How to Survive a Werewolf Romance

Chapter 31: Misinterpreted the Situation

Arthur's POV

My mate was taking the whole situation with the media reasonably well. Amongst the accurate articles written about our engagement party, there were several more negative ones, and of course she had picked the worst one to read.

I hadn't wanted to tell her at all, but she'd been so insistent with Andre that she know the facts, and it was unlikely that no one else would mention it. Better just to put it out in the open, even if I would have preferred to simply have a nice meal with her.

So, I quietly watched her while she read the nonsense that they wrote about her. Pierce wasn't so quiet.

{How dare they even suggest that we reconsider her as our mate? She's our destiny, and what right do those puny pups think they have? They exist as they do because of our good grace..  I could destroy them in the physical world in the wag of a tail, and even easier in the realm of wolves.}

{You know Anne isn't going to want that.}

{I adore our mate, I truly do, but she is too hung up on human ideals. As are you, but even moreso. If Maria were in control, she would rip them apart herself.} He continued on, extolling the virtues of forcing the rebellious wolves of the media to heel.

It was mostly talk, but I didn't like how he was speaking of Anne. Werewolves were by nature divided individuals, and it was all too easy for the human to become contemptuous of the wolf, or vice versa. Things never went well when that happened, and I suspected that was where Anne and Maria ran into difficulties, because they were quite different, although I found both halves wonderful in their own ways. Pierce and I were more like-minded most of the time, so there was less struggle, and we knew how to handle each other. Like right now.

{Would you really change Anne if you were able to?} I asked him, already knowing full well the answer.

He stopped his diatribe midsentence. {No. Of course not.}

{Then we have to allow Anne to be Anne, and Maria to be Maria. That's just who they are.}

{You're not wrong, but...}

{We'll deal with them once we find them, through legal means.}

As if she could hear my internal conversation with my wolf, she asked what I would do if I found the source, and I assured her that it wouldn't be anything but what was permissible by rule of law. I would have liked to reassure her more, but then Lucas's words in my head interrupted me.

{There're rogues attacking Hemmingswood.} Lucas said tersely. He'd probably tried texting, but I'd left my cellphone in the office.

Hemmingswood was a small town just south of the capital. We'd been having increasing issues with rogue attacks in the last few years, but never any so close to home. This could be my opportunity to get my hands dirty and find out more about the root of the rogue problem.

"Sorry Anne, I'm going to have to go, there's an issue."

"What is it?" Her eyes were worried, and I hated to make it worse. But Anne didn't want to be kept in the dark, so...

"More rogue troubles. I'm going to go and try to get information."

She nodded tersely and stood up and rounded the table to my side. "Be careful," she said. She kissed me quickly on the lips. I didn't want to leave, but time was of the essence, so without even a lingering backwards glance, I hurried away, ordering Lucas to meet me at the south exit with some fighters.

Moments later, I had shifted into my powerful wolf, and Lucas, Brandon, and several warriors also shifted, and were running through the city, dodging cars and pedestrians. Our wolves had excellent reflexes, so the worst thing I did was startle a few old ladies, but it was an emergency.