Chapter 3 - Senna

The house was in a state of frenzy, wolves running this way and that to get to the entry hall. I could barely track what was happening. Everyone had just rushed toward the front of the house, and I followed on instinct.

I'd been shoved out of the way more than once as I made my way here, and I had to circle around through the hallway to the dining room, where it connected to the front entrance again. The wood of the entire house was creaky and loud as we all moved.

And the sight at the door slapped me in the face.

Reginald stood before our alpha, and Terrance looked down at his beta. Reginald's naked skin was covered in fresh blood, and my alpha glared at him with a cold expression drilled into his features.

Oh, hell. That's far more blood than a small creature, or even a deer, would have.

Worse, I knew that Reginald had been drinking before he slipped out of the house to go for a run. He'd been at it for hours, and I'd had the misfortune of running into him in the kitchen when he'd gone for more of his stash.

He wasn't supposed to have it. All that stuff was supposed to go to Terrance, but Reginald was just as bad as he was about staying sober. I'd learned my lesson enough times to ensure I gave him a wide berth when he was drunk. Getting beaten or groped had burned itself into my memory as a cautionary tale.

"You fucking reek. The fuck is the matter with you?!" Terrance shouted.

Instinctively, I closed my eyes, pulling on my heightened sense of smell that was better than humans" but lightyears shy of the pack"s. Reginald stank of the forest, sweat and dirt covering him, but behind that was the rough, icy smell of wolven blood.

All of us could identify it, even me, and killing another wolf was the most severe offense one of us could make. There was no way the owner of that red liquid was still breathing. I didn't know much about healing or anatomy, but there was just so much. No one could survive losing that amount.

"He's killed another wolf." My voice was hushed as I spoke from my distant position.

Still, one of the others turned her angry glare on me, her lip curling in a snarl. Another omega, Gabrielle, turned her attention my way for only a split second. But I felt the sting of her growl rake over my skin.

She hated me only slightly more than the others, but she had no need. I wasn't about to take her place as a breeder. No one here would risk another wolfless pup being born. Gabrielle would be the alpha's top bitch for as long as she wanted the title.

Or until he found a true mate.

But something told me that day would never come, considering how rare it was. At least, that's what I hoped. After all, fate had a way of mucking things up, didn't it?

Terrance was a cruel bastard, though. He'd stolen his claim as alpha by killing our previous leader—and his wife and child, from what we all understood. The Collins pack had been born out of bloodshed and horror, and we were never to mention the events of that day or the name of the previous alpha again.

"I said, the fuck did you do, whelp?!" Terrance roared into the crowded entry hall, and everyone flinched back.

A few of the other lowly members of the pack and I whimpered slightly as he let the power of his alpha claim sing through the bond that united us to him. It singed, making my nerves ache like I'd burned them.

Our mate bond was a gift—or, in some cases, a curse—given to all wolves. But when Terrance had demanded we enact the blood binding of alpha to pack, it had been wholly one-sided.

When he was "crowned" leader, no one had been brave enough to stand up to him, least of all myself, considering I was already hated at that point and a small child.

"I only hunted! You demanded a catch for the pack! I didn't…" Reginald struggled to find the words, and I tracked the growing contusions across his skin. "I didn't know I'd gone onto their land. Not until that fucking wolf was at my throat."

Reginald wobbled on his feet, and I knew he wouldn't be standing for much longer. He was injured. Whoever the wolf was that he'd killed, they had put up a good fight. A part of me was glad for that, and it wasn't difficult to admit that I'd wished the loss had been in the other direction.

One less Reginald in the world would be a good thing.

In a quick flash, Terrance backhanded Reginald across the cheek. "You expect me to believe you couldn't track your whereabouts?! And even if you had gotten your stupid fucking self lost, likely because you"re piss drunk like always, what on earth made you think that killing an Edwards beta was the best course of action? Hm?"

The room gasped as one. Killing a beta was so much worse, and an Edwards? Fuck, we may as well have just walked up to their compound and declared war. The Edwards would be at our doorstep demanding retribution before sunup. Reginald had doomed himself. Murdering the beta had signed his own death warrant.

Dammit, our alliance with them is tenuous at best. Now this?

I remembered the singular time I'd run into another wolf in town, and the animosity between all wolven clans had kept me from my mate all this time. It had been an entire year, and I'd never heard from him again. Not that I expected to. And now…

Killing a beta of another pack was not fucking good, and Reginald was going to be offered up like a lamb to salvage any peace we could.

Which I selfishly hoped was possible. The Collins pack meant little to me, but my survival, on the other hand…if we went to war, I would undoubtedly be killed. If not because of a direct attack that I couldn't hope to defend myself from, then by supposed allies, who'd be looking for a chance to kill me for fun.

And it wasn't like wolves took prisoners.

"I didn't…I…"

Reginald couldn't possibly think he was actually going to defend himself. We all knew what happened, especially Terrance. Our highest-ranking beta, Reginald, was rash and impulsive. He rarely thought anything through. He'd fucked nearly every female wolf in the pack and shrugged off all serious thoughts about the rules and guidelines Terrance had put in place.

Especially that order to stay off Edwards land.

I still didn't understand why he was made beta in the first place, but everyone knew that something had to be up. He was a terrible leader, and he didn't follow the rules. And still, Terrance tolerated him. Rumors had swirled for years that Reginald was actually his son.

