--Alarik--

I left early in the morning, before Allison woke up, before the sun had even started to rise. I knew I couldn't keep putting off the inevitable. At some point I was going to have to go to O'Brian's pack-- to my pack-- and-

And what? What was I going to do?

Was I supposed to march right in and tell them that I'm their new Alpha because I killed the old one? What if the pack was already starting to fall apart. No doubt the pack had started to feel uneasy at their Alpha's departure. A Luna or a Beta stand in would be good for only so long. 

I had the drive to figure it out. 

I met Jason by the car and he gave me a slight nod as we both got in. 

"Are you sure you want to just leave her here?" Jason asked. 

"She's sleeping. I didn't want to wake her up." Truth was, I didn't want to leave Allison here. I had just gotten her back and I was scared to death that if I left for one moment she would just disappear again. She was in my father's house though. It's the safest place in the entire pack to be. 

There was silence for quite some time before Jason finally asked the question I thought he would have asked right away. 

"Why did you want me to come with you?"

I kept my eyes on the road as I drove. The way I was going about this was completely unconventional, then again, this entire situation seemed unconventional. 

"I killed O'Brian," I said plainly. 

"I know you did. I assumed you did. Now you become the Alpha in his place."

I nodded. "With becoming the Alpha I need a Beta."

I could feel Jason's eyes on me, staring wide. This was most definitely not something he'd expected. However, to me it just made sense. Jason came to me when Allison was gone. We'd both been completely honest with one another about Allison. He knew where he stood and where I stood, and yet he was still willing to work with me to get her back. 

I'd come to depend on him throughout the process. I trusted him to get her out. I don't think I trusted anyone more than I'd trusted him. It just made sense for him to be my Beta. 

"I want that person to be you. I want you to be my Beta."

There was more silence. 

"You don't have to. You can say no." There was always the ability for someone to decline the position, but I hadn't come across anyone stupid enough to do it yet. If your given an important position, do you really refuse it?

I had been planning on offering the position to one of my friends. He was actually the son to my father's Beta. He had seemed like the sure choice, mainly because of his father. That's how it was most of the time, a lot like being the Alpha. However, Allison had been right every time she'd tried to step away from me. The person I'd turned into had been a terrible one. I blamed that on many different reasons, especially myself. The people I tended to hang out with though, were just as bad. 

While I may have made changes these past few months, I know that they are still the same as they were. There is that sense of entitlement that comes with your parents' positions in a pack. That comes from the long standing tradition of roles being passed down. Now I knew though, I wanted to run things the right way. I wasn't going to choose someone for the sake of tradition. I was going to choose someone because it's what they deserve. 

"Are you sure about that?" Jason finally asked. 

"I am absolutely sure. I trust you. I believe in you."

This was a step that I took not only for myself, but for Allison as well. A way to show her that I never intended to go back to the person I'd turned into. This is me now, and this is who I'm going to be. 

"Okay."

We crossed the border into the pack and I looked around. The sun had just started to rise and there were a few people out. Some out for a morning run, some who were on their way to shops to do whatever it is before they open up. 

I kept going until I was outside the only building I'd ever stepped inside in this pack. The O'Brian household. 

"What are you going to do?"

I stared at the dark house for a moment. "I have no idea."

"Do you really think she's just going to back down after everything. You're taking the entire pack from her."

"She doesn't really have a choice," I pointed out. "She can either take it quietly and have a chance of staying here, or she can raise hell. If I were her, I would take the first option." 

The thing is, I used to be her, and there was no way I would have taken the first option. She was going to raise hell, it's what she's good at. She went through a lot of trouble to keep the pack, to grow it even. I wasn't sure if she was in on it with her dad regarding the Allison thing, but I wouldn't put it past her. She most definitely wasn't going to go quietly. 

I thought for a moment. Did I really want to walk in there and try to think of what to say to them? Why address them when I could address the entire pack? I stepped on the gas and pulled back onto the street. 

"Where are you going?" Jason asked. 

"I'm going to the center of the town."

Just as I'd expected, in the center of the town was a nice grassy space with a sort of stage. Gatherings would be held there, pack celebrations, important announcements. That's what this was, an important announcement. 

I parked the car and got out. Jason followed close behind. 

