Page 27 of Pack Ruin
“I challenged my grandfather,” Samuel said after a long moment. “My father was dead, and Grandfather could no longer lead.”
“No longer wanted to,” Verona corrected. “His mate had gone on.”
“It’s not the same,” Brand whispered. “You are not sick. Not dying.No.”
The tension in the room was palpable. Verona broke it, turning back to me. “The new way of sharing power has only been adopted in the past hundred years, and not by all packs. Only the North American and European ones, in fact. It takes a group of extremely powerful shifters—like the Council working together, with the combined strength of their individual packs behind them—to reassign the role of Alpha.” Her nose wrinkled, like she’d smelled something bad. “Thousands of shifters, all lending their power to the task. The old ways are…”
“I already said I won’t do it,” Brand said softly, his grip on my hand almost too tight.
Watching Samuel crushing the solid wood of the doorframe in an effort not to lunge forward and attack Glen made me think that whatever the old ways were, they were worth a shot. “What are the old ways?”
Ida spoke quietly. “All it takes is the power of the moon and of blood. If Brand challenges his father and defeats him in combat, when Samuel dies, his power will pass to Brand.” I had guessed this was coming, but hearing it made me feel sick. The old ways sucked.
“It’s an easier transition under a full moon. That’s not for well over a week,” Verona muttered. “But I need more time. I can find some other way. There are texts in some of the cabinets I haven’t read for decades?—”
Samuel waved her to silence. “We don’thavetime. Bradley and Margarette arrived at Eastern to meet with Aidan. But someone has lodged an official complaint about Bradley’s decision-making. He and Margarette are under investigation for executing their own Enforcers, and Aidan’s refusing to give Bradley his seat back until the judgment.” Blood was now running from his nose. “I won’t make it there to contest the findings, and even if I did, I’d be under investigation as well. If I don’t obey pack law and the Council Head’s command, I’ll die anyway, but slowly, and for nothing. You must challenge me, son.”
Tears were pouring down my face. Of course Finnick’s dad would do anything to hold onto his power. Of course Samuel would give up everything, even his life, to fight against that.
Samuel rasped, “There’s no other way. Challenge me and defeat me tomorrow night. Swear to me you will never let the Council leash our pack again, and I will go to your mother’sarms with joy. And pride, knowing you will be a far more worthy Alpha than any of your ancestors.”
The pain from Finnick’s mating mark was almost gone now, though not entirely. But the agony that flared from my heart was every bit as bad.
No, worse, because it wasn’t all mine. My massive, strong, warmhearted mate was silently weeping next to me, tears running down his cheeks and into his dark beard as he stared with those beautiful moonblessed eyes at his dad. He opened his mouth, and I knew he would refuse. There was no way he would kill Samuel. His love for his father was so strong, I could sense it in every breath Brand took.
Of course, I’d been wrong before. And I was wrong now.
Brand’s voice broke audibly as he addressed his father. His heart broke at the same moment, but I was the only one who felt it. “Alpha, I challenge you.”
13
In the Eyes of the Moon
FLOR
I’d had more than my fair share of bad days in my life. I’d been hurt in more ways than I cared to remember: beaten, starved, mocked, and whipped publicly. But the pain I felt as I sat in the basement of the Alpha’s Den with the man I’d thought I would have years to get to know, who I’d imagined as a father figure now that Del was gone… it hurt worse than all of the beatings I’d taken at Southern put together.
Samuel lay where Glen had been just the day before, his massive frame dwarfing the small bed, and his face turned to the high, narrow window. He’d insisted on being locked down here, afraid he would be driven to harm Glen or me. Brand had only let me come to keep him company when I’d promised to stay on my side of the bars. Then he’d sent some of his friends, a few I’d met at the Enforcer Games at Southern, to call as many of the pack members as they could round up to stand as witnesses to the challenge.
When I’d asked how many that was, and learned there were over six thousand shifters in the pack, I’d been astounded.Southern only had a few hundred at the most, all living inside a razor-wire fenced compound. The humans nearby just thought we were some kind of odd religious cult.
The Mountain pack, Ida explained, had always had borders marked by the natural world—rivers, mountains, and valleys—and those were protected by patrols of wolves. The whole pack, males and females, took part in protecting an area of around fifty thousand square miles.
“Not just the ranked shifters?” I’d asked, wondering what I was missing.
“There is no rank in the eyes of the moon but that of Alpha, granddaughter,” she’d replied as she’d given me a plate piled with food to take down to her son. “Enforcer and Head Enforcer are only job descriptions here that we use when interacting with outside shifters, no more or less important than teacher or pack herbalist, or mother. We are all children of the moon.”
Brand had locked himself in the library with his grandmothers, and I kept feeling odd sensations in the bond. Tiny sparks of what might have been hope or curiosity, followed by waves of anger and despair. On my end, I’m sure he only felt how pissed I was. How could he have challenged his father? It was like he’d given up hope of finding a way out that didn’t end in battle.
Glen had asked me to believe in Brand. But I still felt the burning pain of one mate I was trying not to give up on completely, since Finnick’s mate mark still hurt like a hornet sting. Now? I was halfway to Ragetown, Population: 1, since Brand had hopped on the crazy train.
“You should go, Flor,” Samuel said, not looking at me. “Let me rest before the fight.”
“Maybe I’m trying to wear you down. It is my mate you’re fighting.” I got up and drank a sip of water from the bottle I’dbrought down. My throat hurt from trying to convince Samuel not to go through with the challenge.
“You’re too honorable for that kind of thing,” he replied after a long moment. “You know, you remind me of my mate, Lore.”
I’d seen her name in the family tree when I’d added mine. “Lorelei?”
