Search and Seizure

Alex

A week had slipped by.

No word.

No call.

No sign.

Nothing.

The quiet whispers that the Alpha and Luna of Shadow Moon Pack were either dead or captured had grown into a loud chorus of speculation.

Gossip was now almost accepted as truth.

Even I was beginning to question if they would return—unless they had help.

What was equally unsettling was the indifference of the Shadow Moon Pack.

While rumors were flying, concern was noticeably absent.

With only a few exceptions, most had quickly and willingly accepted that Alpha Anthony had taken over the pack in all but name.

Some even dared to suggest that the pack would be better off without Jax.

It took everything in me not to lash out at such talk, but I was already in a precarious position. If I was going to save this pack from completely submitting to Alpha Anthony, I needed to be smart.

I had spent most of the last few days in my room, trying to keep a low profile.

But today, that had to change.

Sky, Harper, and Zara were my main connections to the outside world. They were the strongest voices among the small group within Shadow Moon pack still loyal to Alpha Jax.

They kept me informed about Alpha Anthony’s latest power grabs.

That morning, they had brought me the most disheartening news yet.

Today, it was rumored that he would gather the packs for an emergency announcement.

And if I had read Alpha Anthony correctly, I knew that could only mean one thing: he was about to grant himself emergency powers. Essentially making himself a dictator over both his own pack and Shadow Moon.

This was unheard of. While the Lupine Bylaws did allow for the appointment of a “Lone Wolf Alpha” in the event of the sudden death or emergency removal of both a pack’s Alpha and Beta, this was only for the most extreme circumstances.

And since Alpha Jax hadn’t officially removed me, I still had a right to challenge his attempt and take control of my pack.

His rise to the expanded powers of Lone Wolf Alpha would need the majority vote of the pack. Even though I hoped that my deep relationships within the pack would win out, I couldn’t risk letting Alpha Anthony assume a vote.

According to my watch, it was 11:30 a.m.—half an hour before Alpha Anthony planned to make his announcement. I had just enough time to get to the courtyard to preempt his power grab.

I walked to my bedroom door only to find it locked.

And not from the inside, but the outside.

I knew immediately that this wasn’t the mistake of some careless janitor.

Alpha Anthony had found the emergency master key to all the rooms in the packhouse and taken the liberty of locking my door.

This confirmed my suspicions.

Anthony was taking out a little extra insurance to make sure I didn’t crash his party.

I dashed across the room to my window.

It had been sealed shut. And just in case I decided to break through the glass and climb down the three-story tower, four wolf sentries were stationed below to greet me.

Apparently, he saw me as more of a threat than I thought.

But I had one advantage. This was my territory.

I had grown up in this palace and knew all its little secrets.

And my room just so happened to have the best little secret of all.

I opened the door to my wardrobe and pushed aside my clothes to reveal a small, brass latch.

Pulling the latch opened the back wall of the wardrobe—the secret entrance to a small, but functional, dumbwaiter.

It had been years since I had rigged up this little escape route. And even longer since I had ridden the rickety old elevator. But I didn’t have time to hesitate.

I crawled to the back of the wardrobe and into the tight, dark elevator shaft.

~Wow! It feels a lot smaller than I remember.~

After squeezing my legs inside the old lift, I began to carefully lower myself down to the cellar.

I held my breath as the dilapidated old platform made its way past years of neglect.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as the dumbwaiter came to a stop in the musty basement.

No harm done, except for a few spider bites.

But I had bigger problems than spiders.

I looked down at my watch. It read 11:50.

Only ten minutes left.

I raced past the mountains of forgotten wine casks and unused furniture and up the stairs to the kitchen.

The cooks screamed as I burst through the door, knocking over a chef with a vat of hot soup.

“Sorry!” I yelled as I sprinted out the door.

After five minutes of running as fast as I could, I made it to the courtyard.

A large crowd had already gathered.

I pushed my way past the throng of unhappy faces and made my way to the large, stone staircase.

My watch showed the time as 11:58. Only two minutes left.

Once I reached the foot of the stairs, I jumped up onto the steps.

My foot caught on one of the stone ridges, causing me to fall flat on my face.

The whole crowd burst out in laughter.

~Great. I’m off to a great start!~

“Need a hand?” a sarcastic voice asked.