I made my way up to the sheltered stage and looked around. There had to be some sort of system in place to alert everyone to a short notice gathering. 

"I'm looking for a button or something," I say to Jason. "It will be something that will send out a signal to the pack to call them here."

I walked around the outside, looking at the lower part of the structure to find something, anything that looked like what I was looking for. 

"Is this it?" I heard Jason call from up on stage. 

I went up the stairs and over to where Jason was standing. He pointed to a small panel that had a few switches and a button. 

Without thinking I pressed the button. 

A shrill siren went off. It sounded like a storm siren that would normally go off during severe weather. A voice went over the sound, a monotonous low voice announcing a gathering at the square in twenty minutes. 

"I think that was it."

I sit on the edge of the stage, my feet hanging over and wait. After a few minutes, some people start to filter out. They wander the streets, going up to one another and whispering. No doubt they're trying to figure out what's going on. 

They make their way toward the block looking confused. I can feel the unease as people start to gather. None of them have seen me before, and they probably assumed it to be Alpha O'Brian calling them together. 

I can feel their relief turning back into a tense confusion. 

The sirens haven't stopped since I pushed the button, and every few minutes the voice comes on again, counting down the time to let people know how long they have to get to the square. 

The alarm shuts off as the voice says there's one minute remaining and the crowd has become dense. There are many people whispering, murmuring to one another. Wide eyes stare at me as I sit on the edge of the stage. 

When I stand, I see Hazel moving quickly through the crowd and when her eyes land on me, they narrow. She seems to pick up speed, pushing people to the side to get up to the front. 

She finally reaches the steps and charges straight up to me. 

"What the hell are you doing?" She demands through gritted teeth. 

"I'm making an announcement that concerns the pack. Now if you would get down there and join the rest of them, I believe it's time for me to start." I say the words quietly and calmly. I'm not about to let her rattle me. There's nothing she can do to shake me. 

"I will not get down. This is my pack. You would do best to get down and find your way back home."

I take a step closer, my body looming over her. 

"I am making this announcement whether you like it or not. Now. Step. Down."

Her eyes go wide as she looks into mine. Wide with disbelief. I let the wolf slip through, it's not the same as it has been before, this wolf has become stronger, it has become an Alpha.

In her moment of shock she actually steps back and I turn to the massive crowd standing in front of me. 

I clasp my hands behind my back and Jason stands slightly behind me. 

"My name is Alarik Trenton. You may recognize the name as the Alpha of a neighboring pack. I am the son to the Alpha there." I look from face to face as I speak. Trying to keep my vision narrow. I've never spoken in front of so many people before, and to say I'm terrified would be an understatment. 

"Recently, your Alpha tried to strike up a merger with our pack. Things hadn't gone exactly as he planned and things soon went south." My eyes found Hazel's as I talked. I didn't want to look at her. The reminder of just how bad things had gone. 

"He'd set up to have my mate kidnapped." Murmurs started to get louder at that. I could hear words like 'dispicable' and 'horrible.' I saw people grabbing the hand of the person next to them. Most likely mates.

"The other day I found her. She'd been missing for two months. He had handed her over to a group of hunters in California. When I tried to get her out, he stood in my way. We fought. I walked away from it, but O'Brian did not."

I only paused for a moment, barely giving them time to process what I'd said. 

"Which means I am now your Alpha. Unless anyone would like to challenge me." My voice went hard and my eyes were locked with Hazel's. I was giving her the moment to make her objection. To stand up in front of these people who had been her people. I know she would stand up to me eventually, but did she have the guts to do it in front of the entire pack? That was the question. If the answer was no, then she didn't deserve them.

She didn't say anything. She just stood there glaring at me. 

The rest of the pack raised a fisted hand, holding it over their hearts and bowing slightly. Their sign of respect and acceptance. Hazel was the sole person who did not. 

She was definitely not going to let it go quietly. 

I heard Jason by my side, "What are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"This pack and the other pack. It isn't good for an Alpha to stay away from their pack, but what about the other one, what about your pack."

"They're both my pack. I just have to wait for my father to pass the other pack down to me. He's stepping down next month. I'll work on merging the packs. There will most likely be building and moving involved."

"Wouldn't it be strange for everyone to leave a town at once?"

