The Gamma's Birthright - Book 2
Change is coming

Toni's burner phone goes off, it's a message from Robert.

'wru, all pack roll call, 1 left pack, Alpha meltdown!'

It was quarter to four, it hadn't taken him long to realise, she had hoped he would sleep through it, she thinks, all the preparation, all the time spent and she was down to the last dance.

Placing her hands over her stomach she takes a calming breath

"Okay little ones, I need you to hang on in there, things are going to get hairy for a while.

This is for your future, so don't go bailing on me or this will have been for nothing.

But the uniform was getting a little tight anyway, saves me getting the next size up hey!"

She sends out a text

'48h, 1 night ok?'

It's at moments like this that she is pleased Leif is a creature of the night, it takes less than five minutes to get a response.

'my pleasure, '

She then texts Alpha Joseph,

'Alpha awake, pack up, trackers out soon'

She gets another immediate reply

'K, all good, moving fast, we are not stopping, using driver rotation'

Toni deleted all the texts from her phone, she has no contact details saved, having memorised the numbers she needed, if she fails, if she is caught, there will be no record of who she was involved with, well not that he will find easily.

Taking out her silver daggers, she ties on the small scabbards and slots them in place, it's a cowardly way to kill the Alpha, daggers coated in wolfsbane, but she has to make sure he's dead.

She also knows, that if she goes into an honourable fight with him, he will target her stomach, without a question, but she's delayed enough, she needs to get closer to the main pack square and find out what's happening.

Silently she approaches the edges of the clearing.

"Warriors in pairs, house to house, wake everyone up and get them here.

All Deltas to the Gamma's house, no excuses, everyone needs to be here in under five minutes, get moving.

I will personally punish anyone not back here in time."

"Do we set off the alarm?" Delta George asks

His face registers the mistake immediately and his head drops.

Alpha Vincent backhands the Delta sending him to the floor.

"Good plan idiot,

Let's give whoever ran a fucking heads up that we know they are missing."

The alpha's tone is furious, seething as he paces in front of the huddled pack members, most of whom are standing in their nightwear.

There's a bomb burst of movement, warriors and Deltas alike moving off at pace, groups pouring towards the private houses and a few into the packhouse.

The rest of the pack moves into the clearing; there should be a lot of chatter amongst them all, but it's subdued as the deltas sort them by surname and they get marked off.

She didn't understand why he was bothering; her lack of presence on the dais with the rest of the leaders was blindingly obvious, she had hoped, her absence would be enough to distract him from realising Louise was missing.

Chief Delta Rupert collates the lists, walking over to the Alpha

"Two missing Alpha, Gamma Antonia and Louise Knight.

I've sent two trackers to their house to pick up any scents and two warriors to search the house for clues.

Do you want me to start Quadrant searches?"

"Not yet" he growls in reply

"Louise's friends step up"

Toni watches as three girls step forward hesitantly, heads bowed, their parents nervously stepping closer to the edge of the crowd, near their daughters.

Alpha Vincent walks in front of them pacing but not talking, the tension in the pack is increasing.

Toni holds onto the daggers carefully, ready to throw them to protect the girls if needed.

He stops in front of Ellie, grabbing her face and forcing her head up.

"Look at me, in the eyes"

Even from a distance, Toni can see Ellie physically trembling

"Tell me about when you last saw Louise, lie to me and I kill your parents, in front of you, do you understand?"

"Yes Alpha"

Her voice is barely heard, fear fills the square

"We arranged for her to come over tomorrow, well tonight for a girl's sleepover, she was bringing the popcorn and crisps, Millicent the Soft drinks and Claire the chocolate.

I was going to make cakes.

We were going to binge-watch one of the new series together, watching through the night as there was no training tomorrow"

"Did she tell you she was going to run?"

"No Alpha, I thought she was happy here"

He lets her head go with a forceful shove and she stumbles backwards, landing on her butt.

The Alpha repeats the questions to each of the girls, getting the same answers, before dragging each of the mothers up, checking with them about their daughter's plans, while warriors stand behind each of the fathers, the threat clear.

Satisfied, finally, with the answers,

"Chief Delta, start the quadrant searches, and send trackers with each group, everyone else can stay here until it's finished.

There will be punishments this morning. no point sending you away to have you brought back.

You will all freeze thanks to the runaways, until the warriors have finished their searches."

Anyone tries to leave, I will whip you and all your family."

He stops looking around the pack, all of whose heads are bowed down, not a single eye dares look at the Alpha.

Toni climbs quietly into a tree before they start the searches, using her cloak for camouflage.

"Beta, go ransack her house, find me something!"

It surprises Toni, that the Alpha has sent every warrior and ranked wolf away, the only ranked wolves there are Robert and Michael, still ranked as Trainees, but no one makes a move on the Alpha.

Hardly surprisingly, they stand before him a broken pack, no spirit left intact, not enough free thought in the whole pack to turn on the symbol, instigator and oppressor who stands before them without his usual warrior protection.

Toni bides her time as the countdown to her confrontation with the Alpha draws closer, she just needs those on the quadrant searches to spread out far enough to give her a head start at getting away.

