Alpha Ever After

by Casey Morgan

  I go over to the main table, taking my seat at the head of the hall and calling the meeting to order. “I want to thank you all for coming together at a moment’s notice. I’m sure you understand why we’re here, though. There are quite a few matters we need to discuss.”

  There’s grumbling among the crowd, but no one says anything loud enough for me to hear. I know not everyone in the pack is happy with the things going on, but we have to keep moving forward. As long as we stay a unified front, we’ll all get through this.

  “The latest attack from the Mathis clan is concerning,” I continue. “We were able to fight them off, but we can’t let that victory entice us to drop our guard.”

  “I agree,” Flint says, coming out from the side of the room. He joins me at the front where Tamir would typically be. I can hear the room getting antsy. Ever since Tamir was thrown off the compound, there has been unrest. I need to get everyone to see my way. Crumbling among our ranks will only make us weaker, and that is something we cannot have.

  “Thank you, Flint.” I nod towards him.

  “What is he doing here?”

  Before I can get another word out past my thank you, one of the elders shouts out. I’m not fast enough to pinpoint who it is, which was probably their intention.

  “Well.” I usually wouldn’t answer such a direct and disrespectful callout, but, given the events of the past few weeks, I am acting a little more lenient. “As you all know, I no longer have a second in command. I was thinking since Flint has been such an asset in our time of need, he would be a good person to advise me in these trying times.”

  “You can’t possibly be serious!” Konrad shouts out.

  A few people murmur in agreement, the wave of unhappiness passing through the crowd. I know Flint isn’t the most popular around here. We are a clan that doesn’t embrace change too often or easily. That’s why I never wanted to talk to Pax about using more technology. It was something too grandiose for the likes of us, but sometimes, we need to adapt to the changing circumstances. Flint has been useful given the fight we are in, and it doesn’t hurt to have extra help.

  I clear my throat, letting a growl come out. “I am serious. I feel he has proven himself worthy of the position. Tamir turned out to be a traitor. You all saw the side he chose. We must move forward and fortify ourselves against the enemy. If we don’t act quickly and swiftly, we’re going to end up losing this war. We need to remain strong within the clan.”

  “But what about that video?” This time it is Ruston who poses a question.

  Everyone is shouting from every which way. I don’t like how comfortable everyone feels so openly questioning my decisions, but I haven’t quite reached the end of my rope yet. I’m still holding onto a bit of patience.

  “That video isn’t of any concern.”

  “But it clearly showed Flint talking to Beau Mathis! Are we just going to ignore that he might be working against us? I know we are in dire times, but we can’t allow ourselves to be blind.”

  The murmurs are getting louder, digging into my head. I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit. I need them all to shut up and let me lead like I am supposed to.

  “How do we know we can trust it?” I raise my voice, trying to reach to the back of the room. “Technology is used to lie all the time. That video could have easily been tampered with. Who knows the lengths Pax will go to, all to get his way?”

  I can't fathom why Pax and Tamir would suddenly go against the pack, but they've made their choices. I’ve always known Pax wanted things to change around here, and I wouldn’t let him have his way. Maybe he got sick of all the nos. And perhaps he was able to convince Tamir to join his side. Who knows exactly what happened? What I do know is that my nephews are not to be trusted.

  “Is there no way for us to check?”

  “Isn't it better to be sure? To avoid anything bad happening. I mean, this is a time we cannot afford to be making mistakes like that.”

  It seems like dissent is coming from every corner.

  “I am positive!” The cap on my anger is about to blow. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this calm going. They are questioning me as if I am not the alpha. They think I don’t know what I’m doing.

  “Let me just say,” Flint starts, stepping forward, “I understand that I am the new wolf here, but I want to reassure everyone that I want what's best for the pack. It's my pack now as well. But, to assuage fears, I promise you all that I never heard of the Mathis clan until that first night they attacked. And not to toot my own horn, but I am the one who caught that girl trying to steal your map.”

