"Yes, but the Council's plan to put the Beta in place depends on him mating you for stability. If you don't do it, we can push for the Alpha position to be put to competition. Eligible Alpha blood members would gather and compete, with the winner granted the job. Beta Todd would be hard pressed to win against such a field."
"Option two," I said. "I tell the Council that the Alpha position is mine by line of succession, and that if someone wants to challenge me, they can do so."
"Beta Todd will certainly challenge you, and some other Pack members might as well. If you survive, there are bound to be challenges from outside the Pack as well. There are no female Alphas who are not widowed, and even those lose power quickly." My Uncle never sugar-coated things for me.
"And with my fighting skills, I won't survive, or at minimum I will be exiled." Alpha challenges were normally to the death, but no challenger was ever allowed to stay in the Pack after losing.
I chose the third option. For better or worse, I was Alpha right now, and it was time to use that.
I called the senior Pack members to my office, a little pissed that it smelled more like Todd now than my parents. Beta Todd was notably absent. "Should I get the Beta," my Theta and head of the guards, Nicholas, asked me.
"No but have a vehicle and two warriors stationed outside the Pack House, we'll be needing it." I sat in my father's chair. The other members were the junior Beta Victoria, who was in charge of the Pack House and facilities, and Delta Jacob, who was in charge of training the young ones. "What I show you next is not to be shared to anyone outside this room without my permission," I said, bringing my Alpha power to the forefront.
"Of course, Alpha," they all replied. I showed them the conversation from last night, but only the part where they talked about abandoning the search for Niesha. I could feel their anger; she was a Pack member, and no one else believed she had run off.
"I cannot allow the Council to install Beta Todd as Alpha of my pack, nor take him as a mate, when he cares so little for my family and a fellow Pack member. We are family, and we don't give up on family, ever," I said. "For the crime of abandonment of a Pack member, I will be expelling Beta Todd from the Pack. Bring him to the car," I said.
"Alpha, is that wise," Beta Victoria said. "The Council is still here, and we all know they plan to make him Alpha."
"They can't confirm him as Alpha if he isn't Pack," I said. "And I will never mate with that vile man. If the Council thinks I am going to roll over and play submissive mate to someone they choose for me, they don't me and they don't know this Pack. When I explain to everyone what is going on, the Pack will support me. My family has guided this Pack for centuries, and it won't stop now. Get the Beta, and bring him to the front of the Pack House."
"Yes, Alpha," the Gamma and Delta said as they walked out.
I gave them a few minutes to find him before sending a broadcast over the link. "Wolves of the Tomah Pack, meet in front of the Pack House immediately. Attendance is mandatory for any member not on duty."
I walked out of the office, Beta Victoria walking behind me, and my family and friends joined me at the staircase. We walked out to find Beta Todd standing by the car, flanked by the Delta and Gamma. "What is the meaning of this," Todd said.
"Beta Todd has decided to abandon the search for Niesha Hunt, leaving a Pack Mate in the clutches of whoever took her. I will not abide such behavior from one of my Betas. Beta Todd is hereby stripped of rank and is expelled from the Tomah Pack. Warriors, take him away," I said.
He didn't move, and the Delta and Gamma didn't make him. He stared at me, meeting my eyes in challenge, but I wasn't backing down. "You don't have the authority to expel me from the Pack," he sneered. "You're a spoiled bitch who's never had to fight for a thing in her life. This Pack will never accept a young, weak and stupid female such as yourself as their Alpha, nor will the Council or other Packs," he said.
"I... AM... ALPHA," I growled out. Some of the Pack members submitted, but less than half.
He looked around and smirked. "Then I challenge you for the Alpha position," Beta Todd said. He looked over at the Council members who nodded their assent; if I wasn't going to go along with their plan, they would put their man in anyway.
"The CIRCLE," I said as I walked down the steps. The Pack stepped aside, letting us pass as we went to the dirt and grass circle behind the large garage building where we held challenges.
"You lost your gambit, you need to yield before he kills you," my Uncle sent to me. "We will take you in."
"I have to do this, win or lose," I said. I was still mad at how it had gone down, people I thought would be loyal to me were more loyal to Beta Todd. He was seen as "alpha-like" while I was just a girl, and that fed my anger.
I shed my clothes and shifted into my light tan and white wolf as we reached the circle. I paced back and forth, watching him as he peeled off his clothing and handed it to the Gamma before shifting to his black and tan wolf. I should have known he would alert the Council, and they probably said something to Pack members before I did. The betrayal left a bitter taste in my mouth.
The Chairman walked into the ring. "Since the position of Alpha of the Tomah Pack has not been established by the Council or by combat, this challenge is for the position. As with all challenges, it is to death or submission, with the fate of the loser solely at the discretion of the winner. No one is to interfere with the challenge and leaving the circle will result in forfeiture of the challenge and death. May Luna's will be done." He left the circle, and it was on.
