Now, we bring the fight to them.
I buckled my sword belt around my hips, the twin lightning blades more for show than actual battle during the day. After descending the stairs, I crossed a series of rope and plank bridges from tree to tree. I finished my apple on the way and dropped the picked-clean core in a compost bucket. I walked onto our alpha Warren’s porch, knocking on the door and waiting for his command to enter. When the call came, I opened the door and crossed to the living area; Alpha’s house was twice as large as any other, but no one resented it. He was the alpha; it was a perk of the job.
Warren sat on his wooden chair, holding one of his napping twins while his mate nursed the other on the couch.
His broad lips stretched into a smile when he spotted me, mahogany eyes gleaming. “How did training go this morning?” The teasing tone told me he already knew.
“Those pups have a lot to learn,” I answered, voice neutral.
“And yet, from what I heard, you didn’t teach them,” he replied with a note of reproach.
“They wouldn’t have survived.” My eyes focused studiously on my boots.
“I send them to you to be taught, not coddled. It’d be good for them to fear for their lives a little. Some of those pups need to learn humility. It helps them find their place.”
My eyes raised of their own accord. I was accustomed to my alpha’s unusual leadership style, but this was further out than I expected. “It’s not a female’s job to teach a male his place.”
“No, but it is my captain’s duty to train her troops.” A glint of steel flashed in his eyes. “The next time a pup challenges you like that, I expect you to put him in his place. Understood?”
“But-”
“No buts, Kaliya.” The steel moved from his eyes to his voice, all traces of teasing gone. “You are my captain. You follow orders. The next time one of those pups shifts and challenges you, I order you to respond in kind. He deserves whatever is coming to him. Got it?”
I swallowed hard. “Got it.”
“Now,” he said, tone brightening, “from what I understand, there are several males we can expect to meet at the Clan Gathering who may be suitable matches for you—including a couple of the alphas. I’ve advised all the alphas to expect introductions, and hopefully we’ll find someone that can keep up with you.”
In other words—someone that can lay you flat on your back with his teeth around your throat. I shifted in discomfort, my wolf snarling quietly in my chest.
Warren’s sharp hearing missed nothing. “It is our way, Kaliya. I hope you intend to convince your new mate to return with you here?”
“Of course, Alpha. I have no desire to go anywhere else.”
“Good.” The infant in his arms stirred, and he stood to deliver her to his mate. “Let’s go meet with Beta and the other captains. I’d like to discuss pack security for our journey to the Clan Gathering. We don’t have as far to travel as some, but we will spend a lot of time on the ground.”
I resisted the temptation to flinch. Mikal, our beta, was the last person I wanted to spend my afternoon around; he was a cruel and disgusting excuse for a wolf—no honor at all. Unfortunately, the only one who could bring him to heel was Warren. Beta was a bastard, but he was a dominant bastard. However, as long as Warren was alpha, he remained in control.
There was one good thing about my need to find a mate outside our pack: whoever I brought back from the Clan Gathering would be strong enough to dominate Beta and push him down the pack hierarchy. Who knows, he might even find a mate for himself and go to another pack.
A girl can dream.
If nothing else, any male able to dominate me was definitely on track for the position of alpha, if he wasn’t already in the spot. That was a comforting thought.
As long as he wasn’t a complete dick.
Warren and I descended the ladder and trudged back down the forest path to the challenge ring, where Mikal was waiting with the rest of the captains. Captain was a term the alpha used that didn’t carry any power; I suspected he chose it because it sounded organized and militant. It was a left-over term from the Ancients and held no meaning for a society that lacked giant armies and war machines, but it was flattering that he applied it to me.
As a female, I didn’t have any sort of authority within the pack, but I played a key role in the planning and execution of raids on wraith nests. My abilities as a warrior were invaluable to the cause, and Warren made use of me like he did everyone else he called ‘Captain.’ Plus, I used my skills to train new generations of warriors in our tactics to combat the creatures.
Mikal was pacing in the training ring, agitated and breathing heavily. His short black hair stuck up wildly around his head as if he’d been running his hands through it moments before. The large man was worked up, his muscular body tight as a wire. Just the look of him immediately got my hackles up; he was up to something. The other captains were nervous, the stink of fear coming off them in waves.
As we approached, Mikal’s dark eyes settled on Warren with intensity. “Alpha,” he shouted, “in front of these witnesses, I challenge your place in the pack.”
Shit.
After Mikal issued the challenge to Warren, things moved swiftly. One of the others immediately ran to the large brass bell hung on a post by the fence, ringing it aggressively. Pack members began streaming from the forest, crowding the forty-foot diameter ring as the opponents prepared. Their scents co-mingled, mixing the sharp tang of fear with the citrus scent of excitement. Emory appeared among the crowd, his warm eyes revealing the same trepidation that clutched my chest.
Mikal paced one side of the training area, amping himself up for the fight. Warren calmly removed his shirt and leather pants, betraying no emotions at this unprecedented move.
And it was unprecedented. If nothing else, this challenge should have happened at the Clan Gathering just weeks away. There was a special ceremony specifically for the clan betas to challenge their alphas. The fact that Beta jumped the gun showed he was impulsive and emotional, or perhaps unsure he’d win. If he failed now, he could plead for mercy with a smaller audience to witness his humiliation. He’d lose his position as Beta, but no one would discuss his failure among the rest of the clan, and he’d be able to find a mate and transfer to another pack to try his luck there. At the Gathering he’d have thousands of witnesses. Typically, the challenge happened at the Gathering whenever possible, to grant the new alpha the respect and legitimacy of the entire clan.
Clearly, Beta was not worried about legitimacy. He just wanted power.
Nerves swirled in my belly. Warren was a large man, over six and a half feet and corded with muscle. He was an even larger wolf. He’d held the position for several years, occasionally repulsing challenges. He always granted mercy when asked for, and was well-respected in the pack.
Mikal was not as large as Warren in human form, although they were closely matched in size as wolves. But size wasn’t necessarily an indicator of dominance. The size of the man didn’t reflect the size of the wolf inside, nor the size of the fight in the wolf. The smallest wolf could be the most dominant in the pack, and the smallest man could shift into a wolf many times his human size. It was for this reason the Alpha Challenge existed; to make sure the strongest wolf was always responsible for protecting the pack.