Five

Mirabel’s voice, once soft and pleading, turned ice-cold, her eyes burning with fury.

“Esmeralda was chosen by the moon goddess herself, and you spit in the face of that blessing for some worthless girl like Eudora?” Her voice cut through the air, dripping with disdain. She took a step closer to her son, eyes hard.

“It’s all because of her, isn’t it? She has you under her spell, making you forsake your duties as Alpha, making you a disgrace to this pack!”

Mirabel’s hands clenched into fists as she continued, “I should’ve known it was her doing—the minute you started rejecting your mate, I knew! But mark my words, Eudora will never sit as Luna of this pack. If you won’t reject her, then I will banish her myself!” Her voice rang with the authority of an elder, her aura growing stronger, igniting the room with tension.

Dave’s father, Nathan, sat in the corner, his face grim and tired. As the former Alpha, he had spent years guiding the pack with strength and wisdom, but this… this was different. His eyes, though hardened by years of leadership, were now clouded with the helplessness of a father watching his son spiral out of control. He knew the weight of the title, and though his body wanted to leap into action, something restrained him. Perhaps it was the knowledge that confronting his son in front of the pack would break the delicate hierarchy they had spent generations building.

As Mirabel’s fury deepened, Nathan finally stirred in his chair.

 “Mirabel, enough,” he said quietly, his voice steady but filled with the authority of a former Alpha.

But before he could say more, Dave, his face red with rage, spun toward his mother.

“Don’t you dare talk about Eudora like that! You want her gone? Fine!” He turned toward me, his eyes now wild with fury. “I’ll get rid of the one who brought all this trouble—Esmeralda. She was never meant to be here.”

Nathan stood up slowly, his posture stiff.

“Dave, this has gone too far,” he said, his voice measured. “You are the Alpha now, yes, but even an Alpha must respect the mate bond. Rejecting your mate for another will bring ruin to this pack.”

His words carried the weight of experience, but they seemed to fall on deaf ears. Dave’s jaw clenched, his muscles taut with defiance.

Mirabel crouched down to her son and cupped his face. “Son, please,” she pleaded, still trying to speak, but Dave yelled at her.

“Enough! It’s enough, Mum. Esmeralda isn’t my mate, and she will never be. I made that very clear tonight,” he declared.

He then turned to look at me with the same lifeless eyes.

“I am Alpha now, and I don’t need anyone disobeying my orders,” he said in a low, warning voice, glaring at his father.

Nathan stepped forward, his expression darkening.

 “I may no longer be the Alpha, but you are still my son,” he said sternly. “This is not how you lead a pack.”

The room fell silent, the tension thick between father and son. Dave’s eyes, however, burned with rebellion.

“This is my pack now,” he taunted, an evil smile spreading onto his lips. “My pack, my rules.”

Without warning, Dave’s father took a deep breath and raised his voice. “You cannot banish someone without just cause, Dave. You are angry, and you are acting irrationally. Stand down.”

For a moment, it seemed like Dave might listen—his body tensed, eyes narrowing. But then, his fury overwhelmed him, and he turned to me.

“I just had a great idea,” Dave said, sneering. “Esmeralda, your time with the Wheatstone pack is over.”

My eyes widened in shock and surprise. I never would have thought that such a small matter would turn into a huge mess. “What does that mean?” I asked fearfully.

“It means you are henceforth banished from this pack,” he shouted.

Screams and murmurings filled the entire room.

“You can’t do that. Esme hasn’t done anything wrong to you,” my mother cried out.

Nathan took a step forward, trying to steady the situation. “Dave, listen to yourself—banishing Esmeralda weakens our pack, not strengthens it.”

But Dave’s rage was boiling over. He glared at his father. “Stay out of this, old man,” he spat. “You’re no longer Alpha. I make the decisions now.”

“I don’t care that you rejected me, but you can’t make me leave this pack,” I said as the tears in my eyes were already beginning to blur my vision. “My whole life is here. I gave everything to this pack and trained for years to protect it.”

Dave scoffed. “You weren’t a real warrior and will never be one.”

Rage filled my every being, and every ounce of self-control I had in order not to phase into my wolf form vanished. My body moved before I could even think. The moment Dave insulted me, the tension snapped, and Alaric, my wolf, surged forward, taking over.

“In that case, I’ll show you what a real warrior looks like,” I snarled, my voice deepening with rage. I lunged at him with everything I had, phasing mid-air into my wolf form.

Nathan’s eyes widened in horror as he realized what was about to happen.

“Dave, stop this madness!” he roared, but his words were lost in the chaos. He finally stepped back, his face pale, his heart heavy. His authority as the former Alpha could not compete with the burning rage of his son.

Dave, however, was ready. His wolf was bigger, stronger, but I was quicker. My paws landed squarely on his chest, knocking him to the ground. My claws dug into his flesh, shredding through his clothes as I snarled in his face. A chunk of flesh and blood pooled from the wound, which made him to let out a gut wrenching scream while his eyes turned black as coal.

Blood oozed from his arm as I tore through his skin, but his strength was relentless. With a roar, Dave twisted, suddenly grabbed my fur roughly with his unhurt arm, causing me to loose balance, and slammed me to the floor next to him. He then kicked me in my stomach, and the force from the kick sent me flying back, hitting the wall behind me so hard that it left a giant hole on the wall.

