*Maddox*
It is clear Alpha Geofrey was not expecting this sort of force to line up against him and his allies when he decided to take on the role of rebellious aggressor. No, with the backing of Alpha Charlton, Alpha Jason, Alpha Mick, Alpha Evan, and all of the others, it’s quite clear that Alpha Geofrey is outnumbered.
He is not a stupid man. He will make a show of fighting us now, but then he will fade away to lick his wounds and come at me again. I know this. I have been in enough battles over the year to understand how the mind of a man greedy for power, someone so lustful to rule that he’ll do anything works.
He may say that he is fighting me in the name of his son’s mate, but in reality, this is all a push for the throne. I’ve seen many people attempt to rise up and usurp my power over the years. I saw the same thing during my father’s reign. That’s where I learned how ruthless men like Alpha Geofrey can be.
The only way to avoid this going on for several years is by squashing him like a bug right now, but in the war room, back in Alpha Charlton’s castle, we already determined that the majority of packs did not want to see that happen. They wanted this to go as well as possible with as few deaths as we could manage because, at the end of the day, these people were still citizens of our own kingdom.
I agree with most of that. I am not one for unwanted bloodshed. I want to see this squashed as quickly as possible, and anyone who is being forced to fight for any reason shouldn’t have to choose between their Alpha and their Alpha King.
At the same time, all of this would be easier if Alpha Geofrey were taken out of power and either killed or locked up in a place where he wouldn’t be a threat again.
Standing in my wolf form on a rise in the ground about five miles away from the border of Alpha Geofrey’s territory where it borders another pack’s lands that have joined with us to fight against him, I pause and observe.
I see the glowing eyes of hundreds of wolves across from me, but I know that we have at least twice as many wolves on our side. This will be a slaughter—I’m certain of it.
Alpha Geofrey isn’t so certain, apparently, because, as a cloud passes over the moon, leaving us in near pitch-black shadow, he raises his head and gives a howl that I can easily interpret to mean one word—“Charge!”
With that, I howl in response, and the two sides go running toward one another. Rather than staying in the back, as I am certain Alpha Geofrey is doing, I am at the front, my paws flinging up leaves, dirt, and other debris as I sprint over the ground toward the largest warrior within my sights, and as the moon comes back out, I can see that he is rushing toward me as well.
He kicks off his back feet and goes flying through the air, his sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight as he attempts to sink them into my throat. I reach out with my front right paw and swipe at him, catching him in the chest and knocking him backward.
He lands with a thunk, and I quickly leap on top of him. The two of us go at it, our claws and teeth tearing into one another.
Even though this wolf is probably six inches larger than me and weighs a good fifty pounds more than me, I easily dispatch him, pressing his front paws aside as I lean in and sink my teeth into his throat.
I rip and shred until he stops moving. Then, I spit out the bloody fur I’ve collected and move on to the next.
It doesn’t take long for me to assess that we are winning handily. Alpha Geofrey has already begun to back up. I can see him now, in the distance, standing with a guard around him. The other Alphas that have sided with him are also standing off in the distance, and I can see the frightened expressions on their faces.
Clearly, none of them were prepared for this sort of an assault from our side.
As the howls from the Alphas signal that they are not prepared to keep their warriors in the fight, I gallop full-speed over to Alpha Geofrey.
He is staring at me from behind his warriors, which take a stance shoulder to shoulder to try to keep me away from him.
Using the mind-link, I transport my message to him. “You wanted to fight me? You wanted a war? We just slaughtered the majority of your troops and left them lying bleeding on the battlefield. Is this what you were looking for, Alpha? Is she worth it?”
He glares at me, and I know that he wants to come after me, but he can’t do that because he knows that I will defeat all of these troops and him before he even has a chance to get one swipe in.
But I’ve insulted his precious Luna Elaine, and now, he wants to kill me more than ever.
“You didn’t fight fair!” he barks back at me, his gruff voice sounding meek in my head. “You found a way to get more warriors to come in on your side than we were expecting!”
“How is that unfair? I am the king, goddessdamnit! Every single pack in the entire territory should’ve come in on my side! Now, you have seen what I can do. I strongly suggest you leave your pack in the hands of someone who is loyal to me and disappear into the night somewhere because as long as you are out there causing trouble, you can be sure, I will be hunting you. Forget about ever fucking sleeping again, you asshole!”