"It would be. That's why it can't be at once. It will be a gradual shift. It will take some time. I will be split between the packs, but it will work." The words come out sure, like I know it will work. The thing is, I don't know if it will. 

I know I need to work things out with my father. He'd done this once before between his pack and my mother's. He would know the best way to go about it. 

People slowly start to leave, some come up to me and introduce themselves. Some welcome me. Some give their apologies for what their past Alpha did. 

The feeling is clear, they didn't care much for their past Alpha. It almost feels as if they are glad to be free of them. And yet, they are wary of me. I don't blame them, I expected as much. Who would really trust a stranger who walks in telling them you are now their leader?

When everyone has gone, it's just Jason, Hazel, and myself. 

She steps up, hatred in her eyes. 

"Who do you think you are to come in here and take this pack?" She hisses.

"I think I am the man who defeated your father after he had my mate kidnapped," I spit back. "This pack is mine. You don't deserve it."

"What do you mean I don't deserve it?"

"I mean you had your chance. You could have stood up to me, you could have challenged me for it in front of everyone and you chose to stand silently by. An Alpha would not stand by like that and let someone else take their pack. If you would have stood up, I would have known that you wanted this pack, that you cared enough for these people to stand up for it. You did nothing. You and your father have run people down on fear and it ends now."

"It's not over until I say it's over!" Hazel shouted. She sounded like a petulant child. Like the child of an Alpha who got whatever she wanted. 

"It is over Hazel. It's beyond over. You can either accept that, or you can go."

"Go?" Her voice rose with disbelief. 

"Yes. You can leave or I can force you to leave, whichever it comes to. But unless you become a productive member of the pack, unless you accept that I am the Alpha, that this pack no longer belongs to you, then you will not have a place here."

"You can't do this to me!"

"I can, and I will."

With that I turned toward Jason, walking forward to leave her behind. I heard a strangled sound, a screech tangled with a growl and felt a sharp pain across my back. 

I heard a cry and realized it had come from me. I turned, trying to keep my balance and saw Hazel's eyes, dark and furious. I saw the blood and bits of my flesh that had been torn away stuck to her claws that were still out. 

A growl ripped through my chest and I went forward, my hand around her neck as I pushed her into one of the pillars at the edge of the stage. 

"You had your chance to stand up for them," I said through gritted teeth. "You lost your chance and now, I'm expelling you from the pack. You will live the rest of your days without a pack. You will be a rogue, marked with treason against your Alpha. 

"You are rotten to the core, Hazel. You have no idea how to be a leader. You have no clue how to be respectable, no clue how to be a kind person. Now, you'll live the rest of your days alone. No one will ever look at you, the mark will show. No one will dare bring you in. You are a tainted wolf. May you find your soul along the way."

I brought my right hand down, claws slashing across the left side of her face, showing from the corner of her forehead diagonally down to the corner of her mouth. 

She screamed and when I released her she dropped to the ground. The wounds would heal quickly but the marks, the scars, would remain. She was permanently marked. 

"Now you will leave of your own power, or I will forcefully throw you out in front of everyone. Make your choice now."

With that, Hazel snarled and ran. I wasn't foolish enough to think I would never see her again. I knew as long as she was still alive there was a chance she would come crawling back with a vengance. I would just have to be prepared. 

My claws retracted and I wiped my hand off on my jeans before going down the steps and back to the car. 

"Well that was eventful," Jason said in a tight voice as he got in beside me. 

"I have a feeling there won't be a dull moment ever again." My voice completely lacked emotion, if anything it was tired. I had just stepped up, and already I was exhausted. I just wanted to go back home, to go back to Allison. I wanted to lose myself with her. I never wanted to leave her again. 

I started the car and pulled out. I would be back here soon, probably sooner than I wanted to be. It was going to take a while for this place to feel like a home. I wasn't even sure if I wanted it to feel like a home, chances were, it was all going to be moved anyway. 

I needed to figure out what I was going to do with it all. I felt like the most clueless Alpha. I didn't even know how to bring my people together. I felt like I was already a failure. 

***********

Alarik seems to be a little harsh on himself. Apparently there are lasting effects for both of them that came out of Allison's situation. 

Well... We shall see what happens next. 

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