Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“I get that,” Ulric whispered, “but you know my mom is going to try and sus out the details, not to mention Niamh. I need to know the deets so that I can buffer and keep them from pestering him.”
“Stop saying things like deets,” Jasper said. “You sound ridiculous.”
“Comb your hair once in a while,” Ulric retorted. “You look ridiculous.”
“Like you can talk,” he snapped back.
“Okay, okay, fine. Shh!” Aurora shook their arms. “He’s technically a generational alpha. His father was fourth generation of a huge and powerful pack. A very prosperous pack. His uncle, also a powerful lion, started his own pack, but it didn’t work out. So, his uncle made a play for his father’s pack. He challenged, but not to the death. Betas and enforcers were standing by to break them up. But the thing was, I guess, that they were very similar in power and fighting prowess. They were evenly matched. There wasn’t a clear winner and so the betas let the fight continue, trying to decide when to step in. When they finally acted, it was too late.”
“Who died?” Ulric asked.
“Both. First the uncle, and then the father bled out before they could save him.”
“Oh, man, tough break,” Jasper murmured. “It’s strange, all this challenging that shifters do. What does one-on-one fighting have to do with being a good leader?”
Aurora ticked up a shoulder, her version of a shrug. A guy had to pay attention when she spoke, or he missed half the things she was trying to say.
“Yazanth—sorry, John, was only twelve at the time. He was big for his age, and already had a decent amount of power, but he was twelve. He was vulnerable.”
“What about his mom?” Ulric asked.
“Died giving birth to triplets. His sisters were only four when all of this was going down. His grandma and grandpa stepped in to train him and help run the pack. That’s probably the only thing that kept it together. But they had stepped down for a reason. They were older and couldn’t withstand challenges.”
“What about the enforcers?” Jasper asked.
“They were among the first to start challenging.” Aurora bowed a little, sadness on John’s behalf. “These were people John had known all his life. They’d probably helped raise him, were always around his father, and they turned on him. Tried to take him off the pedestal of alpha and claim it for themselves. They wanted money and power, and John had the keys to the castle.” She paused. “Imagine if Uncle Auzzie tried to kill me to take my father’s pack. It must’ve crushed him to field those challenges, because they were to the death.” She shook her head. “He was only twelve, and I heard he nearly died with a great many challenges in those days, but miracle of miracles, he was able to survive.”
“Wow.” Jasper nodded with respect.
“When he got older, he got better, obviously,” Aurora went on. “Meaner. Tougher. He still had the training from his grandparents, and not as many challenges, so he was flourishing as an alpha. And then his beta, who I hear was his longtime friend, tried to take him in the shadows. That means…” She tilted her head. “It wasn’t a sanctioned challenge or even a public attack. It was when John’s back was turned, and he was indisposed somehow.”
“A sucker punch, but to kill.” Jasper nodded. “Got it.”
“Yeah. John had to kill his longtime friend and others, or so I hear. At that time, we were having our own family…issues, so I stopped hearing about it for a bit. But when he emerged from the fires, as it were, he was the undisputed power player in the alpha community. You did not mess with Yazanth. He had incredible sway, too. When he spoke, people listened. They dubbed him Golden Fang.”
“So, what happened?” Ulric asked as they neared the plane.
“When his sisters came of age and had been solidly trained up and could hold their own, he shocked everyone by handing the pack over. To all three of them! Two co-leaders is rare and doesn’t often work, but three is unheard of. That was about five years ago. Then he disappeared. I guess he took off in the middle of the night.”
“Why?” Jasper asked.
She shook her head. “That’s the mystery. Some say the sisters killed him. Others say—he said—he was exiled, but there’s no real basis for that rumor. Why would they exile him? He handed them the pack. My dad thinks he needed to cut ties so people would follow the sisters’ lead.”
“Didn’t Alpha Steele have something like that happen?” Ulric asked.
“Kinda. His situation was messier and more complicated.”
“Well.” Jasper slowed with the group in front of them. “I hope he’s not a drinking man, or Niamh is going to sit next to him at the bar and start poking, you can guarantee it.”