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“Fine, we’ll wait. But I’m increasing the patrols around the house, and you and Maddie will have four escorts if you leave pack lands.”
“That’s a bit overkill, don’t you think?”
“No.” Alrighty then.
After Maddie wakes up from her nap, Eli drives us back to his house. I head for the shower because I need to clean myself of the day's events. In the quiet of my room, I call a number I haven’t called in years; here’s hoping they haven’t turned against me like the rest of my old pack.
Chapter 12 - Eli
Dean’s standing by my desk as I enter my office in the pack house. His posture shows he has resigned himself to what's about to happen. My blood boils thinking about Quinn standing all alone, facing down two of her old pack mates. My wolf rises to the surface, unable to stop the wave of protectiveness coursing through me. I grab Dean by the shirt and push him up against the bookshelf lining the wall; books fall off as I stare into his eyes.
“One job, Dean! You had one job! Stay with them and protect them!” He doesn’t fight back because he knows what he did was wrong. As my Beta, he should have taken his role extremely seriously, even if he thought there wouldn’t be any danger. Vigilance is a crucial characteristic to have as a Beta. What blows my mind is that he is second in command; he has the most power in this pack besides me, which he disregards for fucking toothpaste! The fact that someone got anywhere near Quinn and Maddie shows gross incompetence—unless he was looking to leave her exposed intentionally, which seems unlikely but what other conclusion am I to come to?
“You’re lucky Quinn has a soft spot for you; I won't take you out for a much-deserved beating because of her. Instead, you’re going on assignment for the council and stepping down from being the Beta of this pack. You don't deserve the title, and until you can prove that you're not a completely incompetent ass, you will not be in the role of Beta.”
“I understand.” Dean doesn’t argue, which is good, because my wolf is itching for a fight; one comment might trigger my wolf, and I won't be able to control him. Our mate was harassed under our protection, and we failed to keep her safe. The guilt that rides me for rejecting her all those years ago is magnified because of my inability to protect her. Pushing against him, I pull off and head to the front of my desk.
“Send in Dominic; he will take over your role as Beta. The council will contact you to tell you where you will be headed.”
Dean nods and heads to the door; before exiting, he turns back around to me.
“I’m sorry, Eli…I know I put Quinn and Maddie in danger, and I know what I did was stupid. Something a young pup would do, not a seasoned member of this pack. I’ll prove I can be trusted again; you have my word, and no matter what, I will always be there to back you, even if I’m not your Beta.”
I nod at him, knowing he meant every word he said, but it doesn’t negate his negligence. If I let him off the hook for failing in his duties, it will show I have no control over my pack and will spark concerns about me as a leader, not to mention that others might try to take advantage of me. Hell, they might even try to challenge me for my Alpha position. Living in the shifter world isn’t easy; mistakes like that could lead to injury, or worse, death; we need to be vigilant. Walking to the window in my office, I look out over the property, trying to take in the scenery to calm my frayed nerves. After a few minutes, Dominic walks into my office and stands before me.
“You asked for me, Alpha?” Dominic is a good wolf. I’ve been thinking about promoting him in the pack for a while now. He is in his late twenties, but he can put down most of the strongest shifters in my pack. He is a dedicated wolf, always going above and beyond to work as a pack, even taking extra patrols so the mated shifters can spend extra time with their pups. He came to us a year ago after his pack was destroyed by several rogues. His pack wasn't all that big, but he has found a place here and has become a very well-respected warrior. I wanted to promote him for his hard work and dedication, not because my Beta screwed up royally. Either way, I don’t regret picking him for this position; I know he will do well. It helps that he is widely respected by the pack, making carrying out my instructions easier. Dean may be my friend, but he screwed up big time. His punishment is to show the pack my girls are not to be messed with, and that you need to take your job seriously in this pack. Never mind the fact that Dean needed to be reminded that his priority is on pack business, not grabbing some damn toothpaste.
“Yes, you will take over as Beta while Dean works with the council.” His eyebrows shoot up in surprise; I can’t blame him for that. He's only been here for a year, and getting promoted to second in command is a big deal.
“Effective immediately. You will start by attending a meeting with me to talk to the Elders. Afterwards you will talk to Dean about where he is in his duties so you can properly take over. Just so we’re clear, if I tell you to do something, you do it. Quinn and my daughter will be your priority to protect if I am not around to do it.”
“Of course, Alpha. What is this meeting about?”
