fine for now. But Dad’s an alpha—not the strongest alpha, not like you, but an alpha all the same. It’s only a matter of time before Chad does something. As long as there are other Thundertooth alphas in the camp, he’s got threats to his power.”
“Then we have to do something. I came here to get even and save Lexi. But it’s bigger than that. If we don’t stop Chad, he’ll either take over these woods or get the pack killed trying.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But what?”
“The Leafcutter pack. We have to ally with them and strike at Chad before he has a chance.”
“Are you serious?” asked Eric. “The Leafcutters? But they’re soft as hell. They make peace with any pack they can so they don’t have to fight. Honestly, I’ve got no fucking idea how they haven’t been wiped out.”
“Because war’s costly, Eric. Even against an easy target. Rick knew this, and I know it. But Chad doesn’t give a fuck about anything but what he wants.”
Eric nodded slowly. “Yeah. And Chad’s not exactly a strategic genius. He might be able to take out the Leafcutters, but once the rest of the packs in the area hear the news and understand what he’s doing, they’ll ally up and kill every last one of us.”
Jason stood up. “Right. And that’s why we have to move. Tonight.”
Eric stood up, looking out into the woods. “We have to find them first. They’re north of us, but they don’t like to be found.”
“Well, we’re going to find them. And we’re going to fight.”
Another nod from Eric. “Then let’s do it.”
He called out to the men with him, and the four of them formed up, shifted, and started into the woods. They ran, ran in the direction of the area north of the Thundertooth grounds.
And when they were close, Jason saw something.
It was a huge gathering of bears. Jason did a quick count, seeing that it was between two and three dozen. He stopped and shifted back, the rest of the group doing the same.
“Those are our people,” said Jason.
“Fucking hell—Chad’s getting ready to attack. He’s going to take them totally by surprise, wipe them out before they even know what hit them.”
“Let’s move,” said Jason. “We don’t have a second to spare.”
The group shifted back and made a large half-circle around the gathering army. When they were clear, they headed north, running as quickly as they could.
Relief hit Jason hard when he spotted the Leafcutter pack. It was a collection of cabins, like the Thundertooth grounds, but not nearly as large. It was an easy target, and Jason knew Chad’s army would easily be able to conquer.
They approached and were soon in the middle of the grounds, the members of the pack giving them confused glances as they shifted back.
“This is bad,” said Eric. “If we were able to get in this easily...”
“Who the hell are you?” asked one of the Leafcutters, a tall, well-built middle-aged man.
The other members of the Leafcutters formed a circle around the group.
And Jason knew what needed to be done.
“Who’s the alpha here?”
The man who’d spoken stepped forward.
“I am,” he said. “And state your business here.”
Jason puffed out his chest and squared his shoulders, letting everyone around know without words that he was the alpha of the group.
“If you all don’t listen to me right now, your entire pack’s going to be wiped out.”
“What?” asked the alpha.
The rest of the pack made noises of concern, talking amongst themselves.
“Right now, the alpha of my pack, the Thunderteeth, is preparing to invade. I estimate that you’ve all got less than an hour before they’re here.”
More noises of concern. Jason looked around, realizing that he’d never been in this position before, the alpha guiding a pack. He’d spent so much time on his own that he’d forgotten what it was like to be a part of something.
He liked it.
“What are you saying?” asked the alpha. “We’ve established peace with your pack. Why would you break it?”
“I’m not breaking anything—I’m here to warn you. And if you don’t listen to me, you’ll be wiped off the map.”
“And how do we know this isn’t some kind of trick?”
“You don’t,” said Jason. “But you have to trust me. You can wait here, see what happens in an hour. But I can bet you anything you’re not going to like it.”
The alpha stepped closer to Jason.
“And what if you’re right?” he asked. “We’re not a powerful clan—we haven’t fought a war in generations.”