Chapter 187: Too Late, Old Man (bonus)

Greymaw did not speak until he was deep enough in the forest.

His son walked behind him, matching his pace with the restless energy of a wolf who wanted to run but was forcing himself to walk. Girruk’s claws kept extending and retracting, an angry habit he had never outgrown.

He had tried to bring the elders along with him to discuss, but they had been slow, saying nonsense about how they needed their heads clear and needed to think.

Such idiots!

"He has lost his mind," Greymaw hissed. "I warned him. I warned him when he first brought the female here. And now look at what is happening."

He shook his head as his blood boiled.

"No mating for a year. Our females turning on us. Our wolves relying more on that fired meat than the nutritious rawness, as if that was normal. And the alpha stands there and tells US, the wolves who kept this pack alive while he was still a cub suckling at his mother’s teat, that our wisdom has failed."

Greymaw’s voice cracked on the last word, and Girruk saw something in his father’s face he had never seen before.

Hurt.

Greymaw had devoted years to Calis. He had taken over where the late alpha had stopped because he believed in what they were building.

A pure, strong pack.

And now Calis was dismantling all of it because a shiftless female with no claws and no scent had whispered pretty words in his ear.

It was vexing.

And Girruk was more vexed that his father had even entertained Calis for this long.

Even more, he was getting more irritated by his father’s rants.

"The worst part is that it did not need to be this way. If he wanted the female’s knowledge so badly, he could have taken her ideas and had the pack carry them out themselves. We are wolves! We are more than capable of digging and building without outsiders holding our paws. But instead, he invited her clan into our territory. She brought two beast males onto our soil, and then that cursed hole in the air turned our home into a pathway for every mixed beast to trample through like cubs running through puddles. They were going back and forth through that thing as if our territory was their personal playground!"

His voice shook with disgust.

"Why must THEY be involved? Take what is useful from the female and send her away. That is what a wise leader would do."

Girruk was about to shut his father up when the old man murmured.

"He is not seeing beyond the short term. He thinks he is protecting the females, but what he is really doing is opening a door that cannot be closed.

Girruk frowned. "What does that mean?"

"Think." Greymaw turned to his son with hard eyes. "Today it is ’no mating for a year.’ Tomorrow it is ’we should welcome other beast types into our pack for safety.’ Then it is nonsense after!"

Girruk’s jaw tightened. "Then we stop it."

Greymaw eyed his son, a suspicious look in his eyes. "I will do what I can—"

"That is useless. I will challenge him."

The elder wolf stiffened.

Girruk snarled, "I am faster than I was. I have been running the perimeter for days. My endurance—"

"Your endurance means nothing against a wolf who outweighs you in every single mark!"

Girruk flinched from his father’s sharp words, and his anger heated in return. "You have no faith in me? I can—"

"You will die."

Girruk glared at his father, his fists clenched at his sides while his whole body vibrated with the frustration of a young wolf who was being told the truth he didn’t want to hear.

"You always say that," he hissed.

Why did his father always hold him in such low regard? Girruk was the best performing amongst the rest of the wolves. Everyone just fell short of Calis.

"Because it is always true!" Greymaw’s voice rose before he caught himself and brought it back down. "You are not ready. And you cannot do things like this. He is your leader—"

Girruk stepped forward, looking down at Greymaw with a fierce gleam in his eyes.

"That male is your leader. Not mine. You want to sit still and watch him destroy everything? I have said it before, and I will say it again. He has lost his way, and he is no longer fit to rule this pack!"

Greymaw’s thoughts crawled to a slow stop, and he really looked at his son.

His son had brought up taking over the pack twice before.

Each time, Greymaw had shut him down with the swiftness of a father who refused to let his cub walk into death. Not only was it insubordination, but the idea of Girruk challenging Calis had always been madness.

However, the situation was changing in a terrible way.

Calis was no longer the obedient, sharp young wolf that Greymaw had helped mould. He was making decisions that actively dismantled everything the pack stood for, and the wolves were following him too.

Greymaw studied his son more carefully than he had in months.

Girruk was not as strong as Calis. He might not even be in the coming years, but if Girruk focused on training properly, he would have a chance...

But his son had a short temper, and Greymaw wasn’t sure he would make a good leader either.

Still, he could teach Girruk about leadership, and any other wolf would be better than Calis at this moment.

But Girruk could not do this now. Greymaw needed to properly prepare him.

"You will not challenge him," Greymaw said firmly.

Girruk snarled. "We need—"

"Not now. Not like this. You are not strong enough, and rushing in will only get you killed."

Girruk’s eyes burned. "Then what? We sit here and watch him destroy everything?"

"You train." Greymaw held his gaze. "Quietly. Without drawing attention. And I will teach you leadership."

Girruk went still, surprised.

This was the first time his father wouldn’t reject his thoughts. His father was finally coming to his senses, but Girruk was still slightly frustrated that it took him this long to realise.

Girruk nodded.

Greymaw watched his son. Training him aside, they needed to get rid of this female.

If she were to disappear, their problems would be gone.

A low chill crawled up Greymaw’s back when he remembered the large bear and panther that had come searching for her the first time, and he immediately sifted through his thoughts. They would need to be careful while getting rid of her.

And when she was gone, they would focus on replacing Calis.

It was a painful decision, but Greymaw had no other choice.

The shiftless female was not just an inconvenience. She was a poison that was rotting his pack from the inside, and poison had to be cut out before it spread too far.

"Come," Greymaw said to Girruk. "We have been gone too long. The others will notice."

They made their way back in silence, Girruk walking with a new tension in his stride that was less anger and more purpose.

He was already plotting.

As they made their way back, Greymaw could at least make peace with the fact that the female wouldn’t bring her whole clan to their pack.

But a few days later, Greymaw was horrified to discover that Tera had indeed done the very thing he had dreaded.