The Broken Beta (Book 2 Of Forest Wolf Series)

Becoming The Beta

Freddie’s POV

~Flashback 

   It’s now been a little less than a year since my eighteenth birthday and all that mess with Audrey. I became closed off to any new relationship and paid little attention to the pack she-wolves. 

   I’ve since graduated high school and got a job as one of the warriors in the pack. It felt good to follow in my father’s footsteps. I also gained a lot of muscle mass in the past year. It made it difficult to keep away from the lingering eyes of every unmated she-wolf in the pack. 

   The day was Duncan’s eighteenth birthday and I don’t think I have ever seen him more excited in the time I have known him. His birthday party would be at the same party spot I had mine. So many people showed up to show their support to the former Alpha’s family. 

   When it was time for Duncan to shift he stepped out into the same clearing I did last year. You could see how calm and happy he was in this moment. So very opposite to the rest of us. Most wolves are excited yet terrified to shift for the first time because of the pain. Not Duncan. He was just happy. 

   When he started to shift. You could hear his bones breaking more than a few at a time right away. His shift happened fast and without complications. Before long,a large black Alpha wolf stood in front of us. Everyone stood there in shock that the Alpha family would have two Alpha sons. It was unusual for an Alpha to produce more than one Alpha son. 

   Calvin was instantly visibly irritated and left the party instead of going on a pack run as tradition calls for. He dragged his mate away from the party with him. Beta Lane followed close behind them, not saying a word.

   Duncan shifted back to his human form because his brother wouldn’t go on the pack run with him. I walked up to him to make sure he was ok. He expressed his confusion and hurt from what his brother had just done. That type of rejection from the Alpha openly put Duncan in an odd position. Either he would need to leave the pack, challenge the Alpha or submit to the Alpha.  

   Soon after that the party was dismissed and everyone went home, except for Duncan and me. We went for a run in the woods in wolf form. Every wolf deserves that. 

  With him being an Alpha, he also deserved to make a pack for himself and I would support him being his best friend. I don’t think he knew what he wanted to do right at that moment. 

   When we were done with our run I got a mind-link from my mother, “Are you with Duncan?”

   “Yes. Why?”

   “Alpha Calvin has killed his mate and then went to the former Alpha’s house and killed their parents. I have a very scared Jamie and Sean here looking for him.” 

   “We will be there soon,” I said cutting the link. 

   I hastily told Duncan what had happened knowing it would hurt him, but he needed to know right away. He couldn’t control his wolf, Max, because they were both so enraged and saddened. He shifted and ran to my house to find Jamie and Sean. He shifted back pulling clothes on before talking to his siblings. Jamie explained what had happened as calmly as she possibly could. Poor girl was shaking, but didn’t sob while talking. She just let the tears run down her face. 

   “I was standing in the kitchen with mom, dad and Sean. Mom was making dinner while our dad was talking. Calvin burst through the back door to the kitchen. He had blood all over his shirt and skin,” she stopped there and took a deep breath before continuing. 

   “I grabbed Sean and held him tight to me. I watched him kill our mom and then dad. I ran here with Sean to find you and to get out of there. He’s crazy,” she finished with tears in her eyes. 

    After listening to his sister, Duncan’s expression hardened. He gave his sister and brother a hug to comfort them as much as possible. He then told them that he would be back soon as he had to handle something important.  

   He looked at me and asked, “Will you have my back?”

   “Always,” I said, putting my hand on my friends shoulder. 

   “We need to find Calvin. I’m going to challenge him for the pack,” Duncan said with determination.

   We left Jamie and Sean with my mother and went on the search for Calvin. When we found him, he was drenched in blood with the aroma of death wrapped around him. He was waiting for Duncan out front of the packhouse with a vile smile plastered on his face. We walked up and I watched as Duncan seemed to mature and shift as a person in front of everyone. 

   Duncan was kind of a playboy and had already been with plenty of she-wolves. He was a low key party boy that hated drama. But that boy seemed to be peeled away right at that moment and dropped to the floor. In front of me stood a man on a mission to protect his family and his pack. 

   He stopped a few feet away from Calvin and pointed at him saying loudly for everyone to hear, “I, Duncan of the Trinity Forest Pack challenge you, Calvin for the title of Alpha.” 

   “I’ll gladly take that challenge and send you to be with our dear parents, brother,” Calvin said out in a guttural voice. 

   Within minutes the battle between the brothers was on. Duncan’s rage was seeping from him in such a dangerous way that most people had a hard time watching. Max seemed to have complete control, even in human form, through the whole thing.Calvin had control of most of it. His wolf, Abe, I’m sure was broken after he killed his mate. What wolf would still be sane after something like that? 

   To start the fight off they both shifted into their black Alpha wolves. I could barely tell who was who in wolf form because they looked so much alike. They were both midnight black wolves with blue eyes. I noticed that Duncans wolf had one white patch of fur on his chest. That was the only way I would be able to tell who was who in this fight.  

   The two brothers collided with fangs bared while growling out loudly. The first bite that was taken was from Max to Abe’s snout. He yelped out while trying to pull away, pawing at Max’s face as he held on tight. 

   When Max let go, Abe’s snout was bleeding profusely. Both of them were baring their fangs and growling even louder than before at each other. Max charged Abe and clawed at his face. Abe backed up slightly then took the opportunity to lash out. Abe bit down on Max’s exposed shoulder while still moving forward pushing Max to the ground below him. Max got his feet up in the air and pushed against Abe’s belly, throwing him off to the side. Abe hit the ground with a hard thud. 

   Max rolled to stand back up at the same time Abe did. They circled one another before both of them lunged at each other. Abe bit down hard on the throat of Max and we listened as he yelped out in pain. He then threw Max to the side like a rag doll. As Max hit a nearby tree he yelped out again. My fear for my best friend rose immensely. 

   Abe charged at Max as he slowly got back up to his feet. You could feel the shift in the air as Max’s wrath started to climb. He lunged at the last second as Abe continued to charge. His fangs sunk deep into Abe’s throat. Blood started to flow from the wound as he yelped out in agony. Max continued to bite Abe’s body as he tried to get away from him.     

   Abe was bloody and tucked his tail in fear and submission, but that didn’t stop Max. He tackled Abe, pinning him to the ground. Abe shifted and left Calvin’s human form out in the open and unsafe. He laid there as Max shifted back into Duncan. Duncan then commenced the assault by punching Calvin repeatedly until he was barely breathing and no longer moving.   

   At the end of the night Calvin was left bloody and very broken. The elders named Duncan the Alpha of Trinity Forest seconds after he won the fight, performing the ritual to place him in charge of the pack. He now had access to the pack link and everyone took orders from him. 

   Calvin was declared a rogue and thrown off the territory without another thought. Lane was then asked where his loyalty lied and he said with the pack, so Duncan allowed him to stay. None of us thought it would be an issue to allow him to stay if he was loyal to the pack.  

   When we walked into the pack house we found Luna Brea on the floor in a pool of her own blood. She didn’t deserve the end that she got. She was a gentle soul that was full of happiness and excitement. He has slashed her throat and left her there to suffer. 

   The area was cleaned and Luna Brea was given a proper burial the same day as the Former Alpha and his Luna. Calvin had forever changed his family with his actions. 

   I became Duncan’s Beta during the process. I took up the job, but continued being the warrior I was meant to be. I no longer went on scout missions or on patrol duty though. Instead I sparred with Duncan and the other warriors to keep my skills sharp. I worked as a type of social worker for the pack and its members. I helped our members solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. This was the position I felt I was born for and Duncan was born to be the Alpha of Trinity Forest.