Page 65 of Nearly Dead

The crowd erupts in a fury of sound.

Sully knocks into me, and we fly several feet into the air before dropping to the ground.The back of my head strikes concrete, and my vision swims.

Sully raises his head and howls.

“Alpha!Alpha!Alpha…”

The sound of the chants anchors my consciousness and keeps me from going under.I feel Sully’s weight lift off me.

He rises, his massive form silhouetted against the torchlight.Blood drips from various wounds.He raises his head and lets out a victorious howl that shakes the warehouse.

The pack joins him, their voices rising.The sound washes over me, calling to my wolf blood.Before I realize what I’m doing, my head is tilted back, a howl tearing from my own throat to join theirs.

The sound startles me back to awareness.I clamp my mouth shut, embarrassed by the instinctive response.But no one seems to notice or care.They’re focused on Sully, who has shifted back to his human form, standing over me.

He reaches out his hand.I ignore the offer to help and push to my feet.

I stand before them, bleeding, shaking, and proud.

Let them see me.

Let them feel what I am.

Not their Alpha.

Not their monster.

Just me.

Hybrid.Survivor.Something new.

One by one, they get on all fours bowing their heads toward Sully.He doesn’t move except to turn to look at me.His wounds are already healing, the blood drying on his skin.

Bowing to any man feels wrong, but I move to hands and knees.I stare at my bloody hands as I acknowledge our pack leader.Let him take the position.He can have it.

It seems like an eternity before Sully orders, “Go.Feast!”

I hear the others leaving, but I don’t get up right away.Sully’s feet come near my head, and I sit back on my legs.Despite our shared violence, there’s a calm assurance about him that’s undeniable.

“The trials of strength are complete,” he says.“They need to know their Alpha earned the position, that I’m strong enough to protect them and smart enough to lead them.Especially with the tensions between our kind and the vampires.The mental trials are tomorrow.”

I scowl.“You’re not going to make me do more tests.”

He laughs and reaches down.“No.The next trials are only mine.True leadership is more than physical power.It is wisdom, strategy, and foresight.Though if I fail, they’ll come back around to you.”

I let him pull me to my feet.“Then you better not fail.”

He studies me for a long moment.“You surprised me tonight.”

“How so?”

“I expected that once you got a taste of the wolf you’d want to hold on to being Alpha.”A faint smile touches his lips.He begins to walk through the warehouse toward the door.“Most would, given how intoxicating the power can be.I’m not saying you could have beaten me, but I know you could have put up a harder fight.”

“I’m not interested in power.”I meet the gazes of those we pass, but they don’t try to interrupt us.“This was never my dream.”

“Then it might be the pack’s loss.The ones who seek power rarely deserve it.”

“And you?”I challenge.“Do you seek it?”

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