Endangered Species

It was like everything was moving in slow motion.

The guards behind Cole started drawing their pistols as the Tribunal announced its verdict. By the time Alpha Trent said, “Immediately,” their guns were pointing at the back of Cole’s head.

He never had a chance. Two shots nearly in unison from less than a foot away to the base of his skull. The bullets tore through his head, exiting his face in a spray of blood and brain matter. I watched in shock as his body dropped to the ground.

I barely heard the screams from the audience or Alpha Trent banging on the gavel for order. My vision suddenly turned as red as the blood that covered my face. I felt something rising within me, something primal, bringing fury and violence with it as I stood up. My hands went under my dress sleeve, emerging in a second with a silver throwing knife in each hand.

I wanted the blood of Alphas on my teeth.

My chair fell back as I stood, and Alpha Brian was closest. I let out a roar and gathered my body to attack. Instead, someone crashed into me from behind, knocking me face-down onto the end of the long table. More people jumped on me, grabbing my wrists and twisting me until I dropped the knives. “NO! I’LL KILL THESE FUCKERS!”

“You can’t, Alpha. Not now,” Lois whispered into my ear. “DOC!”

The three pulled me from the table and slammed me to the floor. “Hold that head still, dammit,” Doctor Laura said. I caught a glimpse of her bringing a syringe closer. I felt the poke in my neck, followed by the chilled sensation of the chemical entering my bloodstream. Seconds later, everything went black.

“Wake up, Alpha,” I heard.

It was like swimming up from the darkness, but my mind started to clear. I opened my eyes to see the drop-ceiling and recessed lighting of the infirmary. I tried to lift my hands to cover my eyes from the bright light but found them cuffed to the bed rails. I turned my head to the side and saw Lois sitting by my bed. “Cole?”

“I’m sorry, Angela. He’s dead.”

The memories of that moment came flooding back, and I heard someone screaming as my eyes filled with tears. It took a second to realize that it was me making that noise and another few seconds for it to stop. Half of my soul ripped away, and only the pain remained. It wasn’t just my human side, reacting to the death of a man I was growing to love. I sensed the raw, animal anger deep inside that was not mine. “Why?”

“He was found guilty and sentenced, Alpha. It is our way. There is no appeal.” Tears were in her eyes, and her voice was uneven. “I’m sorry.”

More of the memories flooded my mind. “You stopped me.”

“We did, Alpha. My assignment was to protect you. Not only would an attack against any of the Council members fail, but attacking the tribunal is illegal. If Alpha Brian didn’t kill you, you would have been tried and executed ten minutes later.”

“But I’m not a werewolf,” I objected.

“Your bite means you are no longer human,” she answered. “Your wolf is inside you, and we could sense it coming out. It wanted blood, so we HAD to stop you.”

The door opened, and Doctor Laura came to my bedside, looking at the monitors. “How are you feeling, Alpha Summers?”

“I’m mad as hell,” I replied. “You drugged me!”

“I did. You were out of control, and it was the only way to stop an early shift that might kill you. It was enough to knock you out for a few hours. It won’t have any lingering effects.”

That took some of the anger away. “And you just happened to have a needle ready?”

She nodded. “I had several, as does my nurse. We have a lot of women going through the fever now. If someone starts going nuts, it’s better to knock them out than to have them hurt themselves or others.”

“And me?”

She felt my forehead. “They are starting. Your fever will continue to climb over the next few hours. By tonight, you’ll be delirious.” She took a few more minutes examining me before telling me everything was proceeding as expected.

“Can you take these things off now?”

“Not a good idea just yet,” she said. “I’ll check on you in an hour or so.” She walked out and left me wondering why she thought I was still dangerous.

I’d calmed down, right?

So why were they still worried?

“What aren’t you telling me, Lois? What happened after I left?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t catch it all because we were busy getting you out of the damn room, and the place was going nuts. You can’t kill the host Alpha in front of his entire Pack and not get a reaction.”

“Then who is going to tell me?”

The door opened, and Beta Mark Chapman entered with his mate, Beta Kelly. “I’m here to fill you in, Alpha Summers.”

“What happened to my Pack, Beta?”

He looked at his mate, then at me. It wasn’t good news. “The Brinnon Pack isn’t yours, Alpha. Yes, you were my cousin’s mate, but you hadn’t completed the mating or taken your place by his side as his Luna. Under Werewolf law, Melanie was still the acting Luna, and I was second in command. When your mate died, I became the Brinnon Pack Alpha. All of the Brinnon wolves and humans became our responsibility. You are still an Alpha, but only of the Renfro pack. Even that is titular since your wolf hasn’t emerged, and they haven’t submitted to you yet.”

Just like that, I was out. I’d risked everything to improve my girls’ lives, and suddenly, they aren’t my problem? “What of our agreement? What happens to the human women who haven’t taken the bite?”

