Page 145 of Wolf's Mark

Old lore said that Jeremiah’s brother had been appropriately named Adam, the first werewolf born from the flesh of the devil. He’d gone rogue, which was why Jeremiah had taken over as leader of the pack. Over time, it had been believed Adam had been killed by his own pack.

But he was alive and well, taking up space as he followed in his brother’s footsteps.

What the Wolfen had learned as children was that a pack member alone was always in the most danger. Every battle fought had only been won when the entire pack or several packs took up the endeavor.

From what I’d been told from the Wolfen soldiers surrounding the property, only a few of his new army remained, a couple of Wolfen as well. He was in a bind and I intended on making him and the others pay.

While I’d reluctantly left Sedona in Marla’s care, this had to be done to formally end what I now considered a curse on the Wolfen. Maybe we’d finally learned that our greatest strength was each other.

If not, history would repeat itself and next time, I feared we’d lose.

The packs had gone through a discussion and it was time to act on our collective decisions.

I’d also been told Adam had been injured. With the loss of his brother, it would seem he was having difficulty recuperating. While my beautiful Sedona would continue insisting there was always science behind everything that occurred in this world, I knew that not to always be true.

Maybe I should admit I’d finally embraced what I’d once believed to be nothing but fiction in our world and community. There were some things that simply couldn’t be explained with science and technology. There were ancient powers that could not be controlled with modern weapons or horrific battles.

I’d never be able to fully explain why, but it was past time for me to accept or I would never make a good leader.

We approached the house and I was still debating how I would handle Adam’s existence, even if I knew what the outcome would be.

He needed to die a final death, one that he could not return from. Not with science or by the power of the devil.

Would that mean final peace for the rest of time for the Wolfen? That I couldn’t answer, but I would be better prepared if there was a next time.

“You can do this, brother. You are meant to lead the Wolfen.”

I was somewhat surprised to hear Chase issuing the comment. As he nodded toward me, I sensed a newfound respect.

As we’d done before, two dozen Wolfen remained in human form. They were prepared to strike the match. Now it was time for the rest of us to shift.

After shedding our clothes, I lifted my head toward the sky.

Maybe our creator was smiling down at us, Wolfen finally passing the required test.

As the shift began, there was no agony as before, no sense of discomfort whatsoever. In fact, there was peace. Absolute and total.

Maybe I’d been wrong about my place in the world. Expensive toys and trinkets no longer mattered.

Family did.

Family…

My queen.

As twilight settled over the land, the Wolfen stood watching the final act of carnage. We were now as one, a dangerous group of Alphas. The men were of all races and ages, their professions everything from construction workers to accountants and doctors forced to choose their path.

Either remain human and lose their sense of being a wolf or follow the man who’d been predetermined to lead the Wolfen in their entirety.

They’d placed their trust in me as if making a silent vote amongst themselves.

I was proud, not just because of all the accomplishments I’d made in my life, but because I stood by men who respected not only the Wolf family and their leader but also the Wolfen in general.

As the fire burned brightly destroying the final timbers of the house, the contrast with the twinkling stars beautiful, my heart continued to ache.

Adam was dead, incapable of returning to life as were those who’d still followed him.

Peace would fall throughout our community, a night and subsequent days of celebration.

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