3. Three

three

T hough it all happened so quickly, it took an impossibly long time for my father to fall. I watched as Finneus tore the dagger from Dad’s chest. In one fluid motion, he shoved our alpha into his throne-like chair and sliced the blade across his throat.

Scarlet blood sprayed the tablecloth as his white shirt turned red beneath the cummerbund. Shock paralyzed me, and I could do nothing more than stare at my father’s rapidly blinking eyes. His hand reached for mine, the gentle touch snapping me out of my horrified daze.

I bent over him, fingers fumbling on his slick skin to staunch the bleeding.

His lips moved to whisper his final words, meant for my ears alone. “One must fall, so another may rise.”

“W-w-what?” I leaned closer so my ear was right beside his mouth. All I heard was his powerful death rattle—a sound that would haunt my every waking hour for years to come.

When he slipped into the great pack lands beyond, a piece of my heart left with him. From the day I entered this world, he was my everything. Without him, I had nothing.

I was nothing.

Tears stung my eyes even as my mind tried to deny the truth. This had to be a nightmare. My father, the Ophiuchus alpha, couldn’t be… dead.

A growl born of pain and rage rumbled in my chest.

“How could you?” I hissed at Finneus, never taking my eyes off Dad’s lifeless gaze.

The beta ignored me. He had bigger concerns. Elder Lindie Thompson, my father’s widowed cousin, leapt from her chair at the head table and shifted. Her large, once-black wolf now had streaks of gray threaded through its fur. Hatred burned in her glowing yellow eyes.

Finneus raised the dagger as though to throw it at her. “Stand down,” he barked, authority heavy in his command.

Another fissure fractured in my chest. His voice carried the weight of an alpha. Even I could not deny it, and his will didn’t affect me the same way as it did the average pack member.

Lindie whined and pawed at the ground but didn’t advance. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement. Several pack enforcers, including Belinda’s brother, Donnelle, gathered at the base of the dais.

Fear broke through the anguish. Finneus hadn’t just murdered my father. He’d planned a hostile takeover, and he intended to defend his new position with deadly force. He would kill Lindie and anyone else who came forward.

Finneus raised his hand to halt the enforcers’ advance.

“There is no need for more bloodshed,” he declared in a voice that reverberated inside my head. “The choice is yours, Elder Thompson. You have been a loyal member of this pack, serving faithfully under two alphas. Kneel to my will, and you can serve a third.”

I held my breath while Lindie considered the offer. A selfish part of me prayed to Gaia she would submit, just so I wouldn’t lose another relative at this damned gala. The stubborn streak inside me hoped she would fight.

The blood of the alpha ran strong in my cousin’s veins, and pride demanded she not back down. My heart felt like it was filled with helium. A voice inside my head whispered that I should be the one to challenge the beta, but my limbs refused to obey. I crouched, frozen with conflicting thoughts, beside my father’s body. I watched as the gray and black wolf charged Finneus.

A scream stuck in my throat. I knew the outcome before it happened. Not because of any extrasensory gift. My father had appointed Finneus his beta, but the older Williams’ brother had earned the title. He was a magnificent fighter and had exceptional aim. The instant the dagger left his fingers, I knew the blade would find its mark between Lindie’s eyes.

My sharp intake of breath drew Finneus’ attention. All emotion had fled his dark gaze as he appraised me, gleaning a certain amount of satisfaction at the sight of me kneeling before him. I started to stand, but Finneus cocked his head to the side and spoke in a silky-smooth voice.

“Think very carefully right now, Drake. Your death benefits no one, but I won’t have dissent in my ranks.”

He gestured toward the doors, which flung open on cue. A line of wolves I didn’t recognize sauntered inside the ballroom. They had the desperate, hungry stench of strays as they padded in, snapping at the tables as they passed. They snapped and snarled, saliva dripping from their canines, as they passed the tables of the highest-ranking pack members before standing in front of the dais.

“Strays,” Finneus confirmed to me. “All under my command.”

My wolf clawed at my insides, demanding to break free and tear out his throat. The traitorous asshole stabbed my father and now he’d brought stray wolves into Ophiuchus pack lands to secure his pretender’s throne. For that, the beta deserved to die.

Be smart, a voice whispered from the darkest depths of my mind. You can’t beat Finneus in a physical battle. Be patient.

