The Alpha Assassin novel Chapter 59

I watched as Alpha Raymond’s face flickered from rage to confusion and finally settled on a sort of twisted amusement.

“You can’t. You have no pack,” he sneered. Some of the crowd gasped at his public display of wickedness.

“I can as an heir.” I held my ground, my voice unwavering.

Alpha Raymond took a step towards me, towering over me or attempting to. “You are the heir of nothing.”

“I am the heir to The Blood Moon Pack.” I fixed my eyes on Miles, actually looking at him for the first time since I thought he died alongside my parents. There was nothing in his eyes I remembered, no warmth, no familiarity. Nevertheless, he looked away first.

“That pack wasn’t taken legally. There was no challenge; my right still remains.” I jutted my chin up and looked back at Alpha Raymond.

“You would need backing.” A voice came from the crowd.

“Yes,” I agreed, raising my voice. “By more than fifty percent. There are ten packs in this territory, nine if we remove mine. Our territory laws state that inner-territory challenges have to be backed by over half of the packs.”

I needed five of them.

The number five had never seemed so daunting, so unachievable.

I angled myself towards the crowd. “Something Alpha Raymond, I’m assuming, never asked of you before he told you all that challenged Blood Moon. Meaning, I maintain legal rights to Blood Moon,” I stated.

“You can’t be serious,” Alpha Raymond blustered. “Stop this now. I am in the middle of a conflict. This is not the time to bring up your petty grievances.” I trained my eyes on him, not responding. Enraged him further. “Even if you got an Alpha to back you, do you think you could hurt me?” He let out a hollow laugh.

“That’s not your concern,” I responded.

“We will accept the outcome of the challenge,” Nova stated, her voice silencing the crowd.

“You have no say in this,” Alpha Raymond growled, pointing a meaty finger in her direction.

“But I do,” Sam said, and I fought myself from smiling. “I will back you. Crescent Ridge will back you.” I heard him step forward.

Alpha Raymond’s rage turned to Sam. “You can’t be serious, boy.”

“Alpha,” Sam corrected him. “You address me as Alpha.”

“Thank you,” I said, glancing at him. Now was the moment of truth.

There was a murmur from the warriors surrounding the werecats, and I looked to see a warrior edging his way in. He nervously glanced at the werecats as he scooted past them and jogged up the steps to whisper to Alpha Raymond.

I could hear what they were saying at it put me at ease, if only a little. The adrenaline and my thundering heartbeat were hard to steady. There were so many things that could still go wrong; this wasn’t certain at all, far from it. It was more likely the challenge would not go ahead.

“Remove the werecats,” Alpha Raymond commanded, turning his back to me.

“No, thats-”

I cut Raymond off, “Elder John, thank you for coming all this way.” I reached out my hand, shaking his.

“Of course, it is my duty to uphold our laws and territories bylaws.” He smiled at me, and it made me relax further. “And you are the challenging opponent?” he asked, but I saw a hint of confusion on his face.

“Yes, sir, I hope to be. My name is Simone Baldfour, heir to Blood Moon,” I stated the title proudly; it made me stand taller.

“You cannot be serious,” Alpha Raymond said mostly to himself.

“I do not want to interrupt further,” Elder John said. “Please continue.” He motioned to me and backed away, joining the crowd.

“In order to officially challenge Alpha Raymond, I need half of the Alphas and Lunas here to agree.” My voice rang clear through the silence. “By now, you might know some of my history, my true history, and the truth of what Alpha Raymond committed. I ask that you give me a chance to right a wrong. Not just for me but for those who were slaughtered. I ask that you let me this chance as a reflection on our territory and our commitment to justice.”

Everyone was silent, expectant. I tried to make eye contact with as many of them as I could, but I couldn’t read their faces.

“I have Alpha Sam’s backing from Cresent Ridge. I will call out your names, and you may tell us your decision.” My throat almost constricted against those words. I was terrified I wouldn’t get them, and then what?

Breathe - Aksala purred - We will get our chance at him one way or another.

I nodded to her and to myself. I called on Sam’s friends first, hoping that if the others saw a backing, they would be swayed.