Page 13 of Rogue Wolf

“I catch you doing this again, and you’re out of the pack.” Kodiak looked him up and down. “We work as a team, always.”

“Fine.”

“I mean it.” Kodiak said.

“So do I.” Moki cast his eyes down.

Kodiak growled. He didn’t want to let Moki go, but he needed to give him another chance. A brutal reign wouldn’t go down well with the rest of the pack.

And brutal was the last way he wanted to rule.

“Go to the meeting room and wash the walls.” Kodiak released Moki, then pushed him towards the door.

Moki stopped short of growling at Kodiak as he left. And inside, something dark stirred for the other wolf. Fuck, he hoped it wasn’t a twisted version of stupid bravery that took him out. Morals and self-righteousness had a habit of biting the dust hard when it mixed in with all the wrong things masquerading in an upstart’s head as right.

Kodiak stared after the other wolf. “What’s the damage?”

“With what he did? I can’t believe he tried this,” said Channing, shaking his head.

“So he lied?” asked Kodiak, shifting to a position behind Channing to get a better look at the screen. He knew a bit about coding and hardware, but he wasn’t an expert.

“See for yourself.” Channing flipped between screens to bring up the code, then scrolled slowly.

Kodiak scanned the information onscreen. “Would it be a good system to control security from our phones?”

“No, at least not if we did things Moki’s way. It would take up too much memory on the phone.” Channing thinned his lips.

He looked at the pup.

“But you could do it, right?” While he couldn’t afford to jump to conclusions and get it wrong, he also couldn’t dismiss something that might be innovative.

Channing shifted a little as the back of his ears turned red. Shit. The kid was young and could be hot-headed at times, he had something to prove, too, and he protected his space fiercely.

Still, what counted was his loyalty to Kodiak, and Channing had that in spades. He guessed the trick was to find the right balance between hot headed loyalty and territoriality and hot headed got-something-to-prove shit that might help them. And he had to do that, not the two wolves.

“Channing?”

The pup sighed. “Of course, boss.”

“So, really, the issue was that he was touching your computers.” Kodiak folded his arms over his chest.

“No, boss, I wouldn’t bother you with that. I know you’re busy.” Channing’s ears turned a brighter red as he leaned closer to the screen, turning his face away from his alpha.

Kodiak growled softly. “I’m counting on you to be the bigger shifter here, just as much as I’m counting on you to fix the system by tonight. If what Moki was doing works, those upgrades can be done later.”

He didn’t speak for a beat. “Moki wasn’t technically doing an upgrade. He was fucking up my system.”

Kodiak almost smiled. A tiny bit of stress eased away from his muscles. “It’s good to see you stepping up to take over the computer system and defend your territory from Moki. But something must be said for being open to new ideas.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

The gentle pride in the pup’s voice warmed him. He liked the kid. It would be good for Channing to make his mark on the pack, raise his status and expand his skillset. Channing had the potential to be one of the strongest members of the pack someday.

Kodiak had to make sure he nurtured Channing's potential. He was intelligent, brave and he listened. He also had heart and loyalty. He’d make a fine Alpha in the future.

The thought struck him hard. The weight of that responsibility nearly crushed Kodiak’s chest. Is this how Olcan had felt about him?

“Next time, sort it out with him before you get me,” said Kodiak. “Even if you have to break his fucking neck.”

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