Irritatingly, this was true. I was a decent fighter, but nowhere near as good as Finneus. Instead of pouncing, I remained silent, tears still burning my eyes. I glared up at the man I’d considered family. His lips parted and formed a manic grin.

“Good girl, Drake,” he said, condescension lacing every word. “Now sit.”

I felt the tug in my mind, his attempt to impose his alpha will on me, but I wasn’t compelled to act. It was my choice to sit, just as it had been Lindie’s choice to attack. I clasped my bloody hands in my lap and glared up at the beta.

“Alpha,” he corrected as though reading my mind. “I am your alpha, Drake.” He turned to address the pack. “Did you all hear me? Basil Aspen has fallen. I, Finneus Williams, am Ophiuchus Alpha.” His emotionless gaze scanned the crowd, followed by the head table, before finally landing on me.

“You will say the words eventually, Drake,” he muttered under his breath.

Finneus cleared his throat and turned back to the pack. “The Prophecy of the Twin Comets is neither legend nor myth but a promise from Gaia herself.” His voice rose with each word. “To move forward, we must first shed what was, to prepare for what is to come. The dawn of the Age of Ophiuchus is upon us. Eternal prosperity and power is within our grasp. As alpha, I will lead you into a future where Ophiuchus wolves no longer hide in the shadows. We will rule the realm as we have ruled the Snake Mountains for centuries.”

Finneus’ gaze swept the head table. “Do any of you challenge my authority as alpha?” His eyes cut briefly to Lindie’s crumpled body laying broken in a pool of blood.

The remaining elders bowed their heads and spoke in a collective voice. “Ophiuchus above all.”

Finneus’ gaze bore into me as though trying to drill a pressure hole in my stubborn refusal to pledge loyalty to an imposter. He sniffed, annoyed but unwilling to press the matter. Yet. Instead, he directed his attention to the crowd and repeated the question.

This time, someone accepted the offer. Lindie’s eldest son, Lionel, rose from the same table where Evera and Grace sat. He was one of my father’s enforcers and had served under Finneus’ command for years, despite being older and technically Dad’s closest male blood relation.

“I, great-grandson of Bartel Aspen, challenge you, Finneus Williams, for the position of alpha,” Lionel declared.

The throng of strays turned toward the threat and bared their teeth. Lionel’s fellow enforcers looked to Finneus for direction. The beta accepted Lionel’s challenge without blinking an eye, proving he was not one-hundred percent coward.

Lionel never stood a chance, yet his scrappy black wolf grappled claw and fang. Finneus’ enormous tawny wolf overpowered my distant cousin in under two minutes. Lionel managed to get in one good swipe of his sharp nails across the other wolf’s snout before Finneus’ jaws clamped around his throat. With that, another threat to the new alpha’s reign lost the battle and his life.

Hot tears of rage streamed down my cheeks. I had never felt so helpless or so useless in my life. Fury burned away the numbness inside of me. This type of thing didn’t happen in our pack. We weren’t like other shifters. Petty squabbles for dominance weren’t a part of our world. We respected tradition. Murdering an alpha went against everything the Ophiuchus believed.

And yet, no one else came forward to challenge the new alpha.

My gaze found Evera. She gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head, correctly guessing that my thoughts had veered into dangerous, reckless territory. For just a split second, I imagined myself rising and saying the words.

“No,” Evera mouthed, her eyes wide and she vehemently shook her head.

Finneus shifted back to his human form, Lionel’s blood dripping from his chin and staining his chest hair red. He threw his head back and howled. The strays joined in, as did the enforcers and the Council of Elders, then most of the pack did the same.

I sat motionless and prayed to Gaia to wake the fuck up from this nightmare.

Finneus held his arms parallel to the ground and slowly lifted them toward the heavens. All around me, the pack stood. In perfect unison, they fell to their knees in supplication. My broken heart shattered, the shards stabbing my lungs and making it hard to breathe.

This wasn’t right. Nothing would ever be right in my world again.

Finneus’ gross display of power made me physically ill. Even the wolves most loyal to my father couldn’t resist their new alpha’s will. Dad had never wielded his ability like this. His leadership style made the pack want to pledge their loyalty to him. They bowed to his dominance by choice, not compulsion.

