Alpha Wolf’s Forced Bride (Rose Hollow Wolves #4)

Chapter 1 - Dan

There has never been such a big meeting of the packs before.

I look around, feeling a sense of unease lingering in the crowd. To incorporate members from all three packs—Eccles, Rose Hollow, and Clover—we needed to have our current council meeting in the middle of the botanical garden, where festivities are usually held.

But the atmosphere is far from festive. It’s almost downright hostile.

Out in front of the crowd, Rex and Scarlett sit with the Rose Hollow elders—Celeste, Galant, and Dorian. Opposite them are Brad and Alisha with the Eccles elders Hazel, Gregor, Mitchell, and Gen. In the center, Shawn and Sarah sit with a couple of people I don’t know.

The Clover council was chosen by our existing leaders, and I didn’t have anything to do with it, and never personally met them.

Luke and I managed the pack business for Eccles and Rose Hollow while the others were away, and over the last couple of months, the job has gotten considerably harder every day.

The initial clash of progressive Rose Hollow with the painfully traditional pack of Eccles was always going to require a careful adjustment period—especially since Eccles intended to betray Rose Hollow.

Even though things seemed peaceful, we knew problems were simmering under the surface, especially since the Eccles first families refused to acknowledge Brad.

And then Rex had to integrate Clover pack…and it all went to hell.

In the early stages, the efforts to raise the standard of living in Clover made every day chaotic. For about a month, it was nothing but supply chains and listening to various complaints. Brad and Rex led their own packs while giving support to Shawn, and Luke and I stepped up to fill in the gaps.

As Clover began to function on its own, there was a brief period of stability, but it felt like there wasn’t even time to draw a breath between those days of peace and the calamity that followed.

Even though we knew the first families of Eccles weren’t happy, all of us very stupidly put the problem aside, hoping that it would settle down eventually.

It wasn’t until after Clover had its first market fair and everyone returned home that they made their move.

While we’d been busy setting up Clover, the Eccles first families had taken over control of the main supply chain. Their influence and power in the town had allowed them to funnel resources back to themselves and away from the poor.

Partnerships between Eccles and Rose Hollow had fallen apart. The newly appointed guild leaders in Eccles started robbing Rose Hollow blind, and the guilds of Rose Hollow had simply allowed it.

Those guys are generous to the point of idiocy, and I wish that were an overstatement.

“Everyone, please, calm down!” Scarlett calls from the front. “We’ll begin soon. I think we have a solution that will suit all three packs. We are just waiting until everyone has arrived before we start.”

She sits down again next to Rex, and they put their heads together, whispering furiously. Opposite them on another stone bench, Hazel glares straight at them, while Brad and Alisha talk with Gen over her head.

Standing behind them, Gen’s parents look out over the crowd with barely controlled looks of contempt. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen them attend a meeting, and they’re here to represent the other traditional families.

The ones who followed Azarian and were probably working with him.

Between both sides, Shawn and Sarah look worried but determined. Their newly appointed council sits behind them, and that poor group just looks flat-out scared.

The great mass of people surrounding me is an assortment of all three packs. From the size of the crowd, I’d even say that it’s the majority. I catch Luke’s eye on the other side of the clearing, and we both nod.

It looks peaceful for now, but this thing could explode at any moment, and we need to be ready.

In some ways, this looks almost like one of our market fair days. Some people have blankets spread out and are sitting in little groups. Kids play out in the fringes, and a lot of people are sharing food and drink as they laugh and talk together.

Rose Hollow catered the event, because of course they did. I can’t argue with their philosophy that keeping everyone well-fed settles bad tempers, though.

As the sun sinks closer to the horizon, it paints the clearing a bright, gleaming orange. I see Rex nod to Brad, and both of them walk out to stand in front of the crowd. Shawn joins them, and their lunas move to stand on either side.

“Thank you for coming,” Rex calls, his deep voice booming around the clearing. “I think everyone is here now, so we’d like to start. We are aware that there has been some friction between the packs—”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” A woman near the front stands up. “Friction? I had a shipment of flour stolen by the bakers guild, and I wasn’t able to make bread for a week—”

“It wasn’t stolen,” Hazel says, her voice clear and sharp as ice. “It was paid for.”

“I didn’t see the money!” the woman protests.

“The guild leader did,” Hazel replies.

“That still means it was stolen from me—”

“We have never had guilds in this pack.” Gen’s mother, Bernadette, steps forward, walking towards the woman in the crowd. “Your kind does not have any authority over resources, Myra. That is entirely up to us.”

“Bernadette,” Brad says, his tone firm. “I am the alpha of this pack. The guilds were introduced to supervise the distribution of resources—”

“And that’s exactly what they did,” Bernadette answers, shooting him a glare. “They distributed the goods according to our wishes.”

“We don’t run things that way anymore, Mother—” Gen tries.

“Don’t argue with your mother!” Sinclair, her father, snaps.

“I am here as a council member!” Gen says. “By Eccles law, you have to listen to me—”

“I’ll have my hide skinned by a bounty hunter before I allow my daughter to dictate to me!” Bernadette hisses, glaring at Gen.

