Vindicator

Chapter 11

Normally, when a member of the royal family visited a pack, it was custom for the high ranking members and their families to greet them. On this occasion, only a very flustered, shirtless man was standing outside of the pack house to greet them. He had bloody claw marks still healing that ran across his chest, and bloody wounds littered his arms and face.

"Your highness" the man said, bowing quickly. "I apologize for the unceremonious welcome, we weren't expecting you so quickly. We are trying to subdue our Alpha, but he has gone savage" he says with a wince as a roar could be heard from the house behind him.

Chance nodded his head and waltzed forward. "Let's not delay then" he said, motioning for the man to lead the way.

"I'm Beta Jonas, by the way" he offered, hurrying into the house.

"The scent is stronger here" Xander piped up, as the scent from before washed over them once the door was opened. "And mixed with blood" the wolf added with a dangerous growl.

Chance frowned, but years of training allowed him to subdue his emotions and contain his own growl. He was worried his potential mate was in danger, and broke into a run towards the scent. Startled, the Beta and Tom both followed.

Typical for a pack house, the Red Moon's pack house was huge. Navigating the halls took another minute before Chance came to the double doors of the pack's ballroom/meeting area. The scent was coming from behind there, along with sounds of a battle. Chance burst through the doors to a scene of carnage.

Bodies of injured and dead pack members laid strewn all over the ground. Smears of blood where bodies had been dragged or thrown were marring the beautiful, polished dark wood floor. They were nothing compared to the many pools of blood that surrounded unmoving bodies. Chance swore under his breath and looked to the wolf at the centre of it all.

The Alpha stood out clearly among the rest of the pack. He was enormous by comparison to the other wolves surrounding him, and his hackles were raised as he snarled and snapped at those who dared approach him. It seemed, for now, the Alpha had been contained from causing further damage; however, he was far from neutralized.

"We were announcing his son's upcoming tour. He just turned 18, and has determined his mate is not in our pack" the Beta explained. "It was Alpha's idea to announce it to the pack, so everyone was gathered...As soon as the words left his mouth that his son was leaving to find his Luna, it was like his wolf snapped. He took control, and we haven't been able to reach his human side at all."

Chance nodded, his desire to find his possible mate growing as he got closer to the scent of her blood. He scanned the room, hoping not to find her in one of the unmoving bodies, when a roar shook the room. He saw from the corner of his eye that a blur of deep reddish-coloured fur lunged forward to start the battle anew.

"Shit" the Beta said, rushing to help his pack mates. He leapt towards the Alpha, who had just snapped the neck of a large brown wolf with a loud crunch. Shifting in mid-leap, the Beta's large black wolf tackled the Alpha to the ground. Immediately the other pack members joined their Beta, who was easily the largest of all of the other wolves around; however the crazed Alpha thrashed wildly in a bid to escape the dog pile.

"Enough, Alpha, you will submit to royal authority" Chance commanded, the power of his royal station and alpha authority dripping from his command. Alphas had the ability to force compliance with an Alpha order, but a royal order could force even an Alpha to submit.

To everyone's surprise, though, the Alpha snarled and shook off the wolves trying to pin him down. He stood to his full height, the tips of his ears easily reaching 8 feet from the ground. He stared down at the prince with steely grey eyes, growling with bared fangs.