Hard To Balance: Trials & Tribulations #1 | An MM Paranormal Romance

( 4 ) CHAPTER FOUR | CYRUS ROWAN

I stand aside as the guys continue to load the truck full of all the supplies we'd bought. We crept through several stores so there ended up being quite a bit to pack. Ben, the guy that came to pick us up, didn't even bother to help. The others grumbled, but I didn't care.

Of course I can help with no trouble, at two-hundred-and-twenty pounds of muscle, lifting a few supplies won't kill me, but Levi stopped me when I tried to help them.

I know why, even if I don't agree. For a group of people who spend half their time running around on four legs and worshipping the strong, you'd think there would be a lot less politics involved in leadership, but no.

God no.

Since I'm still the new Alpha, my position is precarious. One wrong move and I'll be knocked off my position faster than I can blink. I'm strong, yes, and I was already next in line for the position, but if the other wolves, especially the older ones, just happen to see any fault in me, someone would bound to challenge me eventually.

Not only could I lose my position if I was careless, I can lose my life. Shifter fights ending in death were a lot rarer now than a few decades ago, but that doesn't mean it completely stopped, either.

At the moment, I know no one would challenge me. Besides just being the previous Alpha's son, I am a pretty strong wolf in my own right. I'm not so conceited to think no one could ever beat me in a fight, but there are only a few people I had to worry about.

No one has questioned my authority, so far. Still, it never hurt to be careful.

"Aren't you guys done yet?"

I turn to look at Ben who finally returns from wherever he disappeared to.

"You know, it would go faster if you'd just help . . ."

"Is that an order, Alpha?"

I send him a blank look and then turn to the guys. They can't just dump everything in the back of the trunk. Since it's our only transportation and only two more people can fit in the cab of the truck, everyone else will be riding in the back with the goods.

"You can do what you want. Don't forget, though. It will be your supply run next, and if you expect others to help you . . ."

I eye him out the corner of my eye, crossing my arms over my chest.

Being part of a pack is like being part of a family. A large, at times dysfunctional family, but family just the same. Mine are full of snitches and gossips. If he wants to be a pain-in-the-ass, no one will stop him, but he just might end up paying for it later and I didn't see or hear shit when it happens.

He frowns for a moment at my words, then sighs and goes forward to help with the remaining supplies.

When they're done, I get in the front with Ben and one other guy in the middle, while Levi sits with everyone else in the back of the truck.

"Can I just ask something?" Ben asks. "Why don't you just get a car of your own? You didn't have one coming down because everything was taken, right? You're the Alpha, no one would say no."

I cross my arms and stare outside at the passing cars.

"I'd love to, but now is not the time. The money for it has to be put aside so I can't just buy a car immediately."

The pack is a community. We don't have a collective account controlled by the whole pack, but we do always pull together money for times like today. Feeding and taking care of a pack was everyone's duty. We go out for supply runs around once every week, or every few weeks if we get a lot of goods that we could survive on for a while. Sometimes we hunt wildlife and the meat can last us for a month or even longer.