CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

Everyone who came to watch the competition went home with a sweet feeling in their stomach.

Alphas were known to enforce their rules on their pack without any form of opinion being accepted. If you felt so strongly about an opinion, you fought him over it and most times, that meant death.

But they were part of a pack where their Alpha wanted to be transparent in his decision and the choice of leadership was done in their presence and not between an Alpha and his wolf.

After the competition, the new leaders were elected and given their responsibilities.

Dante was about to give them power as expected but Taylor held him back.

“I have a bad feeling about this. They can do without it. It can't be as bad as when Seth was Alpha, right?” She reasoned with him

“Hm. This is about Tommy being unresponsive right? I really hope it's not what I'm thinking. Let's not jump into conclusions alright? And you are right. The whole pack is really working towards one goal and we won't be gone that long anyway.” He replied, before proceeding to give them their marks of leadership.

Their journey was going to be with human vehicles this time around as their position now had more resources. Dante was shocked at the state of his Ford SUV. Seth had run it down and he had to run a few repairs on it before they loaded it up in preparation for the journey of the next day.

He selected about fifteen wolves who had been doing well during training to go with him.

There were other jeeps that will be used to drive through the rough terrain.

In a few days time, they will start on the second part of their plan, the first of which was to claim his position back here in his pack.

It's been months after they left the Blood Stone Pack and they had experienced some challenges along the way but they really needed to kick things into gear as the sounds of Jethro's preparation could be heard through the amount of dead bodies different packs were getting.

He was no longer using the feral virus. It seemed he had discovered something new as dead bodies were being dropped soundlessly along pack borders.

Dante had had no choice but to impose a curfew a few days ago.

In previous years, Alphas would have come together for a meeting but now, everyone was scared of leaving their packs and this fear tactic used by Jethro gave him enough freedom to pick up wolves and kill them as much as he could.

***

“Baby, is it possible to have another heat? I don't understand why I'm feeling this way” Taylor complained to her mate, rubbing her nose all over him as they lay in bed. If she could drink his scent, she would totally drown in it.

“Woah! Woah! Take it easy darling. I don't think you are going into heat twice in a lifetime. But what I'm sure of is how your body is definitely telling you it's ready for me to fill it with pups” he said in a sexy voice in her ear.

He helped her climb on his laps, her body going crazy until she heard the last word.

“Pups? I'm not ready for that. We still have so much baggage to deal with. I'll talk to Damian tomorrow” she said and immediately Dante growled in protest

“Relaxx, he can help me find a birth control herb. He's been getting close to your pack doctors. I hope they let him help them. He's really good at the herb thing” she finished .

“I just don't like how he's so free with you. And also, you forgave him so easily after everything he did to you.”

“He? He was obviously under the influence of Jethro. He's a victim babe. You know what? You can try a loyalty test on him tomorrow. I'm pretty sure he'll be useful on our journey if you let him come.” She told him.

“I've been thinking of doing that but his animal doesn't respond to me” Dante growled in annoyance.

“Oh, I'll see what that is about. He has a pretty shy animal who's definitely confused on how it came to live among wolves so you should probably not be so harsh on him. He'll keep withdrawing further.”

“So, does this mean I can't put my dick right inside you where it belongs?” Dante asked with longing in his tone

“Damn baby, I've successfully taken my mind off this and you drag it right back. I hope the drugs work afterwards. I can't resist you” she said as Dante grabbed her ass and began kissing her passionately.

By the time they finally slept, Taylor had come more than five times.

Dante however, could not sleep for long.

Since he met his mate, his nightmares had stopped and his father's death became a distant memory. But for some reason, tonight, he couldn't close his eyes for more than a minute without seeing his demons. He wished he had been able to do something and now, the death led to so many unfortunate events. To make things worse, the people he had killed in a fit of madness were all mixed in the nightmare, forcing him to take a walk outside.

They had taken back the territories that were given to Jethro without any hassle. He walked all the way to the river, trying to ward off the weird feelings in his head.

“We need to head back. I have a bad feeling staying so far from mate in times like this” Black said, his discomfort showing in his voice.

“I don't want to disturb her or let her know what's happening. She's already got so much on her plate” he replied.

“I understand, me too. But we can stay closer than this, if there's any danger, we'll be able to get to her faster.”

“That makes sense. I don't know why, the bond hasn't been the same ever since the acceptance ceremony. I'll ask elder Tim if it's normal. I thought we were supposed to feel more in tune as we are not just mates but leaders, you get me?”

“Absolutely. In fact, there's no need asking anybody. The bond feeling this way is not normal. Letting people know about it though, not really cool. You trust too fast and too much.”

“Well, I just wished people would stop trying us. We are a strong force, why do people keep feeling they can try us and win? It's dumb” he grumbled, kicking a stone on his path while he walked back.

“You have not chosen a character. People know we have all this power and they know me to be ruthless but they don't know what to make of you yet so they will keep trying until you send a real, strong message.”

“Hm. I really don't want to rule with fear, Black. But I guess you are right. The next person to threaten the peace of this pack will be an example to the rest of the world”

“Exactly. We don't have time to be dealing with petty issues. The training is still taking a slow turn. Maybe joining the two packs coming together will create an environment that will lead to better practice”

“Yes, the competition will be good for them. Great idea. Can you hear that?” Dante asked his wolf.

“I'm supposed to be the supernatural here. I can't hear anything but the guard having a wild romp in the sheets close to the western border and something tells me that's someone else's future mate” he growled in annoyance.

“I don't know why people can't wait for a little while. He's barely in his early twenties. But that's not what I'm talking about. There's a sound. Please check on Celia”

“I want to but she's been sleeping more these days and it's important for her. She was suppressed for weeks.”

“I know but just check. We can help her go back to sleep. It's getting louder, I don't know why you can't hear it. Maybe it's because You are so focused on that lady's screeching sounds” he chuckled.

“Funny, I can't even hear them anymore. He's a quick one. And Celia said they're fine” he grumbled

“That's weird. I'll go check out that guard. Can't wait to see the embarrassment on his face. There's a reason wolves use sound proof doors so I don't know what he's thinking doing it in the open”

“Look who's talking. I don't know what you and Taylor were thinking doing it right in the open at the Purple Gardens waterfall” he taunted his human.

Dante took a shorter path to the western border of his territory and before he could come out of the shadows, he saw something that shook him to his bones.