Page 8 of Dawn of the Pack

If my statement surprised him, he doesn’t show it. “How typical, for a teenage girl to throw a fit when things aren’t going her way. Just because you have alpha blood, it doesn’t mean you are in any way prepared to lead a pack. My sister trained to take over as alpha until the day she disappeared, and she clearly was incapable of leading anyone. You don’t know how things work here. If I had any choice, I would not have allowed you to take over as alpha until I was certain you were ready, but magic doesn’t care about the practical, in the end.

“So, being unable to lead anyone, you’re just going to resort to using the alpha command and forcing everyone to do what you say? That sure seems like a terrible way to run a pack. But what do I know? I only did it for twenty years.”

“Enough.” My voice is a deep, simmering growl, laden with the alpha command, and it silences Dom immediately. “You dealt with constant disquiet during your tenure because you were a poor excuse for an alpha. Your criticism of my use of the alpha command to force compliance is a joke, given everything I know about how you operated. Don’t get me started on keeping me under Roxanne’s compulsion for a year just to keep me under your thumb.

“Since I’m more generous than you, I’m going to give you a choice between two options: either stay and assist me, showing the deference I’m due as your alpha, or leave Smoky Falls. If you stay, you can consult and offer your opinions when asked for, but otherwise, you will completely cease challenging my decisions. If you leave, you are no longer a member of this pack.

“I’m leaving. When I come back, you’ll either be here and prepared to be an asset to my team, or you’ll be nothing more than a memory.”

I stride away from the table, my back stiff as I march across the room and out the door. Milo follows close behind me, and I hear nothing but deafening silence in my wake.

MILO

Despite crowing internally with pride for my mate, I can’t help worrying about how she’s feeling. I follow as she storms out of the library, heading directly for the stairs. Fury rolls off of her in palpable waves so thick I can practically see them.

“Are we-” I try to ask about her plans, but she cuts me off.

“I need to get out of here.” Lily’s tone is clipped, as if she’s afraid of speaking more than is absolutely necessary and unleashing her rage upon me.

“Sure, let’s go for another walk. I can grab our coats-”

“No, I mean out of here. This house. This property. I would leave Smoky Falls if I could.” She starts trotting down the stairs. “You have your car, right?”

A wave of discomfort rolls through my gut. “I do.”

“Great. You’re driving.”

“Of course. Where are we going?”

“It doesn’t matter, just away from here.”

Despite her much shorter legs, I’m practically sprinting to keep up with her. It turns out she can really hustle when she wants to.

I expect her to wait in the entry while I bring the car around like normal, but apparently it’s not in the cards. Lily marches straight out the door and hangs a left toward the former stables that now houses an impressive garage, where my car is parked outside. I slip my hand into hers and thread our fingers together, hoping it’ll comfort her. It seems to help, but not by much. She’s too agitated to be comforted.

The temperature seems to have dropped overnight, making the brisk air feel more like winter than the pleasant fall afternoon I was expecting. Lily doesn’t react to the weather, either. Her movements are almost mechanical, like she’s on some sort of autopilot.

I wait until we’re in the car, seats warming as we’re zipping down the driveway, before I speak.

“That was impressive, Lily. You did the right thing, you know. He deserved to be put in his place.”

She stares out the window wordlessly, watching the bare trees speed by.

“I was almost expecting Dom to get on his hands and knees and beg for forgiveness. Honestly, he should have. Whether or not he agrees with you, his job is to do what you tell him to do, period. He shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.”

Lily’s chest rises and falls dramatically under her crossed arms, and she turns to face me with sad eyes and a trembling lip. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that. He was right. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Hot indignation rises in my chest. “What? No, the hell he was not right. You’re the alpha. That’s all he should care about.”

“But he has way more experience being alpha than I do.”

“I’ll admit the situation is unusual—typically someone doesn’t become alpha until the previous alpha dies—but nothing about this pack has been ‘usual’ for decades. That doesn’t change the fact that he owes you his respect, not to mention his loyalty. If he was meant to be alpha, your manifestation wouldn’t have made you alpha. That alone is proof that you’re more worthy of the position than he ever was.”

My eyes dart back and forth between the road and her face like a pair of ping-pong balls. Her emotions are overwhelming, a big mess of grief, fury, frustration, helplessness, and something a lot like heartache. The need to comfort her sets my blood racing through my veins.

“What’s going on in your head, Lily? Despite our heightened connection, I still can’t read your mind, you know.”

That elicits a ghost of a smile. “Too much,” she admits. “Too much to put words to. It’s like a crowded room and all my thoughts are different people trying to speak over everyone else. It’s just a jumble of noise.”

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