Page 118 of Moonlit Fate

Branan looked around. “Where’s Seren?”

“Busy,” I lied. She’d have her reasons for leaving me to fend off the circling vultures. I wished I’d had the luxury of escaping with her.

“Typical,” Miren muttered.

“Anything else?” I asked, my patience wearing thin.

“Watch yourself, Alpha,” Corin warned.

“Your father would’ve never allowed a woman to lead alone.” Branan scoffed. “If he were here?—”

“He’s not,” I snapped. “And Iamleading.”

“Your father should have ensured you’d mated with Larkin before you chased him off,” Miren grumbled. “He would have been a proper alpha.”

“You are alpha in name only,” Corin said. “You’re too young, too inexperienced.”

“Destroying us with your ideas,” Branan added, his gaze cold.

“I respect our ways, but clinging to them blindly is the path to ruin,” I countered. “We face new threats, not just old enemies.”

“What is your plan, then?” Miren demanded. “How will you return us to normalcy?”

“I’m working on it,” I replied tersely. “When I need you, I’ll ask.”

“Keep our counsel,” Corin advised. “And remember your place.”

“Noted,” I said, biting back anger. “But you won’t dictate my life or my pack.”

“Choosing a mate is not a decision you can make on your own,” Branan warned. “You must seek our permission before you make a choice.”

“Yet it’s mine to make,” I stated firmly. “No one else’s.”

“The vigor of youth can be admirable,” Miren acknowledged. “However, your actions... they worry us.”

“Got that message loud and clear,” I muttered under my breath, determined not to let their constant needling affect me. They were trying to provoke me, but I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.

In a tone that oozed a sugary understanding, I said, “Times change. The pack must evolve. What decisions are worrying you? Maybe I can clarify them for you.”

“Reckless disrespect,” Corin muttered, shaking his head.

“Traditions,” Branan spat out as if the word left a bad taste.

They turned and left, their heavy steps and disapproving murmurs ringing in my ears. As I watched them go, I knew this was far from over.

I told myself they were nothing but antiquated men intimidated by a female alpha, but their words and misgiving lingered. WhatwasI doing to right things? My visit to the seer had been a bust, and I had nothing else to go on.

Feeling a desperate need to escape, I decided to shift and surrender to the primal instincts of my wolf. I could patrol the boundaries and make sure the Crimson Fang weren’t plotting any further covert takeover attempts.

“Stuck in the past,” I muttered, feeling the burn of the silver crescent at my collarbone. “They don’t see what I see.”

Bones and muscles stretched as my limbs transformed into four paws. In an instant, I was a wolf, covered in thick, silver fur that matched the color of my hair. A whole new array of sounds and odors that were inaccessible to my human form flooded my senses.

I glanced back over my shoulder and watched the three old shifters walking away. The old guard. Their continued conversation about their disapproval of me as a leader reached my heightened hearing.

“Thinks she can change the rules when she barely understands them,” Miren said.

“What was her father thinking, allowing a slip of a girl with no respect to lead the pack? What good can come of changing the ways that have worked for millennia?” Branan added.

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