02. The Family Court

The Stein family patriarchs were seated around Tristan. Not only his sister Ananas and her husband but there were also his two uncles, Douglas and Vaskal Stein.

They had been staring at the young Alpha with an intimidating gaze from the moment he entered the meeting room. Beside him, Ananas was sitting while sipping tea from an antique cup. Gabriel, her husband, stood just behind Ananas's chair.

Tristan couldn't remember how long he had fainted after kicking Adelia Dauntless out of his room. When he regained his consciousness, Tristan was suddenly summoned to attend a meeting. That time he was sure he gotta face his trial.

The court was too quiet at that time. Even though all the gazes looked cynical at him, no one tried to speak up or just started a conversation. In a couple of seconds, Vaskal Stein clapped his hands, breaking the silence and everyone's attention.

"I'm glad you were able to sleep well and wake up fresh-faced, Tristan. You had pleasant dreams, didn't you?" Vaskal greeted his niece with full of sarcasm.

Not only Tristan but everyone in the meeting room threw their glances at Vaskal. All faces looked very tense, not least the old man Osla, who had been Tristan's father's advisor and confidant. Osla chose to remain mostly silent after Tristan became the Alpha of the Pack, replacing his father, who passed away three years ago.

Tristan knew his uncle had never liked him, especially after the young man replaced his father as Pack's leader. Vaskal Stein was always looking for a way to get rid of Tristan as the leader.

Especially that time, after the incident with Adelia Dauntless that night, Tristan was sure that his 'special' uncle would do worse than he had done before. Yet, Tristan chose to raise his head more and smiled in response to the sarcasm.

"How could you know, Uncle? I slept very well, but you didn't seem so, did you?" Tristan replied with a grin.

"Oh, you are showing off such an attitude." Vaskal was getting provoked. "Do you feel so proud after putting our Pack in danger again, just like your father did before he died?"

Tristan swallowed his rage. He was triggered to slap his uncle's face upon hearing the insult towards him and his father.

Instead, Tristan provoked back, "Have I done something bad?"

The young guy was asking while smirking, he knew what his mistake led him to be in such a situation that cornered him.

"You-"

"Hmm …" Douglas Stein cleared his throat for stopping Vaskal, who was about to shout.

Douglas knew that once he couldn't stop Vaskal, he would let their discussion off track and make the meeting chaos. Despite Vaskal's strong opinion and his emotional outburst, everyone agreed that Tristan had indeed put their Pack in danger. He had indirectly humiliated Dauntless's pack through their daughter.

"Tristan. Regarding your action, you knew why we called you out of a sudden, right? I hope you remember about Adelia Dauntless who you expelled last night."

Tristan immediately nodded, replying to his other uncle's words, Douglas Stein. "I'm more than remember, Uncle, the picture of the incident was still crystal clear in my head. So, please get straight to the point, shall we?"

Unlike Douglas, who just sighed deeply, Vaskal Stein laughed ironically. His action made all eyes on him.

Tristan's eyes narrowed, he felt very unappreciated. However, the young Alpha could not laugh back as he would, because Ananas touched his shoulder as if signaling Tristan to do nothing but listen.

"You, little brat! How can you talk so presumptuously after you almost got us all killed by Elrick Dauntless, huh?" Vaskal spitted out. "You slept too long without knowing that all of us here are having trouble finding a middle ground to end the war. Have you forgotten that you're still a snot-nosed kid who can't even solve your own problems? So stop being so insolent and listen to everything we say!" Vaskal was warning Tristan to keep quiet and accept all decisions. He was no different than Ananas who did it gently.

Besides, even though Tristan was just a brash snot-nosed kid, he was still the Alpha, the Pack's leader, and the Stein family's only head. 'Isn't he the one who has to listen to me?' thought Tristan.

"Tristan is indeed still very young to take on his duties as a Pack leader, but after all, he is the head of this family. So please, be a little polite to the Alpha, Uncle." That moment Ananas spoke up, Tristan felt like she had read his mind.

