are hard to kill. An army like that would be difficult to stop.”
Taban nodded. “Exactly. It’s easy to imagine why that would appeal to him.”
“But how does he expect to control us?” Lidon asked. “He has to realize we’re not lapdogs.”
Palani suppressed a grin at the idea of his big, bad alpha mate as a little chihuahua. If he tried to picture that even for a second, he’d die laughing. Well, maybe not die. That was not something he’d joke about ever again.
“I don’t know, but he’s smart. He’s one of the most brilliant strategic minds this country has ever seen—according to Ge…York anyway. And I think that with the way he played Ryland and Wyndham against each other, we’ve seen what he’s capable of. He managed to attack the ranch and kill York, getting both Ryland and Wyndham killed, while keeping his own hands clean.”
“You can call him George,” Rhene said calmly. “It’s not like we don’t know you were lovers.”
Taban blushed. “I know, but it makes me…uncomfortable. Like I’m a traitor and not supposed to be here. I know he wasn’t exactly honorable in his dealings with you.”
“I’ll say. He threatened my mate, tried to put his hands on him.” Lidon’s words were as cold as ice.
“That’s what I mean. So I didn’t think reminders of my…intimate association with him would be smart.”
Rhene leaned forward, his gaze intense. “Do you support what he did?”
“What? No, of course not. I was horrified when I found out he’d tried to blackmail you. But…but it wasn’t easy to break things off. He was supporting me financially, helping me pay for my mom’s treatments. Without that, she would’ve died years before.”
“So he was using you as well,” Rhene concluded.
“I guess. Though I did like him at first. I think?” Taban didn’t sound fully convinced, though.
“Let’s stop looking at the past and focus on the present and the future. You’ve sworn loyalty to my pack, and that’s enough for me not to question your motives despite your objectionable taste in men.”
“Yes, alpha,” Taban said, and oh, Rhene liked that, Palani noted. His brother’s eyes flashed hot for a moment, and his chest expanded.
“That settles it, then. Call York whatever you want. Just tell us what you know.” Lidon was impatient to move on. “Any thoughts on the methods and strategies Armitage might use?”
“Power. He believes in power more than anything, the power of being the best and the mightiest, the one in charge. Aside from the fact that he despised George for what he advocated political speaking, he also detested him because he considered him weak. George was a different kind of leader, someone who wasn’t as power-hungry as he was. My guess is that he’ll try to appeal to those same feelings in you and offer you something that will make you feel validated.”
Palani frowned. “Surely, he’d realize that wouldn’t work on Lidon?”
Taban shook his head. “No, he won’t. He’s incredibly smart, but his weakness is one most alphas in charge have. They think every alpha is like them. They can see why betas or omegas would have different motives, but they’re blind when it comes to alphas because they’ve surrounded themselves with like-minded alphas. Let’s face it. Most alphas in charge are the same. They do get off on having power over others…”
His words hung in the room. Taban cringed, maybe realizing they could be applied to the alphas in this room as well. But before he could say anything, Lidon held up a hand. “No need to apologize, Taban. I’m all too aware of how power-hungry most alphas are. I’m not defending them, but it is something that society expects of us and constantly reinforces. Everything we learn in school, the behavior we’re taught, even the books we read and the movies and TV series we watch, all have that same subliminal message that being an alpha means being in charge, strong. In history, the men we revere as heroes were all like that, strong, powerful alphas. We never hear about the betas and omegas who made a difference…or the nontypical alphas.”
Two years ago, a speech like this would’ve been unthinkable for Lidon. He’d learned so much, had become so aware of his alpha privilege, of the deeply ingrained patterns inside him.
“I agree,” Bray said, and Palani had never been prouder of his brother-in-law. “But it’s not that easy to change, especially because so much of it is force of habit, almost like indoctrination.”
“We know,” Sivney said, “but the fact