Chapter 23
Amie
ow we make sure the wounded are looked after and the wolves we'N have captured need to be kept safe. We have questions for this one,’ Finlay linked us. An agreeing growl came from both Sam and me.
While Finlay and I stayed to keep watch of the enemy Alpha, Sam walked around and organised the warriors. He made sure those who were injured but could walk, headed for the pack house. He had men coming to collect the injured and the dead. And then he had some warriors guarding the captured enemies. When we were all set, we indicated to the captured Alpha to get moving. All three of us stayed close to him and made sure he headed in the direction we wanted. He was clearly injured and was limping on two legs and left a trail of blood behind him. No one cared. Anyone we met growled at him and it soothed my soul to know we reacted as a pack. Back at the pack house, we had cells that could withstand a werewolf’s strength.
They were rarely used, but on occasion someone had too much to drink and needed a safe space to sober up in. Alpha Jackson was placed in one of the cells and the remainder of his pack was put into the newly built school gym, guarded by warriors. ‘Go and shift back, take a shower and we will meet back here in thirty minutes,’ Finlay told us. We headed off in different directions. I changed back outside my door and walked inside to take a quick shower and put on some clothes. I looked at my shoulder in the mirror. The wounds from the claws were healing, but they were deep, and it would take a couple of days for them to be gone. At least they weren’t bleeding. I just let them be and
pulled a sweater on and walked back to the cells. Finlay was already there in his human form. He had an expression on his face I hadn’t seen before, it was a mix of hate, anger and sadness and it almost broke my heart. I knew now wasn’t the time, so I just stood next to him and looked at the prisoner, still in wolf form. Sam and Medow walked in next. Sam had his arm around his mate and Medow looked devastated. She looked at me with red rimmed eyes and I stepped up to her and gave her a hug.
“Are you sure you want to be here?” I asked her. She looked at Sam and snuggled in closer to him and gave me a nod. I understood, she needed to be close to her mate.
“Shift,” Finlay told Alpha Jackson. We all turned our focus to the wolf inside the cell. Nothing happened.
“Too weak?” I asked and let my voice remain light and mocking. I knew how his pack viewed women and me suggesting he was weak would be more effective than any attempts of ordering him to change. He growled at me. Which made Finlay growl at him. Finlay’s growl was more powerful than the imprisoned Alpha’s. With a glare at me, Alpha Jackson shifted to his human form. In his naked state it was easy to see the injuries he had.
But more than that, the Alpha seemed to be in a worse condition then when I had seen him last time. It had been years since then. But he was an Alpha in the prime of his life. He should not look thin. He tried to hold himself up in a confident pose, but it was easy to see he was hurting.
“Speak! Why have you done this?” Finlay asked him as he tossed a pair of shorts at him. The Alpha smirked and did his best to keep up his arrogant behaviour. He waved the shorts in his hand.
“Afraid your women will see how a real Alpha looks?” he asked. I snorted.
“Please, I have seen bigger on pups. Let’s hope you’re a grower, or this is really embarrassing for you,” I said. Behind me, Medow giggled and Sam laughed. Even Finlay pulled one corner of his mouth up in a half smirk.
Alpha Jackson growled, but was ignored by everyone. He put the shorts on and had to lean against the wall to do so.
“Now. Why the fuck did you attack us?” Finlay asked again.
“You refused to merge with us,” Alpha Jackson told him.
“That was four years ago,” I objected. The Alpha shrugged.
“The pack didn’t want to attack you. Me and my Beta were for it from the start but my Gamma and the pack in general were against it. They felt it was
too big of a risk. You seemed to be strong according to them. I tried to tell them no pack is strong when it has just split from another pack. And a pack that lets a female into its top tier without being a mate to the high ups, they are weak,” he said.
“I guess you should have listened to your Gamma and your pack,” Sam told him.
“If we had just attacked four years ago, we would have won. We waited too long. They are all a bunch of cowards. In the end, I had to use my Alpha status to make them. I told them that anyone refusing to take part in the attack would be named a traitor and made rogue. Much help that did. The fuckers were too weak. My own Gamma turned against me when we got here. When our pack members started dying, he wanted to withdraw.
Fucking coward. He didn’t understand that I sent those pack members in first, as I knew they were weak. They were to tire you out, to pave the road for our victory. But he didn’t like that. Didn’t think it was the honourable thing to do. Well, it didn’t end well for him.” The fighting I had heard outside the cave.
“I will inform the council of what has happened,” Finlay told him.
“Are you not Alpha enough to finish me off without their consent?”
Alpha Jackson mocked him.