His eyes widen slightly, and I can tell he is frightened. He had no idea I’d go to such lengths.
I will not chase him down and kill him tonight, but there will be consequences if he doesn’t do as I say. After all, I can’t go home now anyway.
Going home has its own consequences for me.
So I will stay here until I have the opportunity to destroy this man who has become the face of the revolution.
He’s not the only one, of course. There are other Alphas, some on this field, some not so nearby, who want to challenge me. As long as they are out there, my throne isn’t safe, and I’m not willing to hand it over.
I’m also not willing to announce that I have an heir on the way yet either. No, that would also be untimely, and if anything should happen to the child, my credibility will be put into question.
“You have one week,” I tell him. “One week to abdicate your Alphadom and go away. Or I will find you, and when I find you, you will die. And that bitch Luna Elaine will die, too.”
The wolves in front of me begin to growl, which makes them all traitors. Even standing here in defiance of me is an act of betrayal that could get them all killed. They’ve let the other warriors die in front of them while they stood here and guarded this coward.
I hear Seth’s voice in my head. “We’ve routed them, Alpha Maddox. They are all running back toward the castle walls now. Do you want us to chase them?”
When I respond, it isn’t just to Seth. I tell all of the Alphas on my side, all of the leaders who are winning the day, “Let them go. We have made our point for now. I have left Alpha Geofrey with an ultimatum. We shall see if he is the great, wise leader he claims to be or if he already has one foot in the grave.”
In my head, I hear a resounding, “Yes, Alpha, and I can tell that our side is ready to quit the fight for now as well. It has gone much better than any of us ever would’ve expected, but at the same time, we have wounded to tend to, and the soldiers are tired from fighting so no one is disappointed in hearing me say that we can back off and not follow them further into the pack lands than we already have.
I back up slightly to a high ridge we’d plowed over on our path to victory. “We’ll set up camp here,” I tell Seth through the mind-link. “I’ve already told Alpha Geofrey if he doesn’t give up his position as Alpha, he’s a dead man.”
“Yes, Alpha,” my Beta says. “Do we expect him to do that or to try to bring in more allies to force us back?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I tell him as I see him coming toward me in the darkness. “Either way, we will be victorious.”
“Yes, sir,” Seth says as I see our transport vehicles coming in with the tents and other materials we need to set up camp.
Once one of the tents is set up for me, and my bags are brought in, I shift and get dressed. My first stop is the hospital tent that was set up before anything else. I go in to check on the wounded soldiers and thank them. As I walk through, shaking hands and patting backs, I get information from the different Alphas and other leaders and find out that we only lost fifteen wolves in all of that. We have a few dozen injured, some severally, but we have some of the best healers in the entire kingdom here to make sure they all recover.
After spending about an hour in the hospital tent, I walk back to my own tent. I need to get all of the information I’ve been given about where we were successful and where we weren’t down and create a battle map for what to do if Alpha Geofrey comes at me again, which I’m sure he will. And he will do so soon.
I also believe he will have help from more packs with him. He would be foolish to try the same thing again, now that he knows what we have in store for him.
Seth comes in so quietly, it’s almost as if he doesn’t want to be detected. I know there’s really only one reason why he would be walking so stealthily. He has something he wants to say to me, but he’s also afraid to say it.
Leaning over the table where my map is spread out, I continue to stare at it, waiting for him to speak. It takes him several minutes, and when he does, he asks, “Are you sure it wouldn’t be better to leave the advance guard here and go back to the castle, Alpha? I mean… I believe these Alphas have things under control here without you. Otherwise, aren’t you simply delaying the inevitable?”
I lift my head and look at him. “I said I would do it, Seth. I didn’t say when.”
He clears his throat and says, “They will accuse you of delaying.”
“Then I will let Alpha Geofrey and his allies storm over that ground we just fought on and slaughter them. Then, they will know that victories must be secured before they can be counted upon.”
He opens his breath to speak again but ends up closing it abruptly, knowing it will do him no good to argue with me. My mind is made up. I am here to defeat my enemy.
If that means I also get to delay the promise that I made to get these Alphas here, so be it.
I’m not sure which is more frightening, entertaining a queen consort—or telling Isla about it.