"You let that wolf inside you do whatever the fuck it wanted. That's what. You've never once tried to dull or hone the animal instincts in you. And now this!"

The wood walls shook as Terrance roared. I could see the veins in his neck and forehead bulge.

"They'll declare war for this, Reginald. They'll want your head on a damn pike, or they'll fight all of us." Terrance sighed, closing his eyes as his head tilted toward the ceiling. "You've really made a fucking mess now, haven't you?"

He didn't speak, and the others began growling at him. Tension and fury rose in the room, filling it like smoke. I choked on it just as hard, their overwhelming rage driving me to stumble back into the doorframe where I stood by the small, unused dining room.

The sound of my shoulder colliding with the wall was too loud, and the gazes of wolves around me zeroed in on my lesser form. Angry hisses and snapping jaws met me as a handful of the pack sought to take out their aggression on me—like they so often did.

Still healing from their last display of status, I cowered back, lowering my head.

No, please. I'm not picking a fight. Stop.

Partially shifted hands clawed at me. I knew they couldn't read my thoughts, per se, but those with wolves could smell the change in my pheromones. They could tell when I was scared, anxious. And I knew they enjoyed it when I was.

Showing my submissiveness didn't save me with these ones.

Just as Gabrielle swiped at me, her nails raking through my forearm and tearing the skin, there was a loud knock at the door.

Terrance growled, every wolf there refocusing on him and giving him their obedience.

"Damn. That was quicker than expected. Quiet down, you pissants." The low hum of snarls abruptly died. "Reginald, be a dear and answer the fucking door, won't you?"

Is he out of his mind? Having the man covered in beta blood answering the fucking door!

Reginald had no choice but to obey, however, and he stumbled forward, opening the thick barrier of wood wide. Another wolf stood just outside, and his eyes flared as he took in Reginald's appearance—and scent.

A growl rumbled out of the other wolf's chest, and everyone inside hunkered low. Tension like perching on a live wire sparked through the room. I could do nothing if this got physical, if there were more waiting outside.

"You fucking…" The Edwards wolf stopped himself, clenching his jaw before glaring back at Reginald. "The Edwards alpha demands retribution. Deliver the killer or your alpha to us for sacrifice, or go to war. Those are your choices."

Terrance shoved in front of Reginald, meeting the Edwards wolf with his own snarl. "You'll not be getting me, wolf."

The word left him with disgust, and right on cue, Terrance spat on the threshold at the other wolf's feet.

"It's up to you, Collins. We'll take this one." He looked past my alpha to Reginald again, who was still standing naked and bloody in the entryway. "Or expect war by tomorrow evening."

Silence hung as they stood in stalemate for a moment, but then the other wolf turned and walked away. He'd been dressed when he arrived, so I had to guess that he'd shift into his wolf form to cover the distance once he could put his clothes in the bag on his back.

Slamming the door shut, Terrance roared into the house again, grabbing Reginald's throat and squeezing.

"I'm done covering for you, you fucking ingrate." His teeth grew as he spoke, claws pressing out from his nailbeds. "You pull this shit again, and I'll throw you to the woods. I will reject your claim to a pack. You hear me!"

Scraping his fingers over the back of Terrance's hand, Reginald scrambled to keep his footing, desperate for air. The pack growled low at him, circling around the alpha and practically cackling like hyenas.

It was a disgusting display. I knew packs didn't have to be like this. I knew this was Terrance's doing, bringing out the worst in everyone. Everyone who was fully blood-connected to him, anyway.

I had no wolf to bleed for him. I could only accept his blood, and I thanked my unlucky stars for one damn break after the life I'd lived. At least I wasn't entirely beholden to him.

Reginald was tossed to the ground, and he ran off, his tail very much between his legs despite being in human form. Terrance wasn't sated, however, and neither were the Edwards. He wouldn't give them Reginald. Would we have to go to war?

The crack of the wall caving in echoed around the room as Terrance punched his fist through the wood, and I couldn't stop myself from cowering again. None of us could.

"I'm not going to fucking war!" Terrance began to pace. "We can't spare valued pack members. We're already hurting. Not a single new pup in years! Dammit!"

Everyone cleared out of his way, dodging and fleeing into the halls as he passed. When he reached my side of the room, I tried to hurry through the dining room door. Two more wolves pushed past me, though, knocking me to the ground.

Pain zinged up my knees as they collided with the hardwood floor. Feet shoved me down as more ran over me, and I was pinned down until they finally got through, leaving me crumpled against the knotty floorboards.

Pulling myself up to stand, I yelped as my ankle throbbed under my weight. My pack mates had likely sprained it when they trampled me, and I wanted to growl; I wanted to snap myself for how they treated me, but I knew I couldn't.

At once, Terrance was before me, staring down at me with cold, calculating eyes. I lowered my head, honoring him as best I could, but he didn't step away. He didn't continue pacing, either. Terrance just stood there, and after a moment, I had to look up. I needed to see what was happening.

When my gaze lifted, I met eyes with Terrance as he towered over me. A nasty smirk was plastered across his lips, and my breath left me. My pulse skyrocketed as panic crept up my spine.

I didn't know what he was thinking, but there couldn't be anything good about the way my alpha leered at me.

This is bad. Fuck! Why is everything always bad?