Page 86 of The Pack Next Door
“It’s done,” I said, his brothers groaning as they got to their feet, helping each other from the field. “Hand over your flag…”
The crowd’s shout had me spinning around. I was vaguely aware of movement behind me as I turned to see Jace and Maddox collide with one of the other pack’s members. Jace knocked the man off his feet, Maddox following it up with an elbow drop to the guts of his opponent. The sound of the crowd, it shifted, becoming one less of adulation, but of disgust.
Why?
This was how the game was played. Pitting your pack against the other and finding out who was stronger and who was weaker. It was what wolves did. My hand shot out, shoving the alpha that tried to sneak up on me away, then looking over to pluck his flag from him.
Were they not entertained?
With us at the helm, no one would dare attack Moon River. We could preside over a new period of safety and the prosperity that came with it. Briar’s business could flourish, becoming a destination store that betas from all across the country would travel to visit. It was all there for the taking. At the sound of the remaining alpha’s curse, I jogged, then ran towards my brothers, getting faster as faster as the other three enemy alphas rallied.
I wasn’t so sure that we were what this town wanted, but we were the alphas they needed. My feet flew across the grass, just in time to see two of the alphas’ heads jerk up to catch sight of me and launch themselves forward.
Chapter 42
Briar
Things weren’t going well.
Growing up in the country, I’d spent many an hour sitting on the sidelines of a football game. The way the crowd responded, it was like it became an entity in itself. One minute it was roaring in approval of a brutality I found frankly alienated. April led the charge, shouting her encouragement, but at some point, the wind changed.
Was it when Jace drove his elbow into a man’s unprotected ribs or when Maddox swept him off his feet, forcing his spine to take the full brunt of his fall? It all felt unnecessarily aggressive, the political wrangling of betas somewhat preferable, but I guess there was an honesty to this.
And so was the crowd’s reaction.
“Hey, that’s not on!” someone shouted, stabbing a finger at the field.
“Play dirty, those Whitlocks,” someone muttered, then shot me an apologetic look.
I wanted to protest, to say this all had nothing to do with me. That I was just hanging around to see them take over the town, but right now I couldn’t do that.
Because I wasn’t sure if I wanted them to.
Mads’ face was a mask of agony. Where was the cocky smiling guy who helped me with the lawnmower? Because his expression wasn’t borne from the pain he endured, though scratches and blood was smeared across his skin. The same hands that had cradled me close, stroked me through one shaking orgasm and into the next were pounding into their enemies.
And it looked like each strike, each blow, hurt him as much as his opponent.
If only that were true.
He jerked back, fangs bared, as he tore a flag from an alpha, holding it up in triumph. Where was the joy? That’s what I wanted to know.
And restraint.
“What…?” several people cried out. “That’s not OK.”
Jace, the gentle. Jace, who had cheered me out of my terrible mood, only to leave me feeling safe and secure, punched his enemy in the face now, then tore the other alpha’s flag away. I watched the crowd look around for a referee or something, but that’s not how this worked.
Beta society was one big hierarchy. Teachers, bosses, parents, coaches, and referees were granted authority by the group, but only able to wield it with the collective’s approval. If you lost the support of the whole community, a ruling pack might get ousted. Particularly if the betas had the support of the other alphas in the town. It was why several packs were permitted to live in the same town. Their desire for power working for the benefit of the beta population, forcing a change of the guard if the ruling pack got too power hungry. In MoonRiver, that was why the Harts were very particular about who was allowed to live in the town. Any one of the other alphas could rule it one day.
And right now, I wasn’t sure the Whitlocks would ever get a chance.
As I scanned the crowd, adulation was replaced by disquiet, then disgust. Faces were screwed up, throats went quiet, and people began to pull back, Mum included. She looked up at me.
“These alphas of yours…?”
She wanted me to assure her they were worth supporting, that I would be safe with them, and I didn’t know how to convince her. That if I’d seen even a tiny skerrick of this behaviour, I would’ve left them for dust, not gone on a road trip with them. Jace’s arms were strong, supportive as he held me on a hilltop, but right now he was using them to smack down his opponents with a casual brutality that had my nails raking across my arms.
“Mum…” She nodded, getting to her feet, her things collected. “I think?—”
