Chapter 27 Pack Reduction

I raced home to find Jules in a rage, he threw pots and pans and flipped furniture. He had a full on temper tantrum. I leapt into the air, shifted back to my human form, wrapped my arm around his neck, and dragged Jules outside. I threw him as hard as I could across the yard. He had pretty good air time until he crumpled into a heap at the base of a tree, his head landed with a thunk. “What the hell is wrong with you,” my voice was quiet but full of anger. Jules shook his head and rose to his feet. “What the hell is wrong with me?” He actually laughed. “No Reese! What the hell is wrong with you? You are a pathetic weak excuse for an Alpha. You’ve led the hunters right to us!” his voice echoed. “Hunters? What hunters?” A chorus of voices asked. “Tell them Reese! Tell them how you allowed hunters to come into OUR territory and set up a huge camp and plan OUR deaths! Tell them how you befriended one of them and left it alive!”

“Where is Quinn,” I roared, Alpha power rippled over the yard. Jules ducked his head, my wolves who were still in the house shuddered. “She’s safe. She’s in bed. He knocked her out,” Phoenix’s voice was quiet and scared. My eyes burned bright with rage, “You dare touch her?! You dare hurt her?!” My body radiated power and heat. Jules struggled to keep eye contact. “She gave you everything! She gave you a place to stay when you were out in the cold! She built this house for ! She decorated your apartment how wanted! And this is how you repay her?! And Phoenix! How long has she put up with your bullshit? I’ve seen and heard how you treat her. I’ve stayed silent because it’s not my business, but now you’ve gone too far! You’ve exposed yourself and MY pack to the hunters! You got caught and I had to come rescue you! What were you doing out there anyway? Gathering evidence to undermine me? You’ll have to do better than that!”

Jules trembled with rage. “All I have ever done was look out for the pack! You are out there pretending and making friends with the ones trying to kill us! You are too weak to be an alpha. You are too weak to be a wolf! I challenge you! I challenge your authority!” I glared at him and whispered softly, “Do you really think that’s wise? You do remember what I did to Chad, don’t you? Do you need a reminder? Shall I go fetch his skin from my floor?” Jules bent low to the ground and shook violently, “I will skin you like I skinned Chad!” Jules’ body broke and bent out of shape, fur sprouted over every inch. A massive wolf crouched where he once knelt. His wolf form was easily as tall as I was in human shape. What he didn’t know was that I had embraced my authority as Alpha and it made me unbelievably more powerful, not to mention fantastically bigger physically.

A devious smile curled on my lips. “Well, if that is how it is going to be…” I chuckled. I released my human half and embraced the wolf. Rich platinum blonde fur with a hint of blue unfurled itself along my body. My hands and feet grew into ginormous paws, my teeth stretched and sharpened into wicked fangs. I stood tall and proud. I was well over a foot taller than Jules in wolf form. My wolves inside the house gingerly stepped through the door to gaze at my powerful body, even Jules seemed surprised. He shook his mangy head and growled. I lazily looked over my shoulder and made eye contact with my wolves. This fight wouldn’t last long. I faced Jules, curled my lip back and exposed my fangs. I glared at him, as if it was his last chance to back down and submit.

Jules’ head dipped a little, he continued to growl. He lifted his head with tremendous effort. He gnashed his fangs and charged. I shook my fur out and waited for him to close the gap. I lowered my head just enough, Jules collided into me with a thunderous crash. I tossed my head high, Jules was sent airborne back against the trees with a satisfying thunk. “Damn Reese! Way to go!” My wolves cheered me on. This seemed to infuriate Jules even more. He scrambled to his feet and roared dramatically. He lunged at me again. He seemed to learn. He kept his head down, snapped at my legs. I lifted a heavy paw and smacked his chin into the dirt. Jules lay there stunned for a half second.

I lifted my paw off him and yawned. He rolled away and climbed to his feet. He shook his fur. He was fuming. He raced at me again. I simply waited. At the last second, I sprang into the air, twisted my body so my jaws hovered just behind his head. I snapped my jaws tight on the scruff of his neck, I let my body fly through the air. I dragged him up off his feet. I hit the ground hard and rolled, this flung Jules higher and farther. He landed with a mighty splash right into the pool. Jules coughed and sputtered. He tried in vain to climb the slick pool walls. He would have to switch back to human or he would drown.

