Anais

What had I done?

There wasn’t a single wolf in this pack that I wanted as a mate, and there wasn’t a single man worthy of being the Deep Water pack’s Alpha male.

Still, I couldn’t let them just take away my birthright. I was the daughter of the previous Alpha pair. This pack was mine.

As the Elders and I left the hall after their blackmailing session ended, I saw Elder Sutton motion to one of the children playing in a nearby shaded area. The large tree near the meeting hall had always been a favorite spot for the younger pack members. Even I’d played there as a child, swinging on the rope that hung on a low branch.

Sutton whispered briefly to the young boy who came up to him, then watched as he ran off in the direction of the town bell. The bastard was clearly taking no chances that I would change my mind. He saw Gage coming out as the clear winner, and a winner by Rite would have very little opposition to a promotion in rank by the rest of the pack.

Moments later, the town bell chimed, calling all to the town square. That weasel.

The square was the central location of the entire pack, with all avenues and paths breaking off from that point like spokes off the center of a wheel. Many of the main public buildings were close to the middle of the square for easy access, the meeting hall included, meaning that it took no time at all to reach it.

I waited a few moments for most of the pack members to arrive before speaking.

“Deep Water, your Elders have spoken. They believe that tradition must be followed, that an Alpha pair must lead us. They suggested many of their own family members—who they believe have the right blood or the right connections to lead us—but I say that the strong should lead. I call for the Rite!”

Cheers went up among the pack, the excitement palpable. There hadn’t been a selection by Rite in maybe over a century. Usually, an Alpha candidate was someone who already had an Alpha bloodline, but a selection by Rite gave all male members of the pack the chance to battle for the title of Alpha male.

“All who would fight for the right to prove themselves as the best wolf to lead Deep Water, step forward,” I said. “You need only to want it bad enough… and also to be over the age of eighteen to enter.”

The pack members laughed at that last bit of information. One could just imagine some twelve year old with ideas of grandeur wanting to fight.

One by one, males young and old approached. A nod signaled my acceptance.

Thirteen. Thirteen pack members, including Gage, had decided to compete.

“Deep Water, look at your brave pack members. One of these men will be your next Alpha male. Let us take this time to congratulate these men, as they represent the brave shoulders of this pack. Tomorrow, the Rite begins!”

The cheers that went up were almost deafening. Pack members rushed forward to congratulate and boost the confidence of their preferred competitors. Typical men that they were, they began bragging and making bets on how long before they took down their opponents.

I wanted to steal away, but as the new Alpha, I couldn’t escape all the well-wishing. Not many changes happened in the pack, so the possibility of a new Alpha male was exciting to everyone. Some even started idle chit-chat about who was my favorite and who they believed would win.

“Oh, Anais, I’m so glad you called for the Rite. My Roger is a good fit for you. He loves kids and wants a large family. I’m so excited—we’ll have you fat with babies in no time.”

This came from Roger’s mother, Zara Milton.

It was funny how delusional some people could be. Roger’s mother was a sweet, plump woman who loved children and looked after everyone in the pack as if they were her own, but her son was not of the same mind. He was lazy and just wanted to spend his days sleeping and eating. His reasoning for wanting to take part in the Rite was a mystery to me.

“Alpha,” called Delgan, another pack member and competitor. “I hope I can prove myself worthy. It’s been a while since the pack had an Alpha male, and I’m sure we would make a good match. I was thinking that the Gorge Pack would make good allies with us, and, as you know, my cousin is head Enforcer there. I’m sure I can convince the Alpha to share resources and manpower to help us defend ourselves.”

It was clear what his motivation was for competing—he wanted to gain favor with his old pack, which had kicked him out. Rumor had it that, as a lower member of the pack, he’d been in love with an Enforcer's daughter who was already engaged.

When the Alpha found out he’d disobeyed the order to stay away from the girl, Delgan was banished. It was obvious that he wanted to get back in their good graces so he could rekindle his affair with the girl, since her fiancé had “mysteriously” died.

Now, I didn’t have a problem with lost lovers, but where would that leave me? Was he going to have her as his mistress while mated to me? Or was I going to mysteriously die, too?

Mom had taught me that knowing your pack members, as well as knowing what was happening and had happened in their lives, could give one insight into their motivations and how they could affect the pack.

