Page 8 of Ascendant King

“Yield,” I shouted. “Yield because together we are stronger.”

I forced every ounce of my alpha nature into the words. My mother and the long line of alphas she came from were with me, a strength born of a belief that there was nothing we couldn’t overcome together, that packs didn’t have to live in opposition to each other.

He growled but tensed, and for a moment, I could feel every muscle that was going to lunge, turn on me, and tear through the flesh of my arm.

“Yield,” I repeated, lower. “I am the Emperor Wolf, and youwillsubmit to me.”

The pressure around me heightened as every other alpha in the circle watched closely to see what he’d do.

He trembled, then went down on his stomach, bowing under me. I released him, stroking over his shoulders and down his back in one long line.

“Alpha of the Pineridge Pack, thank you,” I said.

He shifted, coming back to himself, crouched low. When he looked up at me, I could see hope and confusion in his eyes.

“What did you do to me?” he demanded. “Was that magic? Did your pet mage turn me?—”

“He didn’t do anything,” the old alpha said sharply. “I watched. I witnessed. Who else bore witness to what happened?”

“I did,” the alpha from Dos Lunas said. “I witnessed. He took power in the old way.”

The Pineridge alpha shook his head, snorting and shivering. When he looked up at me, his eyes were wide, his mouth slightly slack.

“I yield to the Emperor Wolf,” he said.

“Who else will join me?” I asked.

“And when this threat is over? What will our revered Emperor do then?” asked someone from the other side of the circle. I turned to see a heavily tattooed man sitting next to an identical man on a log. Their tattoos were mirror images, and after spending so much time with Cade, it was strange to see tattoo ink that didn’t shift and move.

“I am not after the throne for power,” I said. The man snorted, and I dropped my chin, acknowledging the irony of the words. “The power that comes with the Emperor throne comes from wolves who support me. It comes from the strength of our people working together so that all wolves have a better chance. No mage, no human can stand against us when we’re united.That’swhy the throne has sat empty for so long. Because mages and humans didn’t want us to have a chance. They didn’t want to see what wolves can do when we stand together, so they would kill anyone who tried to unite us. But that doesn’t mean we stop trying. It doesn’t meanI’mgoing to stop trying.”

The twins glanced at each other. One adjusted his position, crossing his arms, a moon tattoo spread over his shoulder.

“The Three Lakes East Pack stands with you,” he said.

I turned to his brother. “And the West Pack?”

He huffed out a breath. “Three Lakes West as well. You’re your mother’s son, Castillo. She gave almost the same speech,only it was over my dinner table, and we were too many drinks in.”

“Always with the too many drinks,” the Three Lakes East Alpha said. “You don’t know moderation.”

They chuckled together, and I turned in the circle. “Who else will answer the call?”

A few more alphas stood, and by the time everything shook out, about half the alphas in attendance were with me.

For a frozen moment, I wasn’t sure what I felt. The warmth that spread through my chest was so foreign I struggled to name it. Then I realized it was pride—it wasjoy. For the first time in eleven years, wolves recognized me for who I was; they heard the Castillo name and thought it was worth more than a death sentence.

“All hail the Emperor?” one of the alphas who hadn’t stood, hadn’t backed me, said dryly. “Does your reign start with war on those of us who don’t believe?”

“No,” I said immediately. “Never. I’ve spent too long letting myself fight other wolves. Join us or don’t, but just don’t stand in our way.”

He made ahmphsound and shifted fluidly into a wolf, running off into the forest, the others who hadn’t supported me fleeing with him.

“Well, Emperor,” the older alpha said, standing again. Her knees cracked as she approached. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Castillo pup. Come here.”

She pinched my chin and drew me down, turning my face to this side and the other. Finally, she shook her head.

“Pah, too much of your father in you. Looks like you only inherited her skills with words.” The old woman stepped back. “So, Emperor, what’s the plan?”