NightStar Summit

14. Alpha

COLTON

Kat and I ended up talking to each other for hours that night. I probably would have talked to her all night long too if I hadn't been interrupted by Cameron who was less than pleased with some of the decisions I had made tonight.

Noah's mom said she would help Kat change her bandage one more time before she went to bed and then get her all set up for the rest of the night so I could do whatever Cameron needed to be done.

By the time I had realized that I didn't need to be taking orders from him, it was too late and we were already outside with the rest of my tired pack. The adults were all huddled around a bonfire, their children presumably already sleeping in the beds.

"I recommend you sit down for this, son," Cameron said solemnly before gripping my shoulder roughly.

I waited behind everyone, away from the warmth of the fire as he made his way to the middle of the group, the Pack Elders standing up behind him, their hands folded in front of them and their heads bowed as if in mourning.

"Tonight," Cameron started speaking, loud enough for us all to hear. My mind just automatically went to the worst, I knew what he was going to say. I was stupid to think that this wouldn't be happening right now. "Tonight we lose a friend...a brother...a father...our Alpha. Despite our best efforts and I'm sure his as well, Alpha Ryan was murdered..."

My knees gave out and I would have fallen to the ground had there not been another person standing next to me. He grabbed me, something in me suddenly snapping and instead of being sad, I was filled with the deepest rage I had ever experienced. I had never felt anything like this, the closest comparable thing probably would have been all of the surging hormones that came with puberty but even then...

I pushed the middle aged man away from me with so much force it knocked him over, his head colliding with a freshly cut tree stump. Some of the females gasped and rushed over to help him as I stepped over him and walked to the center of the crowd, stopping a few inches from the hooded Pack Elders.

"Colton," one of them said lowly.

I knew I couldn't do f**k all to retaliate against this right now if I wasn't officially the alpha. They were planning on rescheduling my ceremony but they were going to have to rethink that now, "We're having my Ceremony. Tonight."

"It's late. We can do it first thing in the morning. Half the Pack is already sleeping."

"Then wake them up," I growled.

I needed to kill something. Anything.

I whipped around as the Elders started whispering amongst themselves, scouting out the crowd of possible challengers.

My eyes immediately fell on Forrest who had his face buried in his hands, grief stricken.

I took long strides towards him, grabbed him by his fleece jacket and made him stand up, "Challenge me," I said.

"Colton, stop," he shoved me away but that only pissed me off more.

"You wanted to be the Alpha so bad. f*****g fight me for it!"

His eyes bore daggers into me and that was when I completely lost it.

KATARINA

There was a lot going through my mind so it came as no surprise to me that I couldn't fall asleep. Well, there was that and the fact that the people outside were making a hell of a lot of noise.

Sadie was here but she hadn't said a word to me, despite my best efforts. She was upset and that was totally understandable but there wasn't anything I could do to get us out of this right now.

She curled up in a ball on the bed, her back to me. I heard an occasional sob but I stopped asking her what was wrong after being denied several times already. I just gave her her space and moved over to the window seat, sliding open the blackout curtain just enough for me to peek through.

There was a large bonfire outside with a group of people huddled around it. Off to the side a little was a large pole that definitely didn't seem to belong there and at the end of said pole was a shackled Connor. He looked like he had seen better days. His eyes were black, face swollen, head straining to the side with exhaustion.

I just couldn't feel bad for him though. He deserved everything that came his way.

I trained my eyes back on the ornery group of people as a fight appeared to be breaking out. I actually found it quite terrifying that I recognized the two people involved.

Colton and Forrest.

Colt had Forrest by the throat as they exchanged heated words, words that I couldn't quite make out over Sadie's crying.

Forrest took a swing but Colt blocked it and twisted his arm behind his back in the most unnatural of positions. Forrest fell to his knees and writhed around, trying to escape his brother's menacing hold on him. He managed to break free but it honestly looked like Colton intentionally loosened his grip.

Angry and probably pretty embarrassed, Forrest hopped back up only to be knocked back down by a powerful punch to the face.

I figured Colt might have stopped there but he jumped on top of an already KO'd Forrest and started delivering blow after blow.

I couldn't watch that anymore.

I closed the curtain quickly and stumbled around in the bedroom to try to find the light switch. I found it after running into every loose object and switched it on, the light illuminating in an eerie yellow color.

Sadie shot up, her puffy red eyes glaring at me.

"I need to get out of here," I said, now worried that I might start crying.

It was obvious that I knew absolutely nothing about Colton because I never in a million years thought he would be the kind of person that could so viciously attack his own brother like that. And for what reason?

What would happen to me if I were to stay here?

"Why? You were just gushing about Colt two minutes ago?" her voice was hoarse, "Good luck getting past the hunters or even Mrs. Marz. She never leaves this place and as soon as she saw us, she would definitely alert someone. They don't trust me, Kat which means they don't trust you."

I moved back over the window to see that Colt was gone and now a mob of people surrounded Forrest as he laid limp, blood covering his face and making him unrecognizable. "Oh my god," I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming, the severity of the situation showing itself in that very moment. I was a sitting duck here, dinner to a literal pack of wolves. "Sadie, please. We need to try."

"You can try all you want. He'd always be able to find you, he marked you, Kat. He's never letting you go now. And by the sounds of it..." Sadie pressed her back against the wooden frame of the full sized bed, "You'd be making an Alpha very angry."

I swallowed hard before gently sitting back down on the window seat. My fate was sealed and I couldn't do f**k all to change it.

"We're stuck here then?"

"You're stuck here. I'm only going to be here until they decide to murder me."

"Mrs. Marz brought you here to keep me company though. Why would she have done that if you were going to be killed? You don't think I would have a say?"

"Kat, you don't get a say when it comes to the Alpha. I'm screwed, you're f****d and the rest is history."