Page 32 of Spirit Walker Pack (Kingdom of Wolves #5)

ARRIC

Listening to my officers, I can’t help but feel proud of what I have achieved so far, and of what I will rule when this war is won. My army has grown, and they are all trained warriors now, so we are ready to march on the Spirit Walker pack any day.

As soon as we have Spirit Walker defeated, we will turn and march on Blood Pearl. They will be alone and isolated without their powerful neighbor. Easy pickings.

Sending all those who failed warrior training on the skirmishes thinned the ranks slightly, but they would only have been used as cannon fodder on the battlefield, anyway.

Their deaths serve two purposes. First, a demonstration to all that failure leads to death.

Second, the Shifter Council and their packs now believe my warriors are weak and undisciplined.

The discussion now turns to food and medical supplies. This is not my concern. It’s up to my officers to supply their troops. I’m not lowering myself to discuss welfare issues.

One of my Shadow Clan, all very mysterious and full of their own importance, enters the room and goes straight to my advisor in all things war related.

Levi joined the cause at the very beginning and has proved invaluable in all the planning.

Once the war is won, I’ll have someone kill him off.

He’s getting too big for his boots of late, and I know that some are looking to him to be their king instead of me.

He didn’t like it when I reprimanded him for killing those idiots in the Spirit Walker pack lands.

His ideas of discipline differ from mine.

When I suggested I take his ideas and apply them to him, I thought I had pushed him too far.

His eyes were almost glowing, and his body was shimmering as though he was physically fighting his own wolf for possession of that point in time and space.

I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but I was afraid, and so was my wolf.

He has told me that if it came to a one-on-one fight between our wolves, he would lose. I’ve never known a wolf to admit that.

Levi listens to his colleague, then stands and addresses the room.

“Everyone! The plan has changed. Our primary target will now be the Blood Pearl pack. We will strike them first, and when we’ve added their forces to ours then, and only then, will we march on Spirit Walker.

Make your troops aware immediately and be prepared to attack at a moment's notice. You are dismissed.”

“Levi, a moment, please. The rest of you stay where you are.” Levi stiffens at my request, as does his warrior companion. This also does not go unnoticed by some of those loyal to me. “Why would we change the target at such a late stage in the game?”

“Eclipse has dispatched a large force of reinforcements to the Spirit Walker pack.

Our numbers will not be enough to offset their warriors' skills. While they ready themselves, we will shift our attention to Blood Pearl and have them added to our ranks. We do not want our first battle to cost us half our forces and possibly even fail.”

“I agree with your assessment, however, in future you will advise me of any suggestions you may have before redeploying my army to another target. Is that clear?” I watch him stiffen as though struck, and I think I may have to bring his death forward rather than wait until after the war.

“Yes, Alpha Arric. I understand perfectly.” Turning, he again dismisses the officers present, and I bristle at the open defiance this shows.

In my office with my son, Ulric, I think of the future.

I’m doing this primarily out of greed and a desire for power.

I want a kingdom, and I want to rule it.

When I’m dead and entombed in a huge shrine, I won’t care what happens then.

If it goes to my son, he’ll lose it in a week.

He’ll either be dead himself or overthrown by one of his advisors or generals.

Sometimes, I think I should go home and just slap his mother for her infidelity. I’m not convinced I fathered such a dimwit.

LEVI

I wish the Clan had chosen someone else, anyone else, other than me for this mission. They know I don’t have the patience for this kind of work. It’s punishment for something, or they think it’s damn funny.

Every time I see that fool Arric, I just want to tear his throat out and dump his life's fluid on the ground. I know the Clan is making a lot of profit from this phony war they convinced Arric into waging, but for the sake of all that is evil, why me?

Any normal alpha would have had this done long ago. The longer it draws out, the more profit we make. I understand that, but I don’t think I can do this much longer.

When Arric tried to assert his authority in the meeting, all I could smell was his fear. It’s a miracle he didn’t soil himself it was so bad. Maybe I should make him do that the next time there is an audience. It would be a simple thing to do. My wolf, Bear, could have him soiled in seconds.

Bear! My father's idea of a joke, I’m sure.

He told everyone that when he first saw his newborn pup, it was so big that he thought his mate had cheated on him with a grizzly bear.