  Exactly. Flint has been nothing but helpful since all of this mess started. Why can't they all see that?

  “But you're the one who brought the girl here in the first place.”

  Flint starts laughing as if what was just said is preposterous. I don't feel in the laughing mood, but I join in with Flint anyway. It's like I'm compelled to.

  “She orchestrated the whole thing. I was trying to be a good Samaritan, and it came back to bite me in the ass. It's my fault for trusting her. No good deed goes unpunished, I guess.”

  “Look, let's move on to much more important matters.” I'm putting my foot down regarding all of this mess. We've discussed this long enough, and we have to move on. “We need to come up with a battle plan.”

  “If I may make a suggestion?” I motion for Flint to proceed. “I think it's time for us to take a more direct approach. We need to attack the Mathis clan when and where they least expect it. Which is why I believe that we need to bring the fight to them. We should attack their camp.”

  There's a moment of silence before an uproar. Flint had come to me with the idea before, so I am already on board. I knew it might take some convincing on the part of the elders, but I did not expect such pushback.

  “Why would we go to them?” Konrad has stood up. He's usually the first one to voice disagreement. “We have a stronghold here, we are safe, we can protect ourselves. Why risk that now? Playing the defensive is what makes sense right now.”

  “I agree. We need more time before we do something so bold,” Ershin sides with Konrad, a rare sight. Often, they approach problems differently. Funny how, one of the few times they agree, it's on the wrong side of the issue. “Maybe if we can mobilize, split our forces, and come up with a good, solid plan, attacking directly could work.”

  I wave my hand for silence. “No, Flint is right. We've been cowering on our ground for too long. We need to be aggressive. The Staymans are not meek. We fight for our land, we fight for our people, and we fight for our honor!”

  “But Anson,” Ershin continues, “it doesn't make sense to do something so risky. We would be extremely vulnerable. The pack is still feeling the hurt from that last attack, and we just need time to regroup. Maybe after we've all had time to think and get clearer heads—” that last part feels directed towards me—“we'll be able to come up with a plan more of us can be satisfied with.”

  I resist the urge to roll my eyes; instead, I slam my fist into the table. “We don't have time for that. Look, you don't have to like the plan, but what's going to happen is everyone is going to fall in line. We’re going forward with Flint's brilliant idea. Anyone who wants to continue to offer pushback, understand you will be told to leave and join the other traitors in exile. This meeting is over. I hope when we talk again, we are all on the same page.”

  I leave the meeting hall, putting my foot down. They can all figure this out amongst themselves as long as they all return to me, ready to attack the Mathis camp. Right now isn't the time for them to be questioning their alpha. The stakes are too high, and the matter too pressing.

  Flint follows me into the kitchens. On the kitchen counter is a laptop I found in Tamir’s room. After he left, I searched it, wanting to see if I could find anything that would explain why two of the people I trusted the most in the world would suddenly turn on me. I came up pretty empty.

  This stupid compute
r is all I have left. It’s probably how Pax and Tamir planned this whole thing. How long has this been going on? Has this been the end game for them for a long while? This is one of the few times I wish I listened to Pax talking about these machines. I have no clue how to work one, and so I was unable to find any info on it.

  “What are you thinking about?” Flint asks as he shifts his stance behind me.

  I slam my hand into the counter, almost hitting the laptop. “I just can’t believe that I didn’t see what Tamir and Pax were planning. I’m the alpha, I should be able to sniff these things out.”

  That’s what has me so confused. There weren’t any indicators that the two of them were planning something so bold. It doesn’t make any sense to me. Sure, my nephews would question me every now and then, and we definitely got on one another’s nerves, but there was loyalty among the three of us, or at least I thought there was.

  “Sometimes things just pass under our noses. I had the same problem with that girl I brought here. I had no way of knowing she was working with the Mathis pack and was manipulating me.” Flint shrugs.

