Page 136 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

I nodded slowly. “That still sounds like Jace is in charge. Can’t he just fire you? Like he did with Stephanie?”

“That goes back to the checks and balances he’s talking about,” Shayna chimed in. “The enforcer is the only member of the council elected by the pack. The other members are appointed by the alpha, but the enforcer is nominated by the elders and then voted on by the pack. Yes, Jace is Langston’s alpha, and yes, Jace is technically his boss.” She made air quotes around that last word. “But his real job is to make sure the laws are being followed, the laws of the pack. The most powerful law shifters have is the protection of the pack, and the alpha should be the main one to protect the pack through their words, deeds, and leadership. If, for whatever reason, an alpha puts the pack at risk, the enforcer has the right to arrest and detain the alpha.”

Langston looked incredibly uncomfortable when he spoke again. “It doesn’t happen often, partly because the overwhelming majority of alphas would never do something to risk their pack’s safety or livelihood or to tarnish their name. For another, it’s simply difficult. No offense to Jace, but alphas can be prideful when it comes to their leadership.”

“None taken,” Jace said with a shrug.

“They’re also incredibly powerful,” Langston went on. “The alpha is the strongest member of the pack. It’s difficult to subdue and overpower them, but not impossible.” He shook his head. “But we all know Eren is weak. We’ve seen what he’s doing to his pack. I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why the Scottsdale enforcer and his deputies haven’t done something about him.”

“It’s because they’re all dead.”

Morgan’s quiet voice startled all of us. He was awake and sitting up, leaning his weight on his elbows. “They’re dead,” he repeated. “Eren had them rounded up and killed. It started a few months back. Everyone in town is terrified of him. Nobody is brave enough to say anything because he killed the enforcer. One of the pack elders tried to stop him, and Eren killed him, too.”

“God almighty,” Noah breathed, laying his head back against the chair to stare at the ceiling. “I ain’t never seen nothing like this.”

Dustin and Shayna went to sit beside Morgan on the couch. Dustin patted his leg. “Hey, buddy. I’m Dustin, and this is my mate Shayna. She’s Jace’s little sister. We’re gonna take you home with us, to our pack. We’ll keep you safe. How does that sound?”

Morgan glanced between them, a pensive expression on his face. “I guess, but… I want my brother back.” Tears filled his eyes again. “I don’t want Eren to kill him, too.”

“I’m not letting that happen,” Jace said to him, standing and towering over the others. “I’m going to do everything I can to get him back safe and sound. I’m going to stop the bad things Eren is doing. I promise that.”

Morgan turned his eyes to me. “Can you use your magic and make Mr. Eren a bug? Then I can stomp on him,” he said, smashing his fist into his palm for emphasis.

That broke the tension, and we all chuckled.

“I can’t make any promises,” I said. “But I’ll do my best to find a spell. If I can figure out how to turn him into a bug, I’ll let you do the stomping. Deal?”

Morgan gave me a tired smile. “Deal.”

The other alphas left soon after that. Dustin said he’d message Jace later about a second meeting. Harley and Tinsley got Morgan to eat a sandwich and some potato chips before Shayne and Dustin headed out with him. The potion Tinsley had made was really something. By the time Morgan left, the color had returned to his cheeks, and he didn’t look nearly as sickly as when he first arrived, though his eyes still held that haunted look.

“I’m gonna head out, too,” Waylan said. “I need to check in at the shop, then I’m gonna check the town perimeters, see if any of Eren’s lackeys are milling about. I could go for a nice tussle with one of those douchebags.”

“We’ll go with you,” Reese offered.

“Yeah,” Abi said through gritted teeth. “Is it bad that I hope we do find someone lurking?”

“Are you coming, Langston?” Waylan asked as they headed for the door.

“I’ll catch up to you,” the big man answered.

The three of them walked out, and Tank said he was going to resume his guard duty outside the house.

“What’s on your mind?” Jace asked Langston when the door was closed.

“I don’t like this, man,” Langston said. “If Eren really took out his enforcer, then Morgan is right. There’s no one to protect the people of Scottsdale. I can see this getting even worse. Once Ivy tells him that you made the challenge official and that Dustin’s pack will be hosting the mating party, Eren will know he’s backed into a corner. All the alphas in the area against him? Losing face? You and I both know what happens when a wild animal is cornered.”

“Yeah. I can see this getting ugly,” Jace admitted.

“It goes beyond kidnapping Kirsten,” Langston said. “Hurting kids? Shit. Who knows how many kids are in danger over there.”

“What if that was all his plan to begin with?” I asked, narrowing my eyes as an idea formed in my mind.

“What do you mean by that?” Jace asked.

“Well, I’m sure he did want me to mate with him. That part was obvious.” I shuddered. “But what if he wanted more than just an heir? Maybe he wanted my magic to use against the kids. To make them feral faster.”

Langston whistled. “A platoon of trained ferals would be pretty hard to stop. You think he’s angling to take over other packs?”

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