“Touché.” We strolled into the room, and everyone stared at us as we headed to the stage. My father and mother gave me a curious look, Danika’s mouth was hanging open at the sight of us, but Sawyer looked like he would jump into the air. When we got up to the stage, I turned to Amora and kissed her hand before she went over to her family. I stayed with my mom as my dad walked up to the front of the stage.
“Now that my son decided to grace us with his appearance. We can proceed with the ceremony!” He raised his arms, silencing the chuckling that resounded through the crowd. “Tonight, Nolen will take over the Alpha title, and while he has yet to find his Luna, we’re certain that she will be found soon. Without further ado, we will start the ceremony.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Amora and winked at her. She grinned and leaned into Danika’s ear and said something to her. Turning back around, I faced the pack that I would be leading. One of the elders walked by me to my father with the ceremonial dagger. Stepping forward where the elder stood between us, I observed the crowd. My heart was racing; I had never been good at being in front of a group of people.
“Rhyolite pack! From this moment forward, you will be under a new leader. Under this new moon, we will bring a new Alpha to lead the pack.” The elder’s voice was loud and strong for being as old as he was. He continued with the ceremonial words, and I tuned him out until he grabbed hold of my left wrist and slit my palm, along with my father’s. He placed them both together and started chanting; I sensed the power course through our hands as the leadership passed from my father to me. It took all my strength and Sarge’s to keep us standing as the power started to ebb.
I pulled my hand away, and at that moment, I felt stronger than I had ever experienced. Sarge was at the surface, trying to come free, and instead of holding him back, I let him out. Within seconds the large black and grey wolf stood in my spot, Sarge’s mind became sharper, and when he looked out over the pack, they all knelt and bared their necks to him.
Chapter Fifteen: Alpha Nolen
My father stayed by me to help when I needed him to. Axel joined the ranks that night too. He was with me in every meeting and helped with keeping chaos down, since a few of the wolves who’d bullied me didn’t think I should be Alpha without my mate. It’s not like I didn’t want her; I just couldn’t claim her at this moment.
I ended up telling Axel, Lucas, and Daylen about Amora. Which seemed to put them all three at ease. At which point they decided to tease me about her, and I realized they were trying to make me feel included.
I found out Axel had found his mate from one of the other packs, and she’d stayed behind to be with him. Daylen found his as well; she was a little shy at first, especially with me since I was now Alpha, but it didn’t take her long to realize I was not like the others she had been around.
Sitting at my father’s desk—well, mine, I went through the financial paperwork. My father kept them very well managed. We always maintained room to do what needed to be done without going above our means.
Rhyolite was a large pack, and with it being as sizable as it was, it meant other packs who happened to not be our allies wanted to overthrow us. One was Alpha Wade and the Dolostone pack, who continued to make threats, and my warriors and I continued to push back the threats they tried to make good on.
Yesterday had been one such attack, but we’d pushed them back with little force. I felt like they persisted in trying to find our weak spots, but they had not been able to break past. Axel and Lucas thought the same; we doubled our patrols to keep the rest of the pack safe.
Sawyer had not been attacked, and he kept me updated on how Amora was doing since I couldn’t run off and sneak around to see her anymore. She started texting me more since we kissed, and it made me feel so much better that she would actually talk to me. Sawyer planned a massive party for her birthday.
I had already purchased my gifts for her, and I was excited to be there when she shifted. Once she was ours, we would be stronger, and then we could take Alpha Wade. Sarge sat on his haunches, his tail sweeping the floor.
The long wait would be over in a couple of weeks, and she would be by my side for the rest of my life. Figuring out how to get Alpha Wade to stop attacking us happened to prove challenging. My warriors began to train harder for the looming battle. My pack drilled twice as hard now that the threats were more frequent. My father had decided he needed to be involved with the pack, so he’d become one of the trainers.
Sir! We have Dolostone wolves at the gate. Alpha Wade is here as well! One of the patrol wolves’ mind linked me urgently. I stood up from my desk while Sarge snarled in my head. These wolves were relentless in their pursuit of my pack.
I’m on my way. I opened the doors to my office and stripped as I shifted into Sarge. This Alpha thinks he can just show up unannounced; I will rip his head from his shoulders! We made it to the gate, where wolves and humans snarled and yelled at each other.
Shifting back to my human form, I waded through the crowd. My pack hushed as I passed them, I knew being naked got their attention, but the aura I now possessed did as well. Alpha Wade sneered at me as I stepped in front of him. I crossed my arms over my chest; Axel and Lucas stood on either side of me in wolf form, fangs showing in silent snarls. “Alpha Wade, is there a reason you are here at my gate with a battalion of warriors?”
“I’m here to take your territory and pack. Concede now, or there will be no more of your line.” Alpha Wade took a step closer to me; the two wolves beside me gave him a warning growl, one even snapped at his feet, his eyes shot over to them, but they held their ground.
“That won’t happen. I will not hand my territory and pack over just like that. You might be able to convince other alphas to do that, but you won’t obtain mine without a fight.” Approving howls and voices rose behind me as I continued to glare at Alpha Wade.
“That’s fine. I will take your pack and territory by force. I wouldn’t sleep too hard at night.” He turned to walk away from me. His wolves still growling and snapping at mine, I wouldn’t let him slaughter my pack in their sleep. Pups would not be afraid to go to sleep at night.
“No, we will end this with an Alpha challenge. No other wolves will be hurt. We fight now, or you leave and never set foot back on my territory again.” Alpha Wade stopped in his tracks before he turned to me, his eyes the color of his wolf’s as a sadistic grin played on his face.
Amora
The more people talked about the prophecy and started to compare it with Nolen and his family, I finally decided to do some research for myself. I made my way to the library archives in the older part of the packhouse. Sawyer had mentioned it to me, and then I’d heard whispers about it from the pack.
I loved coming to the library; the smell of the books put me more at ease than anything. Well, almost anything, Nolen definitely was number one now. I was excited since my eighteenth birthday was two weeks away. Finding out who my mate would be scared me as well; what if it wasn’t Nolen?
Shaking my head, I turned my attention to the task at hand. I went further back into the catacombs of books until I found the shelf I had been searching for. Ambling down the aisle, I came to the section I needed and pulled up a step stool. Climbing it, I peered at the titles before finding the one I thought would help me.
Taking the book to the closest table, I opened it to start my hunt for answers. Reading through the pages of this book gave me no more insight than what I had heard in town.
Two siblings’ destinies intertwine. Both unmated. One must lose while the other shall die to restore the balance and fuel the destiny written in the stars. Only then can man and wolf be with their one true mate.
What could this mean? It could be Nolen and Archer. His brother died seven years ago, but how would Nolen lose? How did their destinies intertwine?
Snapping the book shut, I replaced it back where I found it. Then there was the dream I had when Nolen shifted for the first time, running to someone and then another laughing cruelly as the person I ran to sprinted away from me.