Tristan felt relieved, knowing his sister tried to defend him. Ananas understood very well that Vaskal would hold his grudge even after the meeting. Yet, she believed that she should do what she have to do.

"Please just get to the point, Uncle! No need to bring my father into this situation. Let him rest in peace!" Ananas added.

Douglas took over the conversation in the room again. The elder Osla, who should have also spoken, still zipped her mouth up as he continued to watch the meeting without intending to comment.

The atmosphere was getting intense between Tristan and Vaskal. It had to be cooled down as soon as possible so that they could also end the meeting sooner.

"Tristan, Elrick Dauntless is giving us a serious warning for the incident that night." Douglas began. "That Dauntless man said he would attack us if you didn't give him a reasonable excuse for humiliating his daughter, Adelia. Let alone pushing her away when she tried to be your partner during your heat. Elrick wants an explanation commensurate with the embarrassment they got because if not, they will be a tough aggressor for us to combat."

"What kind of order is that? You guys can't normalize that threat either! I rejected her because I didn't like her. Is that a big deal? I don't need to explain or make up anything!" Tristan insisted.

"Tristan, you are aware that our current predicament doesn't warrant our safety, right?" Douglas Stein added, trying to crush his nephew Tristan's stubbornness. "We almost lost half of our Pack members in battle three years ago and you have no right to reignite the war for such a silly reason, so you have no choice but to accept all the decisions we will give you at this meeting."

Tristan clammed up. His thoughts recalled the memory of three years ago when his father had perished in a conflict with the Southern werewolf pack known as the Rough family.

Even after he was asked to lead the Pack, everything got quite chaotic due to that war's after-effects, in which his father and half of their Pack passed away.

To make matters worse, Tristan Stein's actions toward Adelia Dauntless may further deteriorate the state of their still shaky Pack. All were caused by a hasty choice made by the former Alpha, Dominic Stein, who was powerless at the time.

"Only if you are aware of what it takes to protect the Pack, you can then make a wise decision. You need to address this embarrassing circumstance as an Alpha."

Everyone was surprised when the old Osla, who had been silent, spoke up, saying what Tristan had to do as an Alpha. Besides, Tristan was not in a favorable situation either, especially with Vaskal, who continued to glare at him as if Tristan was an enemy that had to be slayed immediately.

"Then what should I do?" The young Alpha asked in a low voice, he sounded given up.

Douglas Stein grinned when he heard Tristan make that statement. The middle-aged man was confident that Tristan would exercise restraint and be a little forgiving toward his family.

"I have no idea what kind of Mate you are seeking. However, after witnessing your extreme rejection of Adelia Dauntless, everyone else and I here decided to ask you to find a Mate soon! After that, you can prove to Elrick Dauntless that it is just because you were already committed to someone. In that sense, Elrick might accept that you were unable to mate to Adelia Dauntless that evening."

"What? What if I can't find my Mate?" Tristan enquired.

He asked in a challenging tone, cause as far as he knew, all of the female's pheromones smelled awful to him and made him constantly sick. It was, therefore, extremely improbable that he could acquire a Mate anytime soon.

"Like it or not, you have to do it in a fortnight. The future of our Pack is at stake." Douglas threw in.

"What? In a fortnight?!"

Vastar and his son, Sean, standing just behind Vaskal's chair, had faces remarkably different from Tristan's amazement. The father and son were grinning as if they were both concealing something.

Their expression irritated Tristan greatly until he asked another question. "If I couldn't get a Mate by the due date, are there any consequences for me other than threats from the Dauntless family Pack?" asked Tristan without taking his eyes off Vaskal and Sean.

Douglas seemed reluctant to answer Tristan's question for seconds, but after the old Osla nodded, Douglas finally answered, "Your leadership as an Alpha in this Pack will be replaced."