Forbidden Alpha - Chapter 177

Ethan

Alpha Rich was the one who had called the emergency meeting. Beta Odis thought it was another rogue attack. On the drive over, he expressed his worries about our previous efforts to keep the rogues out. We weren’t the only pack who had been attacked in the last year. The number of packs being targeted was only increasing.

Thankfully, I’d been working on a new system that would alert us when anyone was within fifty feet of our borders. It was being tested on a few packs at the moment. This was the reason why I didn’t think the emergency meeting was about the rogue attacks. Since the last meeting, we’d been working on protecting our pack lands. My gut told me this was about something else entirely.

We weren’t the first to arrive on Alpha Rich’s territory, there were a few other vehicles and people getting out of their cars. As we walked down the meeting hall, the hair on the back of my neck was standing up. Odis opened the door and a total of sixteen men were sitting around the table; eight alphas and eight betas.

Walking into the meeting room, I took my seat around the table and Odis sat by my right. The seated men greeted me before continuing their side conversations. A few of the seats were empty and I wondered where the missing alphas were. Alpha Rich waited a few more minutes for the others who walked in after me.

By the time Alpha Rich stood to his feet, all but four seats were filled. The side conversations came to an end and everyone seated shifted their attention to him. Alpha Rich found his mate later in life and they had their pup at an older age than most did. His son would be nearing adulthood in the next year in his stead. Many of us have known him since we first took over our packs. He’s someone who has helped us in our early years.

“I want to thank all of you for coming here on such short notice,” Alpha Rich said. “I know emergency meetings tend to come during the worst times but I’m glad to see all of you. There’s no way to say what I’m going to say lightly, so, I’ll be blunt. Late last night, there was an attack on Half Moon pack and they have fallen. Alpha Joshua was killed and so was his mate.”

The room was quiet as the words sunk in. An Alpha only fell when he was challenged to a duel, if a sibling or family member decided to fight for the spot as Alpha, or … if his pack was ambushed.

“If this took place late at night, I’m assuming Half Moon was under attack,” I said.

“Does that mean one of us attacked Half Moon?” Alpha Jake asked, the alphas seated stared at the empty seats. “And now there’s a new Alpha of was the pack disbanded?”

“Is that why we started the meeting despite some alphas being missing?” Alpha Darius asked.

“Yes and no,” Alpha Rich said. The room broke out in murmurings and whispers. “Let me finish.” Everyone in the room went silent.

“We don’t know the full story and I don’t think it’s safe enough to send any of our Deltas over to investigate. From what we have heard, this is what we know. Alpha Joshua’s exiled heir showed up in the middle of the night but he wasn’t alone. Although we don’t know where these wolves came from, he led a pack. Alpha Joshua and Luna Rose were not the only deaths. Everyone who was loyal to his parents and held a position of power was slaughtered along with their family.”

“It appears we have a new Alpha in our midst,” Alpha Jake said. A few of the alphas cast side glances his way.

Goosebumps littered my arms and bile rose in my throat. The unease I felt on the drive over only grew. Not only had that sick fuck killed his parents, but he’d also killed their Beta, Gamma, and Deltas. He could have stopped there but he didn’t. He killed their wives and children too. Anyone he saw as a threat was killed. My anger brought Elijah forward but I held control. I didn’t want to think about what this might mean for my mate.

“Are we going to just welcome him to the group?” Alpha Jake asked.

“Shane is the new Alpha of Half Moon. He has already assigned a new Beta and Gamma under him. His Gamma informed us early this morning of the change in Alphas. The Alphas missing today went to congratulate him on his victory,” Alpha Rich said.

“Disgusting,” I spat.

“Agreed,” Alpha Darius said.

“They were scared for their own packs and went with their tails between their legs,” Alpha Jake said. “Cowards.” Alpha Rich ignored us and continued.

“I called you here today to inform everyone of the new Alpha. From here on out, Alpha Shane will be joining our meetings. We will need to make room for him and his beta at the table. Despite his methods, he owns a spot at the table and I believe we would all like to continue our peace treaty. He accomplished his goal by claiming his birthright. We shouldn’t have anything to worry about from him.”

“Shouldn’t have anything to worry about from him but that doesn’t guarantee anything,” Alpha Jake said. He was more than skeptical of Shane, as was I.

“What will we do if he tries to impose on other Alpha’s territories?” I asked. Alpha Rich arched a brow at me and folded his arms in thought. His gaze went around the room.

“Is everyone here worried Shane might move on to attack other territories?” Alpha Rich asked.

“It wouldn’t be wrong to assume that. Look at the missing alphas. Where are they?” Alpha Jake asked.

“We all knew Alpha Joshua as a kind man.. Such a violent takeover makes me wonder about the sanity of the new alpha,” Alpha Darius said.