Page 1 of Silas

Prologue

“This motherfucker has got to die. He is being more of a harm to our pack than any sort of benefit,” I say, fuming to my best friend, Warrick.

“I know what you mean, man, but let’s be real. If anyone is going to take down the standing alpha, its gotta be you, man. There isn’t another strong enough wolf to take him on,” Warrick says as he shrugs his shoulders.

He’s too strong for me. What in the world has given you that impression?” I say in shock.

“With pack members ready to follow you, having doubled in size, and the establishment of the Alpha bark, I would say. I can’t imagine that you haven’t noticed all of this?” Warrick shrugs.

“Well, yeah, but I just never imagined that I would be an alpha or that I would challenge the alpha for his position. Simply existing and enjoying our full moon runs was enough for me.”

“Either you defeat the alpha, or we’ll face Orion’s destruction of our pack. At the pace he is going, we will look for a new pack sooner rather than later.” Warrick says matter-of-factly.

“You have a point. I will think about it.”

“Just know that I support whatever decision you make. I am your best friend. Everything else comes after that,” Warrick says as he places his hand on my shoulder.

“Thank you for that. I am going to head back to my cabin and really consider everything. I will get back to you soon.”

“See you later, man.”

Turning, I headed toward my cabin at the rear of all the pack houses. I preferred pack closeness but wanted a bit more personal space than sleeping near another packmate. It’s a beautiful 1800 sq ft log cabin built from the trees surrounding the pack land. We always plant new trees for every tree that we cut down for building pack buildings. This replanting is why dozens and dozens of trees surround our land. There is nothing more peaceful than smelling the crisp, clean mountain air and the warm aspen scent floating through the air.

Walking into my cabin, I shrug out of my thick navy jacket and hang it by the front door on the hooks lining the entryway. Rubbing my boots through the boot brush to keep the soil and snow from outside off of my wood floors, I toe off each boot and place them neatly on the shoe rack beneath the coat hooks. Hooking my house keys on the row of hooks full of keys. There isn’t much of a need for a vehicle in pack land, with everything being within walking distance and the town isn’t more than a ten-minute walk. We all have a vehicle for grocery trips and things of that nature.

I need whiskey quickly. Heading over to my wet bar, I flick on the electric fireplace. Don’t judge me, it is a lot less work than maintaining a fire all night long. I grab a crystal glass and the silver tongs. I drop a few cubes of ice into the glass and pour three fingers of single barrel malt whiskey. That first sip always burns on the way down, but after that, it just goes down smoothly.

Am I really ready to take on Orion for the spot of Alpha? This will be more than just a fight to see who’s the better fighter or who gets knocked down first. This is a fight to the death. What happens if I lose?

Am I really willing to risk losing everything, hoping I can take him down for good? I don’t think that I can keep sitting here watching him take this pack down to the dirt. Like Warrick said, if I don’t do it, then who will?

The best time for me to challenge him will be the full moon. When is that? It has to be coming up soon. I can feel my wolf itching to take a run. He usually isn’t this restless unless the full moon is coming. Opening my cell phone, I pull up the search drive and look at the Lunar calendar. It looks like the next full moon is in two days. I guess it’s now or never then.

It’s the night of the full moon. I can’t take back what I am about to do, but it’s time to put this tyrant in the ground, literally. “Orion, I challenge you for the role of Alpha.” There is a collective gasp from the pack as everyone turns to face me. We were all heading into the woods for our monthly pack run. It is the only good thing that he did for our pack. I will at least give him that.

“Is that so, pup? You think your balls have dropped enough to challenge me? Who do you even think you are?”

Puffing up my chest and standing to my full height, “I am the man who is going to not only strip you of your role but of your life as well.”

“Well, alright then, you know the rules. It has to be done inside the circle of our pack members, no outside influences, such as abest friend jumping in to save you, and it has to be done in wolf form. Wolf against wolf till death. Are you sure you are ready for this?”

“Let’s go. Your time has ended.”

With whoops and jeers coming from the pack as they all shift into a circle around us, I strip myself of my clothes. Warrick comes over and claps me on the back. “You got this man. Wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think that you could take him down.” I dip my head to him as he walks over to join the rest of the circle. I hand off my clothes to Gail, our pack matriarch. She is one of our elders and most cherished members. She winks at me, giving me one of her warm smiles. “You are the chosen one. Claim what is yours by destiny.”

I turn around towards Orion who is bouncing up and down like he is some professional boxer preparing for a match. He is shaking out his arms and acting as if he is popping his neck from side to side. He looks completely ridiculous given that we never fight in our human forms.

I bring my wolf to the surface, allowing him to take over. It will never not be the strangest sensation. One minute you are standing there as a human and then the next you are a wolf on all fours. My deep gray fur sprouts along my arms and my claws spring from my nails. The first crack of my back is when I fully allow Storm to take over. The next time I blink open my eyes, I am looking through the eyes of Storm. It’s like sitting in a dark room, but I can hear his thoughts and feel his feelings. I have no control over what he does, which is why we allow our wolves to fight. It is truly a battle of which is the more powerful wolf.

I watch as Orion shifts into his wolf, Onyx. It is really happening. Here we go. The wolves won’t waste time with pleasantries. My wolf has been ready to go since Warrick put the thought into our minds. We circle each other without losing eye contact. Who will jump first?

Onyx takes his chance and whips around and runs directly at us. Storm easily dodges the attack by rolling in the opposite direction and springs back up, ready to make our own lunge. Before we can spring back up, Onyx is on us, swiping his paws at our face. His right paw catches my eyebrow as he swipes down my face, causing a huge gash to open up and pouring blood into our eye. Storm places his paws under the belly of Onyx and shoves up, causing Onyx to fall off us. Springing to our feet, Storm shakes his head to clear the blood from his eye. It’s no use. We won’t be able to do anything until our healing begins. We need to figure out a way to surprise attack him.

Onyx turns to run towards us again. Storm quickly flicks his paw, causing dirt to fly into Onyx’s eyes. He shakes his head, trying to dislodge the dirt. Lowering his head towards his paws to swipe the dirt out, Storm takes this chance to aim for his neck. Clamping down on his neck, Storm releases the toxins from his canines as he clamps down harder. Onyx is thrashing, attempting to break the hold that Storm has on him, but it’s no use now. Once Storm released the toxins, it immediately began working. Wolf bites are toxic to other wolves if the wolf biting drops his/her toxin. Onyx slows down in his movements and Storm pulls on his neck away from his shoulders. Onyx whimpers as Storm continues to pull. There is a loud ripping sound, and Storm separates the head from the neck. It’s over…we won.

We are the new Alpha of the Smoky Mountain Pack.

Chapter 1

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