The Reluctant Alpha

The Confrontation

Blake slammed his foot on the brake and brought the car to a screeching halt in front of the grand estate house. His heart continued to race. Having left Amber and Imani's safely with Liam, it was time to confront Raphael. He jumped out and stared up the giant façade, scanning the top. The empty balconies were a clear sign that baby brother knew he was coming. Every warrior available would need to protect the pack alpha. Not something he had to worry about when he led the back, but Raphael was smart to be scared. 

He raced up the steps and shoved the colossal wood door open. "Raphael!" He let out a sharp summoning howl from deep inside that echoed off the beige walls and marble floor of the foyer, reverberating through the building. Doors creaked open. Pack members shuffled into and filled the room. Some heads dipped out of respect while others sized him up, making his skin bristle. They were mostly males and not a single human, confirming Amber's claims. Her stories of the havoc wreaked on the pack since he left swirled in his gut with the guilt that he had allowed it to happen. His own quest for solitude led to the devastation it was his ultimate responsibility to protect his people from enduring.  It ended today.

"I'm here." Raphael sauntered across the balustrade. "I don't see why growling is necessary." He sensed the tension in his younger brother's voice betraying the cocky facade he presented. He was always the showman. Raphael stopped half-way down the stairs. Shifters gathered at the bottom of the steps, creating a barrier between them.

Filling his tight lungs, he raised his chin and looked down his nose at their defiant glares. "Apparently, you've made some unproductive changes to how the pack operates."

"Yes, someone had to save it after you ran away. How was life in the woods?" Raphael lifted his arm and spanned his upturned hand in front of him. "I got rid of the riff-raff and your human pets. We're stronger than we've ever been."

"I heard differently."

Raphael scoffed. "From whom, your human concubine?"

He cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms.  "You mean my mate."

Raphael let out a laugh of disgust. "I heard she found you. How you manage to roll around with those creatures is beyond me let alone have the audacity to bond with her. You shame the Aumont name by laying with her and breeding that mutt she's been hiding from me."

He released a howl-bark and charged through the pack, wrapping his clawed fingertips around his brother's neck and wrenching the smaller alpha's back over the railing. The terror in Raphael's eyes only fed his anger and contempt. Pack corruption was part of life, but his brother brought it to a sickening level that endangered everyone. "I think you've said enough," he seethed.

"Mad at the truth?" Raphael gasped for air, wildly blinking over his widened pale-blue eyes. His trembling shook them both. 

"I don't adhere to the 'Noble Birth' philosophy. It may create stronger wolves," he dug the tips of his claws deeper into Raphael's ivory flesh, "but too often, it just fills the pack with self-indulgent weaklings like you." He growled at the searing pain shooting through his gut. He released Raphael and staggered back, glaring at the blade sticking from his side.

He roared as he yanked the blade out dropping it to the floor. Raphael leaped down the stairs and out the door. Shifting, he raced after his brother. He shot down out of the house and into a large clearing flanked by seemingly endless forest. Setting his sights on a small blur of white fur, he closed the distance between them and pounced.

He sank his teeth into Raphael's hind quarter. Years of taking down frightened prey paid off. His brother wasn't as agile as a deer or hare. They rolled in the grass. Raphael lashed his claws wildly at the air. He clamped down on his quarry's neck—his wolf ethos urging him to kill.  It wouldn't be hard.  The delicate neck would snap like a twig. Raphael's terror and whimpers fed his primal impulse to the point that his head pounded and tongue itched for the taste of warm, fresh blood. He heaved and shook his brother's body until their human limbs returned.

"You coward," he panted, glaring at Raphael, "using a weapon to try and take me out like some punk. You could never fight with your fists and teeth. You dishonor our lineage of alpha warriors."

Raphael rolled onto his back and curled his fingertips in a demonstration of submissiveness. "Wha—what are you going to do?"

The back of his neck tightened at the sound of Raphael's whimpering. He hadn't even tried to defend his alpha status but chose to run. It was a huge mistake trusting such a weakling with the pack. There was a lot to rectify. "I'll let you live for now. Leave the region." 

He raised and turned to the pack members who were either brave or stupid enough to follow the fight. "I am Blake Aumont. Who else wants to challenge me?" His growling filtered through the trees of the forest just beyond them. Nothing joined it except the rustling of leaves from the breeze. "You will submit." He stared down a couple of shifters until they bent their heads. I'm going to have to keep an eye on them. He stormed past the bowing pack and headed toward his car. It was time to bring his family home.

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