The alpha I hated

Chapter 16:The pack alpha

ELIAS'S POV

It had been three days since Noah left to find Daisy. Three long days of lying to the pack about where their Alpha had gone.

I stood on the porch of the pack house, watching the younger wolves play in the yard. They were laughing and wrestling like normal pups, but I could see the worry in their eyes. They knew something was wrong, even if they didn't know what.

"Beta Elias," a voice said behind me.

I turned to see Marcus, one of the pack elders, walking up the steps. His gray hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and his weathered face looked serious.

"Marcus," I said, nodding to him. "What can I do for you?"

"The council wants to speak with you," he said. "About Noah."

My stomach dropped. The council of elders was made up of the five oldest and most respected wolves in the pack. If they wanted to talk about Noah, it meant they were getting suspicious about his absence.

"Of course," I said, trying to sound calm. "When?"

"Now," Marcus said. "They're waiting in the meeting hall."

I followed Marcus through the pack house to the large room where the council held their meetings. The other four elders were already sitting around the wooden table in the center of the room. Elder Sarah, Elder James, Elder Robert, and Elder Catherine. All of them looked worried.

"Elias," Elder Sarah said when I walked in. "Please, sit down."

I took the empty chair across from them and tried to look relaxed.

"We need to talk about Noah," Elder James said without any introduction. "It's been three days since he left on this supposed business trip, and we haven't heard anything from him."

"Business trips can take time," I said. "You know how these negotiations with other packs can go."

"What pack is he meeting with?" Elder Robert asked.

I had been dreading this question. When I first told them Noah was on a business trip, I had been vague about the details. But now they wanted specifics.

"The Mountain Ridge Pack," I said, picking a pack that was far enough away that it would take days to travel there. "There's been some territorial disputes that need to be worked out."

"The Mountain Ridge Pack," Elder Catherine repeated slowly. "I've never heard of any territorial disputes with them."

"It's a new situation," I lied. "Something that came up suddenly."

The elders looked at each other, and I could see they weren't buying my story.

"Elias," Elder Sarah said gently, "we've known you since you were a pup. We can tell when you're not telling us the truth."

I looked around the table at their faces. These people had helped raise me. They had trained me to be Beta. They deserved better than lies.

But I couldn't tell them the truth. If they knew Noah had left to save Daisy, they would explode with anger. The pack had never accepted Daisy as Noah's mate. They blamed her for everything that had gone wrong in recent months.

"I'm telling you the truth," I said. "Noah is on pack business. He'll be back soon."

"How soon?" Elder James asked.

"A few more days," I said. "Maybe a week at most."

Elder Robert leaned forward in his chair. "Elias, the pack is getting restless. The younger wolves are asking questions. The patrol schedules are falling apart because everyone's confused about who's in charge."

"I'm in charge," I said. "Noah left me in command until he returns."

"But you're not the Alpha," Elder Catherine said. "You can't make certain decisions. You can't perform certain rituals. You can't..."

"I can keep the pack safe," I interrupted. "And that's what matters right now."

Elder Sarah stood up from her chair and walked over to the window. She was quiet for a long moment, looking out at the pack grounds.

"There's something else," she said finally. "Something we haven't told you yet."

"What do you mean?"

"We've been getting reports," Elder James said. "Strange reports from the town. People talking about lights in the sky. Buildings that were destroyed overnight. And..."

He paused, looking uncomfortable.

"And what?" I asked.

"And bodies," Elder Catherine finished. "Lots of bodies. Torn apart by something with claws and fangs."

I felt my blood turn cold. That sounded like vampire attacks. Which meant Noah and Daisy were probably right in the middle of whatever was happening.

"The humans think it was wild animals," Elder Robert said. "But we know better. Those weren't animal attacks."

"Vampires," I said quietly.

"Vampires," Elder Sarah agreed, turning back from the window. "And not just any vampires. Old ones. Powerful ones."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because we sent scouts to investigate," Elder James said. "They reported back that the entire town smells like ancient death and old magic."

"And there's something else," Elder Marcus said. "Our scouts picked up Noah's scent in the town. Fresh scent. From yesterday."

I tried not to let my relief show on my face. If Noah's scent was fresh, that meant he was still alive as of yesterday.

"So he's not at the Mountain Ridge Pack," Elder Catherine said. "He's in town. In the middle of whatever vampire war is happening there."

There was no point in lying anymore. They had figured out the truth.

"Yes," I said. "He's in town."

"With her," Elder Sarah said, and there was disgust in her voice. "With that vampire girl."

"Her name is Daisy," I said. "And she's not just a vampire. She's Noah's mate."

"She's a curse on this pack," Elder Robert said angrily. "Ever since Noah started seeing her, we've had nothing but trouble. Vampire attacks, ancient magic, creatures hunting us in our own territory."

"That's not her fault," I said, but I could tell they didn't believe me.

"Isn't it?" Elder James asked. "Before she came along, we lived in peace. We hadn't seen a vampire in our territory for fifty years. Now they're everywhere."

"She's half werewolf," I said. "She has werewolf blood. That makes her one of us."

"No," Elder Catherine said firmly. "It doesn't. She's an abomination. A creature that shouldn't exist. And she's going to get our Alpha killed."

I stood up from my chair, anger building in my chest.

"Noah loves her," I said. "And she loves him. That should be enough."

"Love doesn't protect the pack," Elder Sarah said. "Noah's first duty is to us, not to some vampire hybrid."

"His first duty is to do what's right," I said. "And saving someone he loves is right."

The elders all looked at each other again, having one of those silent conversations that old people seem to have.

"Elias," Elder Marcus said finally, "the council has made a decision."

"What kind of decision?"

"We're calling Noah back," Elder Sarah said. "Immediately. And we're forbidding him from seeing the hybrid again."

"You can't do that," I said. "You can't interfere with an Alpha's mating bond."

"We can if that bond is putting the entire pack at risk," Elder Robert said.

"And if Noah refuses to come back?" I asked.

The elders were quiet for a moment.

"Then we'll have to consider choosing a new Alpha," Elder Catherine said softly.

I stared at them in shock. "You would replace Noah?"

"We would do what's necessary to protect the pack," Elder James said. "Even if it means making difficult choices."

"And who would you choose as the new Alpha?" I asked, though I was afraid I already knew the answer.

"You," Elder Sarah said. "You're the Beta. You're next in line. And you don't have any... complications in your personal life."

I felt sick. These people who had raised me, who had taught me every

thing I knew about being a werewolf, were asking me to betray my best friend.