Her Redeemed Destiny

• Chapter Nineteen •

"Steady," Leroy uttered. 

The anxiety thrummed through them all. They were treading on unfamiliar territory - dangerous territory. The wolves outside did nothing to ease their nerves and it worsened when Asher was forced to stop the jeep. A sheer boulder blocked their path, ending their journey, and the wolves moved from the vehicle by a few feet. 

It was clear they were to exit now. Leroy glanced at his pack members, reading their expressions, and then they were all looking at Beau. Their eyes said it all: You better be right. 

Slowly, they opened the jeep's doors and stepped out. The silence broke as feral growls and snarls thundered around them, the wolves displaying what seemed to be power and dominance. It was enough to set any outsider on the run but they had to stand their ground, for the sake of their own lives. Either way, threats were all they had. 

Leroy remained composed but let his eyes take in the wolves around them. Slowly, he moved towards the front of the jeep and his members hesitantly followed in a cluster. 

Suddenly, silence vanquished the noise. 

The wolves became statues, blending into their wilderness.  No longer did they growl but stood silently. Their behavior was the most unusual and it was their sudden change in nature that made Leroy tense again. It was normal for a wolf to be vicious in defense of their territory but this was nothing of the sort. 

This was something else.

He observed the wolves, trying to calculate their plan. Would they attack? They simply returned his gaze with brazen eyes, judging, waiting. 

Reeve stood just behind Elijah, and yet, she stuck out. She wasn't intimidated by the feral behavior of the wolves for she shared the same qualities. She held the same wilderness in her soul. The males she stood with weren't like her, she wasn't like them. She shared the rogue appearance of the wolves, she should belong to the same wilderness they did, and somehow her home was elsewhere.

Abruptly, the wolves turned their heads to the north and their gazes followed. A man emerged from the wolves. He walked towards them confidently, the wolves moving to allow him a path. Leroy stepped in front of his pack, establishing Alpha, and the man came to a stop a few feet away with small nod of respect. 

"My name is Fox," The man spoke nonchalantly, smoothly, "I am the Gamma. You have entered the territory of the Radburn Pack, my Alpha will be here shortly." 

In the manner that the man spoke, it left Leroy baffled. For the wilderness, he hadn't expected such fluent and civil words. "Are we not a threat to you?" He hesitantly inquired. 

Fox titled his head, the intensity in his hazel eyes breaking to bear amusement, "We are not threatened. In fact, we get many visitors."

"I am Leroy, Alpha of Aloysius Pack," He extended his hand to the Gamma. 

Fox blinked and then took his hand, "It is an honor. What brings you here, Alpha Leroy?" 

Leroy sucked in a breath, hesitant to break the friendliness of the Gamma. There was a different aura in this pack. He could sense a predatory nature of the wolves but he feared they weren't sane to their humanity. That the littlest of things could set the wolves into a massacre. He secretly prayed to the Moon Goddess.

"A war has been declared and it threatens the life of my pack." 

Fox didn't show any change in emotion, "You seek an alliance." 

The statement was clear and Leroy swallowed. Suddenly, he felt like he was treading on glass that was slowly cracking, "If your Alpha is interested."