To Cross An Alpha.
716 Words
I can feel my blood roaring in my ears.
This fucker. What gave him the balls to say something so... stupid!
His emotions cost Winter her safety. Winter was hurt, injured and afraid, because of his hatred. I could smell her fear even before I even reached her. She was so scared, and it's all because of him.
My anger must be so clear in my features that his face goes pale. Wolves were great at sensing and smelling the mood of a place, and if this man was any good, he would smell the anger pouring out of me in waves.
“I didn’t mean to…”
“Yes,” I interrupted. “You did. You think I can't smell your hatred? It doesn't matter how hard you try to hide it. I'm Alpha for a reason Logan.”
He swallows hard.
I took a step back, forcing my temper down before it crossed a line that could not be uncrossed. Fear was pouring off him now. Thick. Acrid. The smell of someone who had finally realized how badly they had misjudged a situation.
“You resent the treaty,” I said.
He hesitates again.
That was enough.
“You resent the attention Winter requires,” I continued. “The guards. The changes. The pressure.”
“That doesn’t mean I wanted her hurt,” he says quickly.
I tilt my head.
“I didn’t say that.”
His eyes widened slightly.
That was the slip.
“You said you sensed something was off,” I went on calmly. “You said security was needed. And yet you moved one guard instead of requesting reinforcements.”
“I did what I could.”
“You did what was convenient,” I corrected.
Silence pressed in around us.
I could almost hear the pieces clicking together in his mind as he realized where this was going.
“You knew moving Richard would leave another path weaker,” I said. “You knew the timing.”
“No,” he says, too fast. “I didn’t know there would be an attack.”
“But you knew it would expose her.”
His breathing turned shallow.
“I thought,” he said, voice shaking now, “I thought if something happened, it would prove a point.”
There it was.
The truth, dragged out by anger and pride.
My hands curled into fists at my sides. It's a pain trying not to shift on the spot and rip him to shreds.
“You used my security as a statement…” I said.
“Yes my King but I didn’t think she’d almost die…” he whispered.
“You used my resources, a force that is supposed to be a symbol of my pack strength because of personal strife.”
“You knew it could lead to war, to loss of lives, of my people, of our people, yet you still took that risk.”
He says nothing.
That was confirmation enough.
I straightened slowly, looking down at him with something colder than rage.
Disappointment.
“You will be confined,” I said. “Until I decide what is to be done with you.”
His head snapped up.
“My Alpha…”
“This conversation is over. Do not even utter another sound if you plan on living to see the next full moon.”
The finality in my voice left no room for argument.
I call for guards, who enter almost immediately.
As they led him away, Logan looked back at me, fear and resentment mixing in his expression.
I exhale once the room is empty.
Derrick’s words float by.
“This won’t fix anything,”
I stared at the stone wall for a long moment, my thoughts racing.
Logan was not the mastermind.
He was angry. Reckless. Short-sighted.
I knew it couldn't have been a wolf that attacked.
But it's possible that Wally may have been a tool.
Someone among my ranks to cause confusion and a gap in security so they can gain access.
Which meant someone else had guided the blade.
And somewhere behind all of this, someone was still watching.
Still waiting.
I turned back to the table, my gaze falling once more on the patrol reports.
This was only the beginning.
- Writer
