Gammon’s territory and took everything out of my hands. I did not make the arrangements to have you declared dead to your government. This is Gammon’s land and here his word is law. This is not a democracy or a republic or any other type of government. Here the Alpha rules supreme. If he wanted you both dead today, child or no child, you would die. Halo, I know what kind of fighter you are but even with your skills you couldn’t take the weakest of this pack. He will not turn you lose with a child of this pack to die out there. He made the decision about your futures and right or wrong, good or bad, it is final.”
“You can’t order peoples lives to suit yourself.” Gracie said.
“It is done. I am sorry. Gracie I told you months ago I wasn’t a good man to know. I was selfish and you are both paying for it. If I could change the past I would if only to make you smile again. But I can’t. Paperwork is already in the works. An accident in Alaska that took the lives of two promising citizens. Tragic but unavoidable. Halo, I don’t know what to tell you. I can talk to Marcus and see if he still has plans to put humans into his teams. His people do the same job we do but they go after our kind. They save our females when they can find them. They bring them here where this pack keeps them safe and gives them a chance to choose their future. But even the choices our females have are few.”
Halo stood up and headed for the door, “Jerrod, come!” he ordered.
Hendrix saw Jerrod roll his eyes at the demand. As he stood up Hendrix whispered, “Does he realize you can break him in half with one hand tied behind your back?”
Jerrod’s lips twitched, “Nope,” he whispered back, “He thinks I am weak because he saw me bow to Dimitri. Young idiot. Amusing though.”
As the door closed behind the two Gracie stared at Hendrix. He raised his eyebrows and waited. It didn’t take long.
“I saw what happened last night. Jerrod is weak. Halo would never have let that guy pick him up by the throat and throw him on the ground.”
“If he is ever picked up by someone in this pack, or any other pack, he better let himself be thrown to the ground unless he is ready to die. I didn’t see what happened but I heard about it. Jerrod tried to refuse an order from the Alpha in front of one of the Betas of the pack. Dimitri could not let him disobey Gammon. He is lucky he wasn’t hurt only put in his place. Don’t mistake Jerrod’s orientation as a sign of weakness. When it comes to the hierarchy of the pack Jerrod is about mid-way. The pack rank is decided by dominance fights. If you think you can beat the guy ahead of you then you challenge him. Sometimes the challenge doesn’t have to be official. Two males sparring will know which one is the stronger of the two. In other words, if you line up every male in the pack Jerrod could beat about half of them, the other half would hand him his ass in a fight.”
“And you? Being the son of the Alpha where do you fall?”
“I would love to say near the top but the truth is Gammon adopted me, I fall mid-way of the pack myself. I could take Jerrod but it would be close I think. We haven’t sparred in a decade or two but I think, with the training I have gained I could move up in the pack some if I wanted.”
“Do you want to? Move up that is.”
Hendrix shrugged, “I don’t really need to move up. You see, in the hierarchy of the pack I fall about mid-way but a twist of fate made me the son of the Alpha and that position changes things in the eyes of the pack regardless of where my strength puts me. Pack politics if you want to find a way to label it.”
“So when he dies do you take his place.”
Hendrix drew back with a look of horror on his face. “Are you nuts? My personal opinion, and if you tell anyone I will hold you down and tickle you until you pee on yourself, but my personal opinion is you have to be nuts to want