His Ghost

Game Change Day. 3

I was awoken by the sound of chaos outside my room, and my alarm blared at 4:00 am. Grumbling to myself, I stumbled out of bed. The tension in the air was thick.

Every wolf pack member who had been denied a chance to fight for their rank was eager to take on anyone in their path. While newbies wished the day would just be over.

Today's challenges weren't just for latents and lone wolves. Any pack member could prove themselves worthy and try to get noticed. This would help them become a pack warrior, a coveted role with power and prestige. It was a stepping stone to the ultimate dream: being chosen as an Enforcer.

But it was all a facade to distract us from the truth - they were cleaning house. I doubted anyone today would get anything but a one-way ticket off the Estate.

The Benson pack was one of the largest. It had over ten thousand members scattered across North America. Five hundred resided on their Estate. The rest lived secretly among humans in various businesses. Our base of operations was Monet, a town with six thousand inhabitants, both human and shifter.

The Bensons were wealthy due to their current human security, defence work, and old money. They and three other packs essentially owned the town. My unofficial boss and one of the invested owners was Leon Monet, after whom the city is named.

Leon, a family friend, helped me out of a vampire cell. He got me placed here under the guise of a lone wolf on probation, which is partly true. He feared a renegade Lycan group was causing trouble that could disrupt the peace between shifters and Lycans.

It could not have come at a worse time for my cousins and me. After a lengthy back and forth with my family, I agreed to come here and work with Leon. We aim to remove the Lycans from Shifter's internal politics and keep the peace. And get out undetected so as not to be seen in shifter problems.

I suspected the last part was about to be problematic.

I stood before the tiny mirror in my small, attached toilet and bathroom. My mind was in turmoil, thoughts racing a million miles per hour. Ever since my father died shortly after my Uncle, life has been on fast-forward for my cousins and me.

But today, everything seemed to hit me all at once. The pressure of keeping my true identity a secret was too much to handle. I also had to protect my kind from potential danger. I couldn't help but feel like I was suffocating in this glass fishbowl. All eyes were on my family before they turned to me in this shifter world.

My Uncle was the leader of the Lycans, the King of the Lycans. It had been two years since his death and eighteen months since my father's. My cousin Sloan had still not stepped up to be the leader and Queen of the Lycans.

We had no fear of challenge. Lycans were loyal to their reigning family. She was still grieving, which was expected. But this new issue could force her hand. Our numbers were half the size of the shifter species. Maintaining them was essential for our survival.

Being here surprised me. There was some solace in watching my Lycan side begin to flourish. Our home Estate had become cold for my Lycan when my father passed.

It was strange how she felt comforted here despite our different backgrounds. But my Fae side couldn't shake off the lingering conflicted feelings she earned for our home Estate. It was filled with deep old magic.

I couldn't help but wonder how things would have been different if my father were still alive. Perhaps then, I wouldn't have made the deal and compromised my true self in the process. But now, it seemed there was no way to turn back and undo what they had done.

Reminder: I should join Greta on her pack house binge nights once I get through this. I need to loosen up. I got ready and grabbed my lightweight, black fighting kit. It includes versatile, lightweight shoes for fighting and running. The kit alone was a dead giveaway for Fae.