The apathy of the pack towards attacking the Alpha, is, she hopes going to work in her favour, that they won't turn out to be a mob hell-bent on revenge when she does what she was trained to do, assassinate Alpha Vincent.

She hopes she's given Robert enough of a heads up that he and Michael won't get involved, but if they do, she will only aim to delay them, not kill them, for five years they were her closest things to friends she had.

As she looked on, something was changing inside her, she'd planned to kill him from the treeline, making her exit simple and leaving no evidence that could be used against her, but it wasn't justice, he'd die without having to face his pack.

She couldn't challenge him outright, she didn't want the pack leadership, and it would put her pups at risk, something she wouldn't, couldn't, do.

Stealing away to her office, she opens one of the old law books and finds the relevant paragraph, she leaves the book open on her desk, with a ruler emphasising the position.

Sneaking back out of the pack house she makes her way back into the trees, sending a final prayer for the Goddess to watch over her, she steps out of the shadows and moves towards the square, it's the pack that spots her first, a murmur sparks up, and the Alpha about to silence them, sees her on the edge of the clearing.

"Gamma, where is Louise"

She feels the command wash over her, smiling over the fact it has no impact on her.

"As her Blood Guardian, I deemed her safer outside of this pack, and as far away from you as I can get her.

You are twice her age and then some, she will not be your new mate.

After all, you gave me the power to do so, so effectively you decided to release her, she was very grateful!"

Her baiting tone annoys the Alpha

"I will chain you up in the cells like the insolent dog you are until your pups are old enough to be removed from your body.

Your son will be trained to take over your position, and your daughter will replace Louise.

Seems only fair that you replace what you took away from me.

I will keep you chained up to experience a lifetime of pain, that first I, and then later your children will dish out to you."

She knows he's delaying her, waiting for his warriors and the Beta to get back, she raises her voice to ensure it carries over the pack

"Alpha Vincent, I deem you unfit to lead this pack.

I'm giving you the chance to stand down now peacefully, pass the pack on and walk away.

Your time here is over, fail to do so and I will invoke pack law."

Her voice is heard by every wolf there, heads raising to watch this interaction.

"Kneel Gamma, your fantasy of deposing me is over!"

She feels the weight of his command turned fully on her and she laughs as he starts striding over to her, he's no longer in control of his temper or her.

"Kneel yourself"

Her voice lowers, becoming harsher, deeper and filled with command, he tries to fight it, but eventually, his body forces him first to one knee, then to the other.

"What the fuck..."

The shock in his voice is music to her ears.

"Did I forget to mention, I'm stronger now.....a lot happened in my time away."

The more she thinks about this, the more she cannot kill him with the daggers, taking the coward's way out isn't for her. She strides closer, keeping him on his knees.

"Parents, hide your pups eyes, turn them away"

She orders and watches as they comply hiding their children from view.

"Alpha Vincent, you are charged with forcing me to kill by your command, innocent wolves.

Commanding me to punish the pack unfairly.

You have brought the pack name into disrepute, which under your command, is a treasonable offence, how do you plead" she asks

"You aren't strong enough to kill me, you can't even kill without being commanded." he sneers

"You forgot about Delta Cole so easily?"

Toni looks around the pack

"Is there anyone here that wishes to speak to his innocence, that hasn't had a family member punished at his direct request?

If a single voice will speak in his defence I will walk away and leave you in peace."

She waits for three more long minutes, watching the Alpha's face as not a single wolf speaks in his defence, not even his son, the shock and outrage are sweet to see on his face"

"Robert, speak for me now!" he commands

His son stares at him, before turning his back on him, each wolf, following suit until the Alpha is encircled by his pack, all showing their backs to him.

“You have been found guilty by the pack, and as allowed under pack law, I will uphold the sentence of death.”

She takes six fast strides and standing behind him, she breaks his neck in one move.

It was not how she had envisioned his death, it was almost too clean, too clinical, not satisfactory enough and that thought sent chills through her, but this way wouldn't further traumatise the pack, especially not the pups.

She lets go of his head and his body falls into a heap on the ground, anyone of the warriors not on the way back before, will now be rushing back, the loss of their Alpha's link will leave an empty void in their mind.

Howls ring out in the forest around her.

She turns to look at Robert and Michael, who are stunned, along with the rest of the pack, she gives Robert an expectant look but he hasn't moved.

"Alpha Robert"

She addresses him pulling him out of his stupor

"Gamma Antonia"

He swallows, looking at her expectant face, realising what she is waiting for.

"You have killed for your Alpha as you admitted here today, this pack needs to move on away from the dark times of my father and you are part of that regime.

I henceforth remove you from this pack, stripping the title of Gamma from you and banishing you from the pack lands from this day forward.

The warriors have been informed to detain you with extreme force if needed.

I would recommend you come quietly to the cells as this banishment takes immediate effect.

I do not choose to give you the standard hour to leave our land."

His voice says all the right things, with a command but lacks any real conviction in his tone.

"Don't think I will Alpha."

She's smiling as she shifts and runs, unopposed into the night.

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