Page 74

JULIAN

Cam and Ezra shifted back, and the air swirled with magic, as though Cam was a black hole for the power escaping from Marlowe’s brother.

“I yield,”

Ezra said, his voice just a touch less rich. It would have been imperceptible to someone without a shifter’s sense of hearing, but to us, the change was clear.

Cam was now the highest alpha.

He stood and grinned, offering his hand to Ezra to help him back up. They patted each other on the back, the beef now ended.

Marlowe rolled her eyes, muttering “Fucking alphas”

under her breath. Kian snickered beside her, and they looked at each other in mutual exasperation.

But all I could do is watch in awe. Yes, I could still probably hold my own in a bout between either of those males—as long as I hadn’t faced thirty-one males before getting to them, that was—but the dominance radiating off Cam made me want to roll over and show my belly in submission.

That kind of power was its own type of magic for shifters. Marlowe hadn’t grown up in a shifter community, and Kian was a vamp, so they wouldn’t necessarily get it.

But we thrived with a strong leader who used their power to lift others up. To make sure everyone was taken care of, every voice was heard. They allowed others to find their places comfortably, and to challenge them safely if they thought things could be done better.

It didn’t even need to be an alpha in charge, which was something I was starting to realize being bonded to Marlowe. She was the heart of our pack, but also the head in a lot of ways. She set the tone and the pace.

But Cam was the reason she could do that safely. Not that I thought our other pack mates would ever use their strength against her, but he was the one to keep everyone in line to make her job easier.

That was the true power of the alpha.

And when assholes like Roland Thorne or the fae king were able to use it as a weapon, it weakened us. It pulled the pack bonds apart, leaving us aimless and confused. It left the weaker among us vulnerable.

No longer. Thorne and the Conclave were gone, and now we had to take care of the asshole in charge here.

I knew the king was strong—he had powers we’d never even heard of before, and we still hadn’t even met him yet to see him put those to use. But I couldn’t keep the adrenaline from coursing through me, ready to finally teach this fancy fae fuck a lesson for stealing my omega.

And for fucking up her brother.

Marlowe walked back to the two of them. “Okay, now that the pecking order’s been officially established, I need to rethink my plan. Because honestly, Ez? I thought we’d be fighting against you.”

He hung his head, his shoulders slightly less broad than they’d seemed just a few minutes ago. “I know. But we should discuss this on the way. We don’t have a lot of time.”

I stepped forward. “I don’t know how much help I can give towards strategy, so why don’t you guys stay in human form, and I’ll shift and scout ahead as we move. Just tell me what to do when we get there.”

I looked instinctively towards Cam, and his smile and nod of approval had me melting. It was almost uncomfortable how quickly my desire to please him had grown. He was already my boss and my pack leader, now he was basically my king?

Well, if it had to happen to anyone I knew, I was glad it was him.