Ursanthropy

Doreen

“They have crowned him King!” I told Vic, for the third time now, as Jack just linked me this.

“Yes, I heard you the other two times already. Shit, Jack can’t challenge Dennis now!” Vic replied to my thoughts.

“Exactly! We have to do something! We have to get in there!” I yelled to her. “But how are we going to get in there, undetected?” I continued. “Think Vic, there must be some way!”

“Yeah? And then what? We go in there, fight our way into the packhouse, while almost all the Alphas from across the planet, have agreed on him being the King? They would kill us on sight!” Vic said and I sighed as I knew she was right.

“Maybe I can help?” I heard a sudden soft female voice behind me, making me turn around as fast as my feet could. I looked at the bright red hair that enveloped her head and realised that this must be the girl that had been waitressing for Bertha in the diner.

“Cindy?” I asked her and she nodded agreeing. “But how can you help us? Do you know something that we don’t?” I continued.

“Well, actually… I do.” She said with her soft voice again, and then reached her arms forward, presenting me with a book of which I knew the contents really well, as I have been going through that same book a million times already.

“Ursanthropy? I have already read it, and there is nothing there, that can help us in this situation.” I explained to her.

“But I think it does my Queen.” She said as she bowed to me. “Because when I entered the Alpha’s office, and made sure that no one was around, I saw this book and it was opened at a certain page.” She continued and came closer to me, so I could hold one side of the book while she flipped through its pages.

I knew exactly where she was going, as I remember this book almost to the word now, but I still couldn’t understand why there was something so important on the page that she was going to. The first page of the Berestine bloodline came into view, showing the first of the Queens of our life, then the second, third, fourth and so on, until it landed on the last one.

But what I saw there, scribbled right next to my supposed grandfather’s picture, baffled me completely! This was the moment where I could slap myself silly for never realizing this stupid fact! I must have read about the name like a dozen times already and never connected the dots even though I should have! Only now I remembered the sales-pitch-like text, where it explained how the McCormack pack lives and where it was laying exactly! I shifted immediately to that stupid page of where it was and read the text again.

…The McCormack pack lies in the west of the country, surrounded by forests, a vast lake and the magnificent rising mountains, with snow on top. The hills in the forest has kept the pack safe for over several generations already…

I gasped and reached for my mouth! I had painted this view myself! All those years ago when I was still living in my father’s house! It was near my home! The McCormack pack was in the hills right next to my father’s lands!

This is the blue pear we have been searching for! The missing link!

My own frame and name had been crossed out, and right next to it, it said Dennis McCormack! He is my cousin, the other last remaining relative of my bloodline! Even though he is a male, and the line continues on the female genes, he must have convinced the Alphas to accept him as their King! This is why the complete room of Alphas must have agreed to him becoming the King!

We are finally getting some clearance out of all this mess!

Damien

I had crawled my way through the air vents, not with ease, but with much trouble as I’m not the youngest person alive anymore. But even so, I had heard every single word that Dennis had let out the past couple of hours. I don’t know how he thought that he could make me wait for such a long time already, but I guess that his priorities were laying elsewhere right now.

It was strange though, that he was even managing to not kill me, when I was standing in his office. I mean, he just reminded the complete shifter world of my first project! But still kept his cool, even though I’m the one that has killed every single person he knew and loved, from the pack he was once born in!

But I guess that he had different plans with me, as the asshole had not only fooled me, but also his former Alpha, Jack, as he acted just as surprised as I did.

I shoved the gas tank that was near me, carefully to the side, so I could watch through the vent downwards. Alpha Jack had released Dennis his neck and was now trying to convince the crowd to not believe Dennis. But as I knew what he had done about half an hour ago, I knew that they wouldn’t budge and listen to Jack now. They would never do that, as they knew that the threat of them becoming a human, was right inside this room with them.

I lightly had to chuckle by the ingenuity of this new shifter King, as I would have never come up with the idea of making these creatures human again. It had always been my goal to kill them, while I could have also neutralized them. And while my foot was still leaning on the top of the gas tank, filled with the gas that Dennis just used on this other person, I thought for a second to just sabotage the handle and let out the gas right now. But I wanted to see what would happen next, as I was curious about Jack.