My wolf was large for a bitch, three feet tall at the shoulder and a hundred and twenty pounds. I was fast and agile, but I was at a distinct experience and size disadvantage. Beta Todd's wolf was almost a foot taller, plus he had almost a hundred pounds on me. "Any advice, uncle?"
"Stay away, use your speed and try to bleed him enough to weaken him," he said. "Don't let it turn into a wrestling match or it's over."
I growled at him, and he raised his hackles and growled back. "I will enjoy the taste of your blood and your submission," he taunted.
"Bite me," I responded.
"That was the plan, but I don't think I want you anymore. I can have my pick of far more beautiful and capable she-wolves than you."
I attacked first, dashing in and raking my right front claw across his right haunch before he could spin away. He lunged after me, and I quickly changed direction, but his teeth caught just above my tail and he slashed my skin open. The Pack howled at the blood we had drawn, wolves loved a good fight.
I darted away, using the space in the circle to avoid him. He stayed in the center, letting me tire myself out. We traded slashes and bites, and soon both of us had coats soaked in blood. The difference was that the blood loss was affecting my speed more than his strength.
I was losing.
I darted in again, using a move he had seen before, but this time when he turned and leaped after me I reversed and put my shoulder low onto his. He wasn't ready for that, and he tumbled over me onto his back. I followed quick as lightning, my jaws going for his throat. I got a good grip, biting down hard and shaking to try and rip the chunk out.
He lowered his head, keeping me from moving the bite upwards from its current point high on his chest. It was too low to kill him, too far from his spine, and it left me vulnerable to counterattack. His back claws raked down my chest and stomach, opening up long slices. I shifted my body, but the damage was building fast and I was starting to lose blood rapidly. If I held on, I'd be disemboweled in a few moments.
I let go, and he was up on his feet in an instant. I backed away, my stomach bleeding and making movement difficult. He pushed his advantage, charging me and this time I couldn't get out of the way soon enough. He knocked me onto my back, and as I rolled away, he jumped on top of me with his teeth around the back of my neck.
The wounds and blood loss had sapped my strength, and as his teeth pushed deeper into my neck and my face was pushed into the dirt, I made my peace with death. "Submit," he demanded.
"No." I expected him to shake his head and snap my neck, but instead he just kept up the pressure. "Just kill me so I can haunt your ass for the rest of your life."
"The Pack will not appreciate their Alpha killing a female who hasn't reached maturity," he said with a sigh before broadcasting to the Pack and assembled wolves. "Nisha Hunt is cast out from the Tomah Pack and is made rogue. No one may speak of her or assist her in any way, or they will face treason charges. Any Pack who takes her in will face the wrath of the Tomah Pack."
I blacked out.
It was daylight when I woke again, weak and incredibly sore, somewhere outside Pack territory in the woods. It took me ten minutes to get up on my paws, another ten to limp to a nearby stream and take a drink.
I had no money, no clothing and no Pack. My life would never be the same.
Erica's POV
Michelle and I watched in horror as our best friend Nisha lost the challenge, leaving her a bloody mess on the dirt of the challenge circle. Our new Alpha's voice blasted into our heads. "Nisha Hunt is cast out from the Tomah Pack and is made rogue. No one may speak of her or assist her in any way, or they will face treason charges. Any Pack who takes her in will face the wrath of the Tomah Pack."
"Oh shit, what do we do, Erica?"
"Stay here and warn me if anyone is heading towards her room."
She looked at me in horror. "What are you doing?"
"You're not involved, Michelle. You have family here, I don't." I moved towards the back, once hidden by the edge of the garage I ran back to the Pack House and up to Nisha's room in the Alpha Wing. Grabbing a backpack out of her closet, I quickly filled it with clothes, underwear and practical shoes. I put her purse in there, and her photos I took out of the frames and put into a pocked in the flap. The last things I took were in her desk, her banking information and the papers from her parent's will. Zipping it all up, I ran back out of the room and down to my Mini Cooper. I drove off Pack lands as quick as I could, the last thing I needed was to be summoned back. "Michelle, which direction did the warriors take her?"
"West," she replied. I drove around in the dark through neutral territory from the south to the west side; since Tomah was trapped near the junction of Highways 90 and 94, and the Pack owned huge cranberry bogs in the area, it took a while to make my way. I got to within a mile of the western border and stopped the car along the gravel road. Getting out, I started to scent.
I couldn't link Nisha or even tell if she was alive, the Pack bond had been broken now. When I didn't smell anything, I moved a mile farther up the road and tried again, and this time I smelled blood.
Leaving the car behind, I got out and put the backpack on. I made my way through the forested land towards the source of the smell, and my heart dropped when I sensed her. She was still unconscious, but her wounds were healing. I got close enough to hear her shallow breathing and rapid heartbeat, but I couldn't get too close. If someone checked and found my scent with hers, I'd be busted for sure.
I hung her pack from a tree branch, hoping she would scent me when she woke and find it.
I'd come back tonight and make sure she was gone.