Gamma No More - Book 3

Alpha Nate bowed low to his King. It’s taken him two months to get around to speaking to him after the broadcast fiasco.

“Your Majesty,”

King Petrus looked around the Alpha’s office, noting how little he had personalised it before seating himself and speaking.

“How is my son doing?”

“As you requested, I’m checking in with him regularly.

He is struggling to fit in, with no rank or position; I believe he feels a little lost, lacking a sense of direction in his life.

It seems the other Kingdom harbours a distrust of us, or maybe, it’s just of him. So even though he’s taken their oath, most of the pack does not yet accept him yet; I don’t think he expected to be on the periphery of the pack.”

King Petrus shook his head.

Even after centuries of peace, this kingdom had not wiped away the tarnish of the massacre that had happened during the great war. Theirs had been the only continent with Lycans; the others had only a wolf population, but to them, the Lycans had been god-like, something to be revered.

Even knowing that hundreds of wolves had died, and they had lost whole bloodlines to the war, wasn’t punishment enough for them; or that the perpetrators of the war were long dead wasn’t enough to wash away the stains of the past. Some cuts ran deep, it seemed.

He’d known that when he’d negotiated for them to take in his son.

After he had stripped his son of his titles and agreed with him to be exiled as a punishment, either of which was a big enough stain on his character. The King had to concede to every demand the new pack made to get them to take him in. It was only to be expected that they treated him with mistrust.

Sighing, the King continued.

“A wolf sent away under a cloud will always need to work harder to regain their reputation, even in their new pack.

I hope a year or two in a new pack will be enough to help teach him humility. Maybe find his mate to balance him, potentially allowing his reputation here to be forgotten slightly so he can come back.”

He leans forward, picking up his coffee as Alpha Nate replied.

“You want him still to be your heir?” the surprise, evident in his voice

“Absolutely not. The packs would be in uproar, but it’s hard not having your son close, something you’ll learn one day when you find your mate and have pups.

Once he’s learnt to live the quiet life, then I hope he can come back and live quietly among us, maybe act as an advisor to whoever becomes my heir. He has useful qualities that, when tempered with respect and humility, would benefit my successor.”

The King’s words are heavy with feeling and Alpha Nate nods along, not sure that a year or even two will be enough to rehabilitate his image, and it’s his job to counsel the King in this matter, however, unpleasant the subject may be.

“You may need to leave it a little longer, Your Majesty. He all but admitted he was trying to oust you from power, forcibly.

People don’t forget attempted treason and your named heir may also have some concerns, with such a short duration away, effectively asking themselves whether he had a chance to really change.

Maybe he could visit after two years, with a more realistic view of at least five years before he returns.

That doesn’t stop you, or the Queen, from visiting him a few times. He is, after all, not banished, but exiled, technically at his own request.”

Nate’s tone is conciliatory, knowing his words are unpalatable, but while the King has a frown, he’s nodding slowly, they both know that being exiled was the compromise that Darius and the King came up with, rather than an active choice of the Prince.

“Wise words, you’ve always put this pack first, Nate.”

The King sits back, lost in his thoughts, as Nate sits patiently by.

Nate knows that he’s been talking to all the leadership of this pack, speaking to each of the Deltas and Gammas last week; He had made sure he had spoken to each one afterward, but essentially, the questions and their answers were the same.

The King had asked what contact they had had in the past with the rogue Gamma, now known only by her name, Antonia Woodfield, their involvement in what had happened, and how they fit into the pack structure.

As yet, the King hadn’t removed anyone from their positions, but the Alpha knew that the decisions that were made over Antonia had heavily affected the Chief Delta Alek, who had already brought up the idea of him stepping down to Nate.

Alpha Nate had, of course, refused, counselling Alek on his feelings, knowing that Alek had done nothing wrong, he’d followed orders and done his duty to the pack, even tried to defend her internally more than once and asked for her to be removed from the Nightshade pack on at least two occasions, all of which were honourable actions.

Every time they discussed Antonia and her role, the Crown Prince had been adamant she stayed with the Nightshade pack, and Nate, well, he had always sided with the Prince for his own reasons. The error was not with Delta Alek.

The King evidently felt the same way about the Chief Delta, because he had kept him in place for now, at least, and Alek had admitted he’d also suggested to the King it may be right for him to step down.

Additionally, the King had also been discussing the state of the pack, more of an audit, probably the most attention he’d paid to the pack since long before he’d announced Darius as the Crown Prince.

Alpha Nate wasn’t that worried, especially as his review also included wolves that had no direct contact with Antonia, and those meetings were not much shorter. It implied the King didn’t have that much of an agenda.

He had spoken to the Beta immediately before calling Alpha Nate in, so Nate hadn’t yet discussed the details of his meeting with him or anything that the King had spoken to him about yet, but he planned a debrief tomorrow. It was the end of a hectic day, still fighting a few fires from Antonia’s broadcast fallout two months ago and continuing to co-ordinate the pack searches.

