Stacy blinks in surprise.
I feel immediately guilty.
“Sorry, that was bitchy, Stace. Please forgive me.”
“What’s wrong? Is it really that bad?” she asks.
“It’s a fucking disaster,” I whisper, looking over to the lobby where Jase and Grey are now in a huddle, Grey’s hand on Jase’s shoulder. Linc must have left.
“You’ll make up,” Leona whispers.
“He’ll make it up to you now that he knows who you are to him and knows how hurt you are,” Stacy adds, rubbing my shoulder.
“Don’t bet on it,” I deny.
But they’re all betting on it. In a pool!
Because they’re hoping that fairytales and wishes upon stars do come true. And I’m so glad that they did for Stacy after all she’s been through, but I have a new wish. A wish to spare frightened or repulsed females of the fear associated with a rut-hungry alpha bearing down on them with lust in his eyes.
“I’m going to need you all to sign my petition,” I tell them. “A petition that gives female shifters a chance to hit the pause button if an alpha is determined to mate her against her will.And please, tell everyone else, too. I need as many signatures as possible. As fast as possible.”
“Pause button?” Roxy asks.
“Yes. I want a process whereby she can reject him if she so wishes. Perhaps a mediation takes place where she can list why she wants the bond severed before it happens.”
“But it’s… biology,” Stacy says.
“The natural order,” Audrey adds.
“An alpha claims he can’t stop himself,” I say. “And that’s not fair to a frightened or repulsed female. So there needs to be a mechanism in place to stop him so she can state her case and maybe they can sever his urges the way a bond can be severed.”
“Brody’s stopped himself,” Leona puts in, and she’s right about that.
Her cousin has managed to keep his urges at bay. And he’s definitely alpha. But he’s put his mate’s needs first, which I didn’t even know was possible when an alpha identified his mate.
“Erica helped,” Stacy says. “His control began slipping the other day and Brody was about to hit the rut and he locked Addy in a room to keep her safe from him while he called Riley and asked for help. Addy was pretty scared. Erica gave him something and … well… he’s keeping his distance now.”
“That’s a shame,” Audrey remarks.
“Yeah,” Stacy says. “I think Addy’s ready for him to make a move and now he’s giving her too much space.”
“Shit,” Leona mutters, then looks at me. “How would he be stopped? If your petition goes through, I mean?”
“A witch would have to intervene, I suppose,” I say.
“There aren’t witches near every pack though, are there?” Stacy asks.
“No…” I say. “It’s a conundrum, but it certainly can’t go on like this. Look what just happened to Sherry! And nobody did anything to stop it.”
“Jase wanted it stopped,” Audrey says.
“But that SCC doctor guy was here,” Leona mutters.
“And then…” Audrey continues, “Sherry agreed to it when Stacy’s brother played up how great Silver Hills was, where she’d get to be queen.”
Stacy scoffs. “Queen of what? Junk?”
Audrey goes on, “And it didn’t help that the SCC doctor was right here pushing for it because nobody’s supposed to interfere in an alpha’s claiming. If he wasn’t here, I bet Stacy’s brother would’ve died that night and saved everyone some trouble. Sorry Stacy.”