“Okay,” I assured him. He settled back in his chair until I finished eating. We left the dishes on the table, much to my discomfort, and descended the stairs. Alpha Trissur and a group of muscular men and women were waiting for us.
“Enforcer, Luna Regina, whenever you’re ready,” Alpha Trissur greeted us. Theo jerked his head onward with a steely gaze, and we were escorted to a black vehicle.
“He does know my name, right?” I asked softly as I buckled my seatbelt.
“Of course, he knows your name,” Theo smirked. “Luna Regina is the title given to an Enforcer’s female mate. Everything is a hierarchy, remember? Because there are only six of us, we’re often thought of like the Kings, which would make you my Queen. Luna Regina means Queen Luna. He means it out of respect. It would be Alpha Rex if the Enforcer’s mate is male as in King Alpha.”
I tucked my chin to my chest, not knowing how to respond. It was the first time someone had referred to me as a Luna Regina , and the title alone was enough to make my spine itch to sit up straighter and hold my head high.
“How is everyone else getting there?” I asked, noticing there was only one vehicle for the forty-some wolves.
“Margo, we’re wolves. We’re built to run.” He winked. I scooted to the window and watched as the wolves began their transformation. It had always amazed me how shifters changed. First, they began shaking, almost like intense shivering that shook their entire bodies from their heads to their ankles. In one swift motion, the shifters would hunch over and begin to take their other form.
The normal wolves took slightly longer to shift into their wolves. Much like natural wolves, they came in a variety of colors and sizes, though most did not exceed five feet tall on all fours. It was easy to tell shifters apart from natural wolves since they were much larger and regal.
The Alpha wolves were much more exquisite, though. They seemed to shift effortlessly, painlessly into larger, more agile creatures. Alpha blood made their muscles bigger, their bones larger, and their stamina greater. Even in his older age, Alpha Trissur stood at six feet tall, with a tri-colored coat that blended into his territory. Human horror movies had gotten it wrong when they described werewolves as demon-like creatures who stood on their back legs, with fangs and blood dripping on their black pelts. Real werewolves were beautiful in the way most lethal things are.
The car started, and the wolves ran ahead of us. It was a short ride, only ten minutes before Reed Porter’s group came into view. They had set up small shelters, fires, and stations for their food. There were a lot of wolves, Theo told me one thousand, but they weren’t defensive upon our arrival.
The wolves from Alpha Trissur’s pack shifted back to their human form apart from the two wolves. Theo exited the car and held his hand out for me. I was immediately pulled into his side as a reminder that I was to stay close to him at all times.
“So, you brought our wonderful new Enforcer with you,” a man finally said. He was muscular, stocky, not as tall as Theo, but he had an aura of chaos that surrounded him.
“Reed,” Alpha Trissur addressed him unkindly. “What do you want from us, honestly?”
“I’ve already told your guards what I want,” Alpha Porter said calmly, stepping out from the group of wolves that circled around him. “Is that really so hard to understand? My pack is growing. Yours is shrinking- it simply makes sense. I don’t understand why no one will even humor me and try to understand where I’m coming from.”
“Reed, you know the territory lines were drawn many years ago. They can’t be altered now,” Theo said hesitantly.
“So, this is the little human I spoke to?” Reed wondered as he tried to peek around Theo’s arm that was covering me protectively.
Theo didn’t acknowledge his question. “You and your wolves need to leave Duncan’s territory, Reed. There’s no reason to keep them on edge like this.”
“I don’t mean to threaten Duncan’s pack,” Reed said, breathing deeply and loudly through his mouth. “I just want my pack needs to be met, and since you won’t take me seriously, I had to go an alternative route. I know how close you and Duncan are, or was it your father?”
“My father has nothing to do with this,” Theo growled.
“He does,” Reed insisted. “He was the one that originally started housing humans, wasn’t he? He should have done his job and gotten rid of them when he had the chance. Now, Duncan’s pack is awarded extra land to house the humans in his pack while my pack suffers because we don’t take care of the prey.”
“You know that isn’t the reason,” Theo said placatingly.
“I understand the issue has more of personal touch now, Theo, but just remember your job is to do what’s best for us. Not them.”
Theo pushed me back softly behind the arms of two Warriors and stalked forward to Reed in the middle.
“You need to take your wolves and leave this territory,” Theo demanded. “My choice has to do only with what is just for the people here. These are our laws, Porter. You and I both know you don’t want to start a fight that goes against my position.”
Reed receded two steps and chuckled, glancing at his feet. “You’d be surprised how many Alphas would disagree with you. I guess you’re just a little too blind to see it.”
“Too blind to see what?” Theo’s body began quivering. I staggered in the hold of the wolves, but they held my arms firm, protectively.
“That little fawn is going to be the death of everything we stand for.”
Theo immediately turned his back to Reed and walked towards me. His face was unreadable, a complete mask of stone and indifference. The