Kelly had tears running down her face as she answered. “The Council made several rulings about them. The ones taking the change had their membership in the Brinnon Pack voided. The Council ruled women couldn’t choose an Alpha until their wolves were out.”

“Of course they did,” I muttered.

“It’s worse than that,” Mark continued. “To punish Brinnon Pack for their offenses against the humans, no human will be allowed to join Brinnon unless they find a mate among the Pack. I can’t bring in males or females who are not mates anymore.”

Holy shit! “And those who want to stay here?”

“They are not allowed to stay,” Mark replied. “They must choose among the other Packs and go there. That is something I needed to talk about with you. You know you have two Pack members who traveled here with Alpha Max?”

I nodded. “Ty Springer found his mate Jeri and bit her an hour later. She’s changing with the others in the first group. Oscar Wild is still single.”

The pair nodded. “I need to know if you intend to keep the Renfro Pack or turn it over to another Alpha.”

“Why would I do that?”

He let out a breath. “You are in a precarious position right now, Angela. You haven’t shifted.”

“Surely I can’t be challenged during my shift! Doc says the fevers have begun!”

“No, and you won’t have Cole to fight in your place. The others will wait to see how powerful your wolf is when she emerges. Any Alpha or a Beta could challenge you if she appears weak. Your challenger is likely to be more dominant, bigger, and have years of fighting experience. You fight, and you will die. You concede the challenge and give up the Pack and your place in it.”

“What would happen then?”

“You would become rogue. No Alpha wants an Alpha female around unless it’s his mate, and none of the Packs have openings at the high ranks. It’s a lonely life, usually ending in madness and death.”

“Is there another option?”

He nodded. “You need to get out of here before the other Alphas find out what is going on. I am having a vehicle prepared, one of our functional armored Humvees. We sneak you out while the others are eating dinner, and you make your way to Renfro and take control of your Pack.”

I liked this idea better than dying in a day or two. “I’d still be weaker than them. Plus, I’ll be out of it with the fevers tonight! How the hell do I get through that on the road? Don’t I need an Alpha to help me through the change?”

He nodded. “That’s why they won’t expect us to move you so soon. I’ll tell everyone you have the fever, and no one will check in on you. Ted and Lois will arrange the logistics, get you past the guards, and drive you out of here.”

I looked over at Lois. “What does that mean for you? You guys are Lead Warriors here!”

Lois had tears in her eyes. “We won’t be returning. We’d be joining your Pack after your shift if you’ll have us.”

“Of course I will,” I said as tears filled my eyes. I wanted to reach over to my guard and comfort her, but my hands were still bound. “Can you take these off?”

“Not yet,” Mark said.

I thought about making a run through the kind of territory I’d seen with a single vehicle. A driver and a wolf riding shotgun would be vulnerable as it was too easy to block a road and set an ambush. “Who else is going?”

“That depends on what you want to do about the human females, Angela. I suggest you leave Warrior Ty here while his mate changes. I can help her through it, and he can be your ‘recruiter.’ I think many women will prefer to have you as their Alpha. After what they saw today, I doubt they’ll trust anyone but me, and Brinnon isn’t an option anymore. That is if you want them.”

“Of course I do,” I said. My head was spinning; part of the reason Alpha Max attacked me was that his Pack was down to half its strength and wasn’t positioned well for survival. “If Renfro was dying before, how can it survive with a new Alpha and dozens of new wolves? Lois will be overwhelmed!”

“You’ll have to figure out a way, Angela. If you don’t, Edward and the others will grab them.”

“I’ll need help.”

“I know. You’ll take Warrior Oscar with you, and I’d like to send Melanie too. She can be your pseudo-Luna and help you and your Pack learn how to function. You have to assume control of the Pack, find a new location for them, and gather enough supplies to survive. ”

Melanie? Wow. “Don’t you need her here?”

He shook his head. “Alpha Edward has already challenged me for Brinnon Pack, Angela. I think his plan all along was to get Cole removed, then challenge me when I replace him. The Council gave me a day to prepare, but I’m not sure I’ll win. Melanie is an unmated Alpha who doesn’t want to risk falling under Edward’s rule. She wants to go with you.”

Damn, we were practically going to be Amazons with the number of women in our Pack! “I’d love to have her, Mark. Once things settle down after you kick Edward’s ass, she can return if she wants.” I rattled my cuffs again. “That was a lot to take in, but it’s not worth keeping me shackled, is it?”

Kelly looked like she’d rather be anywhere else, and Mark didn’t want to say it either. “It’s the humans who haven’t taken the bite,” Kelly said softly.

“What about them?”

“The Council ruled they have twenty-four hours to take the bite. It’s a voluntary change, or else.”

I felt a chill run through me. “Or else what?”

“A bullet in the back of the head. The Council told them that was their choice.”

I was seeing red again, and those cuffs came in handy after all.