When Gen looks away to hide the tear sliding down her face, my heart aches with pity.

She has been torn apart between both sides since Rex married Scarlett. It isn’t fair.

The argument between all three councils has turned into a shouting match.

Gregor and Mitchell are up on their feet, arguing with Brad.

Bernadette continues to deride the poor folk in the front row who are protesting the lack of resources sent to them recently, and the Clover pack council sits between both, looking completely stricken.

I see Sarah take Shawn’s hand and squeeze it, hard. He looks at her, and for a moment, they put their heads together and close their eyes.

They look like they want to go back home up the mountain, where it’s quiet. I can’t say I blame them.

“It was bad enough that we have been forced to give you more than your share!” Bernadette shrieks, her voice carrying above all the other arguments.

She points at the woman in the front row, then turns to fix her gaze on the Clover council.

“Then we were forced to support you. Filthy wild creatures, digging around in the dirt up in the mountains. Why don’t you just go back where you came from! ”

“Happy to oblige,” Sarah mutters, her voice barely audible.

“Come away,” Sinclair says, hurrying out to put his arms around his wife. “It does you no good to get upset like this. Come with me.”

Bernadette puts her head in her hands and sobs as Sinclair leads her back behind the other elders. I see Hazel reach out and give Bernadette a quick hug.

Suddenly, Rex walks out to the front of the crowd. His expression is stern, right on the edge of fury, and his gold eyes shimmer in the last rays of the setting sun.

I know that look. It says he’s about to attack with deadly purpose and completely destroy his target.

“Enough,” he says, his voice soft. “I’m done with this—with all of this. The next person who speaks without my permission will be imprisoned. Do you hear me?”

Bernadette makes a little whimper as if she’s about to protest. Rex turns on his heel and glares at her, and Sinclair actually takes a step back, dragging Bernadette with him.

“This is what we’re going to do,” Rex says, turning back to address the crowd.

“Since conflicts have risen to a point where we cannot have even a single day of peace, we are forming a new pack. A site near Caliente has been chosen—an abandoned town that has been upgraded with modern amenities. This will be our major transit hub, because it is an equal distance between Eccles, Rose Hollow, and Clover.”

“So, the new pack will completely control all resources?” Mitchell yells.

“Seize him,” Rex snaps, pointing at Mitchell without even looking at him. Cody and a couple of other guys break out of the crowd, grab Mitchell, and drag him away.

A ripple of tension flickers through the crowd, but no one dares to speak.

“There is not just dissent between the three packs,” Rex says.

“Both Eccles and Clover have factions within them. The divide of classes within Eccles is painfully clear. In Clover, many pack members wish to remain in their original state, living off the land, but there are others who want even more modern amenities, and even to travel to the cities. Over the last few weeks, we’ve held small meetings and talked with members of all three packs to decide on this plan. ”

A sigh creaks out of me, and I lean back into the grass.

I was at every single one of those meetings. I hope this is the last one I have to attend for a good, long while.

I zone out a little while Rex keeps talking.

The three councils knew the general gist of our plan, but this is the first time everyone’s been given the full details.

We’re hoping that the poor folk disappearing from Eccles, as well as a significant percentage of the Clover pack, will settle the first families and balance their reaction to the control of resources being taken out of their hands.

We simply can’t allow them any power over distribution. They don’t care if people don’t have enough to eat or can’t clothe themselves. In fact, they seem to enjoy it.

Rex and Brad talk about the pack members who have volunteered and the lottery system in place that will decide the remainder. The meeting has been called for this express purpose—so that everyone knows where they’re going, and what the new rules will be.

As they set up the lottery, I sit up, turn my head, and look out towards the desert. There is nothing left of the sunlight now except a long, glowing strip of fire on the horizon, and it makes me uneasy.

Over the past four weeks, movement from the snake has been detected and the rock has begun to glow.

When Alisha started to have nightmares, we really sat up and took notice.

Sarah and Scarlett reported dreams as well.

Not wanting to create a panic, we’ve kept the information between us—but this is the main reason we are taking such drastic action to organize the packs.

We can’t just sit here fighting each other while the ancient spirit looms over us. We have to try and settle this conflict so we can be ready for whatever the snake wants to throw at us.

“For this role, I appoint Dan Hunter!” Rex’s voice cuts through my thoughts, and I’m so surprised, I actually jump. Rex points at me, and I stand up, a little awkwardly.

“This will be the alpha of your new pack, the pack of Riverside!” Rex announces.

A cool shock runs through me, but I’m not really surprised.

I knew it was between Luke and me, and there was a good chance I’d be chosen. It’s just that now I know for sure how much work I have ahead of me.

Rex beckons to me, and I go up the front to stand with them, waving at the crowd and trying to smile. Nerves bubble in my guts when I see everyone looking at me, but it only makes me more determined.

Stability is what we need now. It’s the only way to protect these people and keep them safe. It’s actually a relief to be put in charge. Now I can face the problems head-on.

Then Rex’s next words cut through my inner pep talk, giving my confidence a nice, hard shake.

“All that is left to do now… is choose your luna.”