Chapter 936: An Alpha's challenge (4)
Alpha Edward closed his eyes and took deep breaths while chanting to himself that he can do this. Sure, he didn't fight in ages, and using his aura was not allowed, but he could always use a small burst, only to obstruct George's movements.
George was a Commander for a reason. He was the best warrior of the Red Moon pack, but Alpha Edward was still the Alpha of that same pack, and no one should take him lightly.
Alpha Edward heard people whispering about three people leaving the Red Moon pack, right in front of their Alpha, two of them part of the Redmayne family. Alpha Edward was never this humiliated in his life, and to make everything worse, the wretched reporters were documenting everything!
It didn't matter. He will turn this situation around. As long as spectators don't get too close to feel his Alpha aura, it will be fine. Actually, George was his Commander, the most faithful warrior. Will he dare to fight seriously against his Alpha? With this thought, Alpha Edward's confidence soared.
Penelope watched the scene of people gathering around George and Dawn, who held each other.
Penelope remembered how cold George was toward her during the party, yet Dawn was cocooned in George's arms for everyone to see. No man ever held her like that, passionately, possessively, in front of people. And George was shirtless and undeniably handsome.
And then there was Damon. Tall, muscular, powerful… with Talia by his side.
She saw them all during the party. Sandy and Tyler, Keith and Arya, Alpha Maddox with Tatiana, Alpha Anthony with Kalina, Owen and Zina. Everyone had someone. Even young Alpha James was holding onto an unknown woman.
Penelope released a frustrated breath. Were all Alphas taken?
Talia's words still echoed in her mind. Was she incapable of doing anything without her identity as the princess of the Night Sentinel pack?
From the corner of her eye, Penelope saw a figure moving away from the fighting area. It was Nora.
Penelope moved swiftly to catch up.
"Are you not interested in the fight?"
Nora froze. Why was this female blocking her? The whole evening, Nora kept a low profile. Her father told her she had to attend, so she did, but now that things had reached this point and her father was not in sight, Nora decided to make her exit.
Maybe others didn't know who George was, but Nora saw plenty while in the Dark Howlers pack, and she knew that Alpha Edward was screwed. Nora was on her way to her room to pack her belongings and scram before the whole pack went to hell, but she couldn't say that to Penelope.
"What is there to see when the outcome is obvious?" Nora asked.
"You don't want to watch your Alpha showing dominance?" Penelope asked. "I thought the two of you are… close." She gave her a meaningful look.
Nora smiled nervously. "I saw Alpha Edward showing dominance many times. Since it's novel for you, you should watch it. I am Beta's daughter, and I have important things to do. If you excuse me…" And just like that, Nora dashed toward the packhouse, leaving confused Penelope behind.
George exchanged nods with Alphas that gathered around him, and then he moved to stand in the fighting area.
"Where is Mindy?" Maddox asked while looking around.
Talia responded, "Mindy and Gideon went with the Shaman of the Red Moon pack to talk to the pack members. No matter how tonight ends, people will be unsettled."
Kalina and Tatiana exchanged a few words, and then Kalina asked Talia, "Can you tell us where Mindy is? I'm sure they could use help."
Talia called Arya and told her to take them where Mindy and Gideon were. Like this, everyone had a task. Talia wanted to go as well, but she didn't want to leave Damon's side. Damon agreed.
"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" Tony asked Damon while pointing with his chin toward George.
Damon was sure. Almost.
Damon never relied on others to fight in his stead, so this was a first. Of course, Damon investigated the history of the Frostcrest pack, and George's story matched it.
Alpha Conor and Luna Eliana had a toddler boy who disappeared at the time when their pack was invaded by the Red Moon pack, with Alpha Howard leading it. Damon believed that George was that boy, but he was unsure if George's desire for revenge was still intact. Twenty years was a long time to change one's mind, and George was too young to remember his parents and life in the Frostcrest pack. What if George accepted his position as a Commander of the Red Moon pack? Without a pack of his own, that was the highest George could go, and George expressed his lack of interest in leading a pack, so maybe he decided to settle with what he had and to leave the past in the past…
"I believe in George," Talia said to Damon and for everyone else to hear. "He is a man of his word."
Damon looked at the little woman by his side and smiled. He knew she could feel his doubts creeping in.
Damon pulled Talia closer to him and pressed his lips on her forehead. "Thank you, kitten."
Talia loved the feeling of Damon's lips against her skin as he spoke, and she loved how caring and open he was about expressing his thoughts and emotions.
In the fighting area...
Alpha Edward removed his shirt and threw it on the side. He looked like a man in his late forties, with a notable physique that reminded everyone he was an Alpha. Muscles covered every inch of Alpha Edward's body with a dust of chest hair that trailed down to his navel.
Now that Alpha Edward stood close to George, everyone noticed that George's physique was not lacking. Actually, George was bigger. But this was not about the mass of one's body. It was about confidence and the bloodlust that showed George was not at a disadvantage.
The air tensed as George stood in front of Alpha Edward, and the world around them faded.
This was it. Alpha Edward was not the one who killed his parents, but he continued the vile practices of his father. Alpha Edward benefited from the spoils they took from many packs that fell under the Red Moon pack as it expanded. Werewolves without a place to flee who didn't want to become rogues accepted their fate in the Red Moon pack as lower than Omegas.
They took numerous kids under the pretense of providing a home to orphans, but they conveniently forgot to say that the Red Moon pack was the reason why kids like George and Owen were orphaned in the first place!
As far as George could remember, he watched Omegas being treated as dirt in a pack where the stronger ones rule without mercy and where the concept of helping each other didn't exist. It was a sickening and brutal place. They raised kids with teachings on how that was the way everyone became stronger, but it was just brainwashing to conceal the fact that the ones at the top suppressed weaker ones for their own agenda.