Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 133

Chapter 133

Joseph heard the movement before he looked up. By the time his eyes lifted, Levi was already making himself at home in a space Joseph had not offered. It was a small thing. A domestic thing, even. The kind of thing a man in the family might do without thinking. But Joseph still found it offensive. The office was his working space, and he was tired and already tense, and Levi strolling in as though none of that mattered struck against his nerves at once. Even then Joseph said nothing. He respected his mother enough not to speak on the irritation. Levi was Amber’s husband, and for that reason alone Joseph held back words he might

otherwise have said.

He put Cynthia’s file down and looked properly at his stepfather. Levi looked worried. That, more than the intrusion, caught

Joseph’s attention.

“Haven’t seen you at breakfast for two days now. Does it have anything to do with the attack at Primewood borders?”

Levi’s tone was light enough on the surface, but there was concern under it. He asked as though he were only making conversation yet he was already settling himself comfortably in Joseph’s office as though he intended to stay until he got an answer.

Joseph shook his head.

He had avoided discussing the attack with Levi on purpose. It was not that he believed the man incapable of understanding. It was more that Joseph had not wanted more voices in the matter, more people looking at him with concern or with expectation or with advice. But whether his mother told her husband or not, news had a way of travelling through a pack. Something like a sudden border attack would not remain hidden for long.

“I just have a lot of pack matters to attend to, and I will be wasting daylight if I attend breakfast.”

Levi nodded as though that was reasonable. Maybe it was. Maybe it was even true. But Joseph knew he had also stayed away because he did not have the energy to sit and pretend normalcy over a meal when his mind was everywhere else.

“I am glad it turned out well, and I am proud to see that you are holding your ground, Joseph. It is a relief to see you wholeheartedly take up the Alpha responsibilities. I was worried that I might have to step in.”

The smile on Levi’s face did nothing to soften the words. Joseph’s jaw tightened almost immediately. It was a relief, was it? Levi had been worried he might have to step in? As if Joseph were some wavering boy. As if he had to be watched to see if he would fail. As if carrying the pack in Ethan’s absence was something Joseph might fumble without notice. The irritation that had been simmering all morning sharpened fast.

Joseph looked at him, annoyed now in a way he did not bother hiding.

“I might be a reluctant Alpha, but I am not a weakling. I can hold my own just as well as my brother.”

His voice came out stern, more clipped than loud, but there was enough force in it to make clear he had not taken the remark well.

“Besides, I took care of it so that Ethan’s vacation won’t be disrupted.”

WED

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Chapter 133

That mattered to Joseph. Maybe more than he admitted. Ethan had taken his wife away. He had chosen, finally, to step out of the constant burden of the pack for a little while and focus on his own life, his own marriage, his own peace. Joseph had no intention of letting anything drag Ethan back before it was necessary. If Joseph could handle it, he would. That was not weakness. That was

responsibility.

Levi nodded slowly, but then he said the exact wrong thing.

“Even if he were here, he wouldn’t be able to do much. Remember, that is why you are in charge.”

It was not even the full content of the sentence that set Joseph off. It was the shape of it. The implication of it. The careless way it touched Ethan. Joseph was on his feet before the thought had fully settled. The movement came fast, violent in/intention if not in execution. He went to punch Levi in the face.

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Underwater: The Silent Luna