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Caleb smiled and let go of the man, letting him fall to the ground unceremoniously. He straightened his shirt and reached his hand out to her.

“It is nice to meet you, Alpha Sofia. I am Alpha Caleb of Summer.”

Sofia hesitated but shook his hand. She then turned to the man beside her and tilted her head toward the one lying on the ground. He went around and dragged him away.

“You don’t seem surprised,” she said, raising her brow as she looked at Caleb.

“He wasn’t very convincing as an alpha,” Caleb said, sitting back on the couch.

Sofia chuckled and came around to sit where the other had previously been sitting.

“What gave it away?” she asked.

“He was uncomfortable in how he spoke to me,” Caleb replied. “When he entered the room, he looked to you for permission to proceed. And though he tried to present you as subservient, they both looked at you with devotion. Having you poor my drink, it was your idea?”

Sofia nodded.

“He argued against it?” Caleb asked.

Sofia nodded again.

“He didn’t want to give you orders, but even more than that, he didn’t want to see you submit to another alpha, even if it was a ruse.”

Sofia smiled._-.

“Noted.”

“I don’t recommend trying this again,” Caleb said. “I wasn’t lying. I would have been within my rights to kill him for pretending to be an alpha.”

“He never said he was,” she replied.

“A technicality that no other alpha would give a crap about,” Caleb growled. “You put your wolf in danger by playing this game. So, what was the point?”

Sofia crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the couch.

“You know any other female alphas out there?” she asked.

“Not a one,” Caleb replied without skipping a beat.

“I didn’t know how you were going to react,” she said.

“So, you put your people at risk instead of yourself?” he growled.

From the back of the room, he heard the two men respond to his growl with their own.

“No, Alpha Caleb,” Sofia said. “They asked to do this.”

Caleb looked back at the two men. They stared at him with an intensity he recognized. They were loyal to her.

“I don’t deny that I am new to this boys club and that I cannot hope to win in a fight with you or any of the others,” she said. “But I’m not dumb. I will use the weapons at my disposal how I see fit to best protect this pack.”

“Weapons?” Caleb scoffed. “Is that how you see your people?”

“That’s how I see all people,” she smiled. “Wolves, humans, animals, and every living being are fighting to survive. But these wolves here, this pack. They fight for me. Not because I tell them to, because I am the alpha they chose.”

Caleb took a deep breath and sat back.

“And when exactly did that choice happen?” he asked. “Because you are not the alpha that signed the truce at the ceremony in Winter.”

“Noticed that, did you?” Sofia laughed and then smiled. “I became Alpha just over two months ago.”

“I was told that coming here today would help me learn more about the rest of the missing packs and possibly gain an ally in the coming war. If you have only been around for the past two months, how can you possibly have that information for me?”

Sofia rolled her eyes.

“Just because I’ve only been alpha a minute doesn’t mean I was born yesterday,” she sighed. “I know more about the war than you, and how long have you been in charge? Of a ‘greater’ pack even. One that boasts about how smart they are, how knowledgeable. Yet, you didn’t see what was happening right under your nose all this time?”

Caleb growled.

“Why don’t you enlighten me then.”

“Why should I?” Sofia asked with a growl. “You are much more arrogant than I was led to believe.”

“Is that what your former alpha said about me?” Caleb asked, thinking of the old creep that leered at Ashleigh. “Really wish he was still around.”

“That man was a piece of shit!” Sofie snarled. “He deserved much worse than he got!”

“And what did he get?” Caleb asked.

“Why? You want to try and threaten me with punishment for that?” Sofia asked. “Too bad. Burning Ember isn’t like Summer. We don’t just hand down the title. We take it. We keep it.”

“Interesting,” Caleb said. “I was led to believe that this pack was one of the few that had peaceful transitions of power.”

“That was the past, but the last two, well, three, including me,” Sofia smiled. “Have taken the role.”

Caleb observed her carefully. He glanced back at the two men that remained at the back of the room. They watched and listened, but they hadn’t come forward no matter how combative Caleb had been during their conversation.

“You said they chose you.”

“What?” Sofia asked.

“You said these wolves chose you,” Caleb repeated. “They act like they chose you, so which is it? Did you take it, or did they choose you?”

Sofia considered him for a moment.

“Both,” she sighed.

“How?” Caleb asked.

Sofia sat forward.

“I want you to know that I reached out to you only because someone vouched for you after how you helped the Eclipsed survivors. Someone much more trustworthy than you,” she said.

‘Guess I should thank Jonas if this goes well…’ Caleb mused.

“You want to know how I became Alpha here, and you want to know what I know about the war?” Sofia said. “Lucky for you, those stories go hand in hand.”

Caleb chuckled.

“First, you need to understand that all this shit started going down months before you realized it,” she said.

“What do you mean?” he asked, leaning forward.

“You all had your little ceremony for Alpha of Winter, but by then, at least five packs had already been swallowed up by Autumn.

“Grimhide, Steelheart, Silent Hounds, all them had no choice. They were too small to fight back when Autumn went after them.”

Caleb clenched his jaw. He suspected it may have started sooner than he realized, but before Axel was named Alpha? He had no idea.

“You said five packs. That was only three,” Caleb said.

“Yea, well, they were the only three that didn’t have a choice,” Sofia replied with a hint of anger. “Now, Savage Cove? They had a choice. Ravagers too.”

“Why would they join with Autumn?”

“Savage Cove has always been looking for a fight with Blue Reef, and that’s what they were promised when they joined. A chance to go after their enemy and take their lands when the war was over.”

Caleb growled.

“What about Ravagers?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Ravagers?” Sofia scoffed. “They’re just psycho. They just wanted an excuse to play dirty.”

Caleb felt his blood boiling.

“And then, of course, there was that last pack that willingly signed up with Autumn just over two months ago.”

Caleb looked up with a fire in his eyes.

“What pack.”

Sofia smiled.

“Burning Ember.”