C11 Eleven

Adrain's POV

~AFTER HE LEFT MIA'S HOUSE~

As soon as the door banged shut, I took the form of my wolf.

Rock shot forward, black paws thundering against the ground as we tore down the empty road behind Mia's mansion.

Yeah, I knew it was stupid. Reckless, even–shifting in human territory–but it was still better than committing murder.

That certainly would have been the outcome if I'd let my rage take over.

'You are well aware that I wouldn't have let you kill our mate, right?' Rock's weak voice rang in my head, but I said nothing in reply.

The wind whipped past and the trees blurred into streaks around us. I could still feel the effects of this morning on him, but I pushed harder, faster anyway–and, unsurprisingly, it did nothing to boost his speed.

Some moments later, the border flashed past, though it felt like a million years later thanks to Rock's unusual pace.

To humans, the border looked like an abandoned wasteland of rusted cars and cracked concrete. But to us, it was a gateway.

The moment we crossed it, the air became a lot warmer, as well as saturated with power, pack scent, and magic.

Instead of heading straight for the alpha pack house, Rock veered onto a narrow path leading deep into the heart of the woods. I didn't question him–he knew exactly where this burning rage inside me needed to go.

The Hall of Alphas.

Also known as the resting ground of the Alphas.

The massive stone arch came into view, marking the entrance to the Hall. Shifting back, fur ripped away as my skin returned. I was naked, shaking, and full of anger.

Rock, meanwhile, slipped into the back of my mind, clearly relieved to finally be free of control.

Cold air smacked me in the face as I shoved open the heavy stone door. Blue-torched shadows danced across the rows of stone beds lined inside, and my eyes skimmed past them until it landed on the one I didn't want to see but came here for– my father's.

My jaw locked hard enough for me to taste blood, and rage held my hand as I snatched the nearest thing, being a metal urn, and sent it flying across the chamber. It crashed against the wall, loud enough to shake the room.

"THIS," I snarled, stalking toward the stone slab where his preserved body rested, "is all your fucking fault. If you'd ever thought with your brain instead of your pathetic cock, you'd still be walking–and not stuck here like the damn coward you always were."

I closed the distance until his face filled my vision. Peaceful. Stupidly peaceful. Like he hadn't left me a kingdom of shit to fix.

"You had choices, father. The chief priestess. Help. Anything. But no, you trusted that manipulative, useless excuse for a doctor. And look where that got you."

I forced the tremor from my voice and kept speaking. "Stubborn. Weak. Father, you were both. And now... look at you."

My fingers tightened until my nails dug deep into my palms. "And look at me. Look at what you left behind."

My breathing turned rough, uneven. "Rogues. Dead bodies. Failures. Insults. Responsibilities I never fucking asked for. How the fuck am I supposed to live–how am I supposed to plan a future–when I'm drowning in your mess?"

Silence swallowed my words, but I didn't care. I needed to get it all out–every last damn one of it.

"And she... she has the audacity to say you were a better Alpha."

A bitter, humorless laugh scraped out of my throat. "You? Better? I'm the one alive, father. I'm the one holding this pack together by my own damn teeth. At least I'm not rotting away."

I let the words hang there, glaring at him so hard my eyes burned. Then my legs finally gave out, and I dropped to the cold floor, my palms flat against it, still breathing hard.

"I will NEVER be as weak as you," I whispered, my voice shaking uncontrollably. "Never. I'm better than you. So much better."

The words barely left my lips before the face of the woman who birthed me consumed my mind. Suddenly, I was back there–smiling with her, laughing with her– before it twisted into her gut-wrenching screams.

Pain buried itself into my chest, scorching me. Before I could sink completely into the void, I shoved the memory down and forced myself back to my feet.

I threw the dead asshole a dirty, condescending look. "Funny, isn't it? All that 'leadership' you bragged about, and yet, you couldn't even stick around long enough to see it through."

I stared at him for a long, hate-filled moment before spinning on my heel, letting the fire sharpen my focus as I reached through the pack link. "Elder Jafar."

The older man answered right away, sounding startled. "Alpha? Is something wrong?"

"Set a general meeting," I said. "Every member of the Silverfang Pack must be present. Tonight."

I felt his confusion through the link. "Alpha, what's going on?"

"There were rogue attacks in the human world," I said.

He sucked in a breath. "R-rogues? But we haven't had-"

"I'm aware. Just set the meeting."

His voice shook a little before he said, "Y-yes, Alpha."

****

Selena's POV

****

By the time I reached the Alpha house, chaos had taken over.

The front entrance was clogged with pack members, shoving and squeezing their way to the path leading to the great court–the only space large enough to hold every wolf in Silverfang.

A few meters away from the entrance, I sank into a stone chair carved in the shape of a wolf, waiting for the crowd to thin. I could have pushed through easily as the former Luna, but that was the least of my concerns. My mind was still tangled in the message I'd received from Elder Jafar.

Adrian Holt, the supposed Alpha of Silverfang, had called a general meeting for 8 p.m. to address the rogue attacks.

Well, color me shocked.

If I'd known that deflating his alpha ego could have made him come to his senses, I would have done it a long time ago.

"Selly baby!" an annoyingly cheerful voice shrieked, yanking me out of my thoughts and making my skin prickle.

I hadn't heard that name in years. Only one person ever called me that, and that person was someone I hated with every fiber of my being.

Praying to the goddess that it had just been my mind playing tricks on me, I turned my head, slowly and painfully