Wolf's Call (Wolves Next Door #2) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,21

when they got divorced, which is why Dad never had to deal with a woman stepping up to take that position."

"Wait." My mind had just stalled out. "So, you're saying that if your mom just left without doing a ceremony, any other woman could say she was now the Alpha Female, and Henry would've had to marry her?"

"Not marry," Ashley corrected. "Not even date, sleep with, or even be romantically involved. Technically, the Alpha Mate is the opposite-gender leader of the group. Also, in modern times, same-sex mates are allowed, and the position isn't as much of a ruler as a lover - but it could be pushed. The problem is that the Alpha Mate - because for me, it would be a guy, thus the Alpha Male, not Female - has almost as much power as the Pack Alpha."

"So, like, a co-ruler, not a lover?" I realized.

Ashley nodded, but there was enough side to side motion to make me realize that wasn't perfect, just close. "Here's the kicker. As Ian's mate, you are the Alpha Female of the pack. If Karen wants to, she can challenge you. If she wins - and she would simply because you can't fight like a wolf - then you have to leave."

"What?"

"It's an antiquated law from long, long ago. The whole idea was to prevent a tyrant without destroying the pack. The Alpha Mate is like the checks and balances to the Pack Alpha in many ways. She also has a lot of power on her own and could screw everything up if she was the selfish and greedy type."

"Like Karen," I agreed.

Ashley held up her hand. "Yes, but hang on. After she took the position of Alpha Female, Karen would be the second in command of Wolf's Run, even over the betas. The point being that she could take this position to make sure that you couldn't ruin the pack. Now, if all she cared about was the good of the pack, once the problem was handled, she would perform the ceremony to close the position and step down. Karen, however, isn't interested in the good of the pack.'"

"No, she wants the power," I grumbled.

"And assets," Ashley agreed. "See, she could move into Ian's house, because what he has is 'for the pack.' That's one of the downsides to being alpha. She would have access to much of what he owns. Most importantly, his shares in this community and all of the properties inside the gates. The concept is old and outdated, but it's tradition - and you know how those work. And that is what she's really after. But, in order to keep the assets, she'd have to deal with him. Well, them. Those guys would never leave her alone. They would do everything to chase her off, and while Ian would lose everything if they did - because she would take his money and property with her - claiming it's all pack assets - he can still kick her out. In our case, that could mean Wolf's Run is destroyed."

"So he wouldn't," I realized. "He'd tolerate her, circumvent her, and try to get her to step down rather than risk the lives and homes of all these people."

"Exactly," Ashley breathed. "We do have some options - like having another female challenge her - but no one is dumb enough to be an unwanted mate. It's an old holdover from like the Middle Ages. It's a loophole law in wolf society, simply because any position of power is open to a dominance challenge. Right up there with asking if there's any reason why this marriage should not happen at weddings."

"And how do I stop this?" I asked. "Because I think we both know that's where she's going!"

"Yeah," Ashley grumbled. "Karen hoped that by seducing his betas, she'd eventually get the alpha. She thought he'd take her when he started a new pack, because this one was supposed to have been mine. But when I refused the title? She probably started making plans. And then you showed up and ruined them all. Ian didn't even think about it because I can't remember the last time someone tried to steal the position of mate. Like, the Fifties? A long-ass time, Elena. It's mostly an urban legend now. Ian made you his mate to give you pack status. To bring you and Gabby in so you couldn't be kicked out."

"And she's the gold digger everyone kept hinting about," I realized. "The reason he wasn't