Chapter 42

Aiden watched in confusion as Simon tilted his head back and howled to the sky. He had never heard such a long and purposeful howl before and within a few seconds, others began to join in, too. The noise sent chills through him, making his hackles stand on end, but not through fear. He had this strange feeling of acceptance inside of him, threatening to make him swell with pride. He had never felt like that before and as Simon trailed the howl to a close, Aiden felt a touch of loss, as though he had just lost something that he needed in his life.

Simon began to walk forward and Aiden saw that he had been guarding Ben, who was lying on the floor in his human form. Pain was riddled across his face as he lay there watching him, standing over his gruesome winnings. As Simon approached, he lowered his head to the floor, then followed with his front legs, then his belly and finally his hunches until he was flat against the concrete. Aiden looked at Ben who was nodding in approval with a twisted smile of pain-filled pride on his face.

A handful of Red Dawn wolves walked forward and followed Simon’s example of flattening themselves to the floor in front of Aiden and a moment later, three more wolves joined them. Aiden had no idea what was going on but he didn’t need to wait long to find out.

“Oh hell no! Get the fuck up! What the hell do you think you’re playing at!”

Thunder came running out of a house, fully clothed, with a face filled with fury as he looked at the sight in front of Aiden. Simon and the other wolves that had joined him were on their feet in an instant. Baring their teeth, they snarled and snapped at Thunder who stopped in his tracks.

“I won’t have this. Not a chance,” he shouted.

“That is your decision to make,” a man said, stepping out from behind the Dawn wolves, “But they have made theirs and you know as well as anyone else that threatening their Alpha will bring you nothing but pain and them, nothing but pleasure.”

“You can’t be up for this, McCabe, surely? Rick was your brother, for fuck sake!”

“What’s to be up for, Thunder? You know the rules as well as I do and you see Rick there, plain as day. Like it or not, hybrid or whole, he’s now Alpha,” McCabe said, walking to stand beside Aiden.

The pain of his joints moving back into their natural position filled his senses as Aiden shifted back to his human form. He saw Simon and the others begin shifting, too, followed by everyone else around them. Women began running out of homes, carrying clothes and blankets for the shifters to dress or cover themselves. Some cried as their gaze fell upon the Alpha, some smirked and others nodded their approval and stood beside Simon and the other wolves.

“Well done, bud,” Simon said, clapping him on the back. “I knew you were worth sticking with.”

“What the hell is going on?” Aiden said as he wrapped a blanket around himself.

“You’re the new Alpha,” McCabe said, holding out his hand for Aiden to shake. “I’m Teddy McCabe, but you can just call me McCabe like everyone else.”

“I’m the what?” Aiden said.

He looked from Simon to McCabe, then back to Simon who was grinning from ear to ear as he said, “You’re the new Alpha. Pack rules. Kill an existing Alpha and you automatically take over.”

Aiden shook his head as he made his way to Ben. Kneeling down beside him, he checked his wounds. There were three deep claw marks on his side and although the bleeding had subsided, he looked a mess.

“Sarah is going to kill you, you know?” Aiden said.

Ben winced with pain as he laughed and nodded. “Yeah, I know. Is she safe?”

Aiden nodded and helped Ben sit as a woman came running over with a towel and bandages. As she began dressing the wound, Aiden said, “So, you’ve got yourself a new bunch of wolves to add to your collection. I hope your village is big enough.”

“Nope. You have yourself a bunch of wolves. You killed their Alpha, not me. You take over.”

“It’s not fucking happening,” Thunder screamed. “I’m not having no bloody hybrid as my Alpha.”

Thunder, his fists balled, ran at Aiden. Simon Stepped between them and as soon as Thunder was close enough, he swung his right fist and cracked him squarely on the jaw. Thunder swung his fist but Simon was prepared and swept his leg under Thunder’s feet as he ducked. Thunder landed on the floor and roared with anger.

“Stay the fuck down before I put you on our arse permanently,” Simon said. “Does anyone else have any issues with their new Alpha?”

“Hang on. Hold up,” Aiden said. “You guys are serious, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely, my dear,” the middle-aged woman dressing Ben’s wound said. “It’s the rules.”

“Ben is Alpha, not me. I can’t be.:

“See. He doesn’t even want to be Alpha. McCabe can take over, or Bernie. He’s the beta, after all. It should go to him,” Thunder said.

“Your beta is dead. You’ll find him in the clearing in the woods,” Aiden replied. “Come on, Ben. Let’s get you up and back to Sarah.”

Ben shook his head and Aiden pursed his lips in annoyance. Wolves were stubborn bastards when they wanted to be but he had to get him back. Sarah would be going insane with worry, not to mention Charlie. He needed to make sure she was okay and get her some hospital treatment.

“Come on, Ben. Stop being stupid. Sarah will be worried and I need to get to Charlie.”

“I’m here.”

Aiden turned and saw Charlie and Sarah walking towards him. Both of them were smiling as they looked at him and Ben, but he could see the worry in Sarah’s eyes as she got closer.

“So, it’s over? It’s really over?” She asked.

Aiden wrapped his arms around her and nodded onto her sweet-smelling hair as he said, “It’s really over, but they think I’m the replacement Alpha. They must be fucking stupid if they think I’m agreeing to that.”