Familiar Warmth

1. Chapter 1

one

Dignity was one of the few things Cyrus felt he had left.

Depending on who you asked in the pack, they would say he had either too much or not enough.

On this night, he would prove that he deserved to be more than second to an alpha who doubted his ability and questioned his place as second in command.

He felt a difference between himself and the others.

Cyrus was the only one willing to risk his life doing what needed to be done tonight, and he was glad for that.

He didn’t want anyone else getting hurt.

If he had to die in his attempt to change things, so be it, but he wouldn’t let anyone else in his family take his place.

None of the others wanted to be Alpha, thankfully.

It was generally seen as both an incredibly large undertaking and a role which not many were worthy of rising up to.

Liam, the current Alpha, did not fill the position well. Not in Cyrus’s opinion. He was messy, selfish, and egotistical. For some in the pack that was the price they were willing to pay in order to not have to hold the responsibility—but it was also simply how things were.

Cyrus, however, was done listening to the orders of someone who didn’t have a clue what was best for their pack, not even by a long shot.

Sure, Liam had won the right in the previous blood moon ritual, but there was something about someone willing to fight their own father to the death that rubbed Cyrus the wrong way.

Calvin had been a respected and fair Alpha, his son… did not follow his lead.

Regardless, no one could truly question Liam’s authority without risking punishment. Still, there was a connection there between them as there had been with every Alpha before, and would be with every one to follow.

He wasn’t the best for them, but he was what they had.

Through every foolish decision, Cyrus had stood by Liam and ran beside him.

Not anymore.

It was a balmy evening with the blood moon completely visible in the night sky that Cyrus made his way through the woods.

The prickly pine needles that poked at his bare feet were just a minor nuisance to him.

He could sense the others in the area. They had all gathered deep in the forest to wait and see if anyone would dare to challenge Liam. They would all lose their chance until the next blood moon if no one did. Cyrus wasn’t going to risk that.

With each step he took he hoped to God, if one existed, that no one had warned Liam beforehand.

He had spoken vaguely to others about his plans, to make sure that no one got in his way; even though it was expressly forbidden to do so. This was to prevent people from ganging up on either party.

Cyrus stepped into the clearing. His brown eyes darted around to look upon the others. They were still in their human forms. Some naked and others partially clothed. They were not allowed to shift until after the potential fight was over or was guaranteed not to happen.

It was a difficult and often upsetting ritual, but it was tradition. A few packs did things differently, but breaking off from the standard of the shifter community wasn’t easy. If Cyrus had his way, he would declare a different way of deciding upon these things than killing the previous Alpha.

“Let’s not fuck around, huh? I’ve got places to be!” Liam called out to the pack. He stood in the middle of the circle surrounding him.

Cyrus’s eyes first met his bare chest then slid up to greet his face. He looked bored, but a darkness lingered there in his gaze. Pure unearned confidence vibrated in his energy.

“If any of you wants to challenge me, let me tell you right now, you won’t win. It’ll be a waste of your life.” Liam waved a hand around.

Cyrus grit his teeth. It definitely would have been a waste if someone didn’t seek their teeth into Liam’s neck. He could stand the sound of his voice or the way his body language was so unbothered.

Liam wasn’t small, in fact he was an inch or two taller than Cyrus was at six feet, and had a decently strong body, but, Cyrus was stronger. He knew it. He always had been. Cyrus believed the only reason Liam had won against Calvin was because he didn’t want to kill his son.

Unfortunately, they may have been better off if he had.

There was tension in the air, and something else. A scent that he couldn’t place, perhaps a wolf that wasn’t in their pack. Cyrus looked to the others to see if they noticed what he did. He saw them still hesitantly waiting, not seeming to notice anything alarming. He decided he must be mistaken.

Anxiety licked at him as he thought about all of those in the pack who counted on him to do his best as second in command. Would they accept him as Alpha? Not just because they had no choice, but genuinely?

Cyrus continued to eye Liam. Liam looked smug, as though he was prepared to call the ritual over, but Cyrus was ready. He took a step forward, narrowed his eyes, and straightened his broad shoulders.

“I’ll challenge you.”

The voice wasn’t his own. It came from the thick brush to the left of the clearing. Heads turned and he blinked in confusion.