“You’ve likely heard that I have a daughter named Maddie, and I am pursuing Quinn. You might not know that Quinn is my true mate, and she is from an ancient line of psychic shifters. She’s just had another vision about the threat against her, and I need to decide what will happen next.” He doesn’t seem shocked at all about the information I've given him; he just nods. I’m not sure why I thought he would say more, but I am pleased he is taking his new role with the seriousness it deserves. He was never really a chatty person; his stoicism and dedication are what drew my attention in the first place. Standing from my desk, I head to the meeting room where I am sure the Elders are impatiently waiting for me.
The half-dozen shifters sit around the table. Jim is the first to notice it’s not Dean standing with me, but Dominic.
“Where is the Beta?” Jim asks in confusion.
“You’re looking at the new Beta, Dominic. Dean foolishly allowed someone from Jake's pack to get too close to Quinn and Maddie, and for his mistake, he has been demoted and sent on a council assignment.” There are rumblings around the table; my decision obviously did not impress the Elders. I am getting really sick and tired of having my decisions being second-guessed. I have never led a pack where giving input has been balked at; that's how it used to go. You could never suggest anything to the old Alpha. I recognize the importance of wise counsel, but this is non-negotiable. My dad walks in and takes a seat beside Wilson; though he may have disliked Quinn at first, he knows now that she isn’t some passing fling, that she means something to me...she means everything to me.
“In case it wasn’t clear last time, I will protect Quinn and my daughter. Does anyone have a problem with that?" The room remains silent, so I continue. "Now Quinn has had another vision, this one far more ominous than the last. She saw an attack on the pack house by the Clearwater pack. The carnage she described was an all-out war-provoking attack to get to her. She didn’t see herself, but she did see Maddie being taken away screaming. Seeing our daughter being stolen by another pack—you can imagine how that made Quinn feel. I’m sick of not knowing what is going on. Quinn ran into a couple of old pack members yesterday, and they told her that Jake knows where she is. Which means he is planning something big to get her, the stupid shit. We need to decide if we should go in and take him out first before he can strike or come up with another idea.”
Jim immediately jumps in. “We need to take the fight to them. If they plan to attack the pack, we have an advantage in knowing that. They’ve been trouble for centuries; it's time we destroy every last one of them. We are stronger than they are, anyway, with more shifters than they have—not to mention we actually train our people, whereas Jake doesn't.”
Another member speaks up against him, though. “Including the innocent and pups? We would be just like them if we resorted to the complete annihilation of a pack. We can't just kill indiscriminately! We must think about everyone, not just the ones who have come against us. Not to mention, I know some of them are being coerced.”
“They are a contaminated pack, full of delinquents and undisciplined shifters; what good are they to anyone else if they live?” another says.
Wilson hits the table and grabs everyone’s attention. “This isn’t something we should decide today. Making a rash decision without proper thought leads to poor choices.”
Dad speaks up next. “I think we need to include the council on this one. If we go in guns blazin’, we are liable to have the council crack down on us. They could dissolve our pack, split up families, and send them to other packs. Not to mention they may put Eli down for inciting a war that the humans would no doubt find out about.”
I don’t care if it does incite a war. If it means that Quinn and Maddie are safe, I will take that risk and bear the consequences. I didn’t fight for her last time, but I will this time. The rest of the meeting consists of everyone throwing out ideas or accusations depending on who is speaking. Still, it ultimately comes down to needing more time to plan everything out. I'm not overly fond of the idea, but I can also say I am not exactly thinking rationally at this point. We will reach out again to some of our contacts in the pack to see what we can find out, and if nothing comes of that, I don’t care what anyone says. The longer Jake has time to plan, the greater the risk to this pack and my family is, and I won’t have that.
The stress of the looming threat gives me a headache; I need a bit of space. The pack house is busy enough, but there aren’t many out back besides a few pups playing and the patrols walking the perimeter. I head to the tree line, searching for peace only the woods can give. Stripping down, I shift into my wolf, stretching out my front legs. It's easier to think in my wolf form; it likely has something to do with not needing to think through all the angles. To my wolf, it's clear—protect my family. As a human, you have to think about all the consequences and political maneuvers, but as a wolf, you are going on instinct. Pushing my legs hard, I run the pack lands, trying to squash the rising anxiety of what is to come and the feeling of helplessness that I can’t seem to get over.
Like that night with Quinn, I feel like I can’t do anything right, but this time, I will fight for her no matter what. Being with Quinn and Maddie fills me with the purpose I have lacked all these years. The pull to be with them is strong, so after running for a couple hours and burning as much of my stress and anxiety off as I can, I shift back and head to my SUV. Pulling into my driveway, I can see the patrols walking around, giving me peace knowing my girls are safe and home. I need to shake off the fog. I don’t want Quinn to become more anxious than she already is, and Maddie needs to see a smiling face, not one of anger and frustration. Climbing out of the vehicle, I head inside to see my girls.
