Golden Valley (Pack 3)

“You don’t want us to wait and escort him off pack lands, Alpha?” asked one of his pack members.

Shaking his head, Morgan looked down at his clearly pained challenger. “He knows his way home.” Morgan had been through this drill often enough that he was able to keep his shoulders back and his face neutral, but that didn’t mean the bites, bruises, and scrapes didn’t hurt. The sooner Keith left Golden Valley, the sooner Morgan could take a hot shower and focus on the next thing on his never-ending to-do list. “Let’s go, Keith.” He squatted and held his arm out again. “Challenge is over. Time to go.”

Finally shifting into his human form, the bleeding Alpha pointedly ignored Morgan’s outstretched hand and snarled, “This isn’t over.”

“It could be over.” Rubbing his hand over his closely shorn hair, Morgan stood. From what he had heard, Keith had been a smart, responsible, caring young Alpha before he had met Timothy Tillers. While Morgan wasn’t privy to the details of their relationship, rumor was that it hadn’t been loving, and Morgan knew for a fact it had been brief—Timothy hadn’t been at the Green Field pack for long before he had returned to Golden Valley armed with explosives. Seven years later, Keith still hadn’t shaken the hold the male Omega had on him, leaving him a shell of an Alpha. “Any time you’re ready to move on, these fights can be over.”

“Move on? Move on?” Glaring at Morgan, Keith slowly climbed to his feet. When he swayed, looking as if his scraped legs would crumble, Morgan reached for him again, but in typical form, Keith slapped his hand away. “He was my mate! I won’t let him down again.” Finally upright and somewhat steady on his feet, he stepped toward Morgan, teeth bared. “I’ll beat you. Eventually, I’ll beat you.”

Becoming Alpha of a prosperous, healthy pack at age sixteen had made Morgan a target for greedy shifters who thought they could take Golden Valley as their own by challenging and easily defeating a kid. They had been wrong, and over the years, as Morgan’s age, strength, and wolf form grew along with his reputation, the challenges had waned. All except for the one Alpha who was driven by something other than greed.

Early on, Morgan had tried to reason with Keith. He had explained that he had known Timothy only in passing and that he had nothing to do with Timothy’s actions that fateful night. He had pointed out how his entire pack and he personally had been harmed by the explosion and subsequent fire. He had asked how Keith’s mission to unseat him as the Golden Valley Alpha would help anyone, let alone a deceased shifter. But Keith wouldn’t or couldn't give a logical answer, and he refused to be dissuaded from his self-imposed mission.

Eventually realizing that no explanation could stop a goal that wasn’t driven by logic, Morgan accepted that facing Keith’s challenges was part of his role as Golden Valley Alpha. He stayed involved in pack businesses to ensure they ran smoothly and profitably. He made himself available and approachable to all pack members so he could remedy small problems before they turned into large ones. And he kept his body in top physical condition so he could defend his position, and therefore his pack, from Alphas, whether driven by greed or suffering because of a male Omega, years after that Omega’s death. Timothy’s power had no boundary, not even a grave.

“Do you need a healer to look at you before you go home?” Morgan offered, already knowing how Keith would answer.

“I don’t need your help,” Keith barked.

Yes. That was exactly what he expected as an answer. “Suit yourself.” Morgan raised both arms and stepped away.

As Keith limped off between the trees, Morgan looked at his retreating back and frowned. He couldn’t help a man who didn’t want to heal, but how long could a wolf survive carrying that much rage?

“Alpha?”

Shaking off the distraction, Morgan turned around and refocused on his actual responsibility—his pack. Two of the witnesses were gone, but Ray Lopez remained. “What can I help you with, Ray?”

“Lil sent me a text during the challenge.” He held up his phone. “She said the visitors from Purple Sky arrived early. They’re at your house, and she needs to talk to you before you meet them.”

“Thanks. I’ll go to the Alpha house now,” Morgan said, frowning. Why would Lillian be involved with the visitors? His second-in-command was too busy to worry about hospitality, and she wouldn’t add to his already busy schedule without a good reason.

The moment Morgan stepped into the Alpha house, his skin prickled and his heart rate increased. Logically, he should have realized that whatever raised alarms in his body was related to Lillian’s message, but his mental faculties had been waylaid by an overwhelming urge to find…something. Raising his nose high, he inhaled deeply and jerked his head from side to side in an effort to identify whatever was calling to him. The house was oddly quiet and still. No children ran through the wide halls. No adults clustered in the many seating areas, chatting, working, or playing cards.