“Then I’ll issue a stronger threat,” my father argued.
“In your direct presence the wolves will not attack; that we know,” James said. “But your authority will lessen while you’re away. And now that Jessica has openly challenged a wolf, they will view it as an invitation to do more harm.” And since I hadn’t won, they wouldn’t think twice about it. “The Pack is running on strong emotion, and it’s too late to rein it all in. It’s been building for nineteen years. The discontent has momentum, whether we like it or not. Keeping her here is too great a risk.”
Lesser wolves could not physically disobey a direct order from their Alpha when he was near, but when they were agitated enough, their emotions overrode their orders. They were living, breathing bodies with animal instincts. They weren’t robots. Unfortunately.
“Then they will swear blood oaths. Every single one of them.” My father’s voice held more than rage; it held both sadness and a ferocity I’d never heard before. Chills ran up my arms and I hugged myself.
James sucked in a sharp breath. “You cannot be serious.” He moved forward in his seat. “If you do that, the Pack will dissolve within a month. The wolves have always been restless having a female in their presence, and if you make them swear to accept her, upon death, they will flee rather than risk their lives.”
“Dammit!” My father pounded the top of his desk with his fists. It was solid mahogany, but it splintered. He knew James spoke the truth—but he didn’t want it to be true. Nobody was a better Alpha than Callum McClain, and everyone knew it. My father was a fair leader with a strong hand, and not all Alphas were equal—actually, far from it. Wolves followed their Alpha by instinct, but when overcome by extreme emotion, they became restless and confused. It would be disastrous to have them swear an oath of fealty to me resulting in instantaneous death if they stepped out of line. A blood oath would bind their blood to the Alpha’s, and vice versa. The words they swore would become a binding contract. If they laid a finger on me thereafter, they would be breaking their vow and they would die, my father’s blood extinguishing their life in some capacity that was still a mystery to me. My father stood up and paced to the windows. “There has to be some way to solve this that doesn’t include putting my daughter in more danger. My wolves will obey me! I am their Alpha.”
“The only way is to send me away,” I repeated quietly. “What danger could I possibly face in the cities that I haven’t already encountered here?” I paused for a second, feeling unaccountably emotional. I blamed the drugs. “I’m so tired of living with conflict. I deserve to have my own life. I don’t belong here.” I picked at nonexistent lint on my pants. “I’m sure I never did.”
“Jessica, you don’t understand how the supernatural community works,” my father growled, turning to face me. “They are extremely powerful and they will be curious about a female born to a werewolf. I can’t allow it. It’s too full of unknowns, dangerous beings with deadly skills, any of which could kill you. You are human and I can’t possibly prepare you for everything you may encounter, and even if I could, it would be useless. You are no match for them.”
“Then I won’t go as myself.” I shrugged. “I can leave here as anybody. Nobody knows my face except for the wolves up here. I’m willing to start over and live in secrecy if it gets me out of here. I will do whatever you ask of me—I will be safe, keep my head down, and follow your rules. I swear.” That would be new for me, but I was willing to try.
“That may work, Callum,” James said carefully. “We have the ability to give her an alias, a brand-new identity. We do it all the time for Pack wolves who relocate.” Werewolves don’t age normally, and over time people start to notice. “She can leave here freely if no one knows who she is. She doesn’t smell like us, and there are no other traits that would give her away.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “Nobody has ever seen me in your company, as the Alpha’s daughter. They don’t know what I look like. They only have my name.”
“I don’t like it.” My father ran a hand through his hair. “The wolves here know you. They can find you. Word can spread to other Packs.”
“Then”—I grappled for an answer—“we’ll tell them I’ve left the country. They won’t bother looking for me if they think I’m gone for good. Or we can pretend I died—we can fake my death.”