The Rogue Princess [Rogue Alpha, Book 2]

II

The Pack house hadn't changed. It was bittersweet to see the large cabin nestled among the trees. As Lyric had followed William, she'd seen flashes of Wolves between the trees. Some she knew, most she didn't. Her instincts were calm even though something had definitely happened since she had been Exiled. Now, she found herself seated at a table by the fire with William. Harrison and Mitch - her companions - sat at another table nearby. Neither had touched the food and drink offered to them and she felt a burst of pride; they wouldn't until William acknowledged their safety within the borders.

"Well, Will," Lyric started, unwilling to be patient. "Get it out and let's be done. I don't want to be here longer than I have to." She stared unpassionately as William squirmed in his seat. He'd never been able to hide his feelings. She could still read him like a book after all these years, and she wasn't sure she liked what she was reading from him now.

"Well, first," he sighed. "Be welcome within my borders - you are safe from physical, emotional, and mental threat. Second, Ric, how are you? Are you okay? I tried to find you after Mik took off and left me to scramble to keep the Pack together. I know it was too little, too late, but I had to know you were okay. I-"

"Enough, Will," the she-Alpha interrupted, snarling. "I have fought, bled, and broken in the last six years to get where I am now. I am no longer Outcast or Rejected. I have claimed Dallas Royal as a Chosen Mate - I am now your Princess. I am an Alpha in my own right of over one hundred Wolves. I am the strongest Wolf and Alpha now. I am here for my questions to be answered, not to play catch up with someone who I thought to be my friend." She watched as that last barb struck true and Will flinched.

"I see," he whispered. "Mik unraveled after he Exiled you. Tabitha whispered trash into his ear all the time. The Pack was falling apart. Then, about four years ago, something changed. He got focused on you again, claimed he was going to wipe out all the Rogues, take over all the packs. He muttered a lot of nonsense. Tabitha encouraged him; she was truly a snake in wolf's fur. Three years ago, he called a Pack meeting. Told everyone he was leaving them for something better. He tore apart the Pack bonds right there; it was chaos. Wolves panicked, kids were crying, so I did what I could and gathered the broken bonds that I could and tied them to me. I stepped up, did my best to keep us afloat. I wrote to the council and was politely told to screw off - the Pack had abandoned their Alpha and so the council would not help."

Lyric snorted - that seemed to be WhiteClaw's signiture move. "So, a Beta has been acting Alpha for three years. How many have you lost? How many are on the edge of becoming Rogue or Feral? Damnit, William, you should have pushed harder!" She was angry now, which overrode the hurt and fear she felt back on WhiteFang territory. Though, it couldn't be called that anymore, could it?

"More than I'd care to admit, Alpha Lyric," William answered, suddenly deferential to her title. "I always knew you were an Alpha. I've been looking for you to cede the Pack to you."

"I, Alpha Lyric, now claim the Pack previously known as WhiteFang. All bonds are tied to me. Beta William will manage in my stead." Lyric's decree held a thread of magic that rippled through the Pack as the bonds left William to join the hundreds of others. She felt dozens of Wolves on the verge of falling suddenly find the strength that she had found. "You are now known as SubPack RogueFang." She closed her eyes as the Bonds settled and she was flooded with the relief they felt. 

She stood and headed for the door. "William, if you ever pull a dirty trick like this on me again, I will end you. Be a good Beta; keep the Pack together. If I have to come back here, I will wipe it from the face of the planet. I don't trust any of them, but they don't deserve to fail simply for one person's mistake. Be better, fix it." She hid her shaking hands in her pockets as she left, Harrison and Mitch silently at her back again. 

At least I have a better timeline, she told herself. Innocent information, but valuable all the same.