  “Yeah, maybe. But you didn’t know that girl for very long. It makes more sense that you weren’t able to read her very well.”

  I’ve known Pax and Tamir since they were in diapers. I watched the two of them grow up. It’s part of the reason why their treachery stings extra hard. The two of them were meant to be my guys. Yeah, Pax was still finding his place here, and Tamir was always too serious, but they were young. There was still time for them to change a little bit. But a mutiny? I never suspected a thing.

  I’ve been masking my true feelings with a lot of anger. I don’t want to admit to the pack that I am sad about what has happened. There isn’t time for any of that. We are in the middle of a crisis that needs to be dealt with expeditiously.

  But, even with all of that on my mind, I’m still devastated.

  I run my hands through my hair and look down at the computer. “I should have been more in tune with the boys. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all. I mean, a part of me doesn’t believe Pax and Tamir did something so horrible. Like maybe I misread it or something.”

  But that doesn’t make any sense. I saw it all with my own two eyes. I watched Pax, and then, Tamir run off with two girls, one who they had just met, sneaking around and doing things behind my back. I have to face the facts.

  “They were just a couple of bad apples. It happens, and there is nothing to be done. You made a mistake, but it’s time to move on.”

  Flint is right. I can’t keep throwing this pity party. It’s getting me nowhere, and it won’t change anything that has happened. I need to remember that Tamir and Pax are no longer the two little boys I helped raise. They are grown men who made a decision to go against the family, and I punished them accordingly.

  “You’re right, you’re right.” I shake my head, trying to clear it. “I just need to remember that I did the right thing, for the pack.”

  “Exactly.” Flint pats me on the back.

  I’m trying to get past this, let go of these feelings of doubt, but they won’t leave. I don’t understand it. Logically, I know this whole situation is because of Pax and Tamir betraying the Stayman clan, but something deep in my gut is stirring. Something isn’t sitting well with me, but I can’t quite articulate what it is.

  It’s merely a feeling. But I can’t go around making illogical choices based on emotions. It’s like Flint said, they were a couple of bad apples trying to take down the whole bunch. I got rid of them, and we are better for it. As long as we stick to the plan Flint came up with, we’ll be able to get ourselves out of this strange predicament.

  I wish it was that easy to forget about the boys. Putting everything I have into working on this battle plan is what will keep me from totally going off the edge.

  “We’ll take care of the Mathises, and then everything will go back to normal,” I mumble to myself, saying it low enough so Flint doesn’t hear me. I don’t want him to know how uneasy I’m feeling about everything. He’s been showing more initiative than me lately. I need to emulate that attitude to keep my pack from losing faith.

  And maybe I can’t expect things to go back to how they were when Pax and Tamir were here, but I’ll get as close as possible. And I’ll have Flint as my number two. He’s been so helpful. It is kind of weird how he showed up when shit started hitting the fan, but maybe that’s just what I needed. I’ve always been wary of outsiders, but the Stayman clan is open to accepting them. And, by this point, Flint has proven himself to me.

  At least I think he has. My head is telling me to go with him, but my gut… I wish I could just understand this nagging feeling in my stomach, so I could put it into words.

  Chapter Two

  Luna

  I know my brother, Beau, would be so pissed off if he knew what I was doing. He made me promise not to leave the camp. Like an actual swear on our parents’ grave type deal, but I had my fingers crossed behind my back, so it didn’t count. Usual stupid sibling stuff, but my reasons for lying are important. That’s why I snuck off in the middle of the night. I decided to take the whole “ask for forgiveness, not permission” approach.

  It all has to do with this Flint guy who randomly showed up at our home one day. I have no idea where he came from. He rode up in some fancy car, talking about forming an alliance of some kind. I never thought my brother would go for it, but before I knew it, this guy was my brother’s confidant. The two of them started working on some big plan for the clan. They wouldn’t let anyone in on their meetings for the longest time, not even the elders. And then, one day, they brought this whole game plan to us to take over the Stayman land. It all sounded way too weird to me.

