Chapter 165
I let the title settle over them. I had earned
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their respect but I knew that in the pack world, nothing was truly earned until you proved you could keep it.
“Is there anyone here who believes they are stronger? Is there anyone who wishes to challenge me for the position of Alpha?” I looked slowly from face to face, my eyes locking onto the older, more hardened wolves, the ones who usually led the defiance.
The silence that followed was suffocating. It was heavier than any shout or challenge could have been.
Nobody stepped forward. Not a single person broke ranks.
I tried to stop the sigh of relief that wanted to escape, but I felt a confusing mix of victory and discomfort. They weren’t bowing in respect; they were frozen in fear. I could practically smell their apprehension.
I finally understood why. They knew. They must know I was a White Wolf. It was the only explanation for this absolute terror. They weren’t afraid of me as a leader; they were afraid of what ancient, unpredictable power I might possess. They were afraid of what I might do.
Good. Let them be afraid. Fear was a better tool than shaky loyalty right now.
I let the silence hang for a minute longer, establishing my dominance simply by waiting.
“Since no one thinks they are worthy,” I said, the corners of my mouth tightening, “we will initiate the ceremony.”
I pointed to Chase.
“Chase, step forward.”
He walked steadily towards me, holding a ceremonial silver knife. We faced each other. This was the moment where the bond was officially sealed, not just through words, but through blood.
Chase took the knife and sliced a clean, deep line across his left palm. The blood welled up quickly, dark and rich. I looked him straight in the eye and then did the same to my own hand. The sharp sting was a welcome distraction from the nerves.
“With my blood, I pledge my loyalty and service to you, Alpha Faith,” Chase recited, his voice low and serious.
We joined our hands, palm to palm. Our blood mixed, the contact sent a strange surge of energy
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through me, like snapping a circuit into place.
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Chase immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head low, touching his forehead to the
dirt. “My Alpha.”
Next came Thomas, the Gamma. He was younger, leaner, and looked far more stressed by the whole event. He performed the exact same ritual, cutting his hand and joining it with mine.
As Thomas bowed down, joining Chase in the dirt, the true power hit me.
Suddenly, I felt everything. It was as though a thousand mental doors had been thrown open directly into my consciousness. I could feel the faint, distant hum of the entire pack–their
anxieties, their relief that the chaos was over, the sharp, terrified loyalty from Chase and Thomas,
and the deep, abiding fear from the wolves standing far away in the shadows.
It was overwhelming. The sheer volume of emotional noise rushed into my head, making me feel
dizzy and slightly nauseous.
This connection was the true Alpha power, the ability to join minds with the pack. I had never done anything like this before. It was too vast, too personal, too much control.
I wanted to gasp, to clutch my head and demand they all shut up. But I couldn’t show weakness.
Not now, not ever.
I took a slow, deep breath, pulling my inner shields up hard. I focused on the ground beneath my feet, fighting the urge to shake. I filtered the noise, pushing the flood back into an easily managed
current.
I managed a curt, commanding nod. “Rise, Beta. Rise, Gamma,”
Every single wolf in the hole immediately dropped into a low, formal bow. The ground was littered
with bent heads. The fear was still there, but now it was mixed with awe.
I felt the rush of power again, stronger this time, mixed with the strange thrill of total control. I was their Alpha.
“Thomas,” I commanded, keeping my voice level, though my hands were still faintly tingling from the ceremony. “Lead me to the Alpha house.”
We started walking out of the gathering hole and back toward the central pack lands. Liam was immediately beside me. I didn’t have to ask; he grabbed both of the twins, holding their hands. He kept his eyes sweeping constantly past the bowing wolves, into the surrounding forest, checking every shadow.
I was immensely grateful for his presence. He was the only person here I truly trusted. In a place where everyone feared me, I feared them right back.
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We arrived at the structure that had belonged to Kyle. It was a massive, dark wooden house.
Thomas pointed proudly. “This is the Alpha residence, Alpha. It has everything you need.”
I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at the house, then back at Thomas. The thought of sleeping where Kyle had slept, of my children touching things he had touched, made my stomach
turn.
“No,” I told Thomas flatly.
“I want it thoroughly cleaned. No, on second thought, I want everything inside burned. Every piece of furniture, every rug, every curtain. Then, I want the house scrubbed top to bottom. After that, I want everything new. New furniture, new linen. I will not live in his filth.”
Thomas swallowed hard, clearly speechless at the expense and effort, but he snapped into action.
“Understood, Alpha. I will organize the cleaning immediately.”
“Good. Now lets go to the packhouse we will stay there until this house is sanitary.”
I added quickly, before he could leave: “And Thomas, tomorrow morning, I expect a meeting. I want every single high–ranking pack member present. I need to know everything about this pack’s dealings, its history, and its finances. I have a lot of things I need to know.”
Thomas bowed again, much quicker this time. “Yes, Alpha. I will arrange it.”
We walked away from the dark, silent Alpha house and toward the busy, slightly chaotic
environment of the main Pack House.
The Pack House was noisy, but in a comforting, lived–in way. We secured a quiet, unoccupied
room. It was small, but clean.
The journey and the ceremony had been too much for the twins. They were cranky and exhausted.
I quickly drew a bath and tucked them into the bed and they were asleep instantly.
Once they were settled, the weight of the day crashed down on me. I needed to call Astor. I
needed to hear his voice.
I stepped into the tiny bathroom, closed the door, and dialed his number. It rang just once before he picked up, his voice tight with worry.
“Faith? Oh, thank God. I’ve been waiting.”
Hearing his voice felt like finding solid ground after being tossed about by a storm.
“Hey,” I whispered, leaning against the cold tile wall. “We’re fine. The kids are asleep.”
Astor let out a long, shaky breath. “I was worried sick. The idea of you walking into that kind of
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“We’re okay, honey. There’s nothing to worry about now. The ceremony is done. I’m the Alpha.”
“The house is empty, Faith,” he confessed, his voice sounding hollow. “It’s too quiet. I didn’t think
this distance thing would be so bad when we talked about it, but now that you’re gone… I don’t
know. I just want you and the kids to come home.”
My heart ached for him. “I miss you too, Astor.”
My own wolf hasn’t said a word since we left Astor, but I didn’t need her voice to know that this
place felt wrong. The fear in the pack, the immediate need to burn Kyle’s house, it all told me that something was deeply broken here.
“I think I’m going to be very busy here,” I told him honestly. “I feel like this pack is carrying a lot of
secrets and a lot of bad history. Something just doesn’t feel right, and I need to fix it.”
I heard him smile a little, even through the sadness. “They are very lucky to have you, the people of
the Crescent Pack.”
We kept talking, moving away from the heavy topics of pack politics and distance. We talked
about stupid, funny things, things we hadn’t really done in months, not since the stress of the war
started.
That easy, loving conversation made me realize something. Maybe this distance wouldn’t destroy
- us. Maybe, just maybe, it was exactly what we needed. It made us miss the easy laughter. It made
the comfort of his voice feel powerful again.
I hung up the phone feeling firm and strong, knowing that no matter how much chaos the Crescent
Pack threw at me, I had Astor waiting for me, and that was all the strength I needed.