Finally, the howls died down. Finneus found the only person still standing, back by the entrance—Penn. The brothers locked eyes, silent messages passing between them. Penn’s expression was blank as he strode toward Finneus, but he didn’t stop at his brother. No, the backstabbing jackass marched up onto the dais and straight over to my chair.

His warm fingers wrapped around my arm. “Come on, Drake,” he said, tugging me from my chair.

Fury caused me to lash out, and my bloody palm left a crimson stain on his cheek. The slap echoed in the silence, though he didn’t flinch.

“Make this easier on everyone, especially yourself,” Penn insisted, squeezing my arm.

I shook my head, refusing to leave my father’s body there like a spectacle to gawk at. Penn leaned closer, his lips brushing my ear. I raised my hand to strike him again, but he caught my wrist.

“He will kill you in front of everyone to make a point, Drake. Do you think Basil would want that ending for you?”

My teeth ground together, but I held my tongue and swallowed the bitter retort on my lips. Finneus had killed my father and two members of my extended family. I had no doubt the traitor would dance naked over my dead body given a chance.

“Obey him, and you will live.” Penn nudged me away from my father.

Not one of the elders would meet my gaze. Cowards. The enforcers were no better. Traitors.

They stared anywhere but at me. The strays’ glowing yellow eyes tracked my every move as Penn led me to Finneus, who still stood over Lionel’s corpse.

“Are you going to kill me, too?” I spat.

His dark eyes studied me for a long moment. My heartbeat sped up as cold sweat trickled down my spine. I held my head high, chin tipped toward the sky. If he wanted me dead, he would look me in the eye and say it to my face.

“No, I don’t think that’s necessary,” Finneus said at last. “As I said, no one benefits from your death.”

My shoulders sagged, though I couldn’t decide whether it was from relief or disappointment. A new alpha didn’t leave the daughter of his defeated predecessor alive for any good reason.

“Take Drake back to her house, Penn.” Finneus narrowed his gaze, directing his next words at me. “You will stay there until I send for you.”

Penn still had a hold on my arm. His fingers dug into my flesh, a warning not to argue or say something I might regret. “Please, Drake,” he murmured.

I glared up at Finneus for another beat before allowing his brother to lead me away. My pulse pounded so loudly in my ears that I didn’t hear the feet running to catch up with us. It wasn’t until her cold fingers wrapped around mine that I registered Evera’s presence.

Her expression was equal parts wrath and panic. She said nothing because there was nothing to say. No platitude would make the situation better. No words could change the fact my father was dead.

My father was dead.

He had been both Mom and Dad since the day I was born. It had always been just the two of us. Even after Tavin died and the Williams’ brothers came to live with us, Dad had gone out of his way to make sure we still had those father-daughter moments.

And now… I was alone.

Penn released my arm once we were several yards from the temple; far from Finneus’ watchful gaze. He fell back to walk behind Evera and me. Any other time, I might’ve thought it a kind gesture meant to give us space and the illusion of privacy. But I knew better. The asshole’s heart was just as frozen as his traitorous brother’s.

When we reached my porch, Penn turned to Evera. “Go home.”

Her eyes went round. “I’m staying with Drake.”

Penn’s gaze cut to me briefly. “No, you’re not. Go home, Evera.”

I glowered at him while speaking to her. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

She hesitated and then wrapped me in her arms. “Be strong,” she whispered.

I gently pulled out of her embrace and gestured with my eyes. “Go and be with your mother. I’ll see you soon.”

Truthfully, I didn’t know that I would. Finneus wasn’t likely to permit me visitors. The fact he hadn’t stopped her at the gala was a minor miracle, and I didn’t expect him to be so generous in the future.

I watched her go, cold settling in my bones as I wondered if I would ever see her again. The thought was too much to handle with the image of my father’s final moments so fresh in my mind. In the blink of an eye, I had lost my world. My heart couldn’t withstand another blow.

I turned and stepped through the doorway. Penn started to follow me, but I whirled on him.

“You aren’t welcome here,” I snapped.

Gold ringed the storm clouds in his irises. “Afraid you don’t have a choice. I need your phone, too. Alpha’s orders.”

Maybe because it was just the two of us, or the fact my shock had worn off. Maybe I just didn’t have anything left to care about. Whatever the reason, I finally found my voice and the words I should’ve said to Finneus.

“You and your alpha can go fuck yourselves.”

I slammed the door in Penn’s face.