“I will not take revenge on you on a whim, because I can’t control my emotions. We both know what sanctions the council can put on a pack for something like that. My pack will not suffer just because I feel like ending your pathetic life. Not when I have enough evidence to secure they grant me full right to do so. I will see you again once their decision is made,”
Finlay said. We all knew that was the end of the conversation and we all headed for the main floor. “I will call the council, they need to know what has happened. Amie, check on the pack, make sure they feel that we have things under control. Talk to my aunt. I’m sure she is already working on it.
Sam, you need to make a schedule for the warriors. If rumour spread about the attack, others might strike against us, thinking we are weak,” Finlay gave out orders.
“Yes, Alpha,” we all said. Sam and Medow headed to his office.
“Do you want me to call Martin’s mother?” I asked Finlay. He had stopped outside his office in the pack house and for a moment he dropped his mask and I could see how tired he looked. He rubbed his hand over his face.
“No, I will call her,” he said after hesitating.
“You have a lot on your plate, I can do it,” I insisted. He looked at me and then he turned his eyes to my shoulder.
“Have you been seen by a healer?” he asked.
“It’s not that bad. It will heal,” I told him.
“Don’t be so stubborn. Go and have yourself checked out, then make sure the pack is alright. I will make the call to the council and then I will call Martin’s mother.”
“Fine. Let me know if you need me for something. I will be around,” I said.
“Thank you.” We stood there for a moment before I saw him slip his mask on and head for his office. I headed for the room where the healers had set up. There weren’t many people in there, as most who needed help had already received it . They took a look at my shoulder. I got a stern talking to for not coming sooner. They put on some ointment and told me to come back if I got a fever or if the area around the wounds got hot. I headed out and spent the rest of the day just walking around, talking to the pack.
Most of them were relieved the attack had been over so quickly, but everyone mourned the loss of our Beta. There was a lot of anger, but I tried to steer the feelings towards community and helping each other. Besides Martin, we had lost two warriors and five more were severely wounded. We needed to make sure to take care of them and their families. Matilda was right there and worked with me. I had asked her to organise the funerals.
Medow was making sure the injured wolves had what they needed as well as their families. Overall we were in a better condition than I would have thought. ‘The council has decided the Alpha of the Rolling Hills pack has forfeited his life. The execution will be done tomorrow by my hand,’ Finlay sent a mindlink to the pack later in the evening. ‘The rest of the captives are ours to do with as we please. We will make the decision tomorrow as well,’ he continued. The news affected the pack positively. Everyone felt they had been given the chance to seek the revenge we all wanted. By the time I was ready to end the day, it was close to midnight. Instead of going to my apartment, I headed for Finlay’s house. I didn’t bother to knock, but walked inside and into the living room. Finlay was sitting on the couch in the dark room. His elbows on his knees and his head resting in his hands. I walked
up to the fireplace. I knew he always kept it stocked this time of year. It lit without an issue. I walked over to the couch and sat down next to him.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” he said without looking up.
“I know how you feel, but you will find a way,” I told him.
“Did you get your shoulder checked out?”
“I did. They told me I was wasting their time,” I said. Finlay turned his head and gave me a sideway look. “Fine. They scolded me for not coming sooner and gave me an ointment. But that’s just because all healers think it’s the end of the world if you don’t come and see them when you stub your toe.”
“I can’t deal with losing you as well.” His voice was frail and thin. It was like the thought itself hurt him. I sighed and bent forward so I could lean my forehead on his slumped shoulder blade.
“You won’t. It really isn’t that bad. It hurts like hell but it’s healing and at the most I will have a scar on my shoulder. But I’m not going anywhere,” I promised him.
“Good.” We sat like that for a while in silence. “How are the boys doing?” he asked.
“Good. I talked to them after dinner and they have got over the worst of it. Give them a week or two and they will see it as scary, but exciting. I think we kept them away from seeing the worst of it. They were more than happy with all the hot coco and attention they got after.”
“You,” he said.
“Sorry?”
“You kept them away from the worst of it, not we. And you kept them safe when you were discovered.”
“And I failed to get them out of there. I decided we needed to stay put and by doing so I forced the rest of you to come and rescue us. It’s my fault we lost him,” I told Finlay.
“Amie,” he objected and sat up for the first time. I took a deep breath and shook my head as the tears started rolling down my face. I had been keeping them at bay until now. But right now it was just Finlay and I knew I could be weak around him.
“I made the decision that ended with us losing Martin, our Beta. That is on me,” I insisted.
“It’s not your fault. You made the only reasonable decision you could make. If you had tried to get the boys out you would have been detected
and we would have lost the three of you,” Finlay told me. He gently put his arm around me and drew me closer to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and he rested his on top of mine. “His mother was devastated. She cried and asked if I would send his ashes back to them.”
“He wouldn’t have wanted that,” I said.