“How does the review of Antonia Woodfield go? I know it hasn’t been that long since you announced it?”

Alpha Nate breaks the silence, but the King has been undertaking the review personally, using his court staff so no one in the main Pack knows the remit of his review, nor the results, something that makes dealing with the other Alpha’s difficult.

“Her old pack is claiming the death of Alpha Vincent was a righteous death, under an old, unrevoked law of the packs. She had even left the law books open in her office for them to find.

Even most of the warriors, that weren’t there, agreed, the main dissenting voice was the old Beta.”

King Petrus takes another sip of his coffee, using it as a delaying tactic.

“But they banished her,” Alpha Nate frowned

“For her reputation.” The King shook his head.

“Alpha Robert wanted a fresh start, to show the packs he meant to clean up his house. Banishing her was a smart move for him to take.” The King confirmed before continuing.

“Alpha Robert spoke highly of her, explaining the old Alpha controlled most of her actions, inside and outside of the pack. The old Alpha even caned her and left her strung from the ceiling the night before she passed her assessment.

I wonder at how much my son knew of what she endured because of his command.”

He fell silent once more before Nate spoke up.

“It’s a shame their warriors weren’t able to stop her from leaving the pack. It may have helped your review.”

Alpha Nate added as the King looked at him strangely

“I honestly wish I hadn’t started it. ”

The King admits after a momentary silence.

“I am dammed whichever way the review falls.

Half the packs that have contacted me want her found guilty and the sentence to remain, the rest don’t, seeing her as the victim.

While we’ve searched for her, even focussing more on the packs that have supported her, there’s been no sign of this she-wolf.”

Exasperation is clear in his voice

“Once again, she’s disappeared.” The King puts his cup down.

“She wasn’t rogue for the broadcast and that was almost a year after the death of Alpha Vincent.”

“Well,” Alpha Nate suggested something that had occurred to him earlier.

“We thought she was a full rogue before the broadcast and she proved us wrong, so there has to be a pack sheltering her somewhere.

Maybe she swore an oath with one, then was living outside their pack boundaries. We know it’s possible as long as one wolf visits periodically, they remain sane.”

King Petrus nods

“We’ve had a closer look at the Deadfalls and Nightshade packs for that reason, but we’ve had no reason to believe that they have any links to her, and the Nightshade members are adamant that the banishment was real.

They felt the order in Alpha Robert’s command.”

The King’s reply sounded laced with resignation, as if he didn’t think or want to find her.

“My gut feeling is she’s offshore somewhere, maybe an independent island pack,”

The King paused, sighing

“Maybe that’s the best outcome. I’m calling off the search for her until we have proof of life within our territory.

Make sure all the packs know.”

“Yes, Sir.” Alpha Nate confirms respectfully.

“Honestly, I’m hoping that the matter will die quietly, probably too much to hope for that she does too.” He admitted.

“Tell me, did you agree to send her back to the Nightshade pack, as the broadcast suggested?”

The King’s eyes grow keener as if he’s looking into the soul of the wolf sitting before him. Alpha Nate grows a little uncomfortable, not enjoying the scrutiny.

“I did, Your Majesty; I’ve had time to reflect on my actions and I let both her and this pack down.

Honestly, we should have listened to Alek more, he and his mate spent the most time with her and Alek always saw her potential and I think, maybe the real Antonia.

I know it was your son who made the ultimate decision, but I won’t lie. Mine had been the same. I wonder how many lives we could have saved if we’d taken a different path.”

The King nodded before speaking

“Oddly, so far, we’ve only been able to attribute two deaths directly to her, both of which are legal kills, that of her Alpha and Delta Cole, also of the Nightshades’ pack.

The old law required eighty per cent of the pack to be there, in a trial against an Alpha, and if you include the pups, then she had just over eighty-one per cent.

Everyone confirmed that not a single person, not even his son, defended him.

We may need to revoke that rule. I don’t want others getting the same idea; if we lose too many key Alphas, it wouldn’t be good for us.

I’m hopeful, that with the law being such an archaic one, that most don’t even know it exists, but that’s a discussion I need to have with the lawyers and Alphas. Although I don’t foresee the Alphas disagreeing, since they are the most likely targets.

The Delta was a valid, if from what I’ve heard, vicious challenge fight after he’d tried to poison her.

No one else has any proof she was the killer, just implied threats from Alpha Vincent, which are too coincidental to mean that the pack were not involved, but in terms of actual evidence against either the pack or her, there was never anything, no footprints, discernible scent, no clothing shreds left at the scenes.”

The King pauses momentarily, looking directly at Nate

“Sometimes I wondered if it really could be the work of just one she-wolf, but given the details of Delta Cole’s death, and all the observations of her by our pack, it makes it more believable and that’s not something I can ignore.

