Page 6 of New Blood (Werewolf Alliance #1)

J ude watched as more and more people entered the large living room in the Gallagher mansion, now fully dressed, yet not any less hostile than during their fight with the vampires.

He remained near the fireplace from where he could look at everybody as they entered.

From the few photos of the Gallagher family that the Werewolf Alliance had in their database, he recognized most of the assembled.

The men—the alpha’s two remaining sons, Byron and Thaddeus, and his nephews, Spencer and Owen—looked ready for a fight.

If they were as strong as their muscular bodies suggested, they would be formidable opponents.

However, in order not to let things escalate now, he’d have to be careful as to how to handle these four.

He exchanged a quick look with Parker and Grant, two of his team members who stood near the door, standing sentry to maintain order. They knew their job and would act quickly, should any member of the Gallagher pack want to cause trouble.

Two women entered side by side, and their physical similarities were evident immediately.

They were mother and daughter, Flora and Violet Gallagher.

Violet, William Gallagher’s niece, was pretty, her features delicate, though he knew that as a werewolf, she was stronger than a human female.

Her eyes were puffy, and it appeared that she’d cried.

It wasn’t hard to guess why: in Cameron, she’d lost a cousin, and he had to assume that they’d been close.

Her mother, Flora, didn’t show any signs of tears; her face a steely mask, most likely a protective mechanism to shield herself from bad news.

She looked like a woman who’d gone through a lot in her life and knew how to soldier on despite the hurdles in her path.

She also gave off the impression that she was in charge here.

He would do well to make her an ally early on, because she could either pave his way for an easy transition or litter it with obstacles.

A large black man entered the room, followed by two women and another male pack member.

The women remained behind the two men, and he only caught glimpses of them.

It appeared they preferred to remain unnoticed.

It wasn’t unusual. The lowest-ranked women in a pack often worked without drawing any notice to themselves, used to being invisible.

This pack was certainly no different. The youngest and the weakest didn’t want to be noticed.

In any case, the Alliance didn’t have any photos of these pack members to match them to.

He would have to get more information on them at a later time.

There were loud footsteps and cursing when Austin and Mason finally marched in with William Gallagher between them. The latter growled at him and tried to shake off Austin’s hand, which was gripping his elbow.

“Take your fucking hand off me!”

Jude caught Austin’s glance and gave an affirmative nod, indicating that there was no need to keep an iron grip on Gallagher. He wasn’t going anywhere, at least not right now. From his facial expression, it was obvious that he was ready for a confrontation.

When Jude heard more sounds from the foyer, he looked past Gallagher.

A young woman, her hair flying, charged into the room, Ransom hot on her heels.

He recognized the woman from her photo. This was Eve, William Gallagher’s daughter.

It appeared that she’d already made one enemy: Ransom.

His pissed off facial expression was hard to overlook.

And pissing off Ransom was no easy feat.

The San Francisco transplant wasn’t easily offended and didn’t give a fuck about what people thought of him.

He didn’t have a resentful bone in his body. So what had this gorgeous woman done?

And she was gorgeous, he had to admit that.

A slender figure with curves in all the right places, a fine facial structure, long wavy hair, and stunning eyes that could pin any man to the wall and let him hang there for good.

Yeah, she was trouble. That much was clear.

Nevertheless, he knew what his duty was.

She was the highest-ranking female of childbearing age, and she therefore had to be his first choice.

Never mind the fact that nothing stirred in him when he looked at her.

Beauty alone didn’t turn him on. He needed more from a woman.

He just didn’t know what this more consisted of. Clearly, he hadn’t found it yet.

Jude let his gaze wander over the assembled again when the last members of his team, Wendell and Francisco, entered and approached him.

“House is clear,” Wendell reported.

Jude gave a nod of acknowledgement. “And the vampires?”

“They’re gone,” Francisco said. “I made sure of it. The gate is secure right now, but we’ll have to reset the alarm system later. Looks like the vampires hacked it.”

“Alright. Take care of that after we’re done here.”

Jude directed his gaze back to the assembled and cleared his throat.

“Now that everybody is assembled, let’s begin,” he started.

The private conversations and murmurs died down, and everybody looked straight at him.

“I’m Jude Beaumont, and I’m here by authority of the Werewolf Alliance.”

“We don’t recognize the authority of the Werewolf Alliance,” Gallagher said in a raised voice, glaring at him with open hostility. “We’re independent of them. And I’m the alpha here.”

When his sons and nephews grunted in agreement, Jude lifted his hand to ask for silence.

When they didn’t listen, he growled low and dark, the wolf inside him wanting to break through to the surface to teach them that their attempt to challenge his or the Alliance’s authority would be stopped in its infancy.

“That’s where you’re wrong, William Gallagher.” He trained his eyes on the old alpha. “It’s because of your inaction, your failure to rein in your son, that the Alliance was forced to intervene. I wouldn’t be here if you’d done your job as alpha.”

Gallagher made a step toward him, but Austin and Mason gripped him by his arms and held him back.

“Now, you’ll have to deal with the consequences of your failure. By letting Cameron run wild to kill humans and then covering up his crimes, going so far as to fake his death, you brought this on yourself.”

Jude pointed his index finger at Gallagher, simultaneously pinning him with narrowed eyes.

