“Hang on,” Olivia called, and then wrinkled her nose as she concentrated. The flowery bower covering us peeled back, and the green web of light slowly faded back into the earth, the calm, cool sensation I’d felt inside it leaving, replaced with the scent of blood and strange wolves.
Although… they didn’t feel as strange anymore. Something to figure out later, after I’d taken care of my mate.
Elodie’s face appeared overhead, and her eyes went wide as she took in the mess the two of us were in. Blood, tacky and crusted, from my many attackers, covered my body, and Olivia was no better off.
“Thank fuck,” Elodie muttered, leaning down a hand and helping Olivia off me. A moment later, she extended a hand down for me, and I took it-after what I’d just been through, I wasn’t too proud.
The moment I was upright, I nearly fell back down.
More than a hundred naked shifters knelt in a perfect circle all around us. At the front of them all, Valens had his knee on Dominik’s neck.
“What happened?” I asked Elodie, who stared at them all as if they were a sideshow spectacle and not a threat.
“You tell me. Samuel and I were fighting our asses off, when they all froze and started running this direction. We knew something was up, so we followed. We found… this.” She gestured back into the woods, where the Hungarian males all waited, kneeling.
“Alpha Vasilescu, if I may?” Valens asked, though he didn’t rise or let his gaze wander above my chest.
He was a powerful alpha in his own right, most likely the new leader of the Hungarians, assuming they accepted him after I killed Dominik for what he’d done to Olivia.
“Yes, but don’t let him go. We have unfinished business.” My wolf’s growl lined the last word, his own desire to finish the one who’d dared harm our mate simmering close to the surface.
“We kneel in honor of our new Alpha.”
I blinked, waiting for more. I glanced over at first Olivia, then Elodie, and Samuel, but they all seemed as confused as I was.
“Who is your new Alpha?” I asked.
“You, sire. You defeated Petr? Varga in a fair fight. By pack law, you are the new Alpha of the Hungarian pack. We kneel at your command.”
Well, fuck me sideways and call it a love story.
I’d assumed when Petr? died, they’d all run. I did not consider the consequences of becoming accidental Alpha to a pack of bloodthirsty strangers.
I finally looked out over the sea of waiting shifters, mind reeling as I tried to figure out what to do now. Before I could, though, Kane, Dirge, and a fuck ton of warrior maidens with their butterfly swords in hand swarmed into the woods, surrounding us.
Kane strode through the men, and they all flinched back as his unchecked dominance steamrolled over them, pressing them farther down as he walked past.
He stepped up to my side, blanching slightly at the amount of blood covering both Olivia and me, but he covered it quickly.
“Did I just hear what I think I heard?” he murmured, the question only for me.
“Yes, High Alpha. I don’t know what to do. I have no idea how to be a pack Alpha.”
Kane snorted, giving me an incredulous look. “No one does on their first day. You just do it, and over time, you get better.”
“You’re saying I should accept
?” There was no way. We had too much work to do; I couldn’t step aside from the pack-taking Olivia with me-in the middle of what was about to be a war.
“I’m saying you already are the Alpha. Do you see the way they waited for you, even when you were on the ground? That is respect. If a hated Alpha falls low, a stronger one comes behind to replace him. When you were laid low, they waited for you. They need a good, honest leader. We both know Petr? is not that. Look out, look at their faces. They didn’t want this battle. They fought for loyalty, and that doesn’t make them bad men.”
I did as he suggested, studying face after face. I saw defeat, regret, and shame. Over and over again. Felt it in my chest, actually, echoing through… a new pack bond.
“Did I get kicked out of Pack Blackwater?” I asked, dismayed.
Kane snorted. “Only temporarily. When you became Alpha of a new pack, your own pack bond snapped into place. Once you reswear your fealty to me, our bond will reconnect seamlessly.” He patted me on the back as if we were old buddies talking about the latest rugby game, not the fate of an entire pack.
“I’m not sure I can do it. Olivia’s safety is the most important thing.” I glanced over his shoulder at my beautiful mate, not liking how pale she was, leaning against Elodie’s shoulder.
“I can’t force you to take the pack. But I will say this-I could use a strong ally at my back instead of another enemy at my gates. Given the circumstances, I’m sure we could get a pair of maidens assigned specifically to Olivia, at least until you felt comfortable with your pack power structure and knew and trusted everyone. And I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of our other pack mates would be happy to come along and help you rebuild.”
I looked over again at the women, and Elodie rolled her eyes. “I volunteer. Obviously.” She grinned down at Olivia, giving her a squeeze around the shoulders. “Besties have to stick together.”
“Okay. I’ll do it. There’s a war coming, and we’d be stupid to throw away a whole pack’s worth of potential allies.”
“Good man. How do you want to deal with the cousin?” He eyed the sniveling mess under Valens’s knee.
“I don’t want to deal with him at all. I want him dead.”
Kane nodded, agreeing. “So give the order, Alpha. Take control of your pack.”
I stalked forward, stopping just a few feet away from Valens and Dominik, who’d pissed himself like a puppy.
“Valens, will you accept the position as my second?”
“Yes, Alpha Vasilescu.” He bowed low, the movement graceful despite his awkward hold on the other male.
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