He loomed over me, his chest heaving, his eyes glowing with malice.

 “You’re weak,” he spat, shifting back into his human form. “You were never a true warrior.”

Father tried to interfere, but then Dave yelled.

“Everyone stay the fuck back”, he demanded using an alpha tone, causing everyone to freeze where they all stood, while their animal nature was forcing them to disrespect the alpha.

“Let go off my daughter you bastard!!”, mother yelled under the grip of some pack members.

“Dave stop this”, his mother demanded.

But Dave was completely adamant to his mother’s words, in fact nothing could stop him at that moment.

“I am going to fucking kill you, he said.

 His eyes were completely black, clothes tattered, fur sprouting around his body.

 The wound I had inflicted on him already started healing. I could barely stand, the pain in my front paw made it unbearable for me to move.

 Dave walked closer to me, bones breaking as he shifted. His wolf was more bigger than mine, but I wasn’t going to back down so easily. I used all my strength in my hands and legs and lunged at him.

I barely dodged his attack, but his teeth grazed my shoulder, sending a jolt of pain through my body. Blood splattered across the floor as we circled each other, growls rumbling deep in our throats.

 We began fighting, clawing, biting, nipping and clawing at each other. Until finally, he took my right front paw into his large mouth, sinking his long sharp canines into it. The pain was so severe that I involuntarily changed back to my human form.

“Dave please stop!!”, I pleaded.

My hand was bleeding profusely, with a giant tooth mark on it. My wolf had gone silent. I couldn’t feel any connections between the both of us, and as every moment passed, I grew more anxious and scared.

 As I shifted back to human, he let me go and shifted back himself. Dave watched me roll around in pain.

“Esmeralda!!! Let me go!!”, father kept screaming out to me .

 Seeing me in pain seemed to please him, because through the black dots in my vision, I could see his evil eyes and cold eyes staring down on me.

“I am going to spare killing you, for killing you is not worth my time”, said.

 My right bone had already incredibly swollen up with red and purple bruises scattered all over my wrist, definitely broken. The bite marks were gushing dark red blood, and I could see my white bones. I felt someone kneel beside me,

“Are you alright?”, She asked as she ran over to me, panic in her voice.

I shook my head slowly,

“My hand is hurting”, I sobbed.

 But I wasn’t sure she could hear me from all the commotions taking place there.

 I had no idea who it was, as my vision was blurred from tears, and my ears were buzzed so loud I thought my eardrums had burst.

“It’s alright, I am going to help you”, the voice said.

I finally recognized it was Mirabel’s voice. Just then, I felt a soft cotton touch my naked body.

“ Don’t worry dear, I’m going to help you put this on”, Mirabel said.

I blinked the tears in my eyes, letting them flow freely down my cheeks. She held my wrist gently as I slipped on the shirt. It fell to my thighs, hanging loosely off my body.

 Both my parents wanted to make Dave regret his actions, but they were under tight grip by some of the pack members.

As I lay on the cold, bloodied floor, clutching my shattered wrist, my father’s roar cut through the chaos. His eyes were wide with shock and fury as he rushed toward me, but before he could reach me, a group of pack members held him back.

 “Let go of me!” he bellowed, his voice shaking with rage and pain as he struggled against their grip. My mother, who had been silent in the crowd, rushed to my side, tears streaming down her face. She knelt beside me, her hands trembling as she gently touched my swollen wrist.

“Esmeralda… oh, my baby,” she whispered, her voice breaking. Her hands trembled as she tried to assess the damage, but there was nothing she could do. “Hold on, we’ll get you help. We’ll fix this.”

Clinton and Collins, my brothers, stood at the edge of the chaos, their faces pale with horror.

 “Alpha!!, stop this!” Clinton shouted, trying to push through the crowd, but like our father, he was held back. Collins stood frozen, eyes wide, barely comprehending the brutality unfolding in front of him.

Meanwhile, murmurs filled the room as pack members looked on, horrified by the ruthless display from their newly appointed Alpha.

Some of them averted their eyes, unable to bear the sight. Others whispered amongst themselves, questioning if this was the leader they would follow. A few brave souls tried to step forward to defend my family, but they too were quickly subdued by Dave’s supporters, forced to their knees as they submitted to his authority.

One of the elders finally spoke up, his voice trembling with outrage.

 “Alpha, this is madness! You cannot banish the family of a warrior without just cause!”

But Dave’s eyes burned with fury.

 “I don’t need your permission,” he sneered, turning toward the elder with a cold smile.

“This is my pack now, and anyone who dares question me will face the same fate.” His voice carried the weight of command, his authority undeniable.

With a wave of his hand, his enforcers grabbed my parents and brothers, forcing them to their knees beside me.

 “How dare you try to attack your Alpha. For such a disrespect towards your alpha, all of you are banished!” Dave’s voice thundered through the room.

 “You have no place in my pack anymore. Leave now, or be torn apart!”

“Dave!!!!”, Alpha Nathan yelled at him, but couldn’t do anything to stop him.