Red River (Pack 2)

“When I’m Alpha, your parents will see that having a mark on your skin doesn’t make you a lesser wolf.”

“You’re going to be Alpha?” Ricky finally raised his gaze from the floor and stared at Wesley, wide-eyed.

“Of course I am.” Everyone knew that. After all, he was the only other Alpha wolf in Purple Sky and he had been serving as his uncle’s right-hand man for years.

“That’s great. I didn’t think… I didn’t know…” Ricky cleared his throat and lowered his voice. “My parents said the pack wouldn’t accept you as Alpha because you’re”—he rubbed his hand over his own stomach—“different.”

Different. Wesley took deep breaths to keep his anger in check. This young shifter wasn’t responsible for something Wesley should have stopped years earlier. His uncle was still sharp as a whip and the pack members respected him but it was clear they worried an Alpha in his mid-seventies couldn’t protect them from an outside threat. That concern had grown with each passing year, and the pack was now restless and anxious. They’d even started losing members, and not for the usual reasons, like an individual shifter mating with someone outside the pack. They’d lost entire families, and while the people who left never mentioned their fear over Purple Sky’s leadership as their reason, everyone knew the truth. It was time for his uncle to relinquish his control over the pack so Wesley could show them he was the right wolf for the job.

“Your birthday is next week?”

Ricky nodded.

“I’ll be Alpha by then and your parents will see that the scar is meaningless and there’s no reason to hide it.”

One way or another, Wesley would make sure that happened. He hoped it would be with his Uncle Paul’s support because he didn’t want to hurt someone he considered a mentor and friend and he didn’t want to alienate pack members, many of whom had lived their entire lives with his uncle as their Alpha. But the pack was vulnerable and, for their good, Wesley had to force his uncle’s hand.

“Thank you. I knew coming to you for help this morning would be a good idea.”

Those words filled Wesley with a deep sense of satisfaction. He wanted his pack to see him as the person they could turn to for assistance and advice. “You’re welcome.” He rose from his seat, antsy to walk Ricky out and go see his uncle.

“Wesley, er, Alpha?”

“Yes?”

Ricky stood, his hand still pressed to his belly. “Don’t you think it’s strange we both have the same birth defect in the same place?”

Bristling at the word choice even though he had often thought of the mark in the same way, Wesley said, “It’s not a defect. It’s meaningless.”

“Okay, but still,” Ricky said, sounding unconvinced, “the same crinkly skin in the same place—from under our bellybuttons to over our, uh, you know. Why would we both have that?”

“Who knows? Both of our families have been with this pack forever. Maybe we’re related a few generations back and this is something in our line.” The question was fair but Wesley had always considered the skin anomaly irrelevant and he already resented the time he’d had to devote to thinking about it and the impact it’d had on his life. Frustrated, he dragged his fingers through his hair and growled, “Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”

Flinching, Ricky jumped up from the couch and said, “Sorry. I’ll, uh, go now. Thank you for your help.” He hurried to the door, gave Wesley a nervous smile, and rushed out.

“Damn it,” Wesley mumbled under his breath. Scaring any pack member went against his moral code, but especially those who needed protection, like a young Omega. He’d have to seek Ricky out and make sure he was okay.

But first, he needed to talk to his uncle. Because Ricky wasn’t the only pack member whose happiness was in danger. The entire Purple Sky pack was vulnerable and, as an Alpha wolf, it was Wesley’s job to save them. Even if it was from their own well-meaning Alpha.

“Wesley.” Paul raised his gaze from his desk to his office door, where Wesley stood. “I was just about to call you.” He smiled, lifted his hand, and curled his fingers forward, beckoning him inside. “Sit down. Close the door. We have important pack business to discuss.”

“What’s going on?” Wesley asked as he sank into the chair on the other side of his uncle’s desk.

“I have a solution to our pack leadership problem.”

He had come to his uncle’s house determined but regretful. Determined because he knew the pack needed a strong Alpha and the time had run out for his uncle to lead. But regretful because he had patiently worked alongside Paul year after year, hoping he would hand over the reins, if not happily, at least voluntarily, until that morning, when Wesley had finally come to terms with the conclusion that it wouldn’t happen. But the way his uncle looked at him in that moment, hopeful and relieved, he thought maybe the time had finally come and he wouldn’t have to fight his mentor to save the pack after all.