  I usually ignore all that battle planning stuff. I don’t like fighting unless it is absolutely necessary, but this Flint character is way too shady for me to ignore. He’s been pushing us to be more and more violent in our approach to getting the Stayman land. It doesn’t sit right with me at all.

  From the second he came to us, Flint gave me bad vibes. I did try to ignore him a little at first. It’s easy for me to pick up on the negative vibes of other people, so not spending time with Flint was beneficial to me. Plus, he and my brother were just talking, and I thought he was some lone wolf Beau was thinking of allowing to stay with us, but things got way too serious. My brother trusted him too much.

  And he doesn’t smell right. And I don’t mean he has B.O. or anything. It’s more like there’s something off about him. Like he’s not quite right for a werewolf. I don’t know what else could be going on, but something is. I’ve dealt with not nice guys all my life, and they’ve had vibes that didn’t mesh with mine, but none of them give me willies the way Flint does. There’s something otherworldly about the evil he is emitting.

  Plus, his aura is all wrong. I couldn’t say why he’s like this, but I have a feeling deep in my stomach that he’s going to double-cross us. I’ve always been wary of other people, but this goes beyond my usual hesitations. Something seriously feels evil about this man. He has the creepiest smile, all teeth, and joyless behind the eyes.

  Beau has been doing his best to reassure that Flint is working for us, but he’s the type of man who only works for himself. I don’t believe for one second that he’s here to help strengthen the Mathis clan. He has an agenda, and I want to know what it is.

  I wish there was some way for me to convince my brother to see what I see. It’s not like I can give him my ability to see auras or feel vibrations. Usually, at the very least, he’ll listen to me, sometimes take my advice, but he’s never outright dismissed my worries. I don’t know what’s different this time. Maybe if I can get some hard proof, Beau will finally understand. How I’m going to get that hard proof? I do not know, but I’m putting a plan into action

  I’ve followed Flint all the way to the Stayman manor house. Sneaking past both of the barricades was a bit tricky, but I managed, and now I’m here.

  I’
ve never actually been to the Stayman’s home before. The Mathises and Staymans have been at ends for a long while. I’m not sure there was ever a time when the two packs were on good terms. It’s the way it’s always been, but in more recent history, we’ve kept to ourselves.

  Pack wars are more things of the past and are generally avoided if possible. So, the fact that my brother is all up in arms is alarming. He’s definitely more into fighting than I am, but Beau was never the aggressive type. Now, his personality is so different. It’s almost like he is enjoying all the fighting.

  It is kind of cool to be able to set foot on the Stayman land, though. Their property and home is so expansive and beautiful. I don’t know if my brother plans on destroying everything in this fight, but my hope is that it doesn’t get that far. I hope that I’m able to stop things before they become unstoppable.

  Flint enters the manor house. Beau told me he’s acting as a double agent, getting the alpha to trust him in order to learn their secrets. But how are we supposed to know he hasn’t said the same exact thing to the Staymans? He’s someone we don’t even know.

  Beau is usually so much more careful when it comes to newcomers, but he took to Flint almost immediately. It’s so strange.

  Flint has gone inside, so I sneak up to the window to see if I can catch a glimpse of what’s going on indoors. Flint is sitting in what looks like a dining room. He’s talking to another man. I tilt my head as I give this man a once over. He has the aura of an alpha, similar to what my brother has. He must be the head of the Staymans, Anson. He and Flint look awfully chummy. I wish I could hear what was being said though. It seems like they’re arguing, and it might be getting heated.

  There’s a laptop between the two of them. It looks like the focus of their disagreement. I wonder why they’re so angry about that machine? Personally, I don’t like them very much. Something about electronics makes me feel off. I’ve always been more attuned to the things others cannot see, so it might be the wavelengths they give off. But I don’t understand why they would be having such a heated argument about it. Maybe there’s something on that machine? I don’t know.