Chapter 22

A pack leader in her own right. It sounded like a reward rather than a punishment. But Wolfie, Fen, and I all knew that this solution would be nearly as dangerous as banishment.

After all, a halfie alpha with no clan and no lands might as well have a target painted on her back. Sure, unlike outcast-Fen, pack-leader Fen would have the right to take grievances to the nearest Tribunal...if she was able to make it there alive. Which she likely wouldn't.

Given the dangers of Fen's upcoming predicament, I wanted to protest. But I could tell that Wolfie and Fen had settled this issue between themselves during the staring session a few moments earlier. And when I met the new alpha's eyes, she merely nodded, Fen's wolf serene as she provided the reassurance my guilty conscience craved.

In return, I gave the young woman the only thing I knew how to give—my approbation. "Fen has already proven herself to be an admirable pack leader," I agreed. "I envy the members of her new pack and urge anyone who wants an adventure to follow her out into the world."

"I'll bite," Glen said immediately, stepping through the doorway and into our bedroom. At his back, three of my similarly-aged cousins followed suit, coming to stand by the side of the woman who had already acted as their primary alpha for the last several weeks. And even though I knew this quartet of young adults was walking into danger unarmed, the shifters' loyalty to a cherished companion made me proud to have once been their alpha.

"And m..." Ethan began, only to have his words cut off by a female alpha who was quickly growing into her new duties.

"And you will stay in Haven until you're at least eighteen," Fen countered. But she graced the teenager with a grateful smile, and the supposedly tough kid's cheeks colored into a deep blush by way of reply.

Of Fen's new crew, all were young, two were female, and only Glen had much meat on his bones. The sight gave me the sudden urge to pick out a dozen burly werewolves to aid the new alpha in her upcoming adventure, to guard her back against all comers, and to generally make other pack leaders think twice about snarling at my savior and friend.

But I hesitated, knowing from personal experience that an unwilling pack member was worse than none at all. In the end, I figured it was better that Fen not have to deal with the back-stabbing relatives that had haunted my own early days of leadership. So I held my peace.

Still, I couldn't prevent my head from turning to take in the crowd pushing up against the open doorway that led into the living room. Because there was one strong shifter who I would have liked to see at Fen's back, and who should by rights have stood there.

Sure enough, David hovered in the entranceway, one hand raised as if to swear his own oath of fealty. Even though I was pretty sure he and Fen hadn't spoken since her halfie heritage was revealed, it appeared my cousin was still smitten enough to consider throwing in his lot with the outcast shifters.

But, in the end, he stayed silent. And after a moment David turned away and slipped back into the crowd.

Coward, my wolf growled. I couldn't help but agree, but the same theory still applied. If David didn't have the guts to join Fen willingly, then I didn't want him in her pack dragging the new alpha down.

Fen had clearly noticed her potential mate's desertion because her lips thinned in response. But she didn't call the defector back, and I figured the young woman was wise to let him go.

Now, if my upcoming plan will just bear fruit, then maybe David will have other opportunities to change his tune in the near future.

Unaware of the dual life preservers I intended to throw her way, Fen had already turned on her heel, ready and willing to lead her small pack out into the unknown. But I felt confident enough after taking in the purely spicy odor of the uber-alpha to make two more requests. The first was selfish, the second selfless. I hoped both would fly under Mr. Sassafras's radar.

"Just a minute, Fen," I called. Then, when every eye was trained upon me rather than on Fen and my mate, I took a deep breath and made my proposal. "I hope that you'll consider staying on in Haven for a few weeks and taking care of our pack while Wolfie and I go on vacation."

My mate, for once, appeared to be dumbstruck. So it was up to the new alpha to draw me out. "Any particular type of vacation, Terra?" she asked, a smile hovering on her lips for the first time since we'd come down off the mountain, proof that Fen's brain was currently working faster than Wolfie's own.

"Why, yes, Fen," I answered with a smile. "I was hoping Wolfie would join me at last on a claiming moon.

"And, afterwards, as a show of appreciation for minding our pack in the interim, we'd like to gift you with a thousand acres on the far side of the mountain where you can build your own clan's home place in peace."