I smiled, greeting and nodding to one competitor after another, meeting with them and their families to thank them for stepping up to protect the pack.

And with each one, I felt a sense of growing dread.

I was pulled aside rather forcefully by Elder Jacobs, a former Enforcer for my grandfather on my dad’s side. He was a short, dark blond-haired man who was still well-muscled and strong for an Elder.

“This is a good thing, young Anais. We needed something to get the pack spirits up. The men needed this, too; we’ve been getting too complacent and lazy with our duties, which is why we lost our best people yesterday. A good fight will always do us well!”

I wanted to punch his face in. I was used to him, though—he had always been a warmonger. I guess it came with the territory of being an Enforcer. So, instead, I smiled and moved on.

If I had stood there with him, a fight would surely have broken out between the two of us. How had my mother kept from murdering all of these people? She’d been carrying this burden with only the Kilian Beta pair at her side for years.

I had a newfound respect for my mother. She’d taken me to her meetings with the Elders so that I could understand how the pack ran and how she kept us all safe, but I’d never really understood until now how important her life had been in keeping the peace within the pack.

These men vying for the title of Alpha male were all self-serving in some way. Power, ego, manipulation—take one reason or another, but none of them truly had the pack’s interests at heart.

They all thought being the Alpha meant absolute power. If that was the case, I wouldn’t have been in this mess in the first place, and instead would have told the Elders to shove their “mated pair” suggestion up their hairy asses.

I was just about done playing politics. My jaw was starting to lock up at all the fake smiling, and I just wanted to go home.

I was not going to be my mother. I would not have every moment of my life taken over by the pack.

As I made my way away from the town square, Elder Hilana stopped me, and I cursed my bad luck. Just a few feet closer to the food warehouse and I could have sprinted away, escaping the crowded square.

“Anais! I’m so glad I caught you,” she said, giving me a wide smile. “Listen. I know it’s a difficult time for you with what happened and all, but I promise you that it will work out.”

She patted my arm and looped hers around mine, pulling me along with her, away from the square.

“Will it?” I scoffed, turning to look at her.

Our eyes met, and then my steps came to a halt.

Her usually dark brown eyes were taking on a bright honey hue, glowing in the fading evening light. I gasped and tried to look away, but I was held firm, unable to look away from her mesmerizing eyes even if I wanted to.

My body took on a certain heaviness, and I felt myself beginning to slowly slip to the floor.

I blinked, and then I was upright once more. Hilana’s eyes were back to normal.

I had heard of her powers before, but I’d never witnessed them myself. She was the wise woman of the pack not just for her long-standing knowledge, but because she had some seer’s blood running through her veins.

A sudden calm rush went over me, along with the reassurance that if she said things were going to be okay, then they just might be. A seer was a precious commodity in a pack; although they couldn’t always tell the future, they often sensed danger.

Had Hilana sensed what would happen to my mother? Why hadn’t she seen the danger and warned us? More fighters could have been ready, and this…

“I am not all-seeing, Anais. If I had any knowledge of what would happen to Saira, I would have warned her. I’m so sorry.”

“How did you know I was thinking that?”

If this woman could read minds, I would have to make sure I was very careful around her from now on.

“No, I can’t read minds. It would just be a natural thought process, given what happened. Not to mention that you have a very expressive face,” she said, her smile mischievous and catching as I, too, broke out in a grin.

She patted my hand and removed her arm from mine, shooing me away.

I looked around, realizing that we’d reached my own studio cabin and not my mother’s larger home.

When had I gotten here? I hadn’t even realized how far we’d walked.

It was now dark, and solar lights had come on all around the grounds.

I needed to get my head straight. I couldn’t be distracted at a time like this. We’d just had a demon attack with the loss of some very important lives—I needed to be on alert, ready at all times.

“Thank you for coming to me, Hilana,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”

I turned and stepped up onto my small porch, reaching for the handle of my door, but stopped and turned back.

“Hilana?” I called out, and she turned back to face me. “What did you see? What makes you think it will be alright?”

Her expression took on a faraway look, like someone concentrating on something in the distance, before focusing on me once again.

“I saw the return of the Alpha male.”

She nodded her head in a sort of finality, then headed back toward the town square.

I furrowed my brow in confusion as I opened my door and went inside.

That… hadn’t made any sense.

The return of the Alpha male? What Alpha male?