Silence ensued, and I heard him sigh heavily. I didn’t envy him. Being King came with so many burdens.
“Yeah. I guess you’re right,” he said after a moment.
“You are doing great, Alejandro. Sometimes these things are hard. The decisions we make will impact others. If Maria wasn’t deteriorating, I would have offered to do it myself, but… Leo isn’t ready to become Alpha yet.”
I frowned, hearing a twig snap outside, walked over to the open window, and peered out. Silence. Hmm… it was late. Everyone was asleep. I was sure Leo stayed in tonight.
“Yeah, no, Leo needs you. If anyone was to do it, I would… but Maria’s as stubborn as her daughter.”
“Or her daughter is as stubborn as her,” I joked.
“Yeah, either of that shit,” Alejandro sighed. I chuckled dryly.
“Get some rest, brother, you need it. Maria knows what she’s doing, but if you want a third opinion, talk to Elijah.”
“Yeah, I might, I’ll see.”
He hung up, and I put my phone down, scanning the grounds below. Shaking my head, I closed the window and returned to bed, unable to get rid of the shock of what Alejandro had told me. The price was not small…
I sighed heavily, all traces of sleep gone. I couldn’t wait for these dark times to pass…
Leo
I stared upat the night sky. There wasn’t long before my eighteenth birthday, and I’d shift. I couldn’t wait,wanting to come into power. I knew I had it in me. I trained hard and fucking pushed myself every single fucking day to surpass my limits. I could feel the power rippling through me at the brink of release. Power I needed, power I craved…
The world was fucked up, and even until this day, those with power and money got away with shit. Yeah, Alejandro had ‘tried’ to create an ideal world where packs were allies, but that was all fucking bullshit. He established peace on the surface; there was so much crap going on, on the low… and, of course, the so-called elite could do whatever shit they wanted and get away with it.
Rayhan.
Like always, the mere thought of that bastard sent blistering hatred rushing through me like a fucking white-hot fire. I clenched my fists, trying to calm myself. I would never be able to forget that fucking night… the night he walked into our pack and acted like he was in charge. Without even consulting with Dad, who was the Alpha, he had come in and did whatever shit he wanted. Dad lost face after that, but, of course, he wouldn’t let his brother or anyone know that. The pack insulted him, and he just took it. Yeah, he made a fucking mistake by bowing down to Rayhan. Pathetic.
We were and always will be the outcasts, but when I became Alpha, I would break away from the Council. I didn’t follow any rules, and there was no way I’d ever sit around a table of entitled bastards pretending to give a shit about the fucking country.
I pulled out a cigarette and was about to light it when I heard a phone ring and paused, thinking, who was calling Dad at this hour? After their small exchange, I realised it was Alejandro. I stayed silent, listening to Dad’s side of the conversation. I got the gist of the conversation. So there was a price to pay for killing it… and the bastard’s mother wanted to do the deed. I felt a tad bad for her and Raihana, if anything, but the fact that Rayhan didn’t know… I smirked. Now I hope he’d understand how it felt to have people do shit without asking you.
“… Leo isn’t ready to be Alpha.”
I froze as anger flared up inside of me. I wasn’t ready to be Alpha? I have not lacked in any fucking way. The urge to go up there and ask Dad right then about what the fuck he meant was on my fucking mind but, instead, I stormed off. Lashing out would only make Dad say I was proving his fucking point. I’d talk to him tomorrow.
The following day, Dad and I were in the kitchen. Dad had thrown breakfast together, and I was sitting at the counter, digging into the pile of toast, eggs, bacon, and sausages he had fried up. I was still fucking pissed off with what he had said to Alejandro, and I planned to ask him about it.
“So, Maria’s going to sacrifice herself,” I declared emotionlessly. Dad fucking reacted, and he almost dropped the pan on his fucking feet.
“You were in the yard last night.”
“Yeah, pretty glad I was, considering I learned I’m not fit to become Alpha any fucking time soon,” I replied, unable to keep the anger out of my voice.
“Leo, don’t get me wrong, you have achieved a lot and are able to defeat all the warriors despite not having shifted, but your anger gets the better of you, and I can’t make you Alpha until you work on that.” I bent the fork in my anger, tossing it on the counter as I looked at Dad, clenching my jaw.
“Yeah, yet you haven’t noticed my anger is only displayed when I’m around that bastard? When do I lose my shit around here?” I growled.
“How about now?” Dad glared at me, his eyes flashing and his aura swirling around him. I scoffed bitterly, sitting back on my stool.
“So, in simpler fucking terms, you’re just concerned about my retaliation towards your so-called family.” Our eyes met, and I shook my head in disgust. “Well, enjoy it. I hate the fact that I’m even tied to that name. I’m out.”
“Leo, sit down. You don’t get what this family has done for us-”
“This family hasn’t done shit! The crap they act entitled to was your fucking birthright! You are not fucking less than them, and I am fucking done with you acting like it’s okay or we are beneath them, but that’s the fucking thing here, isn’t it? We are treated like that!” I shouted, anger rushing through me, and all I could see was fucking red.
