2. Two
My heart jumped into my throat.
I didn’t know the guy’s name. All I knew was that he was one of the alphas who had submitted to my father just a few weeks ago. He had no allegiance to me. I was every bit a stranger to him as he was to me.
I shouldn’t have spent so much time in my room when I got back from Alpha Dane’s. I couldn’t take it back now, though. I had to do damage control.
I narrowed my eyes, knowing that I should speak first.
“Is there a problem?” My voice came out harsh, demanding respect.
The alpha tilted his head and took another step forward. I balled my hands at my sides and stayed rooted in my spot.
My mom whispered behind me, and it took me a moment to register what she’d said. Thomas. That must’ve been his name.
He continued to glower at me, still silent.
I spoke up again. “Do we have a problem, Thomas?”
Luna, I really hoped that was his name. I’d lose any sway with him if it wasn’t.
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked over his shoulder and back at me. “Our allegiance was with Alpha David. I understand he put you in charge, but you haven’t earned our respect yet.”
I swallowed hard. He wasn’t wrong. “I understand that. I do. Respect has to be earned, and I fully intend to do that. You have my word.”
His gaze darted to Lincoln. “And yet your mate is the very blood of the alpha who sees fit to destroy us.”
Lincoln moved like he might step forward, but I swung my arm out, blocking his path.
“He may be related to Alpha Dane,” I said, “but I assure you, he is nothing like him. Lincoln is the one responsible for bringing us all together. He is the mastermind behind the DarkSide website.”
The man’s brows dipped into a frown, and he let his arms fall to his sides as he appraised Lincoln. “Like I said, respect has to be earned from the both of you. Before I can commit my pack to you, I need to know what your plans are. What are we doing? We can’t stay here. We should have already fled.”
I blinked at him through the steady rain. Leave. Or flee. Where did he think we would go?
Words failed me, but the longer he went without an answer, the more I was adding fuel to the fire.
I patted the outside of my thighs while I scrounged for something to say.
“We are not running, if that’s what you’re asking. We are staying here. We are rebuilding, and we are making a stand.” I pointed at the ground as I gritted my teeth.
This was my family’s land, and I wasn’t about to just give it up.
The man—Thomas—lifted his hands and motioned around. “Alpha Dane knows we are here. We’re sitting ducks just waiting for him to show up and slaughter us all.”
“Alpha Dane knows where we are, but this is our land.” I wiggled my feet into the mud as I stood my ground, and water seeped into my shoes.
I jabbed a finger at the ground. “We know this land better than him, and we can defend it better because we have the home advantage. There isn’t anywhere that we can run that Alpha Dane won’t get to eventually. He’s not going to stop at the packs near us. He’s power hungry. He’ll keep expanding until he has the entire country under his thumb. There will be no place he can’t reach if he goes unchecked.”
Thomas shook his head as he laughed out loud. “That will take him years.”
I exhaled slowly. “Look how much he has accomplished in such a short amount of time. He’s destroyed at least eleven packs that we know of, with more to come. The bigger he grows, the faster his assault will be. Maybe you want to take your pack and try to find a safe place to hide, but I won’t do that.”
“We make a stand now while we still can,” I said, “before he grows stronger and there aren’t as many of us to fight.”
Thomas’s nostrils flared, and he dropped his leer to the ground.
Good. Maybe I was getting through to him.
“I don’t want to live my life looking over my shoulder,” I said. “I want to have a safe place to call home, to raise a family, so my pack can raise their families and not live in fear. If we run now, we will never be safe. We will always be waiting for the day that Alpha Dane catches up to us. That isn’t a burden I want for my family.”
Thomas pointed behind him. “Where will we stay? The pack house and some of the other quarters have been completely destroyed.”
Tears burned my eyes at the reminder. All our pictures, our family mementos, were gone. The house had burned to the ground. All I had left of my dad and Darrin were my memories.
I pounded my palm against my chest hard, making my wet sweater smack against my skin. “The house is gone, yes, but our will and our packs are not. We will rebuild. With all of us, it won’t take long. We are in this together, all of us.”
Thomas had the decency to look ashamed. Rain droplets beat down on him, shrouding his face in a curtain of water. “You don’t intend to leave, then?”
I thought I’d made that pretty clear already, but I guess I’d say it again. “No. I plan to stay here and defend our home. I’m done running and hiding. This war is going to end, and I promise you we’re going to stop Alpha Dane.”
Thomas’s face scrunched up as his head snapped up. “You can’t possibly know that.”
I clasped my sweater, squeezing the water from the fabric between my fingers and down my arm. If I didn’t have something to do with my hands, I might punch him. This was my father’s funeral. I wanted to grieve.
I forced in a calming breath. “I have to believe that we are going to win. We all should. If we give up now, then we give up to Alpha Dane, and I’m not willing to do that. The way he is destroying packs is wrong. What he is doing to women is dishonorable. We can’t allow him to continue.”
Thomas’s jaw worked, and he put his hands on his hips. “How do you intend to protect us?”
I gripped my water-logged sweater tighter, so tight I worried I might tear it. “Our first step is going to be rebuilding, but during the rebuilding process, every able-bodied person is going to learn to defend themselves and fight. We still have a large wolfsbane supply.
