The Alpha No One Asked #2
“Exactly.” I glare at him, but he simply looks up at the moon.
“They came back because you pushed them to their limits. The Blue Moon Pack needs someone who won’t treat it as a leftover piece of the Blood Moon Pack.
They need someone who’ll stand there and claim it as their own pack and make them rise to their full potential.
Liam can’t pass that title to you. I no longer hold that title either, so you’ll have to claim it yourself. ”
Suddenly, the garden feels further away.
Self-claiming isn’t done often. Titles usually pass through blood, oath, and ritual. One alpha releases the power, and his heir accepts it, or one passes and his son inherits it.
But a pack without an alpha is different. Its power doesn’t vanish.
It waits, restless and leaderless, until a wolf strong enough to take it steps forward, or wolves, in some cases, who then duel over it to prove they are the Alpha male.
“You can refuse, but I really hope you won’t,” he says softly, and I’m fucking surprised he actually means it.
I would have preferred that because if it were a command, it would have been easier to retaliate. I fucking hate this.
I look toward the people gathered. Some belong to the Blood Moon, some to the Blue Moon. Some to both in ways that make the separation almost meaningless. Faces I’ve known for years.
And right now, more than a third of them stand without an alpha, with someone they may not accept as their own taking charge. Gaining their respect would be hard; making them trust me would be even harder.
My wolf growls low in my mind, wanting to accept the challenge.
I exhale sharply. “Fine.”
Uncle Damon’s eyes soften. “Fine?”
“Don’t make me repeat it, and I’m not going to step onto that dais as if I fucking earned it.”
His smile grows, and I already regret every decision that has led me to this moment. He turns, raising his hand slightly, and Dad notices immediately. Jayce does, too; his gaze cutting to me with instant understanding.
Bastard.
The music fades again, and conversations drop as, one by one, people turn in our direction, and the attention feels like claws dragging down my spine. I resist the urge to tell them all to stop staring.
Uncle Damon walks back towards the ceremonial dais, and against every instinct telling me to run, I follow him. He doesn’t step onto the dais; instead, he stops in front of it, respecting my request.
Dad’s expression is neutral, but pride flickers in his eyes, and that makes this worse.
If Theo were here, he’d say I should get on the dais, because I needed the inches, and I hate that it crossed my mind, too.
Jayce smirks as he watches me.
I’m going to punch him later.
Uncle Damon faces those gathered. “Tonight, the Blood Moon Pack witnessed the passing of power from Alpha Liam to Alpha Jayce, and now it’s time for the Blue Moon Pack to gain their new Alpha. I hope you will give him the same respect and loyalty you have always shown me.”
Grandad holds out the ceremonial dagger, and I wave it away.
What the fuck are claws for if we’re going to use daggers?
I look out at the gathered wolves; a mixture of expressions looks back: approval, surprise, uncertainty, relief, worry…
“Right…” I say as I extract a claw and slash through my own palm; blood drips to the ground at my feet, splattering across my jeans. Ok, maybe I cut too deep.
I don’t have a speech ready; I wasn’t expecting this… but here we are.
“I, Ares Westwood,” I say, my voice carrying through the garden, rougher than Jayce’s had been, less polished, less whatever the fuck speeches are meant to be.
“Stand before the Blue Moon Pack by blood, will and oath. No Alpha stands above me to pass this title. No hand gives me this power. So I claim it myself; if anyone wishes to challenge me, now is the time.”
No one moves, and I almost wish someone did; I could do with beating the shit out of someone right now.
“Alright then…” I look at the wolves whose attention is fixed on me.
“I claim the Blue Moon Pack as my own, the land as my territory, its people as my responsibility, and their enemies as my own.” My jaw tightens, realising what I’m signing up for.
“I don’t promise perfection, but I promise protection, loyalty and the truth, even when none of you wants to hear it. ”
I take a deep breath as I squeeze my hand.
“I, Ares Westwood, claim the title of Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack, here and now. I ask for your submission to your Alpha.”
My aura rises around me, powerful and intense. Then a wolf howls.
Then another.
And another.
The sound spreads through the Blue Moon Pack wolves. The threads of the bond snap into place one by one, becoming faster and stronger with every passing second, until the pack’s power surges through me like I’ve been struck.
It’s not like Jayce’s; that much I’m certain of. His alpha power had settled like something inherited and powerful, moving through him as if it had always known where it belonged.
This hits like a challenge. Like the pack itself is asking if I’m strong enough to hold it. My wolf answers with a snarl as the final blow of power slams into my bones.
Their emotions crash against me at once. It is too much and not enough, hundreds of lives pressing against mine, waiting to see what kind of alpha I’ll become.
I inhale slowly, forcing the power down until it settles beneath my skin.
Then I look out at them, and no one speaks; they don’t need to.
Heads bow, and knees bend.
The pack howls again, louder this time, blood still dripping from my hand as the newly formed bond settles deep into my bones.
I never asked for this title.
Never wanted everyone looking to me.
Never wanted the weight of an entire pack pressing against my chest.
But the Blue Moon Pack answers to me now.
And whether I like it or not, I answer to them.