Kingdom of Wolves - Page 76

The training flies by and the improvement in only these fewsessions is obvious. The warriors were lazy and unprofessional, not caring theywere placing the pack in danger. But once they’ve been taken down a few times,they soon smarten themselves up, because being handed your ass in front ofeveryone is no joke, especially when many watching are females of the pack.

Thomas walks over to me when the training is over and Ionasoon follows, with Hallec close behind her. Something in my manner must havethem alert, because they stand next to me with their wolves flashing in theireyes.

“What’s wrong, Gabe?” Thomas asks, watching the surroundingarea for threats.

“I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying in this pack.” I lookat Thomas, then Iona and Hallec. I can see they are shocked at my declaration.

“Why?” Iona asks, leaning back onto Hallec’s chest.

“The Alpha is wanting all unmated males in the pack to takea female as a breeder. I refused and if they push, I’ll reject the pack andAlpha. It’s something that was stopped years ago and should never bereinstated.” Snarling because Phoenix is in my voice and surely in my eyes.

Iona closes her eyes a moment before looking at me directly.“You keep me informed. I have a sister who is unmated. She’s been talking abouttraveling to other packs to find her mate, but we persuaded her to wait for himto come to find her, as is the norm. But I’d rather she goes rogue and lives inWolfsfoot than be a breeder.”

“Shit, that’s not going to go down well. The only males thatwill agree are the ones in Alpha Connell’s inner circle, the likes of Bellamyand Jackson. I don’t know how many will step up otherwise, but I’ll say thatwhoever does step forward will not be on my friend list.” Thomas sneers with atouch of his wolf Aspen, it tells the rest of us how they both feel about thisproposition.

“Can you speak to anyone on the council, Gabe?” Hallec asks,and I give him a nod.

“Yes, I’m going to contact Flint and see what he wants orwill do about it.” Turning, I squint as I see Bellamy with Evangeline, headingtowards us.

“What’s going on here?” Bellamy asks and before I canrespond, Iona laughs.

“Well, we were talking about how happy we’ll be whenEvangeline finds her mate and leaves the pack, you know, so we’ll get rid ofthe rot in the pack.” Iona stares at Evangeline with more than a little of herwolf in her eyes.

“I’m not leaving the pack, I’m going to be Luna of the packand then you’ll have to bow down to me.” Evangeline snarls, but the four of usburst out laughing at how ridiculous that statement is.

“If Alpha Connell is stupid enough to make you his Luna, therest of the females in the pack will leave and what will that say about you?”Iona growls.

“You’ll be the first to leave and your pathetic mate.”Evangeline glares at Hallec, and I know that was the wrong thing to do. Ionalaunches herself at Evangeline and has her pinned to the ground, unable todefend herself. We move between them and Bellamy so he can’t interfere. We cansee he’s not happy about it, but he’s a coward when it comes down to the wire,so he makes no effort to push any of us out of the way.

When Evangeline bows to Iona’s dominance we watch as Ionaslowly stands but remains at the ready. “Push me again and I’ll not leave youintact.”

Evangeline, knowing she’s well and truly beaten, turns andhurries away, and to our amusement, Bellamy is right behind her.

“We need to watch those two and Jackson closely. I’ve toldAlpha Connell he’ll be seen as a bully and not worthy if he continues along thesame lines as he has with those three. He needs to step away and make sure hecreates a good pack image, and so far, he’s failing badly.” Turning, we allmake our way back to the packhouse, where we’ll freshen up and change for therest of our day’s duties.

Once dressed in black pants and a button-down shirt, I pickup my phone from the dresser and make the call I know is needed. I wait for thecall to be answered and then quickly say, “Flint, I need to tell you somethingthat has me worried.”

“What’s wrong, Gabe?”

“Alpha Connell is wanting to bring back the pack breeders.He spoke to me about taking a breeder or chosen mate. I refused. The Beta has agreedto take a breeder.”

Flint curses on his end of the phone. “It’s not going tohappen, Gabe. I’ll come over for an impromptu visit. I’ll speak to Porter andUlmer, but we’ve still got to take on two more council members. I can get theirthoughts on what they want to happen about this. I’ll contact you before Iarrive.”

“Okay, I’ll leave rather than agree to breeders in thepack.” Snarling as Phoenix is so close to the surface.

“I’ll call a meeting when I arrive but think of otheroptions that we can give. It’s a better way to handle this than goinghead-to-head.”

Cutting the call, I slide the phone into the back pocket ofmy pants and head down for lunch. Afterward, I need to check on the warriorsthat will be on border patrol this evening.

Walking out of the dining area after lunch, I step into theoffice that has been allocated for all training purposes. I look at the rosteron the wall and see who is on patrol this evening, noting its Wallace, Vernon,Amos, Charlie, Clive, and Ken. They are all good warriors and have taken to thetraining sessions with serious intent. I’m not going to worry about them onpatrol, as I know they’ll do whatever is required.

We have not been patrolling the border between us and SpiritWalker Pack for a while, as we’ve had no incidents with them in years and notwanting to spread the warriors too thin in case we have a rogue attack. It’sbeneficial that no-man’s-land is not near us, but on the other side of SpiritWalker and Blood Pearl Pack. We would, I hope, rush to help them if needed withany invasion or attack that would happen to them through no-man’s-land rogues.

The day flies past without another incident and I stay awayfrom the Alpha and Beta, who have been walking the pack and speaking to packmembers. I’m suspicious as to why they are trying to be so friendly, but I canguess.

Morning and training are over, I’m called to the Alpha’soffice once more. I can imagine what is going to be discussed, but they have nochance I’ll agree to any shit they throw my way.

Knocking on the door, I enter after the call to ‘come in’,and I quickly see the Alpha behind his desk, Beta near the fireplace, andJackson lounging on a chair. I place my hands behind my back and stand in frontof the desk, waiting for what’s to come.