“With Lincoln’s help, I’m sure we can come up with ways to use it to our benefit. There are also other defensive measures that we can take around the property such as electric fences and video surveillance. We will implement all of it as soon as possible.”
Huffing, he shook his head and motioned his hand out to me. “Very well. I will submit to you as alpha for now, but you have yet to earn my respect.”
I wasn’t sure how he meant that, but to me, it felt like a threat. It would be poor taste to attack me today at my father’s funeral, but I wouldn’t put it past anyone. This guy had already interrupted.
My original pack would be loyal. Of that, I was certain, but there were a couple hundred new members now I barely knew. I had to be careful.
The minister cleared his throat. He gave me a small half smile before he spoke up. “If there is no one else…”
I held my breath, watching the crowd, daring anyone else to step forward.
This time, no one did, and the minister grasped my hand again. “May I present to you your alpha, Alpha Sloane.”
He held my hand up like I’d won some sort of grand prize, but there was nothing grand about this.
I shifted my gaze to the coffin.
I love you, Daddy. I held my breath like he might reply, but the only sound was the pounding of the rain.
I wasn’t trained for this. I was supposed to have time with my dad so he could go over all of this with me. Alpha Dane had stolen that from me, and I’d have to figure it out on my own.
One thing was for certain: I wasn’t going to let my dad down.
The minister let go of my hand and clasped his hands together as he looked out at the pack. “Miss Kathleen has prepared a wonderful brunch for us that is waiting for us at the pack house. Please return…” He made a pained noise in his throat as he must’ve realized what he said.
He ducked his head down and rubbed at his hair, slicking it back. “My apologies, not the pack house. But there is a lovely brunch Miss Kathleen has prepared at the enforcers’ quarters. Please give the family a few moments alone with their father and husband.”
The pack murmured as they dispersed. I wobbled on my feet, my legs suddenly turning to jelly. Lincoln wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close.
My mom moved in front of me, hugging me and Lincoln at the same time. “You did good, my love. You did good.”
She pushed matted, wet strands of hair off my face.
I trembled and shook so hard my teeth rattled. I couldn’t control the tremors racing through my body. “They’re going to challenge me again, aren’t they?”
A big rain droplet fell on my eyebrow, momentarily blurring my vision.
My mom‘s face fell, and then crumpled as she cried.
Lincoln grasped both my hands. “Probably. You just have to keep being strong, Sloane. You did great, and we all have your back.”
Mark reached out, his hand gripping my shoulder, and I turned to hug him. He and I hadn’t really talked since everything had happened. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was okay with me getting the title and not him, since he was older than me by a year.
He patted me on the back as he enveloped me in a bear hug. “It’s going to be okay. Our pack is going to protect you, and we won’t let them challenge you. Dad knew what he was doing when he selected you to take his place. You are the best fit for this role, and I know you can do it.”
I blinked up at him, his face fuzzy from my tears and this dreaded rain. “I was worried you might’ve wanted this instead.”
Mark cupped my face and then pressed his forehead against mine. “I don’t envy your position for a moment, but I respect you and everything that you stand for, and I’ll have your back one hundred percent. You have my word.”
Brandon pushed Mark out of the way and wrapped me in his arms, squeezing me hard enough that my back cracked. “I’m proud of you, Sloane. I’m with you one hundred percent of the way.”
He pulled back to reveal Erica behind him, so small and frail, just a young tween. Her eyes were rimmed in red, and the rain had plastered her hair to her face. She’d lost so much in her life, and now she’d lost the uncle who had become a father to her too. She was the reason I’d agreed to go to Pack Wolf Blood to begin with. To protect her.
Erica flung herself at me, sobbing deep, heaving cries.
I scooped her into my arms and made shushing sounds. “It’s going to be okay. We are going to see this through.”
Erica’s voice broke as she peeked up at me with wide eyes. “I don’t want to lose anyone else, Sloane. Are you sure we can’t run?”
I tucked my fingers under her chin and tilted it up so she had to look at me. “Running won’t help us. It will only delay the inevitable. We are staying here and standing our ground.”
My mom drew in a deep breath and let it out. Her hand went to her mouth, and even though the rain drenched her face, I could tell she was still crying. “You won’t even consider leaving?”
My heart plunged like a rock into the bottom of my stomach. I frowned, darting my scrutiny around my family, searching each of their faces. Mark and Brandon had deep worry lines creasing their brows. Mom and Erica shook from their crying.
I turned to Lincoln, his face a mask. He gave me a small nod, which I took to mean to follow my gut.
“No,” I said firmly. “This is our home. I plan to stay and defend it until I draw my last breath. Though I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
My mom sniffled and rubbed under her nose. She nodded and used her fingers to swipe away the rain and tears from her cheeks. The deep frown didn’t leave her face, though. If anything, it became more pronounced.
What if I was making a mistake by staying? Was I being too hasty? Had I really thought all this through?
No. This was the right call. I had to follow my instincts. That’s what my dad had told me. That’s what I was going to do. Every fiber of my being told me that staying was the right choice. There was no time for me to second-guess myself now.
A flash of red and blue split the darkened skies. At first I thought it was a burst of lightning until I came to my senses.
I whirled, narrowing my eyes. A familiar sheriff’s car made its way down the drive.
My belly knotted, and nausea churned inside. The sheriff would see our decimated house, and he would have questions.
Questions I couldn’t give him the answers to.