I suppose it could have been worse. Being named Grizzly would have caused me more issues as I grew up than Bear did, and that was enough.

And as for killing those lazy shifters on Spirit Walker land! They had done nothing for a week except have fun. They deserved a long, slow death, not the quick mercy killing I gave them. There will be a lot more deaths before the Clan has wrung every penny out of this conflict that they can.

I’ve been told to leave Arric’s death to others when we’re done with him, but I don’t see that happening. I’ve wanted him dead since I first laid eyes on him. He’s a complete non-starter as either a human or wolf. What he would be like as an alpha, sorry a king, I dread to think.

King! What is the world coming too.

ULRIC

Listening to my father drone on is the worst kind of torture I can think of.

I know what he thinks of me, and quite frankly I’m glad he thinks I’m stupid.

It will make killing him when this is over so much easier, and more pleasurable.

I can’t wait to be the ruler. Have everyone running around, doing my bidding.

Waiting on me hand and foot. I’ll have a harem of beautiful females to attend to my every desire.

Not just one or two whores and mistresses like he keeps.

He thinks he’s so clever and that my mother is unaware of what’s going on. When he became Alpha of the rogues, he should have made mother his Luna, but oh no, he could do better. Well, that didn’t work out so well for him, did it?

I remember having to sit through his warrior women fighting each other to be by his side.

They never lasted long before he bored of them and held more contests.

They didn’t take long to wise up to their fate when he announced new contests and then the females stopped coming forward of their own free will.

He even tried to get a luna from another pack. She not only escaped, but took all his other prisoners and hostages with her. Including the Alpha Heir that he planned to do so much with!

My mother has always said the only thing he has going for him is his ability to charm the birds from the trees. When I was old enough to see through him, I begged her to take me and run away. Start a new and better life somewhere away from him and his controlling charm.

I hated seeing him with other women. Hated having to go away with him to his meetings. He took me with him only to control my mother. He knew she wouldn’t run if he had me with him. I was nothing more than a weapon to him. Something to wield to get his way.

I’ll show him what a weapon really is, what it looks like.

I have a knife, a special knife. It has an acid-etched blade with a dragon on it.

The handle is engraved to carry the etching to its conclusion.

It is sharpened to such an edge that I have had to have a special sheath made because it cut through the last one.

I’ve stopped taking it out every day to stare at it.

Imagine plunging it into his soft flesh and ripping it upwards, spilling his guts on the floor.

I’m not afraid of my father. There is only one thing I’m afraid of. Levi and Bear. I’ve seen Levi training with the warriors of my father’s army. He made them all look slow and useless. I don’t think he even tried while he was sparring with them.

I followed him into the woods once after he told me he was going to train alone.

For a Shadow Warrior, I was surprised how much noise he made.

Watching him alone in that clearing was a revelation to me.

I’d never seen anyone or anything move so fluidly.

Each time he moved it was as though he was pouring himself into the new position.

There wasn’t a jerk or sudden move throughout.

It was truly beautiful to watch. I wanted to clap when he stopped.

I’m glad I didn’t give myself away though because when he shifted to his wolf, I was frozen in fear.

It transformed into the biggest wolf I’d ever seen.

If I’d stumbled upon it in the woods, I would have thought at first I’d stumbled upon a bear.

It stretched its limbs a few times and walked around the clearing.

I thought it was showing itself to a potential mate by the way it preened and pranced.

It didn’t stay in its wolf form for long and soon shifted back to the form of Levi. Now I understood why he was so tall and muscular as a human. He needed all that and more to become that giant wolf.

I watched Levi much closer after that day, and I never saw him do anything without a purpose. There was never any wasted movement. He never scratched his nose, ran his fingers through his hair, nothing that didn’t accomplish more than just the action itself.

On top of all that were those eyes. They frightened me more than everything else put together. They were as black as a moonless night in winter. They looked through you with ease. Into your very soul and deepest thoughts.

It was when I saw him look at my father once that I realized for the first time in my life, I may not need my special knife.

I saw my father's death in that look, and I vowed never to do anything that would give Levi cause to look upon me that way. I almost peed my pants, and he wasn’t even looking at me!