If he is here, then my beloved daughter must be close too, right?

“Go around the house, there must be other shifters somewhere. Notify me when you’ve found them.” I texted Justin with a new command. “Yes sir.” It came back almost immediately.

It didn’t take long, before I got another message from him. “Observe or kill?” It read and it almost made me chuckle. Justin is so eager to please my wishes that he doesn’t bother to bore me with details about how many he had found or that he had even found them at all. By sending this message, he just let me know that he did find them, and that he wanted to know what he should do with them. And even if there were a hundred of them, and he only has my dozen of hunters and thus would be outnumbered by a great deal, he would still be willing to try and kill them, should I give him that command.

But even though I didn’t love him, like he wants me to, he is still my greatest asset. I can’t just let him be killed, just because I have some spare manipulated bears in my possession to pick from. Which I don’t, as he is the only one, and he is the strongest. So he isn’t something that I can replace that easily.

“Is there a black haired female with them?” I asked him.

“Yes, a young one. It’s strange though, she looks like the leading figure.” I got in return.

Ahh, so my daughter is here indeed! Good! But why should she be the leading figure? I mean, I know that she is the partner of Jack, so that would make her the female leader of the pack that he once ruled. But she isn’t leading this pack anymore, so how is it possible that she is still the one, that others listen to?

“Observe.” I texted back to Justin.

Justin

Well, that wasn’t going to be a hard task, as I was lying flat on my stomach, on a small hill, just a few yards away from them.

I watched and listened how the black haired petite ordered the others around with her questions. Her words were never rude, commanding or angry, she just simply needed to ask them what she wanted from them and everyone listened.

To see her act like this, made me second guess why I should stay with my father in the first place. My father was never nice or asked for my opinion, instead, he just barked what he wanted and if you didn’t comply to his commands, you would get punished accordingly. But the fact that these people that I have been watching, are shifters, as I can smell their odour coming at me in waves, I can’t let them go that easily.

The moment my father would give me the command to kill them, I would be on my way, without a doubt. Not that I enjoy killing people, as their screams would terrorize my nights for weeks on end, but their kind and abilities to shift into mindless animals, should be eradicated from the planet. As my father had explained; ‘The ability to make yourself even stronger than before, doesn’t give you the right to claim your own lands and claim every human woman to become your own, as well.’.

But like I had just texted my father, that it was strange to see a woman taking the lead, it was odd that she was indeed guiding every shifter around her. I have seen some shifter women being protective towards the other women behind them, when their fate had met their end, but seeing one on the leading side of things, was strange to observe.

Why are those broadly build men, listening to such a little woman? They were just joking around together, weren’t they? They should be, as that must be the only reason for this weird shit show.

My father always taught me that women should never lead, not in a dance, not in a meeting, and certainly not as a ruler. To become a leading figure in this world, you have to be strong, fearless and certainly don’t let emotions get the better of you, and that’s not something a woman is capable off. If something needed to be done, do it, and don’t think about it. Only think about the greater good and what it would do for your own future.

I moved around a little because a small stick was poking my side. But when I did so, I cursed inwardly as the slippery green moss I was laying on, made my body move more than I wanted it to. My head snapped up, looking into the direction of the ones I was observing, but was met with a sudden blow to the head, as a bright orange tiger took a swing at me!

Immediately I jumped up, letting my skills and energy show itself, letting everyone know that I was not a person to be messed with easily! I knocked the first creature unconscious before I took a swing against another one. Some leopards came soaring in as well, but I tried to fight them off as best as I could. Within seconds, I was surrounded by two dozen of those filthy animals and the black haired female came towards me as well. She looked furious, yet determined and… I don’t know what else I see in her eyes, it almost looks like she is caring, in some sort of strange way.

But whatever the way she was looking at me, it gave me a certain feeling of knowing that I was trapped, and a way out of this, was going to be very slim.