urging me to calm. I could feel him coming through my defenses again. 

"While a union between packs won't be happening anymore, I would still wish to extend an allyship to the Red Pine pack."

"Neal," his mother's voice was a warning and a question. 

"What right do you have to offer anything?" Alpha Leon crossed his arms.

My breath hitched. I knew what was coming. Everything was about to change. My nails dug into the palms of my hands as the tension continued to build. Four wolves and a Mentalist trapped in a room. This either had to be a really bad joke or a horror movie in the making. 

"I challenged my father for his Alpha position and won."

Neal's mother gasped.

"I am the Alpha on these lands, and I will make the decisions for my pack. There will be no Merge between Ophelia and myself. If I am to Merge with anyone, it will be Cynthia. I do want to extend my gratitude to you and your family, sir. I do not wish for any bad blood."

"Then maybe, Alpha, you should have made a better move for your first decision," Ophelia sneered, her fangs slowly coming out. 

It wasn't just pack size that had led to the initial desire to join with the Red Pine pack. There were rumors the Alpha lineage had a history of mastery over the shift. I had never seen it in action until Ophelia. 

She may have had mastery over the shift, but she had no control over herself. Ophelia was a ticking time bomb. 

"Wait a minute." Ophelia started to giggle. "Wait. A. Minute. Didn't your daddy kill her daddy? And now you're mates?!" She tipped her head back and let out a full-throated laugh. Talk about some goddess intervention right there!"

The prickling of my power started to move along my skin. I focused everything on that smug face, ready to launch everything I had at the bitch. 

Don't, Neal pushed at me mentally. Don't take the bait. It's what she wants.

He was right, but I didn't like it. I wanted to give her everything I had. Everything I didn't even know I had. But we couldn't be the first to attack despite Ophelia's actions outside. 

"Son, you cannot Merge with her, it is pack law not to breed with witches. Do you want to have weak offspring?"

"Who are you calling weak?" I snapped. 

"Honey, it's a fact that you can't shift," his mother chimed in. 

"That doesn't make me weak!"

"That also doesn't give promise to a strong Alpha line. Not like what the Leon's could provide."

She was trying to come across as logical. That's not how I was taking it. 

Each one kept pushing the wrong buttons time and time again. I felt the rage bubbling inside, and I tried to stifle it. I couldn't afford to lose my cool in front of them all. It would only provide more ammunition to be used against me. 

"Mother," Neal's teeth were clenched. "I understand you mean well, but you are not helping. You cannot speak to me or my mate like that. Neither you nor father have any rights here. If you would like to live out the remainder of you, hopefully, long days then I suggest you keep silent and let me make my own decisions. Unless you prefer I make an announcement to the pack right this second rather than a ceremonial exchange. 

"Neal," she gasped. "You cannot be serious about this whole usurping. 

"Deadly." Neal met her gaze, not flinching for a moment. 

"If you think you can make a fool of us, you are greatly mistaken, Neal. This decision will be the downfall of your pack. We won't want your allyship. Your pack will weaken the moment you Merge with this mut." 

I'd had it. The room filled with a massive pulse that shook the ground, blew out the windows, and knocked everyone back except Neal and me. 

Ophelia shook her head and got to her knees. 

I took a step toward her, Neal's hand grabbing me to pull me back. 

"Did that feel weak to you?"

Ophelia smirked. Do you know what you've just done? You've declared war on Alpha Leon and the entire Red Pine pack."

"Does it look like I'm worried?"

"Your heart sounds a bit worried," Ophelia sneered. 

My heart was pounding in my chest, I could hear it in my ears. I had played right into her hands. She had wanted a reaction and oh boy had she gotten one. My pulse continued to pound away, finding its way to my throat. 

"If your son can't even control the half breed, perhaps the Alpha line wasn't as strong as we anticipated," Alpha Leon grunted as he stood from the ground. "Perhaps we can bring your pack under stronger leadership."

