Page 30 of Pack Ruin
“I don’t want to be Alpha Mate,” she whispered into my neck as the crowd around us whispered and hummed. “I want your dad to stay alive and in charge. Please don’t do this.”
“He’s in a trap, Flor,” I answered quietly. “The Council is a cage. Maybe it kept our packs safe after the war, but Eastern has grabbed the reins of power now. I have to save him.”
“Save him?” Her amber eyes glinted as she stared into mine. “You have a plan?”
“I have ahope,” I corrected.
“Fuck. I hate hope,” she grumbled, threading her fingers through the hair on my chest.
I kissed her silky hair and set her down. “How about trust, then? Trust me when I say that if there’s any way out of this, any way to save him, I’ll do it. But I cannot lose this fight. I will notendanger you, my flower.” I stepped back, and Glen joined her, taking her hand. The noise from the crowd grew louder again, with a hard edge.
“Quiet!” My father’s voice thundered over the gathering, and he stepped into the clearing. The moonlight shone down on his dark hair and beard, painting them with silver. Instantly, everyone moved back, creating an open space for the fight. “Mountain, your Alpha has been challenged. I welcome the challenge. I will fight my best, but if I fall… I believe our pack will rise stronger.”
“Is he going to throw the fight?” Flor muttered.
Hearing her, Dad shook his head. “I would never dishonor my son, or my pack, in such a way.” He smiled. “I also would never lie to myself. Brand is the best fighter in any pack. The strongest, with the most to live for. You, my daughter.” Flor muffled a sob. “Tonight, we honor the old ways.”
The pack roared in protest. They knew what that meant.
Dad’s eyes blazed as he stripped off his clothing and stood naked beneath the moon. “Mountain! You are called by your Alpha to witness this challenge, and to honor the moon’s judgment. Do you accept this responsibility?” The gathering darkness was filled with howls of acceptance and grief. “Who challenges for the position of Alpha of the Mountain pack?”
“I do.” I stripped off my own clothing and walked toward my father, looking around at the members of my pack who still kneeled. At Flor, who was clutching Glen’s arm. At my grandparents who had gathered, all of them shifted into wolf form, at the edge of the circle.
Then I met my father’s gaze. He was strong and a viciously capable fighter. But he had taught me everything he knew. As I gazed at him, the corners of his mouth turned up, and all of his love poured out of his dark gaze into my bright one.
He knew.
There was no way out of this fight now. At the end, I would be Alpha.
And an orphan.
The pack quieted, the sounds of breathing, shuffling paws and feet, and the evening wind all that broke the stillness until my father spoke. “Brand Becker, you have challenged for the position of Alpha, so I choose the form.Shift.”
His command, filled with Alpha power, rolled over me. I shook it off without a thought. “You first.”
The crowd gasped. He’d done that on purpose, I knew. To show our pack that I was worthy. That I had enough power to lead. He’d done it so no one would question me when I led them into war.
Dad began his shift into his enormous, dark sable wolf form, and I dropped to all fours, shifting as well. In one breath, I was a man. In the next, I was howling my challenge to the night sky. Another gasp went up from the crowd, and I knew why. I’d shifted faster than my father, faster than any wolf they’d ever seen. I waited for Dad to finish his change. As soon as he had, he struck, snarling.
I’d fought against him in human and wolf form thousands of times, and we both knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses.Dad was still strong, still used his teeth and claws with equal terrifying efficiency, and I bled within the first few seconds of the fight. He was every bit as fast as he had ever been. He fought hard, making sure the pack saw that he wasn’t handing me his position. I was earning it.
But I had changed, and not just my eyes. Bonding with Flor had given me more strength than I’d had on my own. When the bond between us had deepened, that power had increased even more. Now, I had access to a level of strength I’d never imagined. There was a reserve that I could sense alongside my own power, like a river of energy.
A river that flowed to me though my little mate.Glen,I thought. I had access to Glen’s power, too. I felt him, somehow, in the wide bond that stretched from me to Flor, and was now tethered in his soul as well.Holy shit.He was stronger than I’d realized, and he was offering me his strength freely, pushing it to me, through her. All I needed to do was accept it.
As if that realization had opened the channel wider, I found myself moving faster, avoiding my father’s lunges and attacks without a thought, my teeth finding their way into his fur faster than he could move to protect himself. I bit and held on, dragging sharp teeth through soft flesh, claws through thick fur into the muscles beneath. The scent of blood filled the air, and painted the packed earth where we fought.
I didn’t want to hurt my father, but my wolf knew this was needed, and fought with startling efficiency, aiming sharp teeth at the most vulnerable places, slicing through tendons and muscle with ease. Each movement was precise, each attack measured to bring this fight to an end as soon as possible.
Finally, my father collapsed, his back legs unable to support his weight. I hesitated. He could heal, given time. I hadn’t bitten so deeply that he would bleed out.
My own wounds were superficial, except for one nasty bite in my flank, and a set of claw marks that ran across my muzzle. I snarled low, stepping forward, angrier than I should be. This moment was a travesty. Even my wolf saw it as what it was: a waste of a life, of a strong wolf who had many years left.
A cloud had moved in front of the moon, and at that moment, it cleared, sending a beam of light down to his blood-soaked fur. My father groaned, extending his neck, waiting for the strike. I could feel the moon’s power now, bathing me in possibility. Preparing me for my new place.
Possibility.Grandmother’s words echoed in my mind.Moving that power takes more energy, more of the moon’s blessings than any one wolf can hold.
Possibility.Was it possible that I could change the outcome that had seemed so inevitable? With the strength I had now… perhaps. As I listened to my little mate’s thoughts, the silent mourning that echoed in her mind, even as she stood proud and tall, her expression stoic, I knew I had to try.
