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“Ace Grant, I strip you of your title and your role as alpha of Wolf Creek,” I said.
“No, you can’t do that. You can’t. I earned this.” He stood, his hands balled into fists.
For a moment, I thought he might charge me. My guards moved closer and Alec stood in front of me.
Ace took a step back and Alec’s tension eased. He stepped aside, but stayed right next to me.
“You stole the title,” I said. “You didn’t work for it. You didn’t earn it. You didn’t prove anything to gain it.”
“He doesn’t even have a mark,” someone shouted from behind. The gathered shifters cheered in response.
“Send him to the caves!” Another voice called. The cheers grew even wilder.
I smirked, knowing I had been correct. I was never alone here, we were all prisoners.
“Please no, have mercy,” Ace said. “I already lost my son. Isn’t that enough?”
“You don’t want to be trapped in the caves?” I had no intention of sending him there, but I had to admit I was enjoying hearing him beg.
“I didn’t betray anyone. It’s not a fitting punishment,” he said.
“I’ll bite,” I said. “What do you think a fitting punishment is for someone who trapped his pack, prevented them from leaving, and worked with witches to keep them from shifting?”
He stuttered a few syllables but didn’t get a word out.
“There’s also the matter of the pack next door. Which you and your inner circle murdered with use of an illegal substance,” I added.
“The toxin isn’t illegal,” he said.
I shrugged. “It is now.”
“It wasn’t - the king, he approved. He knew. I had his blessing to expand our territory. He wanted more toxin,” Ace pleaded.
“You killed innocents. Hundreds of people who were living their lives,” Alec said. “Each of them should be here now.”
I tensed, hating that the act that eliminated Alec’s pack was endorsed by a member of my own family.
Someone grabbed my hand and I turned to see Malcom. He pulled me close so he could lean near my ear to whisper. “Blood means nothing, remember that. What he did is not a reflection on either of us.”
I smiled and nodded, grateful that he was here with me and that he understood what had caused my hesitation. He was right. As shifters we were taught that pack was like family, but Ace had never instilled that here.
I glanced around at my friends, silently standing around me to support me. Sheila and Kyle were with my guards, Malcom and Alec by my side. Spencer was standing to the side, watching with an approving expression. He nodded, as if encouraging me to continue.
“Ace Grant, I strip you of your title, and I exile you and your inner circle from Wolf Creek. You will never again hold status as an alpha or be part of any other inner circle. You will live out the rest of your days as feral wolves, forbidden to join a pack. If you violate these terms, you will all be executed.”
Three of my guards stepped forward. James remained by my side while the others closed in around Ace and his closest friends. They were finished in Wolf Creek.
Ace took gasping breaths and his eyes widened in terror. I’d given him the worst possible punishment. He needed the adoration, the ability to drive fear into others. Without his place of power, he’d have nothing. If I executed him, he’d claim he was the hero until the end.
Mummers from the gathered shifters grew slowly as the sentence was repeated among the crowd. Eventually, they gave way to applause.
Kyle took a step forward, walking over to Ace. I had no idea what he was going to say, but I knew he needed some closure here too. He whispered something to Ace, then backed away, a smile on his lips.
Ace looked pissed but he didn’t retaliate. I wasn’t sure what Kyle said, but it wasn’t my place. He’d been hurt by Wolf Creek under Ace’s rule as much as I had. Kyle had done things he shouldn’t, but he’d always tried to balance the good when possible. What could he have accomplished if he wasn’t walking the line between pleasing Ace for his sister’s sake and doing the right thing?
“Well, this wasn’t what I expected when you said you wanted to visit your old pack,” Horace said.
“I wasn’t sure you’d approve,” I admitted.
