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Growls erupted throughout the room, the tension in the air thick as Markus threw down the challenge. Most everyone here would come to Holden’s defense, but I didn’t want it to come to that.
“Watch yourself.” My voice was sharp and deadly as a blade.
Markus and Holden stared each other down, the growls around us growing louder as the shifters’ wolves threatened to break free. Things could get ugly, and fast.
Holden realized it, too, his voice a roar as he issued the command: “Stand down. All of you.” The dominance and power of his alpha-ship reverberated through the room, the directive echoing off the walls. It was a true alpha command, one that couldn’t be disobeyed—not without consequences. So powerful that it was rarely used.
Still, I waited, adrenaline pulsing through my veins as I braced myself. If Markus chose not to obey the command, it would be an act of willful defiance, signaling a lack of respect for his alpha that required an immediate challenge.
The room fell silent. Only the sound of ragged breathing penetrated the tension. Slowly, Markus took a step back, but I didn’t trust him. I maintained my defensive stance, watching him closely.
“This is an abuse of power,” he hissed. “Something needs to be done about you, Holden. You’re being wildly irrational. If you don’t start behaving as an alpha should, mine won’t be the only pack to walk away from the accords.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Bridger shift his weight, his fists clenched. It had to be taking every ounce of self-control he had not to come to his son’s defense. But he believed in Holden, just as I did.
“We won’t maintain peace,” Markus continued. “We won’t play nice. Shifter laws—particularly your new laws—will go right out the window.”
“Watch yourself, Markus.” Holden took a step forward. Instinct screamed for me to place myself back between my alpha and the threat, but Holden wouldn’t appreciate that. That he still needed to prove himself to these cocky bastards made me want to unleash the beast within, but we’d worked too hard to get where we were.
“Something needs to be done.” Markus glanced around the room. “And I’m not the only one who thinks so.”
I narrowed my eyes. This wasn’t just about Amelia, or even about Kayden and Holden being fated mates—not by a long shot. Markus didn’t just feel slighted that his daughter hadn’t won the Contention. Sydnee had gone far in the Contention but had ultimately lost her life due to her own arrogance. He’d always wanted power, and now he wanted payback. This was his opportunity.
“Rebelling against the alpha won’t bring your daughter back,” I said softly. Not unkindly. Regardless of the circumstances, losing a loved one was a tragedy.
Markus turned his gaze to me, and I let out a tiny sigh of relief. Getting his attention off Holden was a step in the right direction.
“No…” he said coldly, “… but none of the other competitors stood a chance. Not once fated mates came into play. The entire Contention was a sham. Alliances and assigned council positions were manipulated. How can we follow a leader whose entire path to power was under false pretenses? And now he’s once again defying tradition by placing a female as an alpha.”
I certainly wouldn’t go that far with it. The contestants who made it far enough to become council members earned their places fair and square. Markus was twisting the circumstances to his advantage, or at least to further his agenda and pursuit of power.
Holden bared his teeth, the jabs no doubt striking a nerve. He’d struggled throughout the Contention more than they’d ever know. “Amelia challenged her alpha, and with good reason. She is alpha by right. Youwillaccept female alphas. You might not like that times are changing, Markus, but that won’t stop change from coming.”
A murmur raced through the crowd, some voices tinged with anger, others just wary, but Markus had achieved his goal—there was uncertainty and discontent brewing among the packs.
Among the whispers, Jessica’s voice caught my attention. “What’s he playing at? It’s not like we can have another Contention,” she whispered to Kayden. “Holden is mated now. Who would compete—Garrett?”
If things weren’t so tense, I might have laughed.
Everett Franklin stepped forward, having been relatively quiet until now. “Markus has a valid point.”
I jerked my gaze toward him, hardly able to believe what I was hearing. He took another step in my direction, holding his hands up.
“Hear me out. The Pacific Northwest pack isn’t the only one who feels slighted that Holden’s Contention was stacked in Kayden’s favor.”
“Stacked?” Holden bellowed. “It’s not like I knew—”
“Let’s listen to what he has to say,” I said quietly, holding a hand up to Holden and giving him a pointed look. No matter what we knew to be true, some of the other alphas had a harder time than others accepting change. This wasn’t news to us. There had been discontent from the very beginning that the Contention didn’t go as planned—that none of the other women could have possibly held a candle to Kayden. At least not for Holden.
“What if we hold another Contention?” Everett said, his gaze sliding to me. “Only this time, the packs send women to compete to be mated to the North American beta.”
This time, I did laugh out loud. “That’s ridiculous.”
But my words were drowned out by everyone talking at once.
“We could open more council positions.”
“It would be fair this time—no fated mates.”
