“Any more movements from Norwood?” I asked softly.
“They’ve moved into the middle section of the east coast,” a beta named Chris told me. His long blond hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, his sheer size taking up an eighth of the table. Chris had grown up with my father in the pack.
“At this rate, they’ll have control of most of the country within weeks,” Dante muttered darkly, his mouth twisting in a frown.
“They can’t control that much land,” Jeremiah, another beta, mused, rubbing his dark beard. “There’s no way.”
“It’s not about the land,” Katy replied, leaning forward as she joined the conversation. “It’s about the people. The women and girls. That’s the currency they’re stockpiling.”
Every head swung in her direction. It had been years since my father had named a female beta, and she had asked to be relieved of duties when she became pregnant years ago. Katy was the first female to sit at this table in half a decade.
The man across from her smiled indulgently. “We know, honey.”
Katy’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t say anything back at Vick. Her features smoothed out, her expression going arctic in what Rhodes had dubbed her ‘Ice Princess’ face when we were kids.
She did that seconds before launching into a verbal attack that usually left the recipient feeling like they had gone ten rounds with an Alpha.
“Don’t do that.” I glared at Vick, waiting until he looked away, jaw clenched but submitting. “Katy is here because she has a valid point, and because I trust her. She’s part of my council. I won’t have any person in this room throwing around passive aggressive, patronizing bullshit.”
“Some of us are wondering if she should even be on this council,” a voice from the other end of the table said quietly. “Because let’s be honest, not all of us are convinced this council should exist.”
I glared down at William Lodge. He had several years on my father and had repeatedly challenged my father in his early years for leadership of the pack. Dad had brought him onto the council, knowing that the Lodge family had as long a history in Blackwater as the Holts. He was determined to see them work together, and, for the most part, they had.
Rhodes tensed beside me, but I held him off by lifting my hand.
“If you have something to say, Lodge, say it,” I encouraged with a grim smile.
“You’re not fit to be Alpha of this pack, boy,” he said plainly, glaring at me down the line of his thin nose.
“Then I guess it’s a good thing my father is the Alpha,” I replied, still smiling. “I’m just filling in until he’s back.”
“And what happens when he doesn’t come back?” Lodge leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “You’re barely of age. I can see you one day, maybe, being an Alpha, but that is not this day.”
“Come on, Lodge,” Michael hissed, jaw clenching as he glared down the table at the older man. “We talked about this already. Now is not the time for Blackwater to be in any further turmoil. We all agreed to let Remy run things until we know for sure what will happen to Gabe.”
I forced myself not to react. Not to show a single emotion while they were discussing my father’s life like the damn weather. Like it was some passing thing that would eventually sort itself out.
“Now is not the time for us to be led by a boy and his friends,” Lodge snarled back. “Gabriel may not wake up. What happens when Norwood comes for this pack? Because Damien will. He won’t be satisfied with staying on the East coast.”
“No, he won’t,” I agreed, splaying my hand out on the table. “Which is why I’ve already started working on a plan to stop him.”
That caught everyone’s attention.
“Norwood is amassing an army,” I said evenly. “We need to do the same. Dante has already arranged for the Brooks Ridge pack to join ours. They’ll be here in hours. We need to reach out to our allies and neighbors. Open the borders, if necessary, especially to packs that have lost their Alpha.”
“To what end?” Lodge demanded, squinting at me from the other end of the room. “Blackwater needs to circle the wagons, not widen the circle.”
“I disagree.”
Lodge glowered at me. “And this is why you can’t be our Alpha.”
I met his gaze and held it. “Is that a challenge?”
His chin lifted and the air sucked out of the room as everyone waited for his reply.
“And if it is?”
“Then issue it, and let’s move on,” I replied with a nonchalant shrug. I leaned forward. “We’re not going to win this war by hiding our fucking heads in the sand and praying Norwood decides to stop at our front gates and move on.”
“No one said anything about a war,” Chis interjected nervously.
Rhodes’s brow furrowed as he threw him an incredulous look. “Someone blew up the Summit. Killed dozens of Alphas. Considering Norwood was long gone before the bomb went off, it’s pretty clear they either did it or knew it was coming. They’ve started invading packs in the surrounding areas. Do you need a formal declaration in writing?”
I smirked. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
My wolf snarled, snapped, ready for a fight. Our mate was missing, our family was in chaos, and our pack was teetering on unrest. I would happily beat William Lodge and every other beta in this room into the ground to prove that I was their Alpha for the time being.
Lodge took a deep breath, his flinty eyes calculating as he looked around the room. “Blackwater needs stability and leadership. If Norwood comes for us, they’ll find us ready to defend our territory.”
“Not good enough,” I bit out, my teeth grinding together. “Blackwater isn’t a pack that just exists and hides. That’s never been who this pack is, and I’ll be damned if that’s what we do now. I’m not going to sit back and wait for Norwood, or anyone else, to come for us or to pick off packs that are completely vulnerable.”
“Remy’s right,” Michael interjected, leaning forward. “We can’t sit back passively and wait to see what happens next. Being proactive is our only option.”
“So, what do you propose?” Lodge ground out.
I tapped a finger on the table, aligning my thoughts. “Most of the Alphas on this side of the country are dead. Until a new pack order can be set up, we offer them sanctuary.”
“Sanctuary?” Skepticism dripped from the word as he repeated it with utter disdain.
“We make them part of our pack,” I clarified.
I anticipated the murmur of dissent that swept the room. I let it happen, waited for them to settle before moving on.
“Your answer is to exhaust our resources by taking in an undetermined amount of strays?” Lodge smirked at me from across the table.
“My answer is to create a resistance big enough to stop Norwood until we can help these packs establish their own leadership while pooling all of our resources,” I countered.
“Remy’s right,” Dante said firmly, placing one arm on the table and angling himself at Lodge. “It’s why Brooks Ridge now recognizes Remy as our Alpha.”