“No, he wouldn’t. I told her we would scatter his ashes over our pack land. The land he gave his life to protect and which he loved.”
“It was the right thing to do,” I assured him.
“I know. But it felt horrible.” I put my arms around his waist and we sat like that. We shared our sorrow and let each other have time to think. When dawn's first light was visible outside, Finlay sighed. “We will need a new Beta,” he said. My first instinct was to object. The position belonged to Martin. But he wasn’t with us any longer. I nodded as best I could in my
position.
“Do you have any candidates?” I asked.
“One.”
“Who?” I asked while I tried to figure it out on my own.
“You.”
“Me?” I asked, feeling confused.
“You’re the only one I can think of that can fill his chair.”
“But I already have a seat at the top tier table,” I objected. “Who will fill my seat?” To make me even more confused, Finlay chuckled. It sounded genuine so I sat up and looked at him. He smiled at me.
“You are usually brilliant, so I forget what an idiot you can be,” he told me and ruffled my hair. I didn’t even try to avoid his hand as I was trying to figure out what I was missing. “The seat you have is made up. It was created for you as we wanted to give you a seat at the table. When you move to the Beta chair, your chair will be removed, because no one else can fill it,” he told me.
“Oh.” Yeah I should have remembered he had created the advisory role for me. I was just so used to it by now. “If I take the Beta chair we will always be one person short. I don’t have a mate so that chair will remain empty,” I told him.
“You don’t know that. Things can happen,” he said. I gave him a smile.
“It will remain empty,” I told him. He shrugged.
“So be it. Look, the pack loves you, they trust and look up to you. I trust you. I don’t have it in me to find a replacement for Martin who isn’t you.”
“Okay. Count me in. If this is what you and the pack needs, I will do it. I will do my best and I’m counting on you to tell me if I’m messing up.”
Finlay let out a deep sigh and put his arm around me again, pulling me with him as he leaned back on the couch.
“It will be fine, Red. You are the daughter of a Beta, it’s in your blood.”
“So our pack will have a second born Alpha, and a second born Beta. It has a nice symmetry,” I told him as I relaxed against him. We sat and watched the sun come up.
“Time to get some food, Red. It will be a long day,” Finlay told me. He got up and pulled me with him. For a moment we stood almost toe to toe, looking at each other. For a second I thought this was it, this was our moment. Then we both woke up and took a half step back.
“Come on, Finn, time to show the pack we still got our shit together,” I told him, gave him a smile and headed towards the pack house.
“Finn?” he asked as he walked close behind me. I shrugged.
“It is long overdue that I get a nickname for you,” I said.
“Works for me.” We entered the dining hall and saw that most of the pack had decided to eat breakfast together. As we walked up to our table both Medow and Matilda gave me long hugs. We were all trying to get our lives back to a place that made sense. It was important to support and get support from your pack mates.
“Did you ask her?” Sam asked Finlay as we sat down.
“I did.” There was a pause in the conversation where everyone around the
table but me looked at Finlay.
“And?” Sam asked.
“Did you think I would say no?” I asked him. He grinned at me and relaxed back in his chair. He put his arm around Medow and pulled her chair closer to him.
“No, you are smarter than that,” he said.
“What are you talking about?” Medow asked.
“I asked Amie to become the new Beta,” Finlay said.
“Oh. That’s good,” Medow said.
“The only option,” Matilda said and gave me a smile. I smiled back and nodded. We ate breakfast and when we were done, Finlay stood up and signed for me and Sam to join him.
“Yesterday was a tough day for the pack. We lost loved ones and others were hurt. But we also showed that we are a strong pack. We will not give
up without a fight. We protect our pack and our land. Beta Martin gave his life in that pursuit. Today we will take revenge for him and for the others we lost. We can’t be without a Beta. It’s more important now than ever before to show that we remain strong. Our new Beta will be Amie, I don’t think I need to explain why. She will officially be sworn in as we lay Beta Martin to rest. But I know that you will all treat her as Beta from now on. If you have questions, or have concerns, you are always welcome to talk to anyone in the top tier. We are here for you. Thank you everyone for your part yesterday. Everyone did what they should do and took the measures we have asked of you. It’s because of this we could win and only lose a few of our own. I am proud to be your Alpha,” Finlay told the pack. I got a lot of congratulations via mindlink and also pack members telling me they felt safe with me as Beta. It was overwhelming to feel everyone’s support. “In an hour the Alpha of the attacking pack will be executed outside the pack house. After that we will talk to the remaining members of his pack. You will decide their faith,” he then told them. After he was done, the pack scattered. Families with young pups wanted to get them away from what was about to happen, others wanted to stay to bear witness.
‘Ready?’ I asked Finlay in a mindlink. ‘Ready,’ he confirmed.
