other options. If you'll have
me, I'll swear fealty to you. Your father was an honorable man and
you seem to be cut from the same cloth."
Alec took a deep
breath and nodded. "I welcome you into my service, Rebekka. You
may proceed."
"I swear my
claws and fangs to your service, both those of this body and those
sworn to me. In return for your protection I will obey your command
and never betray your trust as long as you're true to your oath."
Alec stood and
walked forward so that he could place a hand on Rebekka's shoulder.
"I accept your oath and place myself as a shield between your
pack and those who would harm it. I promise justice tempered with
mercy and for as long as you are true to your oath I promise to treat
you as one of my pack with all of the rights and privileges of
family."
Alec pulled
Rebekka to her feet and pointed at a spot behind the chair where he'd
been sitting. "I understand if you have other business to attend
to, but if you're planning on staying for the rest of the reception
you're welcome to stand with Ash at my back."
Even I could see
that Alec was making a powerful statement with that invitation. Those
who had refused to swear fealty to him were exiled to the edges of
the room while those who bound themselves to him would stand close
enough to advise him.
Shawn shook
himself and took a deep breath, almost like he hadn't breathed for
several seconds while the oath had been said.
"Complete
conviction on both sides. Alec meant every word, as did Rebekka. This
was the break that Alec was looking for."
I wrote Shawn's
words down verbatim on the back of the paper and then looked up in
time to catch the very end of what Alec was telling Rebekka.
"...appreciate
the gesture, but Vivian is welcome here."
Rebekka nodded as
she took her place just behind Alec, and then the next few
delegations were introduced. The alphas who followed Rebekka weren't
any more willing to be pinned down than the first few had been, but
there was a subtle change to the mood of those who were watching and
that made each new arrival more cautious than the one before. The
girls they'd brought to try and catch Alec's eye were less and less
forward as time went on.
If we'd struck pay
dirt with Rebekka, we doubled down with the Las Cruces pack. Their
leader swore fealty to Alec with even less hesitation than Rebekka
had. Shawn confirmed that the oath had been binding on both sides as
the Las Cruces alpha took up a position behind Alec.
The last few
arrivals all seemed to be from the dispossessed, which surprised me,
but which Shawn didn't seem to think was out of the ordinary. What
did surprise me was that the first two, scared-looking wolves who
obviously weren't the least bit dominant, lied when they swore fealty
to Alec.
I watched as they
both took position behind Alec and felt my stomach clench at the
thought of them being within striking distance of him.
"What is he
going to do with them once he knows that they can't be trusted?"
Shawn shrugged.
"I'm not sure. His best bet would be to keep them busy with some
task that's important but which they can't use to cause problems.
Maybe hunting down werewolves. He might try using them to hold the
border or to go after groups of vampires, but there's more risk there
because they might tip off their prey and get other wolves killed."
Shawn's lack of
concern settled me down a little, but I was starting to realize just
how deep the waters Alec was swimming in really were. Two more
dispossessed came through one at a time to swear fealty and Shawn
confirmed that they both meant it, although one of them was going to
struggle to deliver on his promise.
"He's got too
much of a temper, that or just has too hard of a time controlling his
beast. Either way he's going to be trouble at some point. Alec's best
bet would be to get his beast to swear fealty too in a binding ritual
of power."
"Can Alec do
that?
"Alec can do
it if anyone can. If this guy's original alpha could have gotten
me, I'll swear fealty to you. Your father was an honorable man and
you seem to be cut from the same cloth."
Alec took a deep
breath and nodded. "I welcome you into my service, Rebekka. You
may proceed."
"I swear my
claws and fangs to your service, both those of this body and those
sworn to me. In return for your protection I will obey your command
and never betray your trust as long as you're true to your oath."
Alec stood and
walked forward so that he could place a hand on Rebekka's shoulder.
"I accept your oath and place myself as a shield between your
pack and those who would harm it. I promise justice tempered with
mercy and for as long as you are true to your oath I promise to treat
you as one of my pack with all of the rights and privileges of
family."
Alec pulled
Rebekka to her feet and pointed at a spot behind the chair where he'd
been sitting. "I understand if you have other business to attend
to, but if you're planning on staying for the rest of the reception
you're welcome to stand with Ash at my back."
Even I could see
that Alec was making a powerful statement with that invitation. Those
who had refused to swear fealty to him were exiled to the edges of
the room while those who bound themselves to him would stand close
enough to advise him.
Shawn shook
himself and took a deep breath, almost like he hadn't breathed for
several seconds while the oath had been said.
"Complete
conviction on both sides. Alec meant every word, as did Rebekka. This
was the break that Alec was looking for."
I wrote Shawn's
words down verbatim on the back of the paper and then looked up in
time to catch the very end of what Alec was telling Rebekka.
"...appreciate
the gesture, but Vivian is welcome here."
Rebekka nodded as
she took her place just behind Alec, and then the next few
delegations were introduced. The alphas who followed Rebekka weren't
any more willing to be pinned down than the first few had been, but
there was a subtle change to the mood of those who were watching and
that made each new arrival more cautious than the one before. The
girls they'd brought to try and catch Alec's eye were less and less
forward as time went on.
If we'd struck pay
dirt with Rebekka, we doubled down with the Las Cruces pack. Their
leader swore fealty to Alec with even less hesitation than Rebekka
had. Shawn confirmed that the oath had been binding on both sides as
the Las Cruces alpha took up a position behind Alec.
The last few
arrivals all seemed to be from the dispossessed, which surprised me,
but which Shawn didn't seem to think was out of the ordinary. What
did surprise me was that the first two, scared-looking wolves who
obviously weren't the least bit dominant, lied when they swore fealty
to Alec.
I watched as they
both took position behind Alec and felt my stomach clench at the
thought of them being within striking distance of him.
"What is he
going to do with them once he knows that they can't be trusted?"
Shawn shrugged.
"I'm not sure. His best bet would be to keep them busy with some
task that's important but which they can't use to cause problems.
Maybe hunting down werewolves. He might try using them to hold the
border or to go after groups of vampires, but there's more risk there
because they might tip off their prey and get other wolves killed."
Shawn's lack of
concern settled me down a little, but I was starting to realize just
how deep the waters Alec was swimming in really were. Two more
dispossessed came through one at a time to swear fealty and Shawn
confirmed that they both meant it, although one of them was going to
struggle to deliver on his promise.
"He's got too
much of a temper, that or just has too hard of a time controlling his
beast. Either way he's going to be trouble at some point. Alec's best
bet would be to get his beast to swear fealty too in a binding ritual
of power."
"Can Alec do
that?
"Alec can do
it if anyone can. If this guy's original alpha could have gotten
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