Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Ember

F rom the moment I slide into my vehicle, my wolf is petulant and moody. The full moon always seems to amp up the animalistic side of my personality, but this is worse, and I don’t know why she took Lorcan’s words as an invitation to visit pack lands.

She continually pushes her will into my mind. Over and over again, she tries to force me to give in to her commands. We’ll be driving right by shifter territory, and she doesn’t see why it’s a problem to stop in. She wants to run through the unobstructed forest. Maybe hunt a little. She even reminds me that we can peek around for Ethan Sanders.

Being a shifter is a balancing act.

We’re one and the same, but we occasionally have different goals. We also tend to differ on how we think it’s best to make those things happen. Her thoughts and actions are more baser than mine, but during my teenage years, my father and Uncle Ridge taught me how to coexist with her.

It’s complicated because I do find myself thinking of her as a different entity, but in reality, she’s just another facet of my personality.

We share one consciousness.

If I’m injured in human form and shift into my wolf, my injuries transfer to her body and vice versa.

That’s why it’s so hard to constantly fight her desires. On some level, it means I’m also intrigued by running through the North American Alpha’s territory.

Everything is complicated by the fact that my biological family on my dad’s side ran that pack for hundreds of years. Add on that female wolves have been endangered for hundreds of years, and it makes it even more dangerous for me to poke around where I don’t belong.

Wolves have extended lifespans, but outside of the ancients—the first wolf shifters to migrate to the human realm—we aren’t immortal. We just age exceptionally slowly.

The lack of female births in the wolf community wasn’t a problem at first, but like Lorcan mentioned, after several hundreds of years of the same, it’s become a real issue.

Females are still born, but at a rate of something like fifty males to one female. That makes it dangerous for a she-wolf who doesn’t have a strong alpha to protect her.

Thankfully, I did.

I mean, I still do.

Dread and Dash are demon shifters. Either my father or my brother could fight in an alpha challenge to defend my right to turn down a suitor I wasn’t interested in.

My wolf chuffs her displeasure in my mind, reminding me that we are an alpha shifter. And the rightful heir to the North American Pack.

Yeah, that still doesn’t mean I’m looking to get myself into trouble for being found somewhere I’m not supposed to be.

If a male specifically challenged for the right to mate me, and I chose to fight in the battle—instead of using one of my male family members as a proxy—and lost, he would have the legal right to bite and claim me.

That’s not a risk I’m willing to take.

That doesn’t stop my wolf from continually harassing me as I drive back toward Haven. She wants to run in the woods and socialize with other wolves.

It’s getting so bad that her constant nagging is actually wearing me down.

We’re only here to check for Sanders , I chastise, trekking through the overgrown underbrush of The North America Pack territory.

My wolf whines, pacing in my head.

She’s desperate for me to strip down to release her.

That’s not happening.

Last time we were here, she got stuck on a particular scent and stalked it way too close to the settlement where the wolves live.

The forest stays on my right as the nearly full moon shines in the sky. It’s only a few more nights until it’ll be full. Not that a full moon forces shifting, but my wolf would make my life hell if I skipped giving her the chance to run and enjoy herself.

Coming over the top of the hill, I stop dead in my tracks. Even in the dark, my eyesight is clear and crisp. I’m not sure what I’m seeing at first, but there’s a large circular area with mostly men lined around it.

A few wolves pace behind the line of men. They’re all focused on whatever is happening in the circle.

It’s an alpha challenge.

My wolf is sure of it.

And I have to agree.

I’m too far away to hear or see much, even with my enhanced hearing and eyesight, but the tree line on my right would offer decent coverage.

I’m in motion before I can stop myself, and I have my wolf to thank for that.

There’s definitely something huge going down.

And it’s not a fair fight.

Not by a long shot.

I never would have guessed that I’d have such a swift and visceral response to the injustice playing out before my eyes.

Alphas are huge in comparison to beta wolves, and they fight each other in alpha challenges…

Not betas.

A beta is never going to magically transform into an alpha. Okay, the literal single exception to that is if that beta mated with an omega. The point is, even if that beta won the challenge, he’d never be able to keep control of the pack.

If there’s a challenge occurring, why isn’t it against one of the other alpha wolves standing around? It’s not uncommon for alphas to fight it out for the role of apex alpha to run the pack.

My head tilts as I prowl closer, but everyone is so focused on the carnage that no one pays me any heed.

Well, until the little boy on the ground spots me. He’s been crying into his hands a few feet back from the others.

He must know the challenger .

Tears stream down his cheeks as his head tilts. His eyes flash from blue to amber, indicating his wolf is assessing me. My eyes glow back out of habit.

I can see the exact moment he realizes that I’m not one of their pack.

Shit .