“I know you’re taking me on because of pack rule, Reid,” she said. “But we all know it’s convenient because if she had to fight her own battles, she wouldn’t make it.”
I could smell the truth of her words. She really believed it, and it became stronger as I realized the others thought so too. I glanced over my shoulder at Allegra. I expected her to be sitting on the couch, looking lost and scared like she had before. But she wasn’t sitting, she was standing. And she was angry.
The moment I was aware of it I felt her anger, hot and fierce. And it was aimed at me, not Sarelle. It caught me by surprise, and I loosened my grip a little. Sarelle gasped for air in the bit of space I offered her.
“What are you doing?” Allegra asked me. Her eyes were normal human eyes, dark brown and unable to change like ours did. But looking into them they were scary enough for me.
“She challenged you. You’re the alpha’s mate, she was out of line.”
“You’re strangling her,” she said. “Let her go, she gets it.” Allegra was confident and strong, the exact opposite of the person that sat next to me a moment ago. I loosened my grip on Sarelle even more, and then finally let her go. She stood on her feet, coughing, but she didn’t slide to the floor.
“I don’t know how this works, but I’m pretty sure that you don’t have to hurt your wolves to keep control,” she said.
“This is pack, Allegra. There are rules. We don’t play games. There is no compassion. This is how it works.”
Johan spoke up behind Allegra, “He’s right. We don’t do it the way humans would. We’re animals after all.”
Allegra nodded her lips pursed in a thin line. She glared at Sarelle long enough for it to border on a challenge of her own, but she broke the eye contact before it came to that. I wondered if it was coincidence, or if Allegra knew what she was doing.
“Full moon she’ll join us. There’s nothing more to say about that,” I said and dismissed the pack. They filtered out of the room one by one. Each of my men dipped their head when the passed Allegra, looking at her sideways for a moment. Maria did it too. It was only Sarelle that refused. They were all submitting even when they thought it was a bad idea.
When the door closed behind them, I turned to Allegra. She had her head in her hands.
“What was that?” I asked, sitting next to her.
“What was what?”
“You were taking Sarelle’s side? For what?”
“You were hurting her.”
I took a deep breath. “She was challenging you. You’re the alpha’s mate. A fight with you would be to the death.”
Allegra’s eyes widened just a little. I wanted to shield her from the truth, but she had to know if she wanted to be a part of this.
“I can’t do this, Reid,” she said. “All this submitting and growling and hurting each other, and being alpha and being responsible. I don’t know how.”
“There is a part of you that does know how. You did it that time in the office block when we found that kid. And you were doing it now when you told me not to hurt Sarelle. You have what it takes. The pack, most of it, submits to you because of that. But you can’t just show that side of you when someone is getting hurt.”
Her power was fueled by compassion somehow, which didn’t make sense to me. We didn’t do compassion. We did mercy, sometimes. But it was tough all over. Wolves didn’t play nice.
And somehow Allegra had managed to be the boss, twice now.
“If you just get a hang of what they need, you’ll be fine,” I said again.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” she said. I pulled her against me, planting a kiss on top of her head.
“Baby, you don’t have a choice. You’ve taken the role as my mate, once before and now tonight. You can’t let that one slide again. I can’t put John back where he was. The only way I’ll be able to replace you now is by getting a new mate.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand werewolf politics.”
“It’s not really politics with wolves. The vampires are a lot more into arguing and bargaining. We’re just animals. It’s dominance and protection and loyalty.”
She shook her head. “I can’t do it,” she said.
“You can, sweetheart. You already have.”
Allegra
I woke up and the bed next to me was empty. When I ran my hand over the sheets they were still warm. He’d spent the night next to me.
It had been a while since he’d run away from me. A while ago he used to spend his nights somewhere else – with his pack, if I had to guess. But since we’d fixed our relationship he was back home, he’d come back to me and I could spend time with my husband again. I sighed away the panic that had clutched at me for a moment.
Reid was in the bathroom, and I could hear water running in the basin. When he came out he was dressed in uniform.
“You’re leaving again?” I asked, the panic returning. We hadn’t had a date, but usually they warned us beforehand. The notice had never been this short. He ran his hands over his light hair, making sure every hair was in place.
“I’ve been called up to Washington,” he said.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. They wanted to talk about a couple of things. I’m team leader. The rest of them will still be here.”
“How long will you be gone?” I asked. When he left on duty he was away for months had a time. Once he’d been gone for longer than a year. But this scared me more than that, for some reason.
“Just a few days. I don’t know exactly, but not more than a week or two, I’m sure.”
He kissed me and I felt some of the tension drain out of my body. Of course, I wasn’t scared because he was leaving. I knew that even though I didn’t want to admit to it. I was scared because the pack was staying behind. I didn’t know as much about werewolves as I’d thought before – meeting the pack had proved that I was being thrown into the deep end. But I knew enough to know that with Reid gone, I was going to be in charge of the pack. As his mate, and therefore his second, that meant that they had to look up to me.
