Becoming the Alpha (2 page)

The three council members turned to each other and formed a tight circle. I saw Billy glance out of the corner of his eye at me several times. I hoped that he was speaking on my behalf, but I couldn’t count on it. Yesterday, we had been dating. Today, I was spoken for by someone else, and he didn’t know it yet. I felt kind of bad about that.

Doc Walden turned to the sheriff. “What do you have to say about this?”

The sheriff crossed his arms with a sneer. “When I’m alpha, I’ll decide. For now, I’m just eager to get on with it. Let’s quit pussyfooting around. It’s time to lay this claim business to rest once and for all.”

I could tell that wasn’t the answer the council wanted, but now they had to go along with it. Lukas looked into the crowd as if searching for someone. Then he pointed off to our left. “There. Go sit with Marilee,” he said. “I’ll be done in a jiffy.”

I didn’t want to be under any further scrutiny, but I was reluctant to leave Lukas’s side. I looked up at him. “Are you sure you know what you are doing?” I whispered. I didn’t think the words were loud enough for him to hear, but then I saw the quick smile flit across his face.

He leaned down next to my ear. “Awww. I almost would think you are worried about me. Don’t be. For the first time in my life, I know exactly what I’m doing.” Then he made his way to the council members, and they began to converse in low tones.

I tore my eyes away and made my way toward Marilee as directed, all the while trying to ignore the flip-flopping of my stomach.

Lukas and I went to school with Marilee Wilson. Although I hadn’t spoken to her in years, I was now speaking with her for the second time in the span of less than twelve hours. It was as if my past was intent on slowly overwhelming my present. The effect was more than unsettling.

“You are causing quite the ruckus,” she murmured to me after I made my way to her side. “I hope you and Lukas know what you are doing.” That seemed to be the sentiment of the day.

I could tell that everyone around us was trying to eavesdrop. “Where’s Cody?” I avoided her comment and looked around for her teenage son.

“He’s too cool to hang out with his mom,” she said with an eye roll. “I planned to ground him for the rest of eternity for the little stunt he pulled last night, but it’s important for him to be part of what’s happening today. It’s not every day the clan names a new alpha.”

“Isn’t this all a bit…violent?” I tried to keep my voice low so that it fell under the roar of the assembled crowd. I couldn’t help but think everything so far had a barbaric feel to it. It was clear that a bear match involved a physical contest pitting the two opponents against each other.

Marilee gave me a long sidelong glance before responding. “We don’t do things here the way you full-blooded humans do things. I’d be careful about using that judgmental tone when you’re here in White Oaks.”

“I wasn’t being judgmental,” I said defensively. It was better for me to follow the line of Lukas’s ruse for now. He had given me the perfect excuse for my usual line of incessant questions.  “I’m just here to observe the match and write it down.” At least that was the truth. I just wasn’t documenting the outcome for the annals of the clan’s history. “I will need to do some interviews too. That includes understanding what it’s like to be part of the clan in an integrated society.” Lukas’s lie was making me bold.

“If you think we’re anywhere close to being integrated with the humans, you are delusional,” Marilee said with a snort.

Her comment surprised me. I wanted to ask more, but I had to be careful. If I was there playing the part of clan historian, then there were things that I was supposed to know already. Unless, I stretched the fabrication of Lukas’s fallacy a little bit further.

“Markus didn’t want the documentation skewed by his perceptions. He kept the information he shared with me to the bare minimum. That allows the narrative to grow organically and kept out any of his bias. He wanted it to reflect the opinions and attitudes of the clan.”

“Have you ever even seen a shifter phase from human into their bear before?” Marilee asked bluntly. My head shook slowly. “I know that Cal Kramer writes articles for your daddy’s newspaper all the time. It seems like he would have been the better choice for something like that. Cal knows all this stuff. Seems like it’s a waste of time having to repeat everything to an outsider.”

Cal Kramer was part of the clan, so of course that would make logical sense for her to suggest it. “Cal writes the fluff pieces that my dad knows I hate,” I said, trying to keep my tone neutral. “I went to school for journalism. Markus wanted a pro on this, and like I said, he wanted to keep the story neutral. It was better to bring in someone from the outside.” I had to be careful about how far I chose to embellish the story. I knew that it was always the little details that tripped up a liar.

