Kenneth's POV
I had been ready for today for a long time. Today was supposed to confirm what I already knew. That I will be the new Alpha of New Haven pack. I sat down where the candidates were seated with Judith by my side.
The other candidates were just wasting their time. The seat was already mine.Alpha Gerald had promised me that much.
Until he walked in.
The atmosphere shifted.A presence heavy enough to make my wolf fully submit, stronger than that of the pack's Alpha. It was like he commanded the oxygen in the hall.
The entire hall went quiet.
Alpha Gerald paused mid sentence.
Then I saw him.
Tall. Calculated. The kind of presence you didn't just notice but felt to the deepest of your bones.
His eyes burned red, like the myths we grew up hearing about.
The elders bowed.They even shook as they did.
I stayed still. I wasn't going to bow myself to a stranger but my wolf said otherwise. He wanted to drop to the floor.
I couldn't hold him back.
"My lord."
My lord?
My eyes widened in shock. Why did Alpha Gerald address him as that?
I have never heard of this man yet he spoke like the entire pack belonged to him.
What in the moon goddess' is going on?He didn't need to shout, didn't need to threaten. His presence was the threat.I had seen Alphas command respect before but this… this was more than respect, he didn't command it. The submission just came.
Reign Salvatore.
The man who came with him had spoken his name.
I was infuriated.This was supposed to be my day.My moment to prove I could lead the New Haven Pack into a stronger era.
Instead, the hall emptied under his orders.And my appointment?Postponed. Indefinitely.I clenched my jaw, forcing my expression into something calm, but inside, a storm was building.I went looking for Alpha Gerald.
****
After my meeting with Alpha Gerald. My thoughts were tangled. He had confirmed what that man had said in the hall. Lycan ruler? The true ruler of the New Haven pack?
What about Alpha Gerald? I had known him all my life as the true ruler. I was beginning to crumble and doubt.Everything was a lie even though he had reassured me that our plan was still in motion. I could feel his unease.He said he didn't care about the bloodline but the Lycan's presence made Alpha Gerald's confidence waver. He had told me he would find a way to make me Alpha. He was determined. Which meant I had to be as well… even if I wasn't sure how much longer belief alone could hold this together.
Katherine's pov
Reign was his name.The man I had slept with.
My wolf was as stunned as I was.
That night played in my mind over and over again.
He was here in the New Haven pack as the ruler.
No one had told us.
I opened my mindlink to find Felicia but what I got was noise, the pack members were as confused, I was confused but mine was different because I mated with this confusion.
All I got from the link were pack members, whispering, panicking, 'did you see his eyes?'
'A Lycan?'
'Alpha Gerald lied to us..'
I tried again but still nothing. Just the roar of confusion.
I decided to retreat to my room. I shut the door leaning on it. My heart pounded.
It was just I and my wolf.
I buried my face in my hands'
'What if he doesn't remember what happened that night?'
My wolf stirred sharply.
'He remembers, his eyes lingered on us.'
I bit my lower lips. He is a Lycan and his memory won't be that bad.
'What if I just act like nothing happened, like I don't remember?' I asked her.
But I already knew the answer.
It happened and I couldn't erase it.
I stayed in my room for a long time arguing with my wolf,with my heart , with the silence of my room. My instincts say one thing, logic says otherwise.
He was here.
I was going to face him eventually.
****
Despite the confusion still rippling in the pack like an aftershock. The night was a long one. The pack's daily training commenced like the pack hadn't been shaken up by the arrival of a Lycan who could command the air we breathe and of course the one I had a one night stand with.
I got ready,forced my hand not to tremble and made my way to the training ground.
Everyone was together with their clique and I could guess every one was discussing the same thing, what had occurred yesterday.
They were new faces in the training ground and I guessed they came with him.
Felicia spotted me before I could hide. "Kathy," she jogged over her curls bouncing. "Who would believe that Alpha Gerald has been withholding the truth from us, all these years nothing in the library or in the archives. The moment yesterday…" she stopped to shiver "was something out of the myths."
I nodded absently, my eyes were scanning the ground. My eyes kept looking, half fearing, half searching, half expecting to see him. My wolf and I had decided to pretend like nothing happened but my curiosity couldn't.