"You know why we can't do that. We can't let anyone find it." How stupid were these pups? This was worse than he’d thought.
"There are plenty of ways to encrypt information online now. And besides, if someone found it, they would think it was an elaborate fiction story or a live-action role-play. They would never suspect that it was true. But those of us who live among the world would have a recorded history. It would be invaluable to us."
He'd come to listen, and he had actually shown up with a semi-open mind, but the fury overtook him. "No. We're not moving and you're not moving away either. We're all going to stay here and we're going to live just as our ancestors did. It was good enough for them so it is good enough for us. Our pack has lived on these lands for hundreds of years. Christ, we all survived a forest fire here. Do you want to spit in the face of our ancestors?"
"Alpha, you may be able to keep the pack here, but it will only be you and the people who support you specifically. The rest of us will leave. Your pack will no longer have strong numbers. Your pack will no longer be able to reproduce because most of us who are able and willing to bear children will move. And we won't come back. We’ll leave, and we’ll never return again."
Stunned was not the right word for how he felt. This never would've happened to his father. His father had commanded the pack with a firm hand but a lot of generosity. He was not a cruel overlord, but he also was not so permissive that the pack thought they could do whatever they wanted. This defiance was a new factor.
Would they have spoken this way to his father? Or were they unusually belligerent to Roman because he had taken over as Alpha at such a young age? Becoming a young Alpha was a fairly unusual situation because wolf shifters rarely died so young. Most lived to see old age.
The pack usually passed down from father to son unless there were extenuating circumstances. The son still had to prove himself. But the pack had agreed unanimously that Roman had proven himself during the forest fire. He had put the pack first, remembered the plan, and carried it out. Even at risk to himself. And in the aftermath of his father's death, he continued doing everything he could to help, even through the grief.
It hadn't been easy, but he knew that the pack had needed him to be strong. And so had his family. He thought he had earned their respect, at least enough not to openly go against him. But that was ten years ago, and the young males now had been only children.
"Alpha, this is not personal. We respect you a great deal. We think you're a really good Alpha; that is why we would rather see the pack move and change instead of us choosing to leave. We don't want a new Alpha, we don't want a new pack, we want to see ours adapt."
He’d heard enough. Roman was done.
He stood up. He pointed at them. "You all have no idea what you're asking. You're asking to destroy something that our people have been building for hundreds of years. Do you think it's easy for me to keep this pack together? It's not."
"We never said it was easy. But because of our regard for you, we've come to you instead of just leaving. We're putting you on notice that this will happen. People will leave the pack. Some will find new packs, while some will live with humans. We think it's fair that you know what you're up against."
Goddammit. "How dare you come here and give me an ultimatum? I have put everything into this pack for the last ten years of my life, and even before that, and so has my family. But you all want to join the humans, and for what? What do you gain from them? I want to protect them just as I want to protect any living creature on earth. But they have nothing to offer us."
The young males joined him on their feet. Some were already baring their teeth, but the spokesperson stayed calm. "That's where you're wrong, Alpha. They have science and astronomy. It wasn't a shifter who sent a man to the moon, and it wasn't a shifter who discovered flight."
Roman exploded. "We don’t fucking need any of those things. We don't need them. They are not necessary to us."
"We’re not better than humans," one of the males said. His voice cracked.
"No, we are not, but we are different. That's all I'm going to say about it. You all will remain in the pack, and I don't want to hear anything else about it."
He stormed off with all of the people calling out behind him. He was not going to cater to them. They needed to learn who was boss.
. Chapter Three:Everleigh
"Guess what?"Everleigh bit down on her lip, trying her best to contain herself. She could feel herself wanting to bounce on her heels, but at twenty-four years old, she already looked younger than she was and needed to appear professional. Even if her father and her irritating older brother were the only people around at the moment.
"What?" her brother asked.
"I just closed on a house. It’s a one-million-dollar contract." The commission was going to be incredible.
"Wow, that’s amazing," her brother said.
She frowned. His reaction was just a little too stilted. It was clear that he’d already known about her big break in the world of real estate. "What did you do? Tell me you didn’t do anything," she hissed. She had been fighting this her entire life. Her family could not stop interfering. She’d asked them over and over to stop, to no avail. They just fundamentally could not see why she did not want them to interfere with her career.
They wanted to help her; she got that. But their overzealous, heavy-handed ways were never going to help. She had told them over and over that she was not going to put up with it anymore. They clearly did not believe her. They just kept pushing and pushing. How was she ever going to make them understand?
"Tell me. What did you do?"
"Nothing," her brother said. "I didn’t do anything."
"I can tell that you’re lying." She turned to her father. "What did he do?"
Her father held his hands out. "Now, don’t get mad at your brother. He was only trying to help."
"I don’t want to hear that. How many times have I asked you not to interfere with my life?"