As naked as he was born, a tall lanky young man stood before them. His hair was pitch black, and his skin pale and covered in tattoos. Cyrus couldn’t make them out in detail from the distance between them.

His heart pounded in his chest. “No,” he growled under his breath.

Eyes darted to him then back to the stranger.

Cyrus knew what would happen now. If the stranger took on Liam and won, he would have to challenge him if he wanted to be Alpha.

Cyrus had no interest in fighting and killing someone he’d never met before.

At least, someone he didn’t think he had met before.

Looking at him though, there was something familiar in the sharp lines of his face.

Liam laughed. “You?” he asked. “You can’t walk up and challenge the Alpha of a pack you’re not part of.”

Cyrus’s jaw tightened.

You can, it’s just a piss poor idea.

“Wrong. It doesn’t matter who challenges you,” the stranger insisted.

Liam looked to Cyrus, who sighed and nodded to confirm he was right. “Any Alpha born from the blood of the past, is the Alpha,” he told him quietly. His own voice tight.

The clearing buzzed with excitement. Cyrus could hear whispering, and knew the pack was intrigued by the drama, even if the chance of Liam being dethroned by the stranger seemed…slim to him.

“Since you have a death wish, so be it,” Liam replied as he looked to the stranger.

Cyrus’s shoulders dropped and his heart sunk into his stomach as he realized his chance was gone unless Liam won. Still, he forced his gaze to watch as the young stranger stepped closer to Liam, face to face. Tension high.

He brushed his fingers through his already messy curls and began to turn around, but then a soft voice came from beside him.

“Where are you going Cyrus?” Liliana asked.

He turned to look down at her, into her soft blue eyes. “I can’t stay and watch this,” he murmured.

She furrowed her brow and grabbed his wrist. The look in her eyes grew more nervous and he knew he couldn’t leave her behind.

So, he nodded and turned forward once more.

Liliana needed him, not just as second in command but as a friend.

She was shivering like a leaf, and they didn’t really get cold.

Cyrus watched Liam and the stranger shake hands and step back. He felt the tension rise, and the ache in his stomach set in.

“It’s okay,” he mumbled. He turned his chin in Liliana’s direction. There were few he was genuinely comfortable with, but he had always felt it was his job to look out for her.

She shuffled closer to him and leaned her head on the side of his arm. Cyrus chewed on the inside of his cheek as he watched. Everyone in the clearing started to turn slightly inhuman every second. He felt his own teeth extend into longer fangs, and saw the glowing eyes of his pack around him.

The two men in the middle of them shifted in record time, but Liam was faster. The stranger was a half second behind. Growling as his body contorted in a shift so quick that was likely impossible to be seen by the natural eye.

The two wolves stood before each other snarling. Liam’s grey fur with spots of white was bright in the moonlight, but the young wolf was jet black. His fur glistened with dew in the night like a starry sky each time the breeze ruffled it.

There was something so…strange about the scent and energy that came off him. Before Cyrus could dive deeper into that thought, the wolves made their moves.

In their most primal forms, they lunged at each other. Their jaws snapped and their claws scratched and tore at each other’s flesh and bone.

Cyrus’s body was on fire with desire and anxiety as he watched them rip apart from each other and circle one another.

The others were silent and still, watching with both fear and wonder in their eyes.

One could usually tell how liked or disliked an Alpha was by how the pack reacted.

This night it was just pure uncertainty, and he could feel it thick and heavy in the air.

Everything happened so quickly. It was bloody and loud. Fur and pieces of flesh were tossed asunder as they rolled and gnashed their teeth on the ground. Ripping dirt and grass up by its roots and sending it flying through the air.

Liliana gasped from beside Cyrus. He felt her nose against his arm as she turned her face away from the scene. He couldn’t pull his away.

At the last second, it looked as though Liam was going to win.

Perhaps Cyrus would be challenging him after all—but a piercing howl cut through the night and in the strangers mouth was a large chunk of Liam’s throat.

Blood poured onto the ground that Liam was suddenly laid upon, whimpering, until finally, it was silent.

Cyrus watched as their new Alpha’s battered wolf form fell to the dirt and mess with a thud.