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He came toward Mathias, and I instinctively put myself between them. “Take it down a notch, Kiefer.”
He shook his head, narrowing his eyes. “The Alpha doesn’t get to name his successor anyway. If he doesn’t have a son, then we fight to death.”
I clenched my jaw. “Happy to fight you. But I’ll never kill you. You’re my brother as much as anyone in this pack.”
Something flashed in his eyes for a second. Maybe for a brief moment, he remembered all the hours he and I used to spend together fishing off the pier or our first trip into Boston alone after we got our driver’s licenses.
He grabbed my shirt in both hands, trying to pull me in closer, but I didn’t budge. I was every bit as strong as he was, and I wasn’t going to play his intimidation games.
“Get out of my way,” he growled, struggling to see Mathias behind me.
“I can’t do that.”
“Enough!” Mathias’s voice boomed through the house.
Kiefer released me, and we both turned to find our Alpha back in his chair.
“No one is fighting.” Mathias gripped the armrests. “We can’t afford to lose any more pack members, and we don’t have time to spare. We still need to find the bitten hunter before the next full moon. So we’re going to have the ceremony, Zeke will become our new Alpha, and then we’ll stop the werewolf hunters. Anyone who has a problem with this plan is free to leave.”
A hush fell over the pack again. None of us had ever lived anywhere else. A few had been to college, but needing to shift once a month meant the colleges were close enough to home that they could come back to run with the pack during the full moon.
Kiefer spun around to face the rest of the pack. “Are all of you okay with this?” He shook his head. “This isn’t how a pack should run.” He pointed at my chest. “Zeke’s a good fighter, but he’s not going to be able to stop those hunters.”
“Fuck you.” My wolf clawed his way forward from the shadows of my soul, snarling. When Kiefer turned to face me, I spread my arms wide, thrusting my chest out, almost aching for him to throw a punch so I could release all these pent-up emotions. “You think a fistfight will save this pack? Seriously?” I shook my head, my voice becoming more of a feral growl. “Then stop talking and do it.”
Kiefer’s nostrils flared as he balled his hands into fists, but he didn’t lift them. Apparently, I’d have to try harder. I shook my head, narrowing my eyes. “The way I see it, this pack was dying long before the hunters came to Salem. If we’re going to save it, we need to stop pretending that nothing needs to change.”
Kiefer scanned the faces of our packmates. “I don’t know, it sounds like our new Alpha has given up already.” He glared at our Alpha. “Great pick, Mathias.”
“You think this is giving up? Hell no, I’m justwakingup.” I looked around the living room at each of my pack brothers. “We need to have something worth fighting for. None of us are twenty years old anymore. We have to get serious and find our mates and grow roots, or there won’t be anything left to fightfor.” I focused on Kiefer. “There’s no way to punch your way to a future.”
Kiefer clenched his jaw, rolling his shoulders back. “You’ll never bemyAlpha.”
I pointed behind me. “Then there’s the fucking door.”
He looked at Mathias. “Are you going to let him kick me out? I was born into this pack.”
“I’m not kicking you out,” I answered before our Alpha could say a word. “You’re choosing to leave.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m going to be the new Alpha. Either stay and help us carve out a future or get thefuckout of our way.”
Kiefer glared at me, but I didn’t back down. I didn’t even blink.
“You’re a son of a bitch, Zeke.” He walked past me, bumping me with his shoulder, and the tenuous control I had over my wolf snapped.
I knocked him to the ground, landing a solid hit to his mouth. The scent of blood had the animal within wide awake and eager for more. Kiefer rolled us over, punching me in the ribs and knocking the air from my lungs. I grabbed his shirt and yanked him down, headbutting him. This time his nose started to bleed.
Wes and Wyatt dragged Kiefer off me, and I scrambled to my feet, lunging for him, but Jaron and Jackson caught my arms, holding me back.
Mathias stood from his chair. “Enough.”
We all turned his way. My packmates released me, and I rolled my shoulders back, eyeing Kiefer.
“My word is final here. Zeke will be Alpha. I’ll transfer the power to him in a ceremony during the new moon.” His ice-blue eyes flicked over to Kiefer. “If you can’t pledge your loyalty to the new Alpha, then Zeke’s right: you’ll have to go. You have until the new moon to make your decision.”
Kiefer shook his head as he wiped the blood from under his nose. “I don’t need any more time. I’m out.” He looked over at Jaron and Jackson. “You coming?”
The two brothers shared a silent look before slowly shaking their heads. Jaron lifted his chin. “I’ll stay with Zeke.”
His twin brother nodded. “Me too.”
