“Jackson, what the fuck are you talking about?”
He turns to me with a puzzled smile. “Didn’t you want to raise the standard of living here?”
“Yes, of course I do, but—”
“And don’t your friends have resources to spare?”
“Somewhat, but not—”
“I’m your beta,” Jackson says firmly as a challenging glint comes into his eye. “And I am your voice in the pack. I’ve personally made arrangements for all of this to be done. Do you have a problem with any of it?”
“I do, actually,” I state, my voice firm. “We made no such plans. You do not have my permission to allocate resources or begin any public works. Yes, we plan to change things around here, and the other packs are planning to help, but you can’t just assign assets that don’t belong to you without negotiating with the other alphas.”
“My apologies,” Jackson says, lowering his head. “I thought you’d be pleased.”
“Well, I’m not!” I snap. “You do not act on my behalf, nor do you speak for me. I am the alpha, and all major decisions regarding the pack will be made and announced by me. Is that clear?”
“Crystal,” Jackson answers, nodding, and I see just a hint of a smile on his face. “I’m very sorry, Alpha Shawn.”
I take a step back and look at the crowd, seeing a sea of disappointed faces. At that moment, I realized I stumbled headfirst into a well-laid trap.
Jackson just made me look like a tyrant. But what can I do? I can’t let him act like an alpha, either—then I’d look like a piss-weak pup!
Jackson looks up at me again, and I can see hatred simmering in his gaze. I’d hoped for a peaceful solution to this situation, but now it looks like that will be impossible.
I need some evidence against him to show the pack who he really is, or they will just hate me for killing him. How can I make him show his true colors to them?
Chapter 18 - Sara
The other girls try to bring me back into the conversation, but I feel like I’m a million miles awayandunderwater.
If anything, this is worse than being an outcast. These girls genuinely seem to want to be my friends, but I can’t trust them.
I notice Scarlett watching me closely, and her gaze is so gentle, it reminds me of Jess. To my frustration, tears fill my eyes and threaten to spill down my cheeks.
Dammit! If I do one fucking thing today, can it be to stop crying?
“Sara,” Scarlett says, “no one expects this pack transition to be easy, but we do really want to help. You don’t have to be scared of us.”
“Really?” I shoot back, my anger rising. “How can I just sit here and pretend like one of you didn’t murder Talon?”
The silence that follows my words is so tense, it feels like glass about to break. The girls look around at each other, and finally, Alisha shakes her head.
“Alright. I shouldn’t have been running away from this, anyway. I was there, yes, and I killed some of the warriors. I don’t know if I killed Talon, honestly, but I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I was there, too,” Grace says softly.
“You didn’t go fully berserk with your powers,” Alisha says flatly. “I did. I took out three wolves without even thinking about it. I just waved my hand, andwham, they got flattened.”
“The earth obeyed you without question,” Grace adds. “I’m sure you weren’t expecting that amount of power to answer your call.”
“I really wasn’t,” she says.
“Talon and Jess would have most likely led the attack,” I mutter, looking at my lap. “So it probably was you who killed them.”
“I was protecting the pups,” Alisha says defensively. “Including my own. They were enemies charging us, teeth bared and howling for blood. What would you have done?”
I glare at her, my teeth clenched to stop me from screaming. Initially, we heard from Bruce that the other pack had powerful magic that repelled their attack, as well as incredibly fierce wolves that fought so well, we didn’t have a chance. The fact that they threw magic at us only confirmed our stories of how dangerous Eccles is—and the very idea of witches terrified everyone so much, we folded to the new alphas without even a whisper of rebellion.
