I shifted to human form to address the crowd. “Scarlet Ridge pack. Gunner’s era of tyrannical rule is over. If you wish for a new leader, come to me. If you still want to take Gunner’s side, I will not stop you. But know that you cannot live on these lands anylonger.”
I waited. Hector was the first to move. He joined my side and held my handproudly.
Mason and Wesley came next. Though they were omegas, their eyes shone as fiercely and they wore their scars as proudly as anyalpha.
Flint and Jericho joined me, then Shane, Woodrow, Chris and Darrel. The familiar faces turned into unfamiliar ones as shifters I didn’t even recognize gathered around us. It didn’t stop. The group surrounding me turned into hundredsstrong.
Not a single person went toGunner’sside.
“There’s your answer,” I said to Gunner, who was crouched low to the ground and trembling pathetically. “That’s what cruelty gets you. You may be strong, but you’re alone. We have our families and friends. Our bonds make uspowerful.”
“What are you going to do with him?” Wesleyaskedme.
I stared down at Gunner. The man who was once the most feared, powerful wolf across these lands was now a whimpering mongrel with sad eyes that pleaded for mercy. There was no point in killing him now. Wehadwon.
“I seem to remember a dismal building where omegas were kept like livestock under Gunner’s rule,” I began, never taking my eyes off him. He seemed to know where I was going with this. “He can be imprisoned there, as he did to them. And he can think about whathe’sdone.”
As I finished, the alpha guards who previously protected Gunner approached their former leader. With frowns of disappointment and a bit of relief, they picked him up and ledhimaway.
As they passed, the guard who had held Hector paused and looked me in the eye. “Thank you for what you’ve done for us,” he said simply. I nodded at him, andtheyleft.
“Looks like you got yourself quite a following,” Jericho said withagrin.
I turnedaround.
Behind me stood the entirely of ScarletRidgepack.
Everyone was wounded, tired, and mentallyexhausted.
But for the first time since I arrived in this pack, there wasalsohope.