“How dare you?” Gallagher spat. “First, you kill my son, and then you blame me? Fuck you!”

Before he could reply, Eve rushed to her father’s side, shock widening her eyes.

“He killed Cameron? Not the vampires?” She turned her head to glare at Ransom now. “You made me believe it was the vampires, when it was him?”

She pointed in Jude’s direction.

Ransom lifted his chin in defiance. “Not my problem if you made assumptions.” The bitch at the end of his sentence was implied.

Eve swung her gaze back to Jude, her eyes full of hatred. “You killed my brother!”

“I had no other choice.” He forced himself to speak calmly. “He was about to kill the woman he’d turned into a werewolf. She was an innocent.”

“You—”

“And that’s the end of it,” he said, cutting her off.

He didn’t owe her an explanation, and he wasn’t going to get drawn into a discussion about why he was justified in killing Cameron. He had more important things to discuss.

Taking a breath, he let his gaze sweep over the assembled.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. William Gallagher will be removed as alpha and turned over to the Werewolf Alliance.

They will decide his fate. If he killed innocent humans, he’ll be executed.

However, if he didn’t kill any humans himself while covering up Cameron’s murders, he’ll be exiled.

The Alliance will decide where to. Should any of you wish to accompany him into exile, you’re free to do so.

You have until tomorrow at noon to make a decision. ”

Quiet murmurs and displeased grunts bounced off the walls. Together with the furious glares coming from the immediate Gallagher family, the atmosphere in the room felt toxic.

“And I suppose you’re gonna take over as alpha,” Byron spat.

“You suppose correctly,” Jude replied, looking at the hotheaded young werewolf. “This pack will now be ruled by the Werewolf Alliance, and they’ve authorized me to become your new alpha. I understand that this will be a bit of an adjustment—”

“A bit?” Byron cried out, his face beet-red.

Jude ignored the interruption. “Therefore, I’ll do everything in my power to unite the pack and bring it back onto the right path. And as I already said—” He now pinned Byron with his gaze. “—if you don’t like it, you may join your former alpha in exile.”

Byron huffed. “What a choice that is!”

Thaddeus put a hand on his brother’s arm to calm him, but Byron simply shook it off.

“You can’t just take over here!” Byron continued.

“I’m not finished!” Jude bellowed, bridging the distance between him and Byron to go nose to nose with him. “Don’t mistake my politeness and calmness for weakness. I promise you, it will be your last mistake.”

For a moment, there was silence in the room, and he could almost hear Byron’s heartbeat. Another breath, another beat, and Byron backed away.

“Good,” Jude said calmly. “Now that we’ve cleared this up, here’s what’s going to happen.

After a suitable mourning period, I will be mating with the highest-ranking female of childbearing age of the pack.

This will assure that the Gallagher bloodline will continue, and the alpha after me will have Gallagher blood. ”

A gasp echoed against the walls. Several of the assembled looked in the direction it had come from. He didn’t have to look to know whose reaction it was, but he did it nevertheless. Eve stood there, staring at him in disbelief. She hadn’t expected this.

He felt obligated to address her directly. “As I said, there’ll be a mourning period to give you time until the mating.”

Eve didn’t reply. She didn’t look happy about the news.

And why should she? She didn’t know him, and to find out that she was supposed to become his mate for life was news that wasn’t easy to digest. Had they been alone, he would have told her that this would be a difficult situation for both of them, since this would not be a love match.

But then, his parents hadn’t mated for love either.

Their union had been arranged, though they’d fallen in love later and were happy together.

He’d always known that it would come to this one day, when he’d joined the ranks of the Werewolf Alliance, where he’d been groomed to become an alpha to take over a rogue pack.

It had been drilled into him to accept this condition because the only way to truly unite a pack is to marry into it.

Kingdoms all over Europe had done this for centuries, sending royal princesses to marry foreign kings so their countries wouldn’t go to war with each other.

This was no different. He was ready to make the sacrifice for the greater good of all werewolves, despite not being attracted to Eve.

“That’s all for tonight,” he added, before looking at Flora. “Who’s in charge of the household? My men and I need accommodations.”

As expected, Flora nodded and stepped closer. “We have a few empty rooms in the side wing, and a couple of the cottages can also accommodate—”

“My men and I will stay in this house,” he said, cutting her off. “Please get the alpha’s quarters ready for me. My brother will take Cameron’s room. Find rooms for the rest of my men in this house and the side wing. Not the cottages. If necessary, some of your pack members will have to double up.”

“But,” Flora said, her chin dropping. “You can’t move into the alpha’s quarters. William stays there.”

“Your former alpha will be spending the night in the cell, guarded by two of my men. It’s for everybody’s safety.” He wasn’t going to give Gallagher a chance to take revenge on him and his men.

Her face now devoid of any emotions, Flora nodded. “Of course. I’ll have the sheets and towels changed for you and your men.”

“I appreciate it,” Jude replied.

As she turned away from him, he motioned toward Austin and Mason. “Take him down to the cell, and take turns watching him. Wendell can relieve you too if there’s need.”

When Austin and Mason grabbed Gallagher’s arms, the old alpha glared at him. “You’ll regret this.”

Jude didn’t let his words rile him up. He knew the threat was an empty one.

“The only thing I regret is that we didn’t come earlier, or we could have saved the lives of three, if not more, innocents.”