Chapter 55: The Unraveling

STORM'S P.O.V

The table stayed quiet for a few more minutes as Anders leaned forward, his fingers lacing on the desk.

"First," he started, his voice low and even. "There has been quite the oushback from a few council members since the coronation. I understand feeling like you can have a day in the leadership positions of this pack, but no. You do not. Not under my rule, at the very least. So, getting to that, I am going to reevaluate the house of priestesses."

The seer's brows immediately furrowed as she looked up, meeting Anders's eyes. "Evaluate the house of priestesses? Alpha. Only the seer is allowed to evaluate the house of priestesses."

Anders's gaze held the seers, and it felt like the tension between them would snap in two. The air thickened with old enmity, and my mind kept reeling back to the wild, crazy look in her eyes when I had gone to ask her about the silver wolf.

"Clarify for me, Seer. Was that a question or an opinion?"

The threat rang very clear. He had said it earlier. He wanted zero opinions. With Marcus and the seer at the table, that announcement had been more of an invitation to wreck havoc because the last thing they both knew how to do was shut up.

The seer slowly stood up, her hands clasped behind her. All of the priestesses stood with her. A clear rebellion.

"I shall not sit here and have a newly appointed alpha who is still wet behind his ears, extend some sort of anarchy to the house of priestesses. I shall excuse myself from this gathering."

Anders watched as she slowly turned and started to walk towards the door. I expected him to cross over to her. I expected him to turn violent. Slow everyone exactly how bloody he could get.

Marcus smiled slowly, his eyes glinting with pride at the seer's clear disrespect of Anders's authority.

Her hand grabbed the door and opened. Something passed the air. Fast, almost unnoticeable. I gasped as a knife lodged into the wall right above where I was sitting.

I turned. Half of the seer's hair was on the floor, a bright red blood mark on her left ear.

The entire table gasped.

"You have some guts, seer. You think because you live in some secluded hut with nothing but moonlight, that I will sit here and watch you walk out on me?" Anders turned. "Walk. My men out there have only one purpose. To ensure no one walks out before me."

Her eyes blazed with outrage. She stood there at the door, her fingers wrapping tightly around the knob, so hard that her knuckles turned white.

The priestesses immediately took their seats back, and she was left standing alone, half her hair on the ground, a few locks holding on to mere strands like a last resort.

"As I was saying," Anders said. "With the extended lack of an alpha, there has been quite the decline in the purity of the priestesses. With the upcoming burning ritual coming, I have decided I do not want priestesses who can barely keep their own carnal desires banked, to handle the fate of my luna offering her soul to the fire. So I have brought new priestesses. Trained and perfect from the Blackclaw pack. Please come in."

The door opened wider, the seer pushed to the side, and eight elegant women dressed in white silk all walked in, sta ding behind the sears where the current priestesses were occupying. We watched as the current priestesses rightfully read the room and stood up. The new priestesses took the seats instead.

"Meet the new priestesses. I hope we can all understand that this is a permanent decision."

I swallowed hard, looking up to the seer. She was seething with rage, her chest heaving.

For the burning ritual, if none of her trusted people would be there helping her, would she really be able to stand against Anders? Or me?

"Moving on," Anders said simply. "I have heard of the lewd pictures of my luna that is being shared." He looked up again. "The pack will be scrubbed clean of them, and I hope we can go past it."

I looked at Marcus. His jaw was tight, his eyes thin. It was almost like he was disappointed that Anders was just letting him off the jook instead of punishing him for it.

"Lastly," Anders continued. "Now that I am properly alpha, and the position of my gamma is filled, thankfully, by Gamma Israel, I believe it is time for me to fill the position of the beta too."

My eyes widened, and they darted to Marcus. Marcus is beta. Or at least, it was the default position that was given to him as the nameless brother of the Ford family.

Ripples immediately went through the crowd, but not one person even stood up to say a thing.

"I have chosen my beta, and I will be awarding him the perks. The penthouse for betas, the four car entourage, six working omegas, a holiday house within the pack, and a monthly allowance."

I bit down on my lips. The penthouse. The house Marcus still lives in. The entourage that he loved so much. Everything he had, Anders had just taken it.

"If there are any prior arrangements, this should be a notice that it has been dissolved."

"Anders!" Marcus screamed, standing up so hard that he pushed the chair to the floor. "I am beta. Have you forgotten that?! That penthouse has been mine since...."

Anders raised his head. "I have not forgotten that you are beta. I am fully aware that you are not beta, at least, not by my appointment. You can claim any of the omega huts if you have nowhere else to go."

He turned back to the table like he hadn't just snatched everything away from Marcus.

"Please welcome my new beta, Beta Micheal."

The door opened slowly, and before the man could come in, the scent hit me. The same scent that I had perceived in that dream. The same scent that I sometimes perceived when the silver flashed.

The man walked in and I held my breath, my chest heaving.

Blue eyes, dark red hair just like mine, the mole I have above my upper lip.

I felt tears immediately sting the back of my eyes.

Him, I whispered to myself. My father. The man who should have been Anders's father. Luna Lillian's true mate.