“No, Alpha. Some grumbling about the length of time they’ve been down here, but that’s it,” he says.
“Is there an interrogation room downstairs?” I ask.
“Yes, Alpha. To the left of the stairwell there are three rooms that have
been used for interrogation. The cells are to the right.”
“Thank you…. Reuben,” I say, trying to remember his name.
He smiles, pleased. “That’s correct, Alpha.”
“Thank you, Reuben. Hopefully
and you can take the night well be releasing everyone tonight
He nods and we head downstairs.
“Finally!” Dorian says from the cell where he’s sitting and watching the stairwell. He stands, watching us. “Are you going to let us out now?”
“That will depend on each of you,” I say, turning left to find the room I want to use. “Are you good with this room?” I ask Shane.
“Yes.”
“Okay, who are we starting with?” I ask him.
“Let’s start with Jack,” he says.
We walk to the side where the cells are located. “Which one of you is Jack?” I ask.
“That’s me,” a warrior says, standing.
“You’re first,” I say.
“You’re not letting all of us out?” another warrior, Corey, I think, asks from his cell.
“Not until we’ve had a chance to talk,” I say, gesturing for Jack to follow Shane to the interrogation room.
When we walk in, I close the door. “Have a seat.”
“I didn’t know who you were,” he says immediately as he sits. I sit across from him, and Shane remains standing with his arms crossed.
“No, you didn’t. You didn’t ask either,” I say to him.
“You attacked our Beta,” he says.
“No, he attacked me, and I took him down. He’s no longer your Beta, by the way, although he doesn’t know that yet.”
I watch the surprise flash across his face.
“Who is Beta then, Steven?”
“No, Braden has been promoted from Gamma to Beta.”
He looks from me to Shane and back again.
“Then who’s Gamma?”
“No one yet. That position is currently vacant.”
“Dorian is going to flip his lid over that, just so you know.”
“I imagine he’s not going to be very happy about it. Especially when I
confront him on the reasons behind his demotion.”
“What reasons?” Jack asks.
Rather than answer, I lean forward. “How do you feel about your Alpha heir?”
His eyes flash back to Shane.
“Honestly, he’s too young to run this pack, especially after our recent attack. No offense, Alpha Shane, but you’re dealing with your own grief. It’s a lot for a young Alpha and the pack needs to feel secure,” he says. I’m impressed that he says it politely. And he’s right.
“The Council agrees with you which is why I’m here. I’m the interim Alpha, sent to manage this pack until such time as Alpha Shane passes the Academy and comes of age.”
“That’s good. You’re the Alpha heir, after all. It just sucks what happened to your parents and the timing of it all,” he says to Shane.
Something flickers in the subconscious part of my brain at his words, something instinctive. I push it aside for now, but I want to come back to it.
“So, you have no problem accepting me as your interim Alpha and respecting both your Alpha heir and his sister?” I ask.
“No problem. You know how packs are. We need to feel safe. If we don’t, we begin challenging our leadership. I wasn’t feeling safe, but I wasn’t actively against you or Alpha Enya, Alpha Shane.”
“And now? Do you feel safe now that I’m here?” I ask.