I twisted and broke my body and reacquired my human body. I sat down on a deck chair, kicked my feet up and watched him struggle. Jules barked and growled, I knew he would have cursed up a storm if he had a human tongue. Jules kicked and fought the water. I sat back and sighed. “I never wanted this Jules” I called to him gently. “You chose this path.” The vicious kicks and flails stopped. A human hand grasped the edge of the pool. He vaulted the pool and directly in front of me. Fast as lightning, I was on my feet. I ducked under his arm, snatched his wrist, tucked his wrist behind his back. “Please don’t move. You don’t want to break your arm,” I said forcefully. Jules knelt still as stone.

I lifted my voice to my pack, “We are in the middle of a terrible situation. Jules has threatened our pack by alerting the hunters to our existence. He has on countless occasions put his wants before the pack. You’ve seen the dozens of times he has disappeared leaving no word of his departure or return. Not even to mention the several months of abuse we have witnessed him inflict on Phoenix. He is clearly unfit to be part of this pack. So before all of you, I ask Phoenix. What should I do with him, kill him or exile him from the pack forever?” Time stood still. There was no noise whatsoever. I studied Phoenix, tears rolled down her face. I desperately wished Jules hadn’t pushed me to do this. “I say banish the bastard,” Quinn waddled out the back door with an ice pack held to her head.

Phoenix was still and silent. She dashed to Quinn and apologized. Quinn put her free arm around Phoenix and held her tight, “You did nothing wrong, honey, this is not your fault.” “Dirty slut! Filthy carpet muncher!” Jules screamed in rage. I yanked his wrist up, his shoulder dislocated. Phoenix gained her courage. She marched right up to him, balled her fist and punched Jules in the face. There was a loud painful crunch. Jules’ jaw dangled low on one side. “Damn girl you broke his jaw! Well done!” Quinn cheered. “Why Julius why?” Phoenix demanded through her tears. We all were shocked at her use of his full name. “Quinn and Reese have taken care of us when nobody would or could!”

“They took us in, fed us, gave us a family! And you spit in their faces? I could tolerate your nasty behavior to me because I loved you so deeply, but not towards them. Not when they’ve bent over backwards to help us. I can’t believe you called them such foul names. Just because they love women doesn’t mean you can disrespect them! Get out of here Julius! I never want to see you again! Stay away from me!” I picked up Jules by his neck and roughly threw him towards the woods. Jules crashed to the ground. He got to his knees awkwardly and shifted into his wolf. We watched him pathetically crawl on three legs into the forest. We stood there in silence for possibly five minutes before the early morning quiet was shattered by a BOOM! We heard joyous shouts and praises.

Someone approached. I slipped into my clothes quickly. Whoever was approached did nothing to mask their advance. Multiple sets of heavy boots pounded the earth. Three dark figures emerged from the forest. Large men who carried very big guns stepped into the porch light. “Is everyone okay? We heard growls and screams.” I stepped forward and spoke loudly. “Yes everyone is fine. Just a little drama. One of our friends went off to clear his head.” The man spoke again in a southern drawl, “Well then, it’s a damn good thing we shot this here giant wolf. Don’t want him munching on anybody.” Two of the hunters dragged Jules’ head into view. “What the hell is that?” I feigned surprise and shock. The man chuckled again, “It’s the monster that’s been chewing on people’s pets. It even munched on a person back east. Nasty rumors going around that there’s more than one. We finally caught this one. We will catch the rest soon. Y’all stay indoors after dark, ya hear? Stay safe!”

The three hunters dragged their prize off into the night. “Everyone inside now,” I hissed. Phoenix burst into fresh tears, Kai wrapped her arm around Phoenix and walked her inside. I stepped beside Quinn, slipped my arm around her and supported her through the back door. I closed the door, locked it, and pulled the curtain across the window. Everyone gazed at me expectantly. “Let’s get some rest. We will be able to think more clearly in the daylight.” We dispersed quietly. Kai volunteered to stay with Phoenix. She led Phoenix to her room. I studied Quinn, “Are you okay? They told me he knocked you out cold.” She muttered, “Yeah I’m fine. Just tired.” We carefully made our way to our room and snuggled down in bed. We fell asleep instantly.

The sun warmed my face and neck. Everything was quiet and peaceful, last night seemed like a fuzzy dream. I hoped it was another nightmare. When I got up and saw Phoenix sitting at the kitchen island, I knew it had actually happened. She was in shock, Kai fixed a pot of coffee. I padded next to Phoenix and put my arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. She let her head fall on my shoulder. “Reese,” she whimpered. “How do you do it?” I held her and took a breath, “It’s not easy. I focus on you. You, Kai, Ellis, all of you. I try to do what’s best for all of you. Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, time passes and the pain fades some. You’ll be able to breathe again. It won’t feel as earth shattering. It just takes time, we are here for you every step of the way.”