My Laughable Fate

15. Making the right choice

ALPHA PAUL POV

Surprises are things you enjoy as a child. As an adult, surprises get associated with dark secrets and hidden pasts. The prime example is my surprise, more like shock and awe, to find that Sargeant Master Leia wasn’t trying to be spiteful when she said our protocols were a joke and not a good one.

The fact that she wasn't lying doesn't take away the enjoyment she got from cutting me and my pack down. Prickly hellcat. “She took one look at this crap and knew it was bullshit. It took you two hours of reading the same stupid protocol over and over to realize it was dribble.” Idris scoffed. He was not being helpful, and still bitching about my decision to reject Leia.

We weren’t going to agree, so there was no point telling him to let it go. “I was trying to make sense of it… maybe save some of it.” It was hopeless, but I had to try, at least at first. “Since we'd agreed to scrap this and start over. I suggest we ask Sargeant Master Leia for an outline or structure we need to follow to start from scratch.” Ryce in defeat, throwing the papers in his hands into the bin next to him.

My Gamma simply nodded but did not look pleased by the idea of going to Leia for help. We could figure it out on our own, but it would take much longer than if she would steer us in the right direction. “Why don’t you have her do it for you? If she was your Luna, I bet she would. She’d straighten your ass up real good.” Idris continued to mock me.

I sat back in my chair and swallowed the pride that was thick and rising in my throat. Maybe it wasn’t pride. Maybe it was the aftertaste of the “happily ever after” tales on those pages left in my mouth. Waiting on other packs for back up and hiding are decent last-ditch efforts. There aren’t even any detailed instructions on how to do that! No countermeasure for any type of attack.

There is a very detailed list of names, with my father on top, showing the pack's hierarchy. Why we need this information on the first page of our Security Protocols is beyond me. I thought it more than sufficient to have it on the Packs policy and procedures. It was actually the only thing that was accurate and looked properly put together.

“We’re lucky we never got attacked.” Ulysis looked appalled, but he had taken over two years before I did. Ryce had only become Beta months before me. We all should have dug deeper since we knew this pack would be ours one day, but shouldn’t he have seen how bad things were when he took over his position?

“We’re surrounded by four smaller packs, and apparently we’ve been using them as an early alert system and shield of sorts.” I muttered what I had read not that long ago. With the new security system, they no longer serve as an alert, but they would hold off trouble long enough for us to run and hide. Not that we ever had to.

“Lucky us.” My Gamma chuckled. There was a hint of smugness in his tone that didn’t sit well with me. “Is that why you didn’t bring this to my attention the first time you saw it years ago? You thought it was okay for us to wait for our neighboring packs to be attacked, to use them as flesh and bone shields while we get away instead of helping them?” I asked in disgust.

I was piecing together the thought process one would have to follow to come up with such a…. “f****d up. The word you’re looking for is f****d up.” Idris said helpfully. It was a f****d up plan and I knew my father had done some questionable and archaic things, so I half expected this from him. But my Gamma? “I’m just the Gamma… I couldn’t question Alpha Daniel.” Ulysis defended with an indignant look.

I couldn't read if he was truly just following orders or if he approved of such a shady and ludicrous plan. s**t… it hit me that Alpha Theo would always attribute his pack's success to the bond he formed with his Beta and Gamma. He was the Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack in Virginia, where I did my Alpha training.

We were there to study werewolf territories, laws and history. All the information needed to make proper decisions as a leader. There were other lessons... ones I might not have taken as seriously. Like him stressing the importance of trust and respect between the members of the pack that are supposed to lead and protect them. I always thought that bond came naturally, but now I see that’s not the case.

“Just like the mate bond, the bond between an Alpha, Beta and Gamma must be accepted and nurtured. If you ignore or take it for granted, you are throwing away a gift from the goddess. What you humans forget is that she has ways of teaching ungrateful wolves a lesson. ” Idris warned eerily. If he was right, this had to be my lesson.

My focus had always been on training, becoming stronger and more powerful. Creating alliances and friendships with other influential Alphas. My father had reminded me countless times of the importance of having friends in the right places. I had no idea he meant to be placed strategically in front of him to act as a shield.