I thought of Sarelle and her hostile reaction to me. And the rest of the back, their disbelief in who I was clear on their faces. I may have been just a human, but I hadn’t needed supernatural senses to know what they thought of me.
“What do I do with the pack?” I asked. I was suddenly upset with Reid for going. He knew that I wasn’t strong enough to deal with this. Not now, and I wasn’t sure if I ever would be.
“John will be here to help you. He knows. I’ll be back before full moon so you won’t have to worry about that. I’ll make sure of it.”
“I can’t do this, Reid. I’ve only just gotten into this, and I’m not a wolf. I can’t be mean and threaten them and force them obey me the way you do.”
He checked himself in the mirror. His head was already in Washington, and I might as well have been pleading with the wall.
“You’re going to be fine, sweetheart,” he said and kissed me again. When he broke the kiss he looked me in the eye. “I know you can do this. I believe in you.”
He walked out of the room and a moment later I heard the front door click shut. His believing in me was all good and well. The problem was I just didn’t believe in myself. If I knew anything about werewolves it was that if I felt it, they could smell it.
I was in big trouble.
Someone rang my doorbell about two hours later, and when I opened it up it was John. He stayed on the porch even when I stepped to the side to let him in.
“You can come in, John,” I said, and only then did he walk into the house. I didn’t like this.
“Reid asked me to check on you,” he said.
“I’m doing okay,” I answered, and immediately I felt like an idiot because I knew he could smell a lie. Spending time with wolves was going to make me change how I spoke.
“Nothing’s going to go wrong unless one of us loses control. The chances of that happening are pretty sl
im. It’s not close to full moon and there’s no reason for any of us to lose it. We’re all home and safe.”
I tried to swallow my nervousness, and nodded.
“I hope you’re right,” I said. John’s face softened.
“You don’t have to look so scared. Reid wouldn’t have let this happen if he didn’t think you could handle it.”
“But it was because of what I did, remember. Stepping into the role and all that? I’m pretty sure Reid wouldn’t have chosen this if it had been up to him.”
John nodded and looked over my shoulder like he was scared Reid would jump out and catch him with his mate.
“That might be true, but he decided that because he didn’t think you were strong enough. You did take that role, which meant that you were strong enough, at least once.”
“Once,’ I echoed.
“And if you could do it once, you can do it again. It’s happened before you know, where humans were part of werewolf packs and vampire clans.””
I put my hands over my face for a just a second before I pushed my fingers into my hair.
“You might not have magic on your side, but everyone has what it takes to be a leader.”
He nodded at me, bowing his head very low as he did so that it made me think it was more like a bow than a greeting, and back to the door before he turned his back to me. It was strange to see the men act that way around me. It made me feel awkward.
I walked to the door and watched John leave. He moved with the same fluid grace Reid did. If I looked hard enough I could notice the signs of the wolves. The animals were there, so close to the skin sometimes I wondered how society could miss it. But I knew what to look for.
And I was starting to wish I really hadn’t known.
My cell phone woke me up with a shrill ring just after three in the morning. I grabbed for it and knocked it down on the carpet. I was half-asleep, fishing under the bed for it when I finally found it and pushed the ‘talk’ button.
“You have to get down to Harry’s house as fast as you can.” John’s voice sounded loud over the speaker, and it was filled with panic. It made my own heart constrict and I suddenly struggled to breath.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Harry’s losing it,” he said.
“I can’t do anything,” I said back, nearly shouting. Panic wrapped around me like a blanket.
“You’re gonna have to,” John said and hung up. I sat with the phone in my hands, staring at it. A howl pierced the night air, and I jumped out of bed. I just threw a coat over my pajamas and stepped into shoes before I flew out the front door.
It took me longer to find Harry’s address than it took me to get there. When I pulled my car in front of the house there were already more cars in the drive way. I parked in the road and got out, running to the front door.
When I stepped inside the air was thick with energy and it crackled around me as I moved into the house. Harry was on the floor in wolf form. The only reason I knew that was because no one else was in wolf for, and four of the nine wolves were present. Abdul and Carlos stood against the far wall.
Harry’s wolf was big, but long and slim, like he was built for speed rather than strength. It had a red coat with white tips on its tail and ears, like an overgrown fox. But instead of the gentle brown eyes of a fox, Harry’s wolf had eyes that were so light blue they looked like ice. Like a husky’s eyes, but even more intense.
John was closest to Harry, and he had his hand out. He was squatting and he had his eyes turned down. From what I knew that was submissive, and Harry was below John. Which meant that he was dangerous now.
“John,” I said softly. He looked up when he heard my voice, and beckoned me closer.
“You have to do something,” he said. The other two said nothing. I doubted they were high enough to say much. I doubted they wanted to get involved.
“Like what?” Harry really didn’t look like he was open to reason.
“He’s angry. Sarelle worked him up and then she disappeared. They had a fight and we both know she’s a lot more dangerous than he is.”
I didn’t know that, but I was more than willing to believe it.
