Kill or Marry

Kill or Marry
TERENCE

I stood in the center of the hall, my pack gathered around me. The air inside the meeting room was thick with tension. Torches along the walls threw wild shadows across their faces — hard, scarred, loyal faces. The Furious Mad Pack. My pack.

“Tomorrow,” I said, my voice booming through the hall, “I take my mate. Tomorrow, Shanella becomes mine.”

There were cheers, loud howls of approval, and stomps on the wooden floor. The sound sent a thrill through me. But not everyone looked happy.

Grayson, one of my oldest fighters, frowned and stepped forward. “Alpha,” he said cautiously, “the girl you took… she is no ordinary wolf. She’s the future Alpha Queen. If you go through with this, we won’t just be at war with Moon Crest Pack — we’ll be at war with the entire council of Alphas. Mystic Shadow Pack, Golden Fur Pack, even King Philip’s White Fur Pack. Are we ready to face that?”

Murmurs rippled through the room. A few wolves shifted uneasily.

I let out a low growl that silenced them. “I don’t care who comes for her,” I said, baring my teeth. “Let them come. Let Brad come. Let Alpha Ethan come with his warriors. I will kill them all if I have to. No one will take Shanella away from me.”

Another wolf, Mira, one of the few females in the pack, spoke up. “Alpha, with respect, this could bring every pack down on us. You know King Philip — he doesn’t tolerate abductions. He might send his army to wipe us out.”

I slammed my fist down on the table, the wood cracking beneath my hand. “I said I do not care!” I roared. “I have waited too long. Shanella is mine. She will stand beside me tomorrow as my mate — or she will die right here in this territory. I will not let anyone take her back.”

The pack went quiet. They had seen my rage before, but this was different. This was personal.

Joseph, my adopted son, came to stand beside me, his arms crossed. “You heard him,” he said coldly to the others. “Our Alpha has spoken. Prepare yourselves. Tomorrow is not just his wedding — it may be the day we stand against every pack in Westoria. If they come, we fight.”

Some of the younger wolves nodded eagerly, loyal to the end. Others still looked uneasy.

Grayson wasn’t done. “And if the Moon Goddess rejects this bond?” he asked, his tone careful. “What if Shanella never accepts you?”

I bared my teeth at him, stepping closer until I could smell his fear. “She will accept me,” I said. “Once I mark her, she won’t be able to deny me. That is the power of the mate bond. Even if she hates me now, her heart will change.”

Mira’s eyes narrowed. “And if she resists even after the marking?”

“Then she dies,” I said simply. “I will not keep a mate who refuses to stand at my side. But she will not refuse. She’s strong — too strong for her own good — but she will break eventually. They always do.”

The words hung heavy in the room. Even Joseph looked at me with a flicker of something — worry, maybe — but he quickly masked it.

“Double the guards tonight,” I ordered. “No one enters or leaves without my permission. I don’t care if it’s a rogue, a trader, or a lost pup — if someone crosses into our land, they don’t leave alive.”

“Yes, Alpha,” the guards said in unison.

I looked around the room one last time, making sure every eye was on me. “You are my pack,” I said. “You swore loyalty to me, not to the council, not to the king. Tomorrow, I claim my mate, and we begin a new future. One where we do not bow to anyone. One where no Alpha dares look down on us again.”

A few wolves howled in agreement. The sound grew, building into a chorus of savage voices.

“Good,” I said with a grin. “Let them know we are ready. Let them know we are not afraid.”

When the meeting ended, Joseph followed me out into the night. The moon was high, bathing the forest in silver light.

“You really mean it,” Joseph said quietly. “If she resists, you’ll kill her?”

I stopped walking and turned to him. “Yes. If Shanella will not be mine, she will not be anyone’s. I will not let Brad or Billy or anyone else take her back. They can mourn her body, but they will never see her alive again if she refuses me.”

Joseph nodded slowly. “Then we need to be ready for war.”

“We are,” I said. “Let them bring every warrior they have. I will fight them all myself if I must.”

I could already see it in my mind — Brad’s face when he realized he was too late. Alpha Ethan’s rage. King Philip’s fury. It didn’t matter. Tomorrow, Shanella would either stand by my side as my queen… or she would die here, and her blood would mark the beginning of a new era for the Furious Mad Pack.

I threw back my head and howled into the night, my pack answering me from every corner of the territory. The sound echoed through the forest like a promise.

Tomorrow, everything would change.