Dillon wasn’t sure how much he could say around these three males. If his instincts were right, they were only loyal to Jeremiah out of fear, not respect. And if that were the case, then Dillon might get them to open up about their alpha. But if he was wrong, they might run to Jeremiah and tell him that Dillon was digging.
“Okay, look.” Dillon ran a hand down his face. “I’m not a member of your pack, but I’m hoping to be. At some point I’m sure Jeremiah will let everyone know that I’m in a probationary period. You already know I’m more dominant than any of you,” he said honestly. “I have no desire to put you in your place. I just want to hunt.” He looked around the forest, which was so different from the flat land of Texas. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to hunt with a pack. My wolf and I both just want to do what comes natural.”
The three males seemed to weigh his words as they looked at one another and then back at him.
“There’s no catch,” Dillon assured them. “I will not run to Jeremiah and tattle. And if you don’t trust me or are worried you’ll get in trouble, then we can just jog somewhere, as you suggested.”
He saw the eagerness in their eyes as they looked into the surrounding woods. Dillon could practically see them salivating. Their beasts were starved for the same thing he was, and yet they had been living in a pack while he had been a lone wolf. How much worse it was to have what you needed dangled right in front of your face but be unable to grab it. He really wanted to kick Jeremiah’s ass.
“Okay.” Kevin breathed out, giving a sharp nod. He seemed to be the leader of their trio, which meant he was most likely dominant to the other two. And it was evident when he made the decision for all three of them that they understood his place over them. In fact, they looked relieved.
Dillon smiled, and his canines lengthened. “How do you guys feel about whitetail bucks?”
They shed their clothes with the excitement of children about to receive a Christmas toy they had been wanting for the whole year. As soon as they phased, Dillon’s wolf immediately knew the order of their little pack. He was dominant to all of them and therefore took the lead. They fell in line behind him as he took off into the forest.
After an hour, they returned to their clothes and phased back. Dillon felt rejuvenated, as if he had just been reborn.
“How did you move that fast?” Kevin asked as he pulled his jeans back on.
“Seriously.” Rusty nodded, his eyes wide. “I’ve never even seen Jeremiah move like that.”
Dillon put his shirt over his head and then sat on the ground to put on his shoes. “My wolf is fast, but that’s not the only reason I took down that buck.” He motioned to them. “We worked as a team, as a pack.” He paused as he finished tying his shoes. “That’s how a hunt should be. We use the strengths given to us and share them with each other to accomplish something together.”
When he raised his eyes back up, the three males were staring at him as if he’d grown a third head. “What?”
“We’ve never hunted like that,” Kevin frowned “The alpha will sometimes hunt with his top three, but those are the only wolves permitted. I feel like a part of me has been missing, like a leg was cut off, and I just got it back.”
“You’re a Canis lupus.” Dillon pushed up to his feet. “You weren’t meant to lead solitary lives, not even within the pack. Your alpha should lead you, not feel threatened by you.”
“Careful.” Rusty hissed, looking over his shoulder. “You can’t let anyone hear you talk like that especially if you want to be a member of this pack.”
“Anyone else,” Kevin corrected. “We won’t say a damn thing. But Rusty’s right. There are pack members who would tell Jeremiah what you’re saying, and he would take it to mean that you want to challenge him.”
Dillon’s brow rose. “So speaking the truth is considered mutinous?”
“Whose truth?” Kevin’s voice was filled with derision.
Dillon nodded, understanding filling his mind. Their alpha had set the standard for truth, but it was his truth, which wasn’t truth at all. It was a lie constructed to control those who he felt threatened his position in the pack. “I’m sorry.” Dillon’s wolf growled as he thought about these three good men being oppressed because of their alpha’s fear. “Your pack deserves better. A good alpha wants to see his wolves thrive, not cower in fear.”
“Careful,” his wolf warned. “We need to be sure we can trust them.”
Dillon’s gut told him he could trust the wolves. He could see it in their eyes—the earnest need to be led by someone who valued them and not just saw them as someone to subjugate.
Gabe made a sound like a whining wolf. Dillon knew that if the younger male had been in his wolf form, he’d have his tail tucked, trying to make himself as small as possible.
Dillon held up his hands. “That’s all I’m going to say. I don’t want to get you in trouble. But just know”—he looked each of them in the eye—“you deserve better.” He turned and motioned for them to follow. “Let’s do one more sweep and see if we come across these so-called rogue wolves.”
He heard Kevin chuckle, but then he turned it into a cough. They’d clearly been conditioned not to have an opinion.
“He is no alpha,” Dillon’s wolf said, referring to Jeremiah.
“No,” Dillon agreed. “He’s a dominant male who wants to be more than he is. A wolf who probably was never able to accept his place in his pack, and the only way he can hold his place is by coercion and fear tactics.”
“We will not submit to him once we claim our mate,” his beast rumbled.
Dillon had no arguments there, but he’d keep those emotions stuffed way, way down. As they started off again, he checked on Tanya through the bond and found she seemed to be a little less volatile. She was occupied, her thoughts busy, so he let her be. But Dillon made sure to pour his affection through the bond. Even if he couldn’t physically be there with her, he could still let her know she had his support.
The group had searched the entirety of the forest south of the mansion before lunch, so they decided to spend the afternoon in the woods north of the pack headquarters.
