Page 109 of The Alpha Dire Wolf
Elder Jackson glared at me, even madder now after being humiliated publicly by retreating.
“I am the alpha,” I growled loudly enough so all could hear. “I rule this pack. Not you. You are there to provide council and wisdom. I suggest you start doingthatand stop trying to dictate what I may or may not do. Is that understood?”
The elders tried to gather themselves to launch a counterargument. This was the furthest I’d gone in throwing off the shackles as alpha. Before I had tried to keep up appearances in public, to allow them their time to “help” the pack.
Things had changed. There was no time. Not anymore. We needed to act, and act fast, before the Chained overran us all.
Elder Germander recovered first. “You will not—”
“I asked if I was understood!”I bellowed as I stepped forward once more, bristling with teeth. Fur had started to sprout across my body as my wolf rose with the anger in me, ready to answer any challenge that might come.
Elder Jackson bared his teeth but did not speak up.
“Good,” I replied much more calmly. “Now, if you have anything useful to contribute, speak. Otherwise, run along to your holes and hide like the cowardly prey you are.”
I made shooing motions, backing the elders off my steps before turning to those who had been listening.
“The rest of us who actually still have fight left in our spines will stand up and do what’s right. We will face this evil, andwe will not back down. Our courage is strong, and our blood is thickest when we act as one.”
“Your blood will run thick,” Elder Jackson threatened ominously.
I didn’t hold my wolf back. It burst forth as I stepped forward, moving so fast Elder Jackson tripped over one of the other elders and fell to the ground with a yelp. I stood over him on all fours, staring down the snout of my wolf with a growl to match his ominous threat.
The sound was loud enough to drive the others back, and Milton clapped his hands over his hears. Baring my teeth, I gnashed them at his face, making it clear I could rip it off him in a second if he didn’t behave.
Jackson quivered in fear.
That was all I needed. Him to cave. Stepping away from him, I shifted back, walking up the steps to my house. I stopped there, looking left and right at the gathered crowd. It had grown in size.
“Spread the word,” I said. “Any who still believe in the old ways, we leave at dawn to protect our families and those around us who cannot fight.”
I looked down at Elder Jackson with disgust. “Or who won’t.”
Then I went inside and closed the door so they couldn’t see me nearly throw up.
“Are you okay?” Sylvie asked as I rubbed at my face.
“I’ll be fine. I just don’t enjoy treating anyone like that, especially my own pack members.”
“They deserved it.”
I looked at her. “They’re scared. They haven’t had to rise to a challenge like this in their lives, and now they’re old and they know full well they don’t have the strength to stand before it. Can you blame them?”
She frowned. “Are you saying you pity them?”
“Immensely. I did not enjoy what I just did. But it had to be done, for the sake of those whodohave the strength to fight. They must see that it’s our only choice. I just wish the elders weren’t so damn stubborn about it. Then I wouldn’t have to fight them as well as the Chained.”
Standing up straight, I walked to my fridge and pulled a beer bottle out of the door. The cap came off with a quick flick of my wrist, and I up-ended the cold glass, letting the brew drain smoothly. It disappeared in a flash, and I grabbed another, heading to sit down.
“We didn’t use to be this way,” I said in response to her watchful gaze. “When my father was alpha, he would have dealt with it before things got to this point. He knew how to lead. How to show them what it meant to bebetter. To protect those who can’t fight.”
“Your father was alpha before you?”
I nodded. “It’s how I was allowed to enter the trials to become alpha. I wouldn’t have had enough support otherwise. Nobody expected me to win, but I did. Now, because I’m younger, the elders think they can manipulate me and take control of the pack. And too many of my people are scared and willing to listen to them.”
Shaking my head in frustration, I took a swig of the fresh beer, determined to make this one last.
“Maybe,” Sylvie said, “but not all of them do.”
