Page 31 of Her Grumpy Alpha

I took a deep breath and steadied my resolve, knowing I had to make a stand. With a sudden burst of courage, I lunged at Brian, catching him by surprise. In a swift and fierce motion, I struck back, using the element of surprise to my advantage.

My knee connected with his groin, and a sharp gasp of pain escaped his lips. Brian staggered back, his grip on the ring momentarily loosening. The shock on his face mirrored my determination to thwart his sinister intentions. That was a dangerous move, but I couldn’t let him keep pawing at me like that.

For a moment, the room fell silent, the atmosphere charged with tension. As I stood there, determined to defy his sinister intentions, another wolf couldn’t help but laugh. His laughter echoed through the room, a sharp contrast to the tension that had gripped us moments ago.

“What the fuck are you laughing at, Ivan?” Brian bit back. “You’re supposed to be my Beta. Fuck.”

“You see, Brian,” the Beta chortled, not bothered about his reaction at all, “even the mighty can fall, especially when they least expect it. Your puppetry is losing its touch.”

Brian’s face turned a deep shade of crimson as he glared at his Beta. “You dare to mock me in front of them? After everything I’ve done for you?”

But the laughter continued, spreading through the room like wildfire, as if the spell of the ring had been temporarily broken. His other pack members exchanged uneasy glances, the doubts and fears that had been simmering beneath the surface coming to the forefront.

“Don’t be disloyal,” Brian yelled, causing Charlene to spin the gun around now to point it at Ivan. I had to admit, it was nice for it not to be pointed at me any longer, but I didn’t want anyone to get shot here. I didn’t want the children to have ever-lasting trauma. “You’re all acting like fucking assholes right now.”

“Come on,” Ivan declared with an intense eye roll. “Brian, this has gone on long enough. You’ve been manipulating and threatening women, even children. This is unacceptable. We all know that. This is stupid and it’s getting out of hand. She doesn’t want to be with you. Not even pretend.”

“Don’t you want me to be clan leader?”

“Not like this.”

As they stared at one another in a tense standoff, one of Brian’s other pack members tentatively stepped forward. “He’s right! We can’t allow his dishonorable actions to continue any longer. It isn’t working. Molesting the minds and bodies of other people… That isn’t what we’re about.”

“And threatening children?” Ivan demanded. “That’s crossing a line we can’t ignore.”

Brian’s fury reached a boiling point. He lashed out, his voice strained and filled with anger. “Disloyalty? You dare accuse me of disloyalty? You’re all weak and blind to the power I offer you. I have given you everything, and this is how you repay me?”

The pack’s unity was crumbling before our eyes, and the ring’s sinister influence seemed to weaken as the confrontation continued. Brian’s once loyal followers had started to see the darkness in his actions, the cruelty that lay beneath the façade of power.

Amidst the chaotic argument that had broken out within the pack, I saw an opportunity to further weaken Brian’s hold over them. My heart raced as I spoke up, my voice trembling with a blend of fear and determination.

“Brian,” I called out, my tone unwavering, “do you even realize what you’re doing to the children? You’re threatening their innocence and security. You’re playing with their minds and their future.”

My words added fuel to the already raging fire. The members of the pack were visibly taken aback, some of them casting uneasy glances at one another. The chaos that had been set in motion by Brian’s Beta’s laughter was now spiraling out of control.

I seized the moment to push even further. “And what about that kid over there?” I pointed towards a young boy among the children who was clearly of the same ethnicity as Brian. He’s a Blackpaw too, Brian. Blackpaw children are more than just human. They might be shifters too, right? What if this boy is one of them? How would you explain this to your pack? What would it mean for your authority?”

“He’s Blackpaw?” Ivan yelled. “Fucking hell, Brian. Do you not even care about your own pack now? How long before you turn on one of us and we end up dead, huh? All for your quest for power. You have proven that you’ll trample over anyone to get there.”

This caused the arguing to continue, and to escalate. All of Brian’s men seemed to have turned on him, which was just what I needed. I kept my eyes on everyone as I backed away to the back door and I slipped it open as quietly as I could. One by one, I ushered the children outside, whispering to Gregory to take them to my mother’s cottage. That wasn’t too far from here, and they would be protected. Mom would know what to do. I trusted her on that much. It was definitely terrifying to send them out there, not knowing what would happen, but they weren’t safe in there either. If it wasn’t for Charlene, and I wasn’t concerned for her, I would have gone with them.

Mookie didn’t want to go, he wanted to stay and protect me as well, but thankfully he seemed to understand what his duty was, and he went too. My heart raced, I prayed for the right outcome, but there was no telling what today would lead. I hated this argument, it was very scary, but it gave me the chance to get the children outside, and away from all this drama.

But what now? What was I supposed to do now? I glanced my eyes everywhere, but there was too much chaos. I couldn’t wrap my head around any of it enough. Charlene was too far across the room for me to grab her and get her out of here.

Plus, she still had that gun in her hands, and I didn’t want Brian to do anything stupid.

What the hell?

But I didn’t get the time to do anything. Just as I was contemplating my actions, the window swung open, and a woman I didn’t recognize grabbed hold of Charlene, her grip so firm and unyielding that she couldn’t seem to keep hold of the gun any longer. Her fingers automatically opened, and much to my relief, the metal clattered to the ground.

But I had the same question as everyone else in the room. Who the hell was this woman and what did she want with Charlene?

As Charlene was pulled through the window, a look of surprise and confusion crossed her face. The shock of being snatched from the room was enough to break the ring’s hold over her momentarily, causing her to lose consciousness. I tried to call out her name, to check that she was okay, but the words seemed to get lost on my lips. I couldn’t get them out however hard I tried. It was as if I was the one with a hand around my throat, blocking the words from coming out.

The room was plunged into momentary silence as the pack members, Brian included, turned their attention to the abrupt and unexpected turn of events. The woman had executed her daring rescue with a poise and speed that had taken them all by surprise.

“Helena!” Brian cried out, confusion lacing his tone as he yelled. “What the fuck are you playing at?” He did that funny thing with his hand again, waving the ring in front of her, but it didn’t seem to work. Whatever Brian had, thankfully it seemed to be losing its power. “Put that human down. She means nothing to us, to any of us. We’re wolves, we’re supposed to be running this town, conquering Maple Creek. We shouldn’t care about those idiots.”

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