The Secrets of the Panther

BLAKE

I walk away from Alice and head toward the office.

It has been three days, and there has been no sign of Izzy waking up. I have been with her every chance I get, but I haven’t let Allie, as it upset her seeing her mum like that with all the surrounding wires.

I found out that Kat woke up yesterday but was in an awful place. Paul mentioned that Kat seeing Archer and Allie may help her come around as she hasn’t said a word to Alice.

Paul has been helping me with the kids as Alice has been with her mum. I could tell he was missing his mate, but he never complained because Izzy was not with me. I headed straight into the office, not looking at anyone.

Most pack members have been grieving for family members they lost.

My number one situation was to get all the burials done soon, but Dale and Kacey wanted to wait until Izzy was awake to bury Graham. As for Todd, I haven’t even approached the subject with Alice. I know Kat lost her mate, but Alice lost her father, too.

I opened the door to the office and walked in, but I stopped in my tracks. In front of me were people. They were all gathered around the room.

I stared at them and wasn’t in the mood to be around people.

Everyone talking stopped as they watched me walk in and head to a chair near my father.

I sigh. “What do we need to sort out?” I ask in a frustrated tone as I sit down and glance around the room.

Alpha Dawson, Drake, Anya, and Anita were in the room on one side. The other was Tilly and two men who must have been elders.

Someone clears their throat. “I think we should start with the elders and council members you have here,” says a man in an annoyed voice. I didn’t know who he was, but he was already getting on my nerves, and I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t like him.

I looked at him. He was old but looked like he wanted to leave more than anything.

My father was about to speak, but I took the lead. “I think the elders can go, but I want to know something. What is the plan for the future with this pack?” I asked him.

The man stares at me but sighs. “I think we should monitor and come back with an answer,” he says.

I can’t help but growl.

The man looks back at me, startled. “Young alpha, I think you need…” he says, but I cut him off. “Before you finish that sentence, I am calm, considering my mate is not awake yet,” I tell him. “I want to oppose something to the council and the elders. I know I’m not alpha yet, but I want to tell you what I think should happen, especially when I take over.” The man closes his mouth, and I carry on. The man glares at me, but I notice Tilly smirking beside him.

I glanced over at my father, who nodded to me, but I noticed the smirk on his face.

I told my father what I wanted to happen with the elders, and he told me he would stand with me as an elder who has mistreated us all in the past. It’s a cause for a fresh change.

“What do you oppose?” asks Tilly, pulling me back from my thoughts.

I stare back at her and smile.

“Well, I oppose the elders. Leave this pack and the red moon pack alone,” I tell them.

They all stare blankly at me, looking at me with weird expressions, except for Tilly. You would have thought I asked them to dance or something.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” says the man with a frown.

I stared at him momentarily, and I could feel Axel come close. He could sense my emotions, and he wanted to make sure that I was okay.

“Why not?” I ask him. “You all did a marvelous job the first time when Elder Johnson was here.”

The man stares at me, but I let a low growl escape.

The man was about to talk again, but I shot up off my chair and was right in front of him. His eyes went wide as I stood there in front of him.

Axel comes forward and joins me, and we become one.

The man’s eyes grew wider like his eyes would jump out of their sockets.

“YOU WILL NEVER COME HERE,” we say together. “WE DON’T NEED YOU.”

Axel moves back slightly as he is out of their sight, but he stays close by; he growls in my head as we stare down the man who looks like he is about to piss his pants.

“How?” he says, stuttering slightly. “How did you do that?”

I smirk. “If you think that’s impressive, see my mate,” I tell him.

The man was about to say something, but the man on the other side of him said. “We know what your mate can do; we’ve all seen it,” he says.

I nod at him but keep my eyes on the man who was pissing me off.

“Now, you both will listen, and I mean listen good,” I say as I back away from them. I took my seat, and I could feel someone behind me.

It was my father, as his hand rested on my shoulder.

“I’m opposing that the elders will stay away from here and only come when we contact them,” I say. My father’s hand moves away from my shoulder, but he stays behind me.

“Red Moon is under our protection, and we will discuss what will happen with them after you leave,” I say as I glance at Drake, who has a smirk plastered on his face. He looks at me and nods.

I turn my attention back to them. “As for this pack, I will state this, and it will be law when I become alpha,” I tell them. “This pack will not just be a werewolf pack; we will accept any shifter, even vampire, to the pack, whether they are mates with someone within the pack. My mate is a panther; few are left because of your elder. So, this pack is a safe place for them. No one will judge them or even attack them without my knowledge.”

The men stare at me, and Tilly nods.

“I want to make this clear. I will tolerate nothing like what happened to my pack again if an elder seems fit to question me. I will torture or kill them depending on the whole situation they bring here. Do you understand?” I say to them with a slight growl slipping through my lips.

The men look at one another but glance back at me.

“We will take this under advisement, but we will deal with Alpha Derek till you become Alpha,” says the man with a knowing look.

Axel was about to come out, but a growl from behind me made everyone look up in surprise.

“You all will deal with my son, not me,” says my father. “I have done plenty of hurt in this pack. My son has a new plan and ideas to keep everyone safe. If you don’t like it, you can try to take it up with us later after we bury every wolf here that died in the war. But I will state this, and I think you need to keep this in mind when his mate wakes up, and we all know she will soon. Would you want to mess with her?”

Both men look pale, but I can’t help but smirk.

Since the war, every pack member has been devoted to Izzy and me. They have all accepted Izzy and Allie as part of the pack; not one pack member has come forward to say they have a problem with them. I think everyone here is grateful for what Izzy did.

“Well,” says my father.

I watch the men shift uncomfortably, but Tilly barges through the middle of them. “I have enough of men who think they can control everything,” she says; she looks at me with a smile. “I will let you know what will happen, and I will stand with Alpha Blake and Luna Izzy on this decision,” she says. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the FɪndNøvel.ɴᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

She bows to me, which takes me by surprise.

Tilly turns around and faces both men. “Now, both of you, there will be a change in leadership amongst us as Elder. As there are too many old ways and too many men who think in the old ways for my liking,” she says. “We will leave and head back to our pack.”

The men stare back at Tilly and nod, turning around and heading towards the door.

Once they leave, Tilly turns around and smiles at me. “Alpha Blake,” she says.

I nod to her.

“I will email notifying you all about the elder and council pack changes,” she says with a smile.

With that, she turns to leave and heads out of the office.

Hopefully, now, we can rebuild our pack without the influence of any Elder in sight.