All it Takes is Love

As Byron lead the way deeper into the Simmion Pack’s territory, he thought about all that had happened since he got up that morning.

He and his sweet mate had started the day off with love and affection.

He had killed an alpha and his heir.

He had killed one of their warriors, who were as black-hearted as Raymond and Chester had been.

He was now Alpha of the Simmion Pack, and he was on his way to tell them they were under new leadership.

He was going in blind, having no training for any of this at all.

“No, not blind. You still have me, and if you trust me, I will get you through this day and all the days after,” his wolf told him.

Byron internally agreed.

No, his wolf had never steered him wrong, and he knew he wouldn’t let him down now. The peace he had always felt flowed through him, and he was now prepared to face his new pack mates.

Coming to a halt in front of a large building, which he assumed was the packhouse, he let out a single loud howl. He’d heard his father do the same thing many times. All it meant was for everyone to be front and center before their Alpha.

Byron shifted then, as did his mate and the men behind him.

One of the men grumbled, “Man, I don’t think I’ve ever had to run so fast in my life!”

Lynn chuckled, reminding him, “I told you.”

Byron winked at her over his shoulder before focusing on the crowd that now stood in front of him. There looked to be at least two hundred of them, some in human form and some in wolf form.

Byron gave it a few minutes, and when no one else came, he commanded them, “Shift.”

Then he watched as all those in wolf form became human. Once they had, Byron let his wolf rise. In the gravelly tone that carried the power of the Alpha, Wolf Byron said, “I am your new Alpha. You should have felt the Pack bond between you and Raymond, along with that of his son Chester, break.”

Some began to murmur amongst themselves, and Byron felt the stress level rise along with anger.

He knew the worry came from those who feared how they would be treated.

The anger came from those who were close to Raymond and his son.

“For those who don’t know me, I am Bryon Rhodes. I am the son of Byron Rhodes Sr. who is the current Alpha of the Moonscape pack.”

More murmuring went up as they tried to place him. Most had probably heard of his dad, but because he hadn’t been in line for Alpha, few had heard of him.

“This is my mate, Lynn,” Byron continued. “Most of you will know her as Beta Joe’s daughter.”

Lynn came to stand, proud and tall, next to him.

“Now, a lot of things are going to change in this pack,” Bryon informed them. He might as well get it all out there and get the backlash he knew would come over quickly. “The biggest thing is that we will become a peaceful pack, family. There will no longer be abuse and mistreatment going on here, for I will not tolerate it.”

“What if we like the way our Pack is run, huh!” A heckler asked from the back.

“Why don’t you come forward and tell me exactly what you don’t wish to be changed,” Byron calmly challenged.

The man stepped forward, and Byron instantly knew he would have to die today. He had the same evil look as the other warrior Byron had killed earlier.

“Chester would have been a good Alpha. So, tell me, why is he dead?” The man asked with a sheer.

“Do you know why he went to the Moonscape pack?” Byron asked him, ignoring his question.

He laughed. “Yeah, he went to get his woman back!”

Byron nodded, receiving the answer he had expected. “Who else among you believe this and think it was right?”

Three other men stepped forward, and Byron could feel the anger and hate pouring off them like water.

I believe I am meeting Chester’s friends. His wolf hummed his agreement.

“I just want to say that the woman Chester was going after was not his anything,” Byron stated with a growl of possessiveness. “The fact is, she is my mate.”

A lot of gasps went through the crowd at his words.

Byron turned back toward the young man, Marcus, and questioned him. “Are these Chester’s friends?”

Marcus nodded.

“Is this all of them?”

Marcus shook his head.

“Point the rest of them out to me.”

As Marcus pointed out three more, Byron sent three of the men from behind him, who he deemed worthy of trust, out into the crowd to bring them forward. Just like before, he walked along in front of them, staring into their eyes and reading them.

With a heavy heart, he stepped back. “The three of you only did what Chester wanted out of fear. You,” Bryon pointed to the first one in line. “You had reason to fear him because he did something to you. What was it?”

He swallowed hard and looked around.

Byron noticed the sad faces around him before a disturbance in the crowd distracted him.

A woman broke from the crowd, her belly large with child. She ran up to Byron, fell on her knees, and wrapped her arms around his legs. Staring up at him, she sobbed as she begged, “Please, don’t hurt him! He only did it for me!”

“Jenny, don’t,” the man whispered. “It isn’t good for the pup.”

“Stand, sweet lady and go to your mate,” Byron said as he helped her up.

Once she was in the arms of her mate, Byron commanded, “Tell me.”

The man looked up, fear on his face, but spoke loud and clear. “I forgot to tell Chester that Alpha Raymond needed him for something because Jenny had become sick, and I was called home. It was our first pup, and she was only sixteen. She was scared and sick, and she needed me. The Alpha came to our home and asked why I hadn’t done as he had commanded me. I told him my mate was sick because of her being pregnant. He punched her in the stomach and said, ‘And now she isn’t,’ Then he left. Jenny lost the pup, and after that, I did everything I was told because I feared the next time, he would kill her.” He rubbed her belly lovingly. “Now we have another on the way. I couldn’t take the chance of him killing it too.”

Byron heard Lynn gasp next to him and wrapped his arm around her. He nodded to the man, telling him to join everyone else.

Next, Byron turned to the second man. “You also seem to be under pressure. What is your name?”

“My name is Levi. I fell asleep a couple of times while on duty. Chester needed someone to do his dirty work, so he promised not to tell the Alpha if I did what he told me. When I told him no, he had my little sister thrown in the Pack cell. He threatened to… do things to her if—” Levi stopped, his voice tapering as emotion took hold of him.

“When did this happen, and where is your sister now?” Byron gently asked.

“It happened a couple of months ago, and my sister is still there, or at least I suppose she is. No one would let me in to check on her. If they did, then they could be killed for it,” Levi replied.

Byron took a deep breath as he looked up at the clear blue sky over him. He wanted to cry for Levi and what he’d had to go through. What his sister was still going through.

“Go to the pack cells and get your sister if she’s there. If she’s not, then—”

A voice interrupted Byron, saying, “She’s there. She’s weak, but she’s alive. They barely allow her to be fed, but at least nobody touched her while she was there.”

Looking over the crowd, Byron saw they had moved back to show him an older man in the back. Crooking his finger, Byron silently called him forward. When the man stood in front of Byron, he asked, “How do you know this?”

“I’m a guard part of the time, and I’ve seen her,” the guard answered.

“You go with Levi then and help him get her. Is there a pack doctor?”

“No. The Alpha always said if we were stupid enough to get hurt, then we deserved to die,” the guard said.