The intent of Jaymus' words was never to have the Alpha mad at him. Of course, Cyrus was new to this role as well and didn't necessarily know how to do all of it yet. Jaymus wouldn't pretend that he knew any better but he did follow the previous Alpha very closely and if he knew something that could help a decision be made, shouldn't he speak up? Not to mention the fact that this change had sounded as if the wolves he trained were incapable of protecting their pack. He didn't like that at all, and as the words echoed through his mind again, Jaymus shot a glare towards the end of the table where Preston sat.<br/><br/>Leaning forward, his hands pressed down against the smooth wood, centering himself as he saw the pen in Cyrus' hand snap. It happened so quickly that the response to it was almost like an aftershock across the table. He could see the others jump a bit in his peripheral but said nothing on it. It was clear to him that Cyrus was in a mood, but in Jaymus' opinion, he would have to get passed that if he wanted to lead effectively.<br/><br/>Luckily for Cyrus, it seemed that their Luna had things far more under control. Returning to a more relaxed position on his chair, Jaymus turned and listened to his Luna attentively. It was, after all, far more in his job description to follow her than the Alpha. His inner wolf disagreed and cowered a bit at their Alpha's mood, but the blonde was in no mood to allow such a thing to become obvious.<br/><br/>The Gamma visibly deflated as Victoria spoke. Shoulders sagging a bit forward, the tense points in his face from the previous irritation were now folded into a frown.<i>Not Prepared? </i>He hated to hear his Luna say such things. Was she disappointed with the work that he had done? Nodding a bit to her words, he straightened up and looked at her seriously.<br/><br/>"I'll pull all of my attention to it. I can have them ready to go by the end of the month. I'll work on getting our current teams retrained as well, and we should put them on a stricter diet. The healthier they are, the better." Jaymus was now turned completely towards the Luna, but he still heard every word from his mate. He was displeased with him at the moment, but there was no real reasoning behind it. His wolf was hurt that his mate did not blindly agree with him and follow his lead, but he was also in no position to expect such a thing. He had the lowest level of command in this room, and the growing silence was proof enough to him that he was out of line.<br/><br/>Pushing his chair back, he righted himself and looked out the window briefly before looking back to Cyrus. "Of course, whatever the Alpha decides is fine. We'll follow your lead." Deflated and frustrated, Jaymus found himself wanting out of the meeting he'd been so eager to be in moments earlier. His fingers gripped the arm of the chair, nails scratching against the surface quietly as his own way of self-soothing.<br/><br/>Jaymus chewed on his bottom lip quietly and focused his gaze on the uneven coloring of the wood table between them all. He remembered Ben telling him how the table had been carved from the trees that were torn down to build this very home. The first Alpha of their pack had settled them here and the table was created for the first meeting of the leaders. It was ancient and special - a mark of the pack's history. If Ben could hear what they were considering now, Jaymus dreaded to know what his reaction would be. Would he have expected Jaymus to put a stop to it? Or follow his Alpha as he should, no matter what?