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confirmed. Tension dropped away from his compatriots at the words, and it was as if a dam had broken within the surrounding crowd. Whispers turned into excited chatter and soon excited speculation filled the air in one solid roar.
    "Guess it's time to clean up and get some breakfast," I told my own little pack, turning away from the interested onlookers. "We've got a busy day ahead."
     
     

Chapter 9
    Chief Wilder didn't support our bid for territorial rights after all, but we won by a hair in the end. My brother had been too busy consolidating his own leadership to attend this year's gathering, and Justin's usual allies had largely drifted in my direction as a result. But even with that windfall, I still wouldn't have had enough votes without Gavin's help.
    To my surprise, when push came to shove the kid grew a spine and spoke in my favor. In the process, Crazy Wilder glared so hard at the young alpha that I thought the teenager might topple over, but Gavin held firm. His faint smile in my direction after all was said and done suggested that the youngster thought his action was equal repayment for the fact I'd resisted the urge to snap his neck when I had the chance.
    But I'd never felt any such urge. So I figured I now owed Gavin a favor in return.
    An issue that would have to be dealt with at a later date since Wilder was even more unhappy with me than he was with my new friend. "A word," the older alpha growled as he walked past, effectively ending All-Pack's business meeting for the night. My win at the Winter Hunt aside, no one would dream of continuing our annual conference without our resident big, bad wolf present.
    As I padded along at the older alpha's heels, I couldn't prevent myself from reliving the experience of being taken aside by this same shifter two years prior to atone for my sins. Then, I'd allowed arrogance to put my pack in harm's way and Wilder had come through to save my skin...but had exacted a promise in the process that I would repay that debt at a future date. At the time, I'd felt chagrined by my own stupidity and cowed by the unfamiliar sensation of being taken down a notch by a shifter stronger than myself. But I'd also been jubilant that I was managing to escape my sticky wicket alive.
    Now, my weaknesses had once again put my pack in danger. But Wilder was the one who'd lost face in the end, and I wasn't so sure his waning alpha dominance was still stronger than my ever-increasing power. In fact, I had a sneaking suspicion that if we stood toe to toe and gazed into one another's eyes, Crazy Wilder would now be the one to blink first.
    Which meant I was in even more danger than two years prior. Because dominant alphas like Chief Wilder hated nothing more than being taken down a peg. So the other pack leader would likely exact vengeance by calling in his debt in such a manner that I'd be forced to fall on my sword to prevent doing even more harm to my little clan.
    Images of the worst possible requests the other alpha could make swam through my mind. What would I do if he demanded Fen be turned over to his pack? The halfie would drown in the morass of prejudice here in Wilder territory, her youthful spark snuffed out by his manipulative impatience. Or perhaps the old wolf would insert a few of his shifters into my little clan and use us to shore up his waning power.
    Not possible , I reminded myself. I'd offered Wilder my word to do his bidding, but had made it perfectly clear that only myself, not my pack, would suffer for my sins.
    Plus, Keith was still shielded by my clan's growing influence. Surely Wilder would back down once he saw we were in the position to harm his own flesh and blood.
    "You think you're so clever," my opponent said at last, when we'd walked far enough into the trees that no one else could hear. "But what you don't realize is that Alexis was a test. A test that you failed."
    "I thought...." The words were out of my mouth before I could call them back. And the smirk on