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David's POV

The room was incredibly tense, and the tension was mounting on me every single second. Initially, I wanted to approach everything with calmness and level-headedness, but Elder Charles and the rest had to keep on making list after list of my incompetence.

And then Elder Rick sealed the deal by speaking to me with complete disregard for my position.

The room grew hotter and hotter, and I felt frustrated at the fact that I could not simply walk out. As the leader of this Pack, I had several people's lives hinging on every single one of my decisions. I couldn't afford to let people suffer just because of my pride, but then if my elders were being so uncooperative, I guess I would have no choice.

The eyes of every elder in the room darted in my direction as I yelled at Elder Frederick at this moment. He wasn't the one I was angry at, but he was the one I could let out my anger on. Elder Frederick was probably the most gentle of elders, and even though he was an experienced war veteran, he was actually quite calm.

It was said that in his prime, he could murder hundreds of men all on his own so long as he had the right set of weapons. He worked his way up and became the elder in charge of the weapons division, and everyone respected him.

"It seems like once again we won't be making any progress in any of these meetings," Elder Charles said while staring at me in disappointment.

He wasn't the only one looking at me like that because all the other elders were staring at me, and Elder Frederick decided to look down so as to avoid any more embarrassment. He didn't deserve what he got, and I felt a bit guilty yelling at him like that.

"Well, David, if you are not open to our suggestions, then how about you tell us your own idea? If we won't agree, or at least if you won't agree with Elder Gabriel and Elder Charles, then maybe you have a beautiful plan to make this pack great again. Because rest assured, if we do nothing and simply watch things decline, people will begin to starve to death," Elder Rick said.

"As I have said many times before, just give me some time. I am working on something. You cannot simply rush into things without thinking them through, and rash decisions will only lead to worse consequences," I said, trying to sound profound so as not to get more disappointed looks.

"You don't have any more time, David. People are starving out there, and the only reason they haven't left is probably because they don't have the resources to run away. Parents have to feed their children, and then they have to worry about themselves, but with how bad things are, I estimate that in about a month or two, starvation will become the norm around here. You are the Alpha, and because of that, you get basically everything you need, be it food, shelter, and luxury. But people suffer just because you have to enjoy. If you are going to put your people in starvation just for your own enjoyment, then you are a terrible leader. You can't keep telling us that we should give you more time because there isn't more time. If you don't know what to do with your position, then step the fuck down," Elder Rick said, shouting at the top of his voice.

All the elders remained silent, and they said nothing because of just how tense the air was between myself and Elder Rick now. The man wasn't particularly built or intimidating when it came to physique, but he had eyes that told me that if I were to get on his bad side, I would be the one to regret it. He was dangerous for sure, and I was not ready to get in any trouble with him.

"Okay, maybe we can be open to a few ideas, and that should at least allow us to make some progress. Earlier, it was Gabriel who mentioned the farm. How about we start discussing a way to bring it back to manufacturing enough crops?" I said with my head facing down and my eyes staring at the table.

I couldn't bring myself to look up because of how embarrassed I was feeling. Deep down, I wanted to rage, throw the table aside, and probably vent my anger on someone, particularly Elder Rick. But of course, that wasn't an option because me doing that could lead to many, many problems.

"Finally, you are starting to make some sense. You are young, and you probably think you are always right, but we have been at this for years, and if you take our advice, you can't miss. If we can get to see more of this from you, then maybe our meetings will be more productive and the relationship between us won't be as hostile," Elder Rick said, calming down.

I wanted to say something to respond to Elder Rick, probably something witty and insulting to get back at him for humiliating me, but I quickly decided against it. I didn't want him screaming at me like he was just now, and since I had evaded it once, it would be best to completely prevent another.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to look at Elder Gabriel and asked softly, "What are your ideas on improving the farm? Maybe there are things that can be done right away to improve our economic situation."