The Pack's Nemesis (Quirin's Story) novel Chapter 28

Kier

I was one of the original members of Quirin’s pack. When I approached him about living on his pack lands, the scars of the bear attack that he’d sustained were still healing. Twelve years later, you can still see the silver lines all over his chest where that bear nearly shredded him. He has never said it, but Alpha Henry tells everyone that Alpha Quirin saved his life that day, putting his own life at risk to save his best friend. That’s the kind of man Alpha Quirin is.

After I’d been here awhile, helping him to rebuild this pack, I’d asked him about it, about how he survived the attack. He’d told me how Luna Yara had saved his life and that, because of that, he could never get the revenge that he wanted on Alpha Warren for killing his father. That same night, I’d opened up to him and told him how my father was an abusive alcoholic and one day I got tired of being his punching bag so I left.

We bonded over our blood, sweat, and tears from rebuilding this pack together from the ground up. Once the pack started to grow and he realized that he couldn’t manage it alone, he asked me to be his Beta. He took me in when I had nowhere to go,

he gave me a home and a position in the pack and for that, he has my undying loyalty. I will never betray my Alpha, and I will never allow anyone else to betray him either.

I’ve managed this pack multiple times when Alpha Quirin is away. He usually doesn’t stay overnight, but there have been times, such as Alpha Henry’s eighteenth birthday when he does. I’ve never before had any problems when he’s been away. But I’ve also never felt the tension in the pack that I’ve been feeling since Luna Kennedy arrived. So, I’m not surprised when Arlo begins mouthing off at dinner.

“How the fuck are we supposed to accept a Luna who can’t even fight? What the hell kind of bullshit is that?” He’s been getting progressively louder as the evening has worn on and I know he’s still pissed off about the extra patrols he’s had to

run.

“Knock it off, Arlo. She’s your Luna. If you don’t like it, you can leave. Alpha already gave you that chance and you chose to stay. Stop mouthing off. You made your choice,” I tell him before addressing the entire pack.

“Alpha is going to make an official announcement this week before her ceremony. Anyone who wants to leave, can leave. No one’s forcing you to stay,” I tell them.

“This is MY fucking home. She’s the intruder here,” he growls.

“This is your home because Alpha Quirin allows you to live here. She’s your Luna. That makes this her home too and believe me when I tell you, Alpha will choose her over your sorry ass,” I tell him.

“Maybe Alpha’s getting soft. He used to hate Alpha Warren and now he’s inviting him to our fucking pack? For what? What are we, are party pack now?”

I make note of the warriors who are nodding in agreement. These are the ones we’ll have to watch out for. I’m not afraid of Arlo. He’s a good fighter, but he relies solely on his strength to win a fight. He’s not an intelligent fighter. I am. So is Alpha Quirin.

“Maybe it’s time for a change in leadership,” he growls.

The chair I was sitting in slams into the wall behind me with the force of my anger as I stand. “You think you can take me Arlo?”

“You’re nothing more than Quirin’s bitch,” he says, looking me up and down as if assessing my weaknesses. I don’t have any. Not where he’s concerned.

I only have one weakness and she better be in the fucking kitchen staying out of the way. There are two reasons I haven’t told anyone that she’s my mate. The first is because she came from a terrible pack. Her abuse rivaled my own, except she was an omega and wasn’t strong enough to defend herself. She was terrified when she realized that I was her mate, but I swore that I would take things as slowly as she wanted. And I have, even though it kills me not to claim her. The second is, I

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Chapter 129

don’t want to put a target on her back. Until she’s ready to open accept me as her mate and her place as the Beta female in this pack, I’m not going to say a word to anyone.

I’m about to respond to Arlo when I hear Alpha Quirin’s snarl behind me. He isn’t supposed to be home, so something must have happened.

“Is there a problem?” he snarls, walking up to stand beside me. I’d been so focused on Arlo that I hadn’t realized that other warriors had come to stand beside me, a clear division in our pack.

“I don’t know. Arlo, is there a problem?” I taunt him. He was full of himself a moment ago when he thought he had the entire night to get reinforcements and try to take me down and take over the pack before Quirin got back. Now that he’s here, Arlo is back pedaling quickly.

“No problem,” he growls.

“No, no problem at all. He just basically said it was time for new leadership,” I say. I’m not about to let him get away with his bullshit and undermining my Alpha.

I expect the roar of anger that comes from Quirin. He’s a true Alpha and I think our pack sometimes forgets just how strong he is. It’s moments like this, when his aura pushes out and he forces the submission of everyone around him that they remember.

“You think you can be Alpha, Arlo? You think you can take me? You and your little posse wouldn’t have gotten past Kier. There’s a reason I chose him as my Beta. You obviously haven’t learned your lesson yet,” Alpha Quirin growls. “Throw him in the cells. He can think about his future for a week while he rots down there.”

“Arlo!” he says, still holding the others in place. “If you don’t want the cells, I’ll be happy to remove your head from your body. You fight these warriors, you cause injury to any of them, and I’ll kill you. You had the choice to leave, you chose to stay and now you’re causing problems. This is your last chance.”

1. me.

As he turns, I fall into step with Alpha Quirin. “Is it wise to leave Arlo alive? That’s twice that he’s gone against you and our

He turns, looking in the direction of the cells. “Probably not, but I have a bigger issue to deal with right now.” This time, he looks up the stairs to the Alpha floor.