“If I didn’t know better then, I’d say this was some elaborate scheme to circumvent the mating process,” Marilee said. She gave me another look.

There was a mating process?
There was so much that I didn’t know, and Lukas had been woefully short on the details around any of that part of his plan. I wished now that I had taken him up on his offer to give me a few additional pointers before we arrived in the arena. I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze even as I drew my sweater closer around my shoulders. Lukas’s bite mark at the base of my collarbone seemed to burn beneath the fabric of my collar.

“Why would Lukas want to do that?” I decided it was best to play dumb. I needed to shift the focus of the conversation away from me. “You said that the council had already determined the alpha’s mate. Lukas wants to be alpha, so he’d know that. It’s not like he has a girlfriend or anything.”

I didn’t know if Lukas had a girlfriend back in the city or not. It was another detail about his current life that I hadn’t thought to ask about. His attention seemed to be focused on doing everything in his power to make sure he secured his alpha claim so that he could find out what really happened to his brother. If there was a girlfriend waiting for him somewhere out there, I had a feeling she was going to be waiting a long time for him to come back. Truth be told, that idea brought me a little bit of glee.

“Shhh. They’re getting ready to start,” Marilee said. Her voice trailed off, and it was as if she had forgotten I was even there.

My eyes were drawn back to the arena. I knew at least the start of what was about to happen. Lukas and the sheriff wouldn’t have been wearing next to nothing into the arena if they weren’t planning to shift into their bear forms. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see what was about to happen, but now that the moment was upon me, I didn’t think I would have been able to draw my eyes away.

The three council members moved off to the side of the arena and took a seat on a slight outcropping of rock. It didn’t seem like it would be considered a safe distance from the action in my opinion, but then I realized that they probably wanted to be able to see everything.

Lukas and the sheriff retreated to opposite ends of the arena and faced each other. The tension and excitement sizzled in the air. Lukas stood tall with his chin up, and he radiated power and authority. Any inclination of earlier uncertainty had fallen away.

The sheriff wore a small smirk on his face. He rolled his shoulders and leaned his head from side to side in an attempt to loosen the muscles of his neck and back. He rocked back and forth on his heels as his hands tightened into fists and then released. He was a snake coiling up for an attack, and his target was Lukas.

Even though Lukas had told me not to worry, I was worried. Sheriff Monroe took over for Sheriff Nelson four years ago. It was just before I graduated from college and moved back to Greyelf. He came to town early in Markus’s political career and had quickly made himself indispensable to both Markus and the town. He had been the logical choice when Sheriff Nelson retired. Given he was a public figure, I knew surprisingly little about him. As far as I could tell, the man was married to his job. He felt it was his job to take over responsibility for the clan. For a man that took duty that seriously, it meant he wasn’t going to give up without one hell of a fight.

My eyes were drawn back to Lukas. I wasn’t the only outcast in the crowd. His reputation proceeded him on all accounts. He had been Markus’s hellraising, out-of-control little brother. He didn’t care for authority or rules. He was a man who had grown up without the fetters of social norms and propriety. Lukas didn’t give one hoot if anyone liked him or not. At least, that had been the Lukas I knew ten years ago. The man he was now seemed to be someone completely different.

I allowed myself to see Lukas the way that he had presented himself over the course of the last week. He had returned for his brother’s funeral. He had made a nuisance of himself getting involved in the investigation of his brother’s death. He asked me to help him find out the truth. He was ready to endure a bear match to lay claim to what he thought was his. My fingers wandered up to the crook of my neck. The fabric of my sweater covered his mark, but it was there. He had claimed me in the process as well, and I had let him. The sheriff wasn’t the only one who was dangerous.

Doc Walden made his way to the center of the arena. He planted his feet and put his hands on his hips. The look on his face was stormy. I was having a hard time remembering the kindly visage that he presented to the people of Greyelf. He raised his hands then, and all voices around the arena fell silent.

