Note:
Thank you, Maude Fluckiger, for gifting a castle to this book yesterday. I love you 3000! x
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"What?!"
"The Blood River Pack had a rebellion?!"
"Is this for real?"
A chorus of surprise and shock echoed within the numerous packs that were gathered that night. The Alpha of the Red Moon Pack simply kept a grin on his face.
The Obsidian Sand Pack's Alpha, Elias, immediately narrowed his eyes at the other Alpha for taking away the opportunity for him to reveal the flaws and faults in Blood River Pack.
Leland didn't blink and simply stared at the Great Shaman. He was not intimidated and didn't care about the reactions of the other pack. He felt like he did not need to explain anything. His gaze didn't falter and he spoke calmly.
"One of the Elders in Blood River Pack attempted to take the role of Alpha and put himself to glory. Foolish ex-members joined and died by the hundreds." Leland informed them.
"How could the Alpha simply let that happen?"
"You chose not to attack because of your mate!" An angry ex-member of the Blood River Pack frustratedly shouted from among the Obsidian Sand Pack. "Our victory was in our grasps but you let it go, Alpha! We had worked hard for years and made meticulate plans.. but you ruined it."
A couple of lycans from different packs exchanged looks at the word, mate. It was clear in reaction of some packs that they actually had interests in showcasing their most beautiful lycan women to someone in a powerful position like Leland.
It was a sudden thing that the reclusive Alpha, who was renown to be formidable and was highly talked about to be the next Lycan king, suddenly had chosen a mate.
The Great Shaman glanced at the speaker with a raised a brow. Then, he turned to Leland and asked. "You have chosen your Luna? The Blood River Pack did not have a Luna when we had our meeting three years ago."
"I have a Luna now," Leland said. "My mate was poisoned when Isolde came and visited the Blood River Pack. That was why I didn't continue with the attack on the capital that day."
"I see…" the Great Shaman slowly nodded and then addressed the crowd. "Can we blame any lycan who chooses to value his mate above all? An ordinary lycan would be unable to operate in full capacity if he is under stress."
"That is true."
"They only needed to delay the fight until their Luna recovered."
A couple of murmurs once again started in the pack. Some were now a lot more sympathetic to the Blood River Pack incident, but others still remained unfazed and resolute in their opinion.
"It was still a failure on the part of the Alpha of the Blood River to allow such things to happen within the pack," another Alpha commented. "It seems that the Alpha failed to create countermeasures."
"How could such an uprising happen when the Blood River Pack has their Alpha, Luna and Beta to take care of it?" Someone else agreed. "It is negligence on their part."
"One cannot simply blame the members of the pack for their disloyalty," Another said. "It can simply mean that the current Alpha did not inspire much loyalty within the Blood River Pack."
The negative opinions of other Alphas and packs were much louder than any neutral or sympathetic ones who kept quiet. Their voices were filled with discontent, doubt, and were utterly disapproving.
Despite all of their displeased tones and being placed in a position of extreme scrutiny, Leland kept his face blank. He didn't flinch and simply eyed the speakers without a hint of fear in his face.
"Silence for a moment," the Great Shaman said and glanced at the packs. He was the voice of reason within them. "It is far easier to place cruel judgements on others when we have already seen the results of the events."
"He left hundreds of lycans to die in vain, Alpha!"
"While it is true, and it is a shame, we must not forget that all of us have committed errors on our part. Blunders and mistakes. Nobody is above them."
"You are being too kind, Great Shaman!" Others complained and protested. However, to those who were levelheaded and didn't accept ex-members of Blood River Pack, they agreed with the assessment.
"It is impossible to truly control the hearts of one's people," an Alpha from another pack agreed. "Even us leaders cannot control those who are beyond a certain level of incompetence."
"But I must admit that it does place a certain demerit on the Alpha of the Blood River Pack." The Great Shaman sighed. "Our late Lycan King, Malachi, managed to create peace and harmony while diffusing disagreements, Leland. How do you plan to follow in his footsteps?"
Before Leland could answer, another Alpha suddenly stepped forward. It was Elias from Obsidian Sand Pack. He frowned heavily and said. "Great Shaman, it seems that you are placing too many expectations that it is the Blood River Pack who will take over."
The Great Shaman smiled calmly and shook his head.
"There are many candidates, but even in previous meetings, most would agree that it is Blood River Pack's Alpha who has a great chance for it. He is the youngest Lycan ever to be an Alpha of such a great pack. When he was only eighteen, he had managed to win against many much older Alphas in his first Lunar Gathering and we respect him for that. You, on the other hand, have only joined this meeting once," the Great Shaman explained to Elias. "Must I say more?"
Murmurs of agreement sounded and didn't show disapproval. In the past decade, Leland had shown himself as a capable Alpha and the last Lunar Gathering approved the Alpha in taking over one of their greatest enemies, the Riga Kingdom.
Elias gritted his teeth but then turned to Leland. "It appears then that I must prove myself as a worthy candidate. Leland Salazar, I challenge you to a duel for Blood River Pack's command."
"Who is this new Alpha?"
"Alpha Zaros is not here. So, he must have been replaced?"
"I think the Alpha's daughter is here."
"The Obsidian Sand Pack's Alpha is incredibly gutsy."
Leland only raised a brow but wasn't opposed to it. However, he glanced at his cousin and decided to mention his kill marks thus far. The Lunar Gathering would end too bitterly if the new Alpha died.
"In the past decade since my father, Alpha Leon, died and I took over, far too many have attempted to take the command away from me, Alpha," Leland said. "I can let you take back your words, before it's too late.."
"My name is Elias and I will not step down from the challenge, Salazar," Elias said. "Unless it is you who is too cowardly to fight me now."
He was agitated and wanted to show everyone present that he was worthy of his title to be the new Alpha of the Obsidian Sand Pack. He thought this was his opportunity to start getting support for his campaign to become the next werewolf king.
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From Missrealitybites:
I will throw a mini mass release on February 1. Hopefully, I can publish 5-6 chapters... or even more, if possible.
In the chapters released next week, we will have the time skip, the boys shift into humans, the Romanovs return to Riga, attending the royal gala in the palace, and Sophie finally meets Nicholas again.
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