I looked up.

Alpha Anthony was looking down at me with a mocking expression and an outstretched hand.

My time was up.

It was now or never.

“I, Alexander Tillotson, Beta of Shadow Moon pack, declare a state of emergency and hereby invoke the temporary authority of Alpha.”

The crowd gasped.

I had done it. I had beaten Alpha Anthony to the punch.

A satisfied grin spread across my scraped face as I looked up at Shadow Moon’s arrogant would-be Alpha.

To my surprise, he looked unperturbed.

He knelt down to help me up, but I brushed away his arms and stumbled to my feet.

“Beta Alex, your gesture is admirable, and so officially spoken. But I’m afraid it’s too late, my friend.”

“Too late?” I asked, confused.

“Yes,” Anthony smiled condescendingly. “You see, last night your pack leadership and I held a late, closed-door meeting to discuss the appointment of new leadership for your pack.”

“I am the pack’s Beta and received no such invitation.”

“Oh,” Anthony said with a look of surprise that seemed a little too rehearsed, “I’m so sorry. With all the time you’ve spent in seclusion, it was assumed you had just abstained.”

My blood was on fire.

I’d underestimated Anthony, it seemed.

“Anyway,” he went on, “even without you, we had enough members present. Naturally, with you not there, leadership fell to Gamma Raphael. But then he surprised me by suggesting me for Alpha.”

I turned to Raphael, who was standing at the top of the stairs, looking pitiful and embarrassed.

“And what did he get in return?” I asked.

“How dare you suggest such a thing,” he shot back, “Raphael is a brave fighter and wise leader. He’ll make an excellent Beta.”

“Beta?” I shouted, outraged, “You’re a Lone Wolf Alpha acting under emergency powers! You don’t have the authority to appoint leadership.”

“You’re mistaken,” Anthony stared me down. “I haven’t just been given emergency powers. I am now the Alpha of Shadow Moon.”

I was stunned.

~Anthony. The new Alpha?~

The crowd broke into loud applause for their new leader.

~How can they celebrate this clear violation of pack law?~

“This is insane!” I protested. “You and your buddies have no right to approve a new Alpha. We don’t have any proof that Jax is dead!”

“He’s been missing a week!” Anthony shot back. “If he isn’t dead, then he’s been captured by the rebels. And in my view—and that of your leaders—a wolf who would let himself be captured by such a disorganized, untrained group of rogues isn’t fit to hold this office!”

The crowd cheered again in agreement.

“You’re making too many assumptions, Anthony.”

“You will address me as Alpha Anthony!” he snapped.

“I won’t! No matter what you’ve promised Raphael, I’m still Beta of this pack and I will challenge this secret election you’ve held.”

“Sadly, Alexander, you still don’t get it. You see, after accepting my appointment as Alpha, my first move was to propose your removal from office.”

“My removal?” I shouted. “On what grounds?

“Corruption.” His face was stone-cold.

“Corruption! You’ve got some nerve accusing ~me~ of corruption!”

“You threw a party—filled with alcohol, dancing, and all sorts of debauchery—in a desperate bid to win back the favor of your pack. It was nothing less than campaigning. And that, sir, is an act of treason.”

I wanted to tear into him.

I wanted to call him a madman.

A power-crazed dictator.

But I couldn’t. Because he was right.

Alpha Antony’s suggestion to throw the party was just a trick.

I’d been manipulated. I’d been used.

What I’d done was campaigning. Plain and simple.

Somehow, this fraud had done everything by the book, and I was the one in the wrong.

“Your removal was approved unanimously. I tried to save you the embarrassment of an arrest by keeping you in your quarters. But since you managed to escape from there, I guess we’ll have to do this the right way.”

With a snap of his fingers, two guards grabbed my arms and pulled me away from the stairs.

The eyes of my pack members glared at me as I passed. They felt no loyalty to me now.

I was a traitor.

Above the crowd’s wild cheering, I could hear the new Alpha start his first public speech.

“Now that we’ve dealt with the evil among us, we must fight the evil around us, my fellow wolves. We can’t ignore the unavoidable truth that threatens both Shadow Moon and Oak Marsh packs. War with Vulpes is inevitable. And now, we must dedicate all our resources to preparing ourselves.”

And just like that, war had started—to the sound of thunderous applause.