“Where is she?” I asked.
“Hunting, to work of the anger. But Harry can’t do that,” he answered before I got to ask. “At this point he’s not in control and he’ll kill someone instead of taking the time to hunt down an animal.”
My throat tightened and the panic I’d been feeling evolved into fear. Harry snapped his jaws at me, a warning to stay away, and growled low in his throat.
“What am I supposed to do about it?” I asked.
“You need to show dominance. You’re the pack leader until Reid comes back. You need to do something.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I said. “He’s not going to submit to me.”
“Challenge him. Even his wolf knows he can’t take you on without answering to Reid. If you challenge him he should back down.”
“And if he doesn’t?” I asked. Challenging a werewolf didn’t sound like a good idea.
“If you take charge he will. You just need to step into your role as leader. You know how, I’ve felt you do it before.”
Harry’s wolf threw its head back and a howl tore from its throat, piercing the air around us. It sent goose bumps marching down my spine.
“Now, Allegra,” John said, and he was starting to sound scared, which freaked me out. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I stood up and stood in front of Harry. I looked him straight in the eye. His eyes were wild, with pupils like pinpricks.
“What do I do?” I whispered.
“Don’t look away. If you look away now, you’re giving in. He has to look away first.”
I stared at Harry. He was staring back. His face was menacing and his lips curled back, showing me long white fangs.
“John?” I asked and the panic was clear in my voice.
“Just keep at it,” he said. “He’s not going to do it unless you look away.”
I kept staring. John kept talking me through it. Harry kept staring back.
“It’s not working,” I said. I was starting to feel like an idiot.
“It will,” he said. His voice was suddenly lower, and from the corner of my eye I saw him move, sinking to the floor. I forced myself to look Harry in the eye. John made a strange sound, like a growl, and I tore my eyes away from Harry to look at John.
Big mistake.
Harry let out a sound that was a cross between the bark and a growl, and launched for me. I was on my back with two hundred pounds of werewolf on me. Harry went for me neck, but then a blur of white and gray tackled him off me. John had disappeared. A white wolf with gray flecks and burning yellow eyes had replaced him, and it was fighting with the red wolf.
It was worse than the sound of dogs fighting. They tore at each other, and blood spilled onto the floor. I rolled out of the way, crouching on my knees, hands clasped to my mouth.
I glanced up to the other two. Carlos and Abdul were busy changing. If something didn’t give soon, this was going to be a full on wolf fight. But before they’d changed completely, the fight suddenly stopped. John’s wolf lay motionless on the floor, with blood pouring out of his side and staining his fur. Harry curled into a ball on the floor and whimpered like a kicked dog.
Carlos and Abdul were a cross between a werewolf and a man, bi-pedal monsters that scared me.
Finally Harry changed back into human form, shrinking, fur pulling back, until he sat there naked and rocking. He had scratches and bruises, blood covered a big part of his body. But he crawled to John’s wolf and let out a weird wailing sound.
I reached out my hand. This was all my fault.
“Get out,” Harry said, not looking at me. “You’ve done enough.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I said softly.
“Exactly.”
Chapter 4
Reid
I was away for four days in total, and in t
hat time my pack had fallen apart. I’d felt it while I’d been in the hotel room. It had felt like a hot blade had sliced through me, my chest, my side, and there had been a lot of emotional pain.
I’d known it had to do with the pack, but no one answered their phones. For two days after I’d felt the pain and the terror, I’d been left in the dark. I was sufficiently pissed.
When I got home, Allegra was hysterical. She kept talking about Harry and John and an attack, but I couldn’t get more than that out of her. All I could feel was her overwhelming fear.
I hadn’t left her with so much fear. I’d been sure everything was going to be fine.
When I knocked on John’s door Charlene opened. She looked grim when she saw me, but stepped aside so that I could walk in. John sat on the couch in front of the TV without a shirt on. He had a gauze on his size, but otherwise he looked fine.
“What’s going on?” I asked, and he switched off the television when he saw me. I sat down, and he averted his eyes. It wasn’t a sign of submission, it was a sign of guilt.
“We had an accident,” he said. He still didn’t look at me.
“What happened?” I asked again. I could feel power building in the room, rolling around us like waves. The stronger it got, the more John cowered, and I realized it was my own power that washed over us like that. I took a deep breath and drew it back to me, trying to control it.
It died down a lot, but it didn’t go away completely. I was too angry for that. It wasn’t a screaming rage, either. I was disappointed in my pack.
“Harry and Sarelle had a fight and he lost it.”
“So far away from full moon?” I asked.
John shrugged. “I don’t know what she said to him. It was a bad one though. You know how she gets, pushing the right buttons and drawing on fear and regrets.”
I nodded. I did know. I was starting to think more and more that I should just get rid of her. She wasn’t doing the pack any good. Then again, the whole business of trying to push Allegra into the pack wasn’t working out very well either.
“Where was Allegra when it happened?” I asked.
“At home. We called her to—“
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