"You are no longer welcome on these grounds. Silas and Ophelia Leon, take your leave at once." Neal's voice boomed. I could feel the tension, the anger, the fear emanating from him. It hit me like a wave of perfume, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. 

My heart went from my throat to my stomach as Ophelia readied to lunge. 

Her father pulled her back, the first he had tried to restrain her since we were outside. He pulled her back and the marched straight out of the house. 

It was a couple moments before Neal's mother spoke up. "I can't believe you did that." She shook her head. 

"What else was I supposed to do, serve them tea? They just declared war!" Neal threw his hands up in the air. 

"Not that. You challenged your father?" Her face wrinkled and she genuinely looked hurt. 

"He was threatening to kill her, mother."

"Cal?"

"That whole family has been nothing but trouble from the beginning!"

"What is your problem?!" I screamed. I wanted to strike the man down where he stood. 

I had every reason to after all. He killed my father, he all but banished my mother, and he tried to kill me. He deserved it, didn't he?

I charged at him; my hand outstretched. 

"Cynthia!" Neal shouted. 

I summoned all the power within me and laid my palm on the man's forehead. I drilled through his mental defenses, breaking free of them easily. It was only something I had tried once, but I needed to know why this monster had it out for me and my family. 

Everything else around me drowned away. I knew Neal was still shouting, but his voice fell further and further away until I couldn't hear it. All I could hear and see were past memories. A lifetime of anger and power. 

Lawson, I kept the thought. Everhart, I pushed deeper. I repeated the names as if they were a mantra, sifting for anything that met the trigger. There had to be something in there. Something that could give me some sort of insight into why he had gone through all the trouble to fake paperwork and essentially set up a kill squad. 

Then I saw them. It was my mother and Neal's father, but they were younger, much younger. Early teens, even memories younger than that. I always knew my mother's family and the Alpha family had been close. They basically grew up together. 

There's was Neal's father asking my mother out in high school. She rejected him, but he kept trying. 

Just one date, Em? Give us a shot, he pleaded with her.

I don't want to ruin our friendship, Cal. I value it too much to lose you.

But what if we find something even better?

The memory faded, and another came forward. Anger, hurt. He watched as my mother laughed and flirted with another guy. I recognized the face from one photo I had seen. It was my father. They looked so happy. He couldn't stand it. 

The memories shifted again, this time he watched their wedding from a distance, forced to go as the son of the Alpha. The hatred bubbled so strong it made me want to vomit. 

It was nearly impossible to keep up as the collage of memories continued to play out. 

They were in their mid-twenties now, it looked like, my mother went to Neal's father in confidence. 

I just can't believe it Cal. I don't know if I'm ready. A baby?

Why are you coming to me about this? Anger and hurt again. He was wracked with jealousy. 

We used to talk about everything, Cal. I want us back.

Then maybe you should have made a different choice!

It seemed like very little time had passed. My mother was staring up at him, tears in her eyes as she begged him, please don't do this Cal! You don't have to do this!

I don't have a choice. My first act as Alpha cannot be to undo a law that has been with us since the beginning. If I start making changes they will lose their confidence in me. I cannot show weakness or favoritism. 

Please, my mother sobbed. Please!

I'm sorry, I truly am.

But he wasn't. I could feel the spark of joy; from his memory, and from him now, reliving it. He enjoyed crushing her. 

I stumbled back, the connection breaking when my hand left his head. 

Neal caught me, and I let him take on my full weight. I felt completely numb. 

Cynthia?

I shook my head. Everything sounded like it was coming through a tunnel. 

"Cynthia!" Neal shook me this time. 

My eyes focused on him. 

"Cynthia, are you okay?"

I felt like I couldn't move. Every ounce of strength had been drained from within. I wasn't sure how long I had been in his memories, but I knew it was longer than when I first attempted it out in the woods. And it had been more intense as well. 

But I finally knew the whole story.

"No. I don't think I am."