***

I knew I'd taken matters too far when the early morning air chilled on my skin, the uber-alpha appearing to draw energy out of the room due to the depth of his displeasure. "No," he said simply. But the single word shook my bones and sent the weaker shifters to their knees.

"No," the Tribunal member repeated, this time with slightly less emphasis since he no longer needed to capture our attention. Every eye here and in the living room beyond were now trained on his grim face.

"This isn't a human kindergarten where everyone gets to walk away with a first-place ribbon and the knowledge of a job well done," the uber-alpha growled, the words nearly lupine in their timber. As he spoke, the dominant werewolf began to pace from wall to wall in a repetition of his behavior the first time he'd graced us with his presence, and I found myself unable to raise my eyes above the level of the uber-alpha's swiftly moving feet.

"In case you're unaware," he continued, "murdering a visiting pack leader in his bed is grounds for eradication of an entire pack. If this case were brought before the Tribunal, justice would be swift and final. And I promise you, our decision would not lean in your favor."

Not fair, my wolf protested. That's our bed, not Justin's.

Personally, I didn't think the bed's ownership was particularly relevant. No, after the drama and bodily fluids spilled across its surfaces, I was pretty sure the piece of furniture in question would end up on a bonfire rather than providing a future spot for restful slumber.

But I stayed silent...and not just because my lips were physically incapable of opening due to the nearly palpable cold-water aroma that seemed to be gushing out of the Tribunal member's form. Instead, my quietness resulted from acceptance of the uber-alpha's deeper point.

Because I had to admit that Mr. Sassafras had been kind in his way by allowing us to send Fen out into the world as a pack leader rather than putting her—or me—to death. And I'd been pushing my luck by hoping I could instead situate my friend next door where I could send as many of the Barn rats to join her new pack as wanted to try out a small adventure with very little risk. Yes, I'd gambled on getting the best of both worlds when my hand only held a pair of deuces, so how could I be surprised when the uber-alpha called my bluff?

Meanwhile, Wolfie's sacrifice of his own powers in an effort to bolster my peace of mind had taught me that every instance of growth came with a loss as well as a gain. Unfortunately, I didn't want Haven's gain to be Fen's loss. Not after everything the young woman had gone through for the sake of the pack and for me personally.

But before I could protest, Fen spoke up. "You're right," she agreed. Her words were high but clear, and I couldn't tell whether Mr. Sassafras had released her vocal cords while still holding tightly to my own, or whether the new alpha had already found a way to exceed my strength and had fought free of the Tribunal member's grasp. While I'd like to hope for the latter, recent events suggested that the uber-alpha was merely giving Fen a chance to dig her hole deeper.

Here's hoping she's smarter than I was about the matter.

"It won't be easy," Fen continued, and as she spoke I found myself able to look up and meet her eyes at last. Eyes that I now realized were so similar to those of my mate that I was left hoping Fen might really prove capable of standing up under the weight of what was nearly a death sentence.

"But I'm ready to make my own way in the world. I've done it before," she reminded us, continuing to buoy me and Wolfie up even though she was the one being asked to walk directly into harm's way with no defenses at her disposal. "And I survived then without any werewolves at my back," she continued. "So now won't be any different."

Of course, Fen and I both knew that this time would be very different. As a single outpack drifter, the young woman had almost certainly striven to slide beneath all other werewolves' radar during her earlier explorations. She'd likely hidden out at the margins of shifter society the way I'd done, never making waves and turning tail at the first scent of a non-human's presence.

But with a pack to manage, even one that consisted of only four other shifters, Fen would instead be required to carve out her own place in the world. She'd eventually need to settle down and fight for a piece of land the way Wolfie had, to hold her own against other alphas at All-Pack so she could petition for ownership of the territory in question.

No, Fen was right to say leading her pack wouldn't be easy. But she was clearly determined to follow through. And the uber-alpha appeared sufficiently content with this more serious sentence because he abruptly released the rest of us from his hold.

"Good," Mr. Sassafras agreed, all spicy and semi-jovial again now that we'd submitted to his will. "Then I'll escort Miss Fen and her new pack to the nearest outpack boundaries. And we'll leave the rest of you to clean up this mess."