Chapter 5 Long Awaited
Amarah My eyes shift from left to right and back again as I keep an eye out for Rogues. Our patrols on the eastern border have been tightened after three Rogues managed to cross into our neighbor’s territory. I have a clear view of their border across the clearing, as do all the Warriors on border patrol. I can still hear Dad roar the morning he was informed by Alpha Damon that three Rogues had entered their territory and killed two of his Pack members. Dad called every Warrior who had been on patrol into his office, but no one had seen any Rogues. Dad, his Beta, and his Gamma went over everything, but they found nothing out of the ordinary. When they finally emerged from his office, Dad told us what had happened. After dinner, I snuck into his office to take a look for myself. I couldn’t see anything wrong either, but I wanted to find an answer for Dad, so I asked my best friends for a sleepover. The moment the door to my room was closed, they asked me what I needed them to do, and I knew I had made the right decision. After I told them everything, they were lost in thought for a while. It only took a few minutes before one of them suggested we go out there ourselves to see how things worked on the job. It took us about fifteen minutes to get ready. We snuck out of the Pack house after making sure everyone was asleep and quickly made our way to the eastern border to observe. After watching the Warriors patrol for an hour, I knew what the problem was, and so did my best friends. The next morning, we walked into my Dad’s office and told him that we knew how the Rogues had gotten past our Warriors. Dad was furious, to say the least, about us sneaking out of the Pack house, but after he finished yelling at us, he asked us to explain it. Our Warriors run the borders from north to south on the east side and patrol in a clockwise direction. However, as they near the south border, they all take a shortcut, leaving a blind spot in their patrol right where the Rogues crossed into our neighbor’s territory. Now Dad was not only furious at us for sneaking out, but he was also pissed off at the Warriors for cutting corners and endangering the lives of innocents. He called every Warrior not on border patrol to the Pack house, and those on patrol were included through the mind-link. “As some of you may have heard, three Rogues crossed the west border of Dark Mountain Pack and killed two of their Pack members. We couldn’t find anything wrong with our border runs, and I can assure you that your Beta, your Gamma, and I went over everything. Our Pups were the ones who pointed out how they were able to cross the border without being spotted. They watched you for an hour last night, and each one of you takes a shortcut from the eastern border to the southern border. This will no longer be tolerated. As of right now, you will run the borders as they are, and I will make sure that you are randomly checked. Am I making myself clear?” The look on his face was murderous, and the Warriors all answered with “Yes, Alpha.” Ever since that day, our Warriors have been running the borders the way they were meant to, but I also asked them if there was anything they would change if they could. One of those ideas was something I could work with. It was one of our older Warriors who told me that in his former Pack, they had set up watch points along their borders as well as Warriors on patrol. I took his idea to Dad and shared my thoughts on it. Together, we fine-tuned the idea before presenting it to his Beta and Gamma. And right now, I’m sitting in one of those spots along our border. They are not in plain sight, which is why Rogues have not been able to cross either border again. My bow and arrows are within reach, and I’m an excellent shot with a hundred percent accuracy, killing every Rogue that comes into my sight. Everyone who has ever met my Dad says the same thing: he is fair, strict, and deadly when necessary. Everyone who has ever met my Mom says she is caring, sweet, and a peacekeeper, but warns never to cross her because she can become worse than Dad. Dad always says it’s the Alpha blood running through her veins. I see movement across the clearing and know it’s one of their Warriors on border patrol. I still haven’t figured out how they conduct their patrols, and truth be told, I don’t really care. But I do wonder if they’re aware that we have stopped dozens of Rogues since that night. “Alpha, you have a visitor,” I hear my Beta say through the mind-link. I tell the Warriors with me that I’m heading back to the Pack house for some Pack business. They both nod but don’t take their eyes off the clearing. Before heading to the Pack house, I step out of the tree line and look in the direction of a small cluster of trees and boulders. I know who lives there, and so does every Warrior in my Pack, but we don’t mention it to outsiders as it might put her life at risk. I know who my visitor is, but I don’t know why he’s here. I’ve been thinking about his reason for showing up ever since he announced his visit. No answer has come to mind, but I guess I’ll find out soon enough why he’s gracing me with a visit. As I walk back to the Pack house, I pass many of my Pack members. Like my Father, I greet each one of them as I pass. I smile at the antics of a little Pup and catch him just before he tumbles down. “Thank you, Alpha,” the little Pup says before I put him back on his feet. One of my Deltas joins me as I near the back of the Pack house, and the two of us make our way to my official office on the ground floor. I ask an Omega we pass if she can bring us some coffee, and she rushes off to the kitchen to comply with my request. As I walk into my office, my visitor gets up out of his seat. “Elder Ezra, please take a seat,” I say, and he sits back down in the chair he just got out of as I take a seat behind my desk. “To what do we owe this pleasure, Elder?” I ask. Elder Ezra pulls a file and an envelope from his bag and places them on my desk in front of me. I stare at the envelope for a moment. I know what’s in it just by looking at it, and I have to suppress the smile that wants to spread across my face. I have only seen it once before, lying on this same desk over a decade ago when my Father was still the Alpha. I have been waiting for this day ever since I took over from my Father, and I know I will enjoy this very much, as will my Wolf. “Alpha, in the file you’ll find a list of the Packs that have been invited as well. All the rules, regulations, and conditions are in there, along with my number, just in case you still have unanswered questions,” he says as he gets out of his seat. “Thank you, Elder Ezra. I will read it all and contact you if something is unclear to me,” I say as I shake his hand. I guide him out of the Pack house to his car and watch him drive off. A smirk appears on my face as soon as he is out of sight. “That’s about damn time,” my Gamma mumbles, and we all start laughing. We walk back to my office, and as we’re about to enter, one of the Omegas walks out, telling me she has placed the coffee in my office as she heads back to the kitchen. I sit down in my favorite armchair facing my desk, while my Beta, Gamma, and Deltas sit on the couches to my left and right. The five of us grew up together—if you saw one of us, the rest were soon to follow, making it easy for our parents to find us. I open the envelope, already knowing what’s inside: an invitation to the Alpha bloodline competition. The smirk on my face gets bigger as I pull it out. I have been waiting a long time for this moment, and I will enjoy putting all those cocky Alphas and their siblings in their place. The Alpha bloodline competition is held every year for a select few Packs. They get invited by the Elders and get to beat the crap out of each other legally. Every person from an Alpha bloodline in that Pack is allowed to enter the competition. The Council doesn’t interfere with this competition, even though they love the fights between the Alphas, and some of them even come to see the invited Alphas fight. Our King has never shown his face at the competition, and Dad doubts he ever will. I read through all the rules and regulations for the competition. The more I read, the bigger the smile on my face becomes, and I know everyone present in my office can tell that I’ve found a way for the participants to underestimate me. The first name drawn for a match is allowed the first move, either shifting fully to Wolf form or a Half-shift. However, it doesn’t state that their opponent has to follow their lead—they just can’t shift to Wolf form if their opponent chooses a Half-shift, or vice versa.