“Now, we all know what we’re doing here this morning. We’ve got ourselves a bit of dilemma that needs to be resolved. I was hoping that we’d be able to do so without having to draw all of you into the mess, but, unfortunately, we’re here instead.” He glared in Lukas’s direction. I felt a bolt of indignation on Lukas’s behalf. “This is unprecedented, but we had a plan for it. Markus made sure of that.” He paused and bowed his head.

I heard an uproar of wails, soft moans and sniffles at the mention of Markus’s name. In my mind in the most logical sense, I understood their loss. But here inside the walls of White Oaks, I felt the morose sadness of the people of the clan more keenly, and it was oppressive. Tears welled in my eyes. I had only known Markus from a distance, but his impact on the world had been profound. It deserved the outpouring of respect and reverence that I saw on display.

The tightening of the corners of Lukas’s mouth was the only indication he gave of any semblance of emotion. He only had eyes for the sheriff. He was fully zeroed in on his prey, and I shivered.

Doc Walden continued, “No matter what the outcome this morning, the council remains intact and will continue to advise the new alpha as we move into the shifter summit that starts tonight with the full moon. The Greyelf Grizzly clan is strong, and the other clans won’t have any reason to doubt that.”

There was a gathering of the alphas of the different shifter clans every five years. It was called the Summit, and it was held just outside the Greyelf city limits. I wasn’t all that surprised to hear that there was a pecking order when it came to the clans. That was the way of the animal world. Someone was always at the top. I frowned as I wondered where the clans ranked us so called ‘full-blooded humans’. It was another question to add to my growing list.

“Markus Kasper was the alpha of this clan for eighteen years. Anyone stepping into his shoes will have a tough, it not impossible, act to follow. The Kasper bloodline extends to Markus’s younger brother, Lukas.” Doc Walden nodded his head in Lukas’s direction. “Normally, the alpha claim would pass to the next male blood relative of the alpha family.” Murmurs rose from the crowd. I wasn’t sure if it was in agreement or disapproval; most likely it was a little of both. Doc Walden’s hands returned to his hips. His face twisted up in an expression of chagrin. “In this instance, there are concerns from many of the members of the clan as well as Sheriff Monroe about Lukas Kasper’s capabilities to be our alpha.”

A growl erupted into the air, and the hair on the back of my neck rose. The sound emanated from Lukas’s direction.

It didn’t seem to faze Doc Walden one bit. His head swung toward Lukas. “Lukas, you have the ability to rescind the alpha claim. If you do so, the council will appoint an alpha in your place.”

“The alpha claim is mine by rights,” Lukas’s voice, while clear and articulate, held a note of pure menace in it. “I am not rescinding it now or ever.”

Doc Walden sighed and shook his head. “So be it.” He returned his attention to the crowd. “Given that Lukas has been absent from White Oaks for the better part of the last decade, the council felt we have no choice but to give Sheriff Monroe an opportunity to state his case.”

Sheriff Monroe stepped forward. He smiled grimly at the crowd. “I look into the faces of all of you here, and I see friends who are also my family. You’ve been my family since the day that I arrived in Greyelf. I served Markus faithfully, and I was proud to stand by his side. But this,” his hand swept toward Lukas, “this is something that we cannot tolerate. Markus never intended to his brother to become the alpha. His spirit is no doubt rolling over in his grave at the very idea. I have been here serving the clan every day for the last eighteen years. Markus was forced to send his brother away to save face and embarrassment for Lukas’s misdeeds and behavior. This is not the right man to lead you. I have no choice but to contest the Kasper bloodline claim because it is the right thing to do, not for me, but for the clan.”

A small burst of cheers and clapping went up as the sheriff let his words sink in. I looked at Lukas then.

“Isn’t he going to say anything?” I didn’t realize I had spoken the words out loud until I heard Marilee’s sigh.

“He’s been here less than a week, Maren. Nobody knows him anymore. What could he say? The time for words is over.”

I knew she was right, but I fumed inside.

Lukas stepped forward then. His attention had never wavered from the sheriff. “Guess we’re going to have to agree to disagree then. If you think you’ve got what it takes to be alpha, let’s see it.”

Then it was as if the air rippled, and everything that I thought I knew about the world changed.