But unless we have her in custody to give testimony, we have no proof of any misdeeds beyond threats.

I will drop the treason charges, but the warrant for her arrest will remain valid to investigate the other charges. That way, packs still have a legal requirement to pick her up or notify us if she turns up.”

The King got up and walked around the room, back erect and hands held loosely behind him, his exiled son looked a lot like him, the King had the same green eyes, jet-black hair and tall stature, but he has a softer look to his face rendering him far more handsome, even in his older age.

“I understand. It's a good idea. Better if we could pick her up and gain a confession from her directly…”

Alpha Nate goes quiet for a while, his brow furrows with confusion before he continues

“Sorry Your Majesty, one thing I don’t understand, you are calling off the search but leaving the warrant open. Do you want to find her?”

The King smiled, a touch of humility on his face.

“Politics Nate, Politics.”

The King stared out of the window before he continued

“Sometimes it’s about letting things die quietly, not about solving the problem in front of you, especially when there is no way to win.

With Alpha Vincent dead, we can’t question him on whether he commanded her to kill, but if she was, we can’t find her guilty of any crime, because she could claim she was coerced into it, thanks to the command of my son, he effectively made her a prisoner of that pack.

With the charge of Treason dropped, so is her death sentence, which means we are no longer obliged to maintain an active search for her and it won’t highlight my son’s involvement.

Leaving the warrant open appeases those who want her found guilty, and dropping the treason and search appeases those who do not.

Letting it die quietly allows both sides to feel vindicated.”

Alpha Nate nodded at the wisdom of his King’s words before he asked the one question that the whole werewolf world wanted to know.

“And your heir, which of your sons will you be naming when things have quieted down?”

King Petrus stopped pacing the room.

“Prince Kai wants nothing to do with the Crown and has expressed his wish to give up his title in its entirety, since Darius had to do the same.

Prince Leo is but twelve, and we don’t know if he’s inherited the Alpha Gene yet, so the spot will remain empty for a while.

There is a small possibility of naming Princess Arabella if she inherits the gene and not her brother, but both need to shift to confirm if they do or not, so we are looking at a few years before we can decide.

If neither does, then Prince Kai will have to step up. Duty overrides personal desires.

But I’m not worried about it and I’ll be letting all the packs know later. I’ll phrase it as taking back control to smooth out the issues and a time of reflection for the packs, for me to address their needs directly.”

Silence filled the room as King Petrus sat opposite Alpha Nate, drawing himself up, the King’s presence filled the room for once, displaying his strength and power as a leader.

“I’m arranging for the invitations to go out soon to the packs for the second annual mating ball, the last one seemed to be successful.

The broadcast two months ago has given rise to several concerns from the packs over our leadership, specifically Darius and I’ve dealt with him for now, but you were also not free from blame.”

His tone had become far more serious.

“My son took on most of the responsibility for what happened to the Gamma, as he should, but the hostility you showed to the girl in the broadcast was obvious and it didn’t sit well with several packs.

But I understand you are an unwitting pawn in this, almost as much as the Beta and Chief Delta.

Therefore, I think it’s in your best interests to step down as the Alpha, but only temporarily. I will inform people you are taking a sabbatical, to look for your mate, now that the search for Antonia has been called off, people will understand that.

You also didn’t attend the mating ball, so by Royal Decree, it is now mandatory for all unmated wolves to attend. Mates provide the balance wolves need, so if you haven’t found your mate in the next six months, then I expect to see you at the ball.

I know, as do the packs, that last year you were too busy looking for the Gamma to attend, so there is no blame on you, Nate.

But a pack needs an Alpha couple to be strong, and this pack is no different, the Queen is the Luna of Luna’s but she isn’t involved in the day-to-day minutia of the pack, that’s what your mate is for.

I’m naming Beta Dan and his mate as the interim Alphas of the pack, giving you a year to search for your mate or select a chosen mate. The pack needs a female Alpha and like Darius, you have put it off for too long and it’s not healthy, albeit you have a reasonable excuse, whereas my son did not.

As soon as you have a mate, fated or chosen, your sabbatical is over and the Alpha’s position is yours once more.

Dan is not looking forward to covering your role, but this will show the other packs your softer side and give this pack the balance it needs.

Dan’s younger brother and Chief Delta Alek will work together to run the Beta position in the interim, sharing the workload, I want it known that you have my support, and this is just a temporary change, which is why I don’t want one person filling the Beta role, so people realise it’s not a long-term change.

King Petrus stands up, but keeps a formal stance, signifying the meeting is over.

“Use your time visiting the packs wisely, and the packs will understand and forgive your part in the broadcast. You are well-liked and respected, and this was nothing more than a hiccup.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, and thank you.

Not having a mate has weighed heavily on me.”

Alpha Nate bowed as the king left the room. This isn’t what he’d expected to happen, but maybe, on reflection, it would be a good thing.