I expected my Gamma, who knew his loyalties would ultimately lie with me, to come to me instead of turning a blind eye to it. Regardless of how little we "bonded". While Ryce and I got along well, we didn’t socialize as much as we should have when we were kids. Still, I think he would have come to me if he knew. I was beginning to question my own sanity at this point.

I couldn’t lump my Betta along with my Gamma. Ultimately, we both came along around the same time and should have shown more interest before. I’m not sure what we could have done, but we would have been prepared for this s**t show. We grew up in this pack and even if we weren’t in charge at the time we could have spoken up.

Ulysis came from another pack when he was a teen, since our previous Gamma didn’t have an heir. Since I hadn’t taken the time out to bond with him, why would he be invested in this pack? We were all to blame in one way or another. “Let’s skip the blame game.” I stated, breaking the awkward silence. There was so much to do and fighting wasn’t going to help. Even if it would make me feel better.

“I’ll talk to Sargeant Master Leia for some guidance.” f**k… she’s going to eat me alive. “Imagine that.” My wolf said wistfully. “Ryce, start on the pack policy and procure. Keep the hierarchy breakdown and the core werewolf laws. Scrap everything after that and start making a list of the alliances and agreements we have in place along with the provisions that might require a policy or procedure to be added to our own.” That was going to be the easy part.

Ryce looked a little taken back by my orders. “Problem?” I asked, and he quickly shook his head and smiled. “Not at all, Alpha.” It was odd to see such a large wolf be so jovial. Note to self, Beta is always happy, find out why and how. “Maybe it’s the fact that he has his queen waiting for him at home.” Idris muttered.

It all went back to her. It always went back to Leia where Idris was concerned. “You are going to be working closely with Sargeant Master Leia and me on the Security Protocols.” I pointed at Ulysis because if he thought it was okay to use other wolves as shields, he was going to be mine. The way his eyes almost bugged out, he knew we were about to get our asses handed to us.

“For now, go check on the training sessions the Viking and his accomplices are conducting.” I waved him off and with a defeated nod he got up and left the room. Now I had to figure out how I was going to ask Leia for a favor when I just told her to sit and wait for me to reject her. “I’m so glad I have a front row seat for that.” Idris chortled.

I’ve never heard him so happy after being so livid with me. “Aren’t you supposed to be my wolf? Take my side for a change.” It was getting ridiculous. “Did you ever think that’s what I was trying to do?” He asked cryptically. “I just gave up on a thousand piece puzzle that was missing half the pieces! I didn’t even have the damn picture on the box to guide me. Please just spit it out.” I felt mentally exhausted at that point.

“You went looking for a mate that could help you elevate our pack. Even when I warned you, there was no need. You insisted that you needed to fix the cracks you saw growing in the foundation. A shewolf from a strong pack that would give you the resources needed to dismantle and rebuild.” He stated my mission since leaving my Alpha training. “So?” There has to be a point.

“You didn’t need to go looking you i***t! She came right to your pack ready to help you!” He roared at me. “The goddess hand-delivered a strong, intelligent, and beautiful shewolf right to your doorstep. And that’s just what’s obvious on the surface. Human, you have no idea what you’re giving up because you haven’t bothered to seek out its true value.” He ended with a sigh.

Dumbfounded and somewhat enlightened by what he said, I had no response. What if he was right? Natalia is a Beta female who comes with an alliance to a large and powerful pack. Aside from the fact that she’s shy and meek, I know nothing about her. “Natalia should be helping with all this.” I mused out loud.

Idris didn’t comment, he was neutral when it came to Natalia. It was hard to have any ill will against someone who was simply doing what she was told and had been since she was very young. I didn’t really notice that fact at first, but after watching her and comparing her to Kendra, Marcie, Destiny, and Leia…. It’s obvious she was stifled in one way or another growing up. Would she even be able to help??

“You took what was thought during Alpha training, excluded what didn't match up to your father's teachings. Knowing what you know, seeing what you’ve seen. Do you think you are making the right choice?” He asked. Two days ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated to double down on my decision to reject my fated. Now? “I….” I don’t know.