Alpha Lance

Chapter 9 - Pep talks and plans

Lance’s POV

“Do you suppose dad was hinting that he wants us to start with Willamette Pack?” I ask Johnathan as I drive, hoping he might have more insights into how our father’s mind works. “Is that why he mentioned punching his cousin?”

“No way!” Johnathan exclaimed in alarm from the passenger seat. “That would just be suicidal. The Willamette pack is the largest and strongest pack in the whole state of Oregon! And if they don’t actually kill us, they will humiliate us and send word to the capital of our treason, and Alex would be forced to kill us.”

“Only kidding! That is definitely NOT my plan,” I reply, slightly alarmed that I might have done just that without Johnathan’s counsel. “I was just testing you.”

“Sure.”

We are both silent for a while, our minds full of conflicting plans and ideas. I can’t help myself from dwelling on the unfairness of it all. Anger starts to bubble up from deep inside of me until I can barely stand it.

“You know, I’m starting to think that grandpa Alexander actually hated me after all,” I complain bitterly after mulling things over for some time in silence. “He certainly hasn’t done me any favors with this stupid mating contract! It’s like he’s given me my own fated mate on a silver platter, and then snatched her away and given her to Alex like he has with every other good thing. I would have had a much better chance with Calliope if he hadn’t interfered!”

“Except in that case you might not have ever met her again,” Johnathan pointed out the truth to me. “Do you have any idea how far north her pack is in the Yukon Territory? Really far! When would you have ever gone there? And if Lycan King Henry hadn’t made that mating alliance contract with our grandfather, he probably would have made a contract with some other kingdom and you’d be wondering your whole life why you never met your mate.”

“I suppose you’re right,” I say, feeling a little depressed now. We are silent for several minutes before I am back on the topic of how to win my own fated mate, as if that should even be a thing. “Then where do you suggest we start?”

“We need to start small. Literally,” Johnathan states, as if it should have been completely obvious. And in retrospect, it kind of was. “We should begin with the weakest and most vulnerable Alphas. Then follow that up with the smaller packs. If we are still alive and healthy at that point, we start working our way up to the larger and tougher packs. With each pack that you conquer, you will become a larger and more powerful wolf that is capable of bigger and greater feats.”

“So it’s kind of like that video game with the fish?” I ask excitedly, quickly catching on to what my brother is telling me. “You know the one, where you are a fish and you get more and more points and get bigger the more fish you eat, but you die if you try to eat a fish that’s too big!”

“Yes, it’s exactly like that game. Only the consequences are real,” Johnathan states. “If the fish in the game dies you can just start the game over again. In this case it’s you who will be dead, and all the wolves that colluded with you. Don’t forget, it’s not just you who will be committing treason against the Lycan King.”

“Oh, yeah.”

That gave me pause. Is Calliope really worth it? If it were just myself whose neck was on the line, then absolutely she is! But risking the necks of other wolves was a whole different story. Do I have the right to be risking the lives of others just for my own benefit?

Ask Johnathan, Blade urges me. He can make up his own mind.

“Are you really OK with following me into this s**t show?” I ask, uncertain myself whether I’m even willing to risk the life of my own brother for this probably pointless task. “Because I could totally leave you in charge of Bull Run if you’re not. I completely understand if you’re not willing to risk your neck just for my mate.”

“Like I could live with the shame of sending you off to fight for your Queen Luna without me?” Johnathan claims, which surprises me greatly. “I’m no such coward! The job of being your Beta and second in command has always been a risky one. Together we have faced rogue attacks, wild fires, and the occasional irate guest at the ski resort. Besides, without the combination of my brains and your brawn I don’t really think you stand a snowballs chance in hell. While together we make an unstoppable team!”

“Thanks, bro,” I say, my voice catching slightly. I may have even teared up a little bit at my younger brother’s words. “I really appreciate you!”

And then we talk about which packs would probably be easiest to make our ally, and which ones would likely be more difficult to convince and which ones will likely require a fight. And we discuss how many wolves we need to take with us, and who those wolves should be. We don’t want to leave our own pack undefended while we are off trying to attack other packs.

It was well past midnight when we finally reach home, but we inform the rest of the pack officers via mind link that there would be an early morning briefing to discuss the future of Bull Run. And then Johnathan and I go straight to bed, both exhausted by the last couple days in the wolven capital city.

But I lie awake for a while, thinking of the plan Johnathan and I had come up with. I’m more than willing to fight other Alphas in order to win the hand of my mate, but only if diplomacy fails first. Most Alphas really don’t give a flying f**k which Lycan King they are beholden to just as long as the taxes are minimal, disputes are settled fairly, and the king doesn’t interfere too much in the running of their packs.

Most of these Oregon wolf packs had a fairly decent relationship with dad after working with him for so many years, both as the Alpha of Bull Run and later as Lycan King. None of them have had time to really develop the same sort of working relationship with Alex. So maybe I should try treating this task more like a political challenge campaign/popularity contest than an invasion? And may the best brother win!