Blood moon

Chapter 43. Competition of two alphas

The werewolves carried Hunter's body to the family home. They felt more respect for the youngest of the alphas than ever before, rumors of his might were rife, the color of his eyes tipped the balance of power in his favor, a war was breaking out and the man in question who would be willing to fight, lay unconscious in his room.

Body parts were systematically buried along the border as a warning to the werewolves of the Garroway family, war was on their doorstep and the pack was preparing for it, the families of every possible warrior, were being put on alert, the children had been instructed to run to demarcated shelters in case of an attack.

The herd elders had determined a perimeter of security measures. Harold didn't think it was enough, a group of elite women were on missions away from the city, he gave the order to return home, there was no way they were going to miss the fight of the war, because the first thing he would know for sure was that the women of that pack were out there, planting bombs or anything that was going to harm them as a community.

Weaken and divide, that was the policy George Garroway was running with. What if he used the children? Harold mused, it had been a tough few days he was having, first his children rebelling, the human scandal and now he had a bloody graveyard of bodies on his grounds.

The other herds would see him as a threat, he crossed his fingers and mulled it over with a glass of Whiskey. He made a few calls to make sure everyone was aware of what happened, he wouldn't admit that his youngest son lost control or change the color of his eyes, because that was a tricky thing to do. If they found out about that kind of alpha, they would come to fight him, they wanted to know who is the strongest and they would have a worse problem on their hands, trying to control egos in a small town.

Harley knew something happened until nightfall. After he had been a couple of times with Andrea over the conference table, and finished the work day, she left for home. Then the company president came across a list of voicemail messages, quite long. As soon as he started listening he was out of breath and energy.

—Hunter killed a dozen people— one of her sources told her.

—He managed to change the color of his eyes— he was intrigued.

—His eyes turned crimson with the first dead man, ripped out his throat and dismembered them soon after— the way they explained the situation was the really tricky part. He couldn't imagine anything like that happening, his brother is giggly, funny and smart, he didn't understand how he ended up killing so many people, even if they were from an enemy pack.

—It's time for you to come home, son— the message from the leader of the herd, was what made the situation completely different —Your brother did something unthinkable, you should come to the house so you can fix the situation, because if you don't come back now, you won't have a herd to lead.

He knew the rumors and the old stories about what those eyes meant. The Goddess had seen the werewolves do very well, they healed the transcendent people of the town and had founded a whole community, but they forgot who the person was that guided them and led them to be what they were. Faced with the lack of loyalty, the goddess was waiting for a long time in the clearing, as soon as she realized that the wolves had forgotten their loyalty she decided to punish them.

She proceeded to give them just what they deserved, several men suddenly became alpha, with that kind of power the men became crazy with hormones to fight, the two brothers couldn't keep up with the fights, the broken ribs didn't heal as fast as they did now, but they had to fight, over and over again, hurt, until they felt they were about to die they remembered the woman who had gotten them into it.

They went looking for her in the lake, but this time she didn't show up. They begged her again for many nights, her routine attracted the other alphas, several were arrogant, trying to pick fights in a place of peace. The fights spread one moon after another, only one of them opposed the violence, he tried to calm them down in a reasonable way, although they believed in the wild instinct, seeing that they had chosen to kill each other, with the gift he gave them, he proceeded to return, as a last time and gave the red eyes to one of the brothers.

This one ended up exterminating almost everyone there, leaving only three men alive. That day something changed, in the structure of the herd's relationships.

—How is Hunter?— was the first thing he could ask, it was his younger brother after all, Harley was worried that things would turn out like that and he would attack the men of his own herd, he was thankful that he had at least had the necessary sanity to only kill his enemies.

—He is still unconscious— confirmed the security men. Just now one of them was patrolling the town waiting for a sign of a threat. Harley understood then how dangerous the situation was for Andrea, if it was discovered that they had a relationship, it would be dangerous.

—I want you to go take care of Andrea Smith, she's a human girl...she— the words couldn't even come out of the company president's mouth, let alone the next leader of the pack.

—Mr. Harold, he had already given that order, after all she is the mate of an alpha— Harley gasped at the respect they professed in those words, it wasn't about his father's order, but his brother's eyes had turned red, showing the power he had inside him, that compromised the chain of command, even when everyone believed their strategies and vision would be the future, the wolves respected the strongest.

He didn't want to know what the consequences would be if they fought.

—Very well— was all he could summarize.

—Mr. Harold asked to stay in the office until the facts change, he is still the man who runs the economy that keeps us a pack— there it was, they no longer respected him.

—Of course, I will do what I think is necessary to improve the company and keep my herd safe— Harley's tone of voice left no room for reply, it was evident that he was upset.

—Yes, sir.

The herd's thinking had changed radically, now they no longer believed that Harley was the right man for the job, even if he could make a lot of money, they didn't think he had what it took to kill those twelve people who had tried to attack people's integrity. They needed a man capable of protecting them and doing whatever it took to get the right results.

—I'm in a hurry— he commented aloud to Harley, grabbed his sack from his saddle, he cared very little what his father or the pack thought now. He would really go see her, if his brother wasn't looking out for her, the men of the herd couldn't do it properly, if George Garroway was around, he would be the best one to defend her.

He headed towards Andrea's house, as soon as he walked down the streets he could feel the temperature change. There were all kinds of men on the streets these days, it was one of those days when everyone wanted to drink, as he approached her neighborhood, he thought that it was not a very safe one, how come nobody informed him about that?

Hunter should be more cautious about the woman he supposedly loved, because playing house was a mistake. She was a woman who needed more. He hoped to see her, feel her warm body like this afternoon and make her his wife, while he could because as things were turning upside down, Hunter would surely keep the boss and he would be given the company, it wouldn't be a bad deal, but it would be a lousy one.

Harley knocked on the door, waiting for her to answer, when the door opened he gasped, tongue on the floor and jaw wide open.