“Me?” I asked, feeling confused.
“You’re the only one I can think of that can fill his chair.”
“But I already have a seat at the top tier table,” I objected. “Who will fill my seat?” To make me even more confused, Finlay chuckled. It sounded genuine so I sat up and looked at him. He smiled at me.
“You are usually brilliant, so I forget what an idiot you can be,” he told me and ruffled my hair. I didn’t even try to avoid his hand as I was trying to figure out what I was missing. “The seat you have is made up. It was created for you as we wanted to give you a seat at the table. When you move to the Beta chair, your chair will be removed, because no one else can fill it,” he told me.
“Oh.” Yeah I should have remembered he had created the advisory role for me. I was just so used to it by now. “If I take the Beta chair we will always be one person short. I don’t have a mate so that chair will remain empty,” I told him.
“You don’t know that. Things can happen,” he said. I gave him a smile.
“It will remain empty,” I told him. He shrugged.
“So be it. Look, the pack loves you, they trust and look up to you. I trust you. I don’t have it in me to find a replacement for Martin who isn’t you.”
“Okay. Count me in. If this is what you and the pack needs, I will do it. I will do my best and I’m counting on you to tell me if I’m messing up.” Finlay let out a deep sigh and put his arm around me again, pulling me with him as he leaned back on the couch.
“It will be fine, Red. You are the daughter of a Beta, it’s in your blood.”
“So our pack will have a second born Alpha, and a second born Beta. It has a nice symmetry,” I told him as I relaxed against him. We sat and watched the sun come up.
“Time to get some food, Red. It will be a long day,” Finlay told me. He got up and pulled me with him. For a moment we stood almost toe to toe, looking at each other. For a second I thought this was it, this was our moment. Then we both woke up and took a half step back.
“Come on, Finn, time to show the pack we still got our shit together,” I told him, gave him a smile and headed towards the pack house.
“Finn?” he asked as he walked close behind me. I shrugged.
“It is long overdue that I get a nickname for you,” I said.
“Works for me.” We entered the dining hall and saw that most of the pack had decided to eat breakfast together. As we walked up to our table both Medow and Matilda gave me long hugs. We were all trying to get our lives back to a place that made sense. It was important to support and get support from your pack mates.
“Did you ask her?” Sam asked Finlay as we sat down.
“I did.” There was a pause in the conversation where everyone around the table but me looked at Finlay.
“And?” Sam asked.
“Did you think I would say no?” I asked him. He grinned at me and relaxed back in his chair. He put his arm around Medow and pulled her chair closer to him.
“No, you are smarter than that,” he said.
“What are you talking about?” Medow asked.
“I asked Amie to become the new Beta,” Finlay said.
“Oh. That’s good,” Medow said.
“The only option,” Matilda said and gave me a smile. I smiled back and nodded. We ate breakfast and when we were done, Finlay stood up and signed for me and Sam to join him.
“Yesterday was a tough day for the pack. We lost loved ones and others were hurt. But we also showed that we are a strong pack. We will not give up without a fight. We protect our pack and our land. Beta Martin gave his life in that pursuit. Today we will take revenge for him and for the others we lost. We can’t be without a Beta. It’s more important now than ever before to show that we remain strong. Our new Beta will be Amie, I don’t think I need to explain why. She will officially be sworn in as we lay Beta Martin to rest. But I know that you will all treat her as Beta from now on. If you have questions, or have concerns, you are always welcome to talk to anyone in the top tier. We are here for you. Thank you everyone for your part yesterday. Everyone did what they should do and took the measures we have asked of you. It’s because of this we could win and only lose a few of our own. I am proud to be your Alpha,” Finlay told the pack. I got a lot of congratulations via mindlink and also pack members telling me they felt safe with me as Beta. It was overwhelming to feel everyone’s support. “In an hour the Alpha of the attacking pack will be executed outside the pack house. After that we will talk to the remaining members of his pack. You will decide their faith,” he then told them. After he was done, the pack scattered. Families with young pups wanted to get them away from what was about to happen, others wanted to stay to bear witness.
‘Ready?’ I asked Finlay in a mindlink.
‘Ready,’ he confirmed.Finlay
The area in front of the pack house had been cleared and the pack had gathered around the edges of it. Alpha Jackson stood in the middle of the area. He was guarded by Sam and a warrior. My wolf’s hatred for the other Alpha was strong and I shared his feelings. Alpha Jackson was the reason I had lost my best friend. Whether it was by his own hands or not, his actions had caused my pack the loss of our Beta. If it wasn’t for Amie, I don’t know how I would have made it through the night. I was even more grateful for her stepping up as our new Beta. She walked beside me and I could feel her anger. We stopped in front of the defeated Alpha. I scanned the crowd, making sure no pups had sneaked out to see what was happening. When I knew the only ones around were pack members who should be there, I walked up to Alpha Jackson. Sam had him on his knees and I looked down on him.
“Bring out the representatives of the Rolling Hills pack,” Amie called out. The pack members to the left of us made way for a group of warriors who guided an older man and woman to stand a bit away from where we stood. After what the Alpha had revealed in our interrogation, we had let the Rolling Hills pack choose two representatives amongst the survivors.
“I, Alpha of the Blue Mountain pack, have talked to the council and presented the evidence of the Rolling Hills pack’s attack on us. The council has decided the Alpha of the Rolling Hills pack has forfeited his life for his failure to protect and lead his pack to victory. As the winners, we may claim the blood debt for our fallen pack members,” I told everyone with a clear voice. I let the information sink in. “The council left it up to us to decide what to do with the remainder of the Rolling Hills pack. We will deal with the issue next. But first, we will claim payment of our debt. For Beta Martin, Warrior Brian and Warrior Megan, we demand the blood of Alpha Jackson.” I smiled down at the Alpha before me. I had no regrets about what I was about to do. I let my claws extend on my right hand and I used one of them to knick his artery. I did not want to give him a quick death. I took a step back, standing next to Amie. Everyone looked as Alpha Jackson slowly bleed out. As he swayed on his knees, the blood loss made it hard for him to remain kneeling. Sam and the warrior on the other side of the Alpha took a grip on his shoulders to keep him up. A while later I gave them a nod and they let the Alpha go. He fell forward into the leaves on the ground and his own blood. We all listened to the gurgling sounds as he took his last, desperate breath. Amie stepped forward and bent down over him to listen. She felt for a pulse.
“He’s gone,” she said. The pack raised their heads and howled. The victory was officially ours.
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