“We’re done here . . . remember my words, people. I don’t expect to have to repeat myself. Understand?” she said coldly, lifting an eyebrow as she stared over the crowd, slowly moving her eyes around so she met most, if not all, of theirs.
And that’s when she heard it . . . the name that had haunted her childhood as a whispered hiss reached her ears.
“The Queen of Sheba has spoken . . . we’ll all bow down before her . . . yeah, right!”
Sheba launched herself from the porch, leaping down toward the voice and knowing exactly who’d spoken, damn Hoyt, the asshole of the Pack. There was always one and he was the Dark Moon’s resident idiot who skirted the fine line of disrespect on an almost daily basis.
With the way she’d been feeling the past few days, the gnawing hunger in her belly, her Wolf acting up, and an unbearably bad mood hanging over her . . . today was not the day for him to test her. She raced toward him, snarling viciously, knowing without having to look that Ray was right behind her, but she wouldn’t need his help, not for this weak and pathetic asswipe.
Grabbing his neck she tugged him almost off his feet, using her Alpha power to inflict some well-deserved pain as she did so. “What was that? Did you just call me Queen of Sheba? Again, Hoyt? Didn’t we just have this fucking conversation a few days ago?”
Hoyt’s face paled, his eyes darting around for support from his so-called friends who’d suddenly deserted him as he stuttered, “What? No. Nope, not me.”
Sheba’s fangs descended, her skin rippling as her white fur began to sprout through, anger bubbling up inside her, not only at his use of the childhood taunt that she hated but at his bald-faced lies. “I’ll say this once and only once . . . from now on you will address me as Alpha only. Never, ever, call me anything else. You will refer to me as Alpha, not Sheba, not Queen, not anything other than Alpha. If you dare to use anything else, I swear I’ll make you regret opening that mouth of yours, Hoyt. I am not shitting you on this and this is your final warning. I’ve had enough of your crap, so if you want to remain a member of this Pack and in one piece you’ll shape up . . . or face the consequences.”
Hoyt’s eyes darkened and she wasn’t certain if it was fear, anger, or pure hatred. She’d place her money on all the above. She didn’t care. He was a no-good shit who was a drain on everyone around him and the Pack and with that in mind she smirked over her shoulder at Ray before releasing Hoyt with a hard push and a last word. “No more not doing shit for the Pack either, Hoyt. You start pulling your weight or you’re gone. As of tomorrow, you report to Raylon for duties as yet to be decided. If you don’t comply then you can apply to another Pack for admittance.”
Turning her back on Hoyt she shook her head, throwing over her shoulder. “Don’t bother arguing, you’ve done shit all for years, it’s about time you did some work, same as everyone else.”
Sheba heard more than a few chuckles as well as mutters supporting her. Seems she wasn’t the only one fed up with Hoyt and his ways. Ray smiled widely, his teeth pearly white against his dark skin as he grinned wickedly over at Hoyt as she stomped away, waving her arm. “Show’s over folks. Let’s go about our business . . . and remember, stay safe.”
Her heart thudded in her chest, not because of her scuffle with Hoyt, and not because of the threat of the rogues, but because of the damn pain in her belly . . . again. She sped up, rushing up the stairs and into her home, quickly followed by her mother and her best friend in the whole damn world, Ray. The one person who could’ve snatched the position of Alpha from her so easily, but he’d backed her up and stayed by her side as her second in the challenge fights she’d endured in the weeks after her father’s death.
She literally owed the towering hulk everything and right now he knew there was something wrong and she didn’t know what to tell him. Hell, she didn’t know what to tell herself. All she knew right at this second was she had to transform and hunt. However, her inner Alpha kept her pacing back and forth as her mother’s eyes scanned her from top to bottom, looking very worried, and Ray lounged against the wall, his face inscrutable as always.
“Has Dion got everything organized?” she asked quickly, her belly clenching painfully.
“Sure has,” Ray drawled, cocking his head to the side, his eyes closing to squint at her. “Wanna tell me what the fuck is going on with you?”
His knowing eyes never left her as she squirmed under his intense scrutiny. Shit. She’d never been able to keep anything from him, not even when she was a kid. He was only a few years older than her but they’d been best friends since she could walk and talk. She’d toddle around after the much larger boy and not once did he shoo her away, instead he’d hold out his hand and allow her to go with him wherever he was going. And if any of the other kids complained, they invariably ended up with a bloody nose courtesy of his large fist. Even as a child he’d been much larger than the rest of them and he’d always been their “leader.”
Nobody had been more surprised
