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"Good idea," Hymn murmured holding out her hand. "Let the men deal with this, us bitches," she snarled the word in Howard's direction, "will go get a coffee."
Looking to Dale for permission, I didn't dare move until he gave me a slight nod.
Howard launched to his feet. "No, you can't let her leave, she attacked me. She can shift."
Blinking, Howard was back on the floor several meters away. Groaning, and blood spurting from his nose. As Dale's anger fire balled through the room, I whimpered.
"Leave!"
Hymn snatched my hand, and we ran out the door. We didn't stop running until we were three flights down on the fire stairs. That's when Hymn turned to me. "You can shift?"
"Only when your father wills me too."
"Obviously not, if you partial shifted in there when you got angry. Could dad make me shift to full-wolf?"
"I haven't done that yet. We're trying that tonight." Glancing up the stairs, I bit my lip. "Or we were."
"Why does that scare you?"
"Howard said some things-"
"Howard was raving like a madman in there. Don't worry about it."
"He wasn't raving before Jeremy interrupted. Actually, he was very sane and clear in his thoughts. Just like he would have needed to be when he called Malcolm to tell him I'm still alive. It's not like he had his number to drunk dial him, is it?"
Throat contracting, Hymn inhaled audibly. "No. Only the Alpha's on the Liderii have each Alpha's number. For Howard to get it, he would have had to break into Dale's office, seek out the information, and use it."
"He also would have been sane on the phone. If he were raving like he was up there, Malcolm would have dismissed it as a prank."
"That unsettles you? Howard has his issues, but he's not totally insane."
"I'd rather prefer he was."
Crossing her arms, Hymn stood insulted for her packmate. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means, I don't think Howard is insane at all. He wasn't going crazy with my pheromones if it didn't affect the others that way. It means I don't believe a word Howard said while he was raving up there. That was an act because he got caught. Howard didn't like Dale finding his mate, and he's determined to get rid of me for some reason."
Blinking at me, Hymn bit her lip and glanced back up the stairs.
"Hymn?" Stepping closer to her, I knew I'd hit on something. "What aren't you telling me?"
"You may have realized Dale's the only one with children in the pack? Only the alpha breeds in a pack. If another does, they either leave and start their own pack, or if the current Alpha isn't breeding, he steps aside."
"Dale was stepping aside for Howard?"
"No. But he's Liderii now, has been for many years, and he's been Alpha since we were born. Dad announced, if someone else were to breed, he would step aside."
"Why wouldn't they breed anyway?"
"Only the strong males, the ones strong enough to be Alpha are fertile. People often confuse Alpha for meaning they are the strongest. But it's actually about virility. It so happens that being the strongest and most virile male in the pack attracts females. Which is usually why the Alpha gets to be a breeder."
"So, all your males have been out there sowing their wild oats in the hope of becoming the next Alpha, then I come along. But I'm a purebred; it's renowned we are infertile? So why does it matter?"
Hymn bit her lip as she thought about her words. "The male granted the blessing of a full-blood female as a mate is a Goddess declared Alpha. He would automatically become Alpha of a pack. Since Dale is already Alpha, it means he's Alpha for life. Anyone wanting to breed now would need to leave and start their own pack."
"That's an issue?"
"We're a family, Vera. I know the concept is foreign to you, but we love and care for each other. We protect each other. We'd be giving that up."
