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“Thank you for attending tonight.This is a serious matter, and as grisly as it is, I’m glad to see the pack come together and want answers.” Mason’s address fell onto the packed auditorium as he stood on the stage and looked into the many faces that held hate, fear, curiosity, and unease.
“I know you all heard about the rumors that have been circling this pack as of late. Especially about me.” He watched as a low rumble spread throughout the pack before he silenced them again.
“These are serious crimes and serious accusations. And you all shouldknowbetter than to believe that I have anything to do with them,” he growled, letting them know who was in charge. No murmur happened. He continued.
“Things have gotten a little too lax here, and it’s stopping now. Too many of you seem to find attraction in the chaos this is causing, and we willnotgo back there.” He stepped off the stage to slowly weave through the rows of shifters. He cast his intense blue eyes on everyone, but none were meeting his. Good.
Mason was letting his rage over these atrocities control his wolf, so his alpha came out loud and clear. His slow, quiet growl of words held more power than if he had lost control.
“Too many of you have freely yapped about things you know nothing about. If you did, you wouldn’t start the trails of rumors you have. Shifters have died. Do you understand the issues a blood feud or even the threat of one brings? Or if the humans get involved?” He snarled his last words, snapping at a member who almost met his gaze.
“And the rumor that we are in the black market as well? You all are smart enough to know it’s not just me being accused. It’s the pack. This is bad for all of us. Do you understand?”
All eyes shot back to the floor, and heads lowered.
“Now, we need to know where these rumors started and why. That could lead us somewhere. We’re being set up, and it should piss you all off as much as it pisses me off.”
“Or maybe you’re just a shitty alpha who is trying to pin your blood lust on someone else.”
Mason instantly was at the accuser’s side, but not before Derek got there.
His beta’s massive hand closed around the gangly man’s throat as he lifted him off the ground. Mason stepped calmly up to the gravity-defying piss-ant, his hands behind his back.
“Would you care to repeat that?” He could hear his windpipe crunching under Derek’s closing hand.
The purple-faced man was clawing at the unrelenting hand as his feet began to kick in panic. He gave a barely recognizable nod.
“Let him go.”
The man Mason knew as Lile fell to his knees, gasping.
Before he could stand, Mason kicked him over onto his side, all eyes silently upon them.
“Now, what in the hell would give you that idea? Or better yet, are you challenging me? I’m feeling up for it, I have to admit. Especially if I’m as blood-thirsty as you say, why should I give a shit about a peon like you?” He pressed his boot onto Lile’s throat.
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re what?”
“I’m sorry! I’m not challenging you. I don’t want to.”
“But I think you do. Why else would you have said that?”
Lile was trying to push Mason’s foot off of his throat, but it only made the growling alpha press harder.
“It’s … just … that … these … things … didn’t start … until … you…” he gasped.
Mason removed his foot. “It’s true. These dealings and attacks started shortly after I asserted myself as alpha. But those of you who know me well enough know that I am not behind this. I only want peace for this pack. Before I arrived, you were all at each other’s throats, descending into anarchy. We cannot thrive if we do not come together. Why wouldn't I want that?” he asked the room.
He addressed everyone now. “Unless you want to challenge me, do not assume or even consider that I am a part of these horrible crimes. The rumors are damaging us, especially those of you choosing to believe them. You all remember how it was before you had an alpha step in after your last alpha died.” Mason watched as they all silently looked at each other, recalling the horror.
“You all would have scattered to the winds or died in the savageness of it all. I’m not saying this for you all to thank me.I don’t want that. We need a pack; it’s in our DNA. I want us to succeed like any true alpha would. I know not to give into the primal thirst. We know that is how we lose ourselves to the true animal. There’s no coming back.”
“Maybe if we knew the evidence you had …”
“There is no evidence,” Derek answered.
The woman shrank back.
