LEVI
I wish the Clan had chosen someone else, anyone else, other than me for this mission. They know I don’t have the patience forthis kind of work. It’s punishment for something, or they think it’s damn funny.
Every time I see that fool Arric, I just want to tear his throat out and dump his life's fluid on the ground. I know the Clan is making a lot of profit from this phony war they convinced Arric into waging, but for the sake of all that is evil, why me?
Any normal alpha would have had this done long ago. The longer it draws out, the more profit we make. I understand that, but I don’t think I can do this much longer.
When Arric tried to assert his authority in the meeting, all I could smell was his fear. It’s a miracle he didn’t soil himself it was so bad. Maybe I should make him do that the next time there is an audience. It would be a simple thing to do. My wolf, Bear, could have him soiled in seconds.
Bear! My father's idea of a joke, I’m sure. He told everyone that when he first saw his newborn pup, it was so big that he thought his mate had cheated on him with a grizzly bear. I suppose it could have been worse. Being named Grizzly would have caused me more issues as I grew up than Bear did, and that was enough.
And as for killing those lazy shifters on Spirit Walker land! They had done nothing for a week except have fun. They deserved a long, slow death, not the quick mercy killing I gave them. There will be a lot more deaths before the Clan has wrung every penny out of this conflict that they can.
I’ve been told to leave Arric’s death to others when we’re done with him, but I don’t see that happening. I’ve wanted him dead since I first laid eyes on him. He’s a complete non-starter as either a human or wolf. What he would be like as an alpha, sorry a king, I dread to think.
King! What is the world coming too.
ULRIC
Listening to my father drone on is the worst kind of torture I can think of. I know what he thinks of me, and quite frankly I’m glad he thinks I’m stupid. It will make killing him when this is over so much easier, and more pleasurable. I can’t wait to be the ruler. Have everyone running around, doing my bidding. Waiting on me hand and foot. I’ll have a harem of beautiful females to attend to my every desire. Not just one or two whores and mistresses like he keeps.
He thinks he’s so clever and that my mother is unaware of what’s going on. When he became Alpha of the rogues, he should have made mother his Luna, but oh no, he could do better. Well, that didn’t work out so well for him, did it?
I remember having to sit through his warrior women fighting each other to be by his side. They never lasted long before he bored of them and held more contests. They didn’t take long to wise up to their fate when he announced new contests and then the females stopped coming forward of their own free will.
He even tried to get a luna from another pack. She not only escaped, but took all his other prisoners and hostages with her. Including the Alpha Heir that he planned to do so much with!
My mother has always said the only thing he has going for him is his ability to charm the birds from the trees. When I was old enough to see through him, I begged her to take me and run away. Start a new and better life somewhere away from him and his controlling charm.
I hated seeing him with other women. Hated having to go away with him to his meetings. He took me with him only to control my mother. He knew she wouldn’t run if he had me with him. Iwas nothing more than a weapon to him. Something to wield to get his way.
I’ll show him what a weapon really is, what it looks like. I have a knife, a special knife. It has an acid-etched blade with a dragon on it. The handle is engraved to carry the etching to its conclusion. It is sharpened to such an edge that I have had to have a special sheath made because it cut through the last one. I’ve stopped taking it out every day to stare at it. Imagine plunging it into his soft flesh and ripping it upwards, spilling his guts on the floor.
I’m not afraid of my father. There is only one thing I’m afraid of. Levi and Bear. I’ve seen Levi training with the warriors of my father’s army. He made them all look slow and useless. I don’t think he even tried while he was sparring with them.
I followed him into the woods once after he told me he was going to train alone. For a Shadow Warrior, I was surprised how much noise he made. Watching him alone in that clearing was a revelation to me. I’d never seen anyone or anything move so fluidly. Each time he moved it was as though he was pouring himself into the new position. There wasn’t a jerk or sudden move throughout. It was truly beautiful to watch. I wanted to clap when he stopped.
I’m glad I didn’t give myself away though because when he shifted to his wolf, I was frozen in fear. It transformed into the biggest wolf I’d ever seen. If I’d stumbled upon it in the woods, I would have thought at first I’d stumbled upon a bear. It stretched its limbs a few times and walked around the clearing. I thought it was showing itself to a potential mate by the way it preened and pranced.
It didn’t stay in its wolf form for long and soon shifted back to the form of Levi. Now I understood why he was so tall andmuscular as a human. He needed all that and more to become that giant wolf.
I watched Levi much closer after that day, and I never saw him do anything without a purpose. There was never any wasted movement. He never scratched his nose, ran his fingers through his hair, nothing that didn’t accomplish more than just the action itself.
On top of all that were those eyes. They frightened me more than everything else put together. They were as black as a moonless night in winter. They looked through you with ease. Into your very soul and deepest thoughts.
It was when I saw him look at my father once that I realized for the first time in my life, I may not need my special knife. I saw my father's death in that look, and I vowed never to do anything that would give Levi cause to look upon me that way. I almost peed my pants, and he wasn’t even looking at me!
Chapter 28
BRONZE
After talking to Lyle and getting his report on the recon mission, I am more certain than ever that our plan could work, and probably end this conflict sooner rather than later. I’m going to speak to Gerry later, and I’ll have to let him in on our plans to deal with ‘King’ Arric and his rogues. My only concern in all of this is the mysterious Number Seven.
If he’s one of the ancient Shadow Clan, he could be far more dangerous than Arric. Shadow Warriors have skills and abilities far beyond those of a pack's highest warrior class. If it’s true that this Shadow Clan are the forefathers of Shadow Warriors, we need to know how many he has in his ranks. I need to speak to Xavier and see what he knows of them. If they have, as we believe, kept their existence secret for decades, they must be good.
It seems very quiet around the packhouse with Taria away visiting Tati and Gabe. I don’t mean to imply that Taria is loud or noisy, but there is always something going on when she’s around. I miss the hustle and bustle that is my Luna. She is always involved in some aspect of pack life, and if she can’t find something to be involved in, then she creates something. I shouldn’t complain. Since she’s been gone, I’ve caught up on all my outstanding admin tasks, attended training classes with my warriors, and even had an early night.
The phone rings, and picking it up, I don’t get to say anything before I hear, “Missing me?”
