War or Alliance

I yelled as I stared at Ari, my blood was boiling at this point. I could feel my eyes growing warmer, they must have started to glow. Ari looked at me, his demeanor changing slightly, he took a couple of steps back and lowered his head.

"I said sit! You're going to act like a dog then I will treat you like a dog!" I screamed as I walked down off the stage toward Ari. Zeke, Ren, and Zane stared at me with their mouths dangling open, Kang and the other's from the Blood Ties had stopped advancing into the gym and most had sat. Ari looked at me, attempting to growl but no sound escaping. I walked up to him and grabbed his left ear, squeezing it as hard as I could.

"I said sit." I was incredibly angry, I had never felt this type of anger before. I was finally fed up with people treating each other so poorly, Ren and Zane are the only alpha wolves in my entire life that had been kind to me. I thought Ari had been, but he was just after something, he wasn't truly kind at all. What was he after? Ari staggered a bit but eventually sat with a whine. I released his ear and glared at him.

"Transform so we may have a conversation, without you plotting with mind link to your pack." I requested, no, I ordered. I had never experienced the mind link, it was something you get when joining a pack so that in wolf form you can communicate with each other. It only works with members of your pack. I had just joined a pack, and no one had used the mind link during the fight with Siren. Ari looked up at me with his angry brown eyes and began to transform.

"Good boy, now, do you think you would really win here with your pack, against an entire den?" I asked him.

"How many in the den will really follow Zeke as an alpha, since he isn't even a wolf?" Ari retorted.

"We may not all want to follow Zeke, but we will all follow her!" A man stepped out of the crowd pointing at me. The crowd became loud, everyone cheering and yelling in agreement. I looked at Ari with some smug satisfaction, people had never wanted me before, it felt good.

"You're too late Ari, she is our Queen, and she is paired with Ren, so you have lost the chance to control her." Zeke said, I looked deep into Ari's brown eyes, he was starting to sweat.

"Yes, that was my intention when I saved you! I was going to control your influence and become the den leader and lead the wolves in victory against the damn panthers!" Ari yelled. "Siren was right, we should have killed you before you knew your abilities!"

"You want to try to kill me now?" I asked, I was so angry at Ari, for tricking me into thinking he was a good man. Ari looked back at Kang and his pack, then back to me.

"Yes." He answered. Zeke jumped down from the stage, even with all of his injuries from Siren he still moved with agility.

"Do you think we would let you?" Zeke asked, growling, Ren and Zane joining him. It wasn't long and the entire gymnasium was rumbling with low growls from the den. It sounded musical to me, I loved the sound the den was making.

"The panthers are moving north, they will be here in only a few months and we are sitting here fighting other wolves! How about, you join the den in the fight against the panthers, then when they are defeated, you will have your chance to kill me." I said to Ari, the growling stopped and everyone stared at me, then Ari, waiting for his answer.

"So what, we pretend everything is okay until the panthers are gone or have killed us? What makes you think that we can defeat the panthers?" Ari asked with disdain.

"Yes, we work together, that doesn't mean we need to like each other. Panthers live in prides, much larger than packs. We have the largest den ever assembled, and I don't know why you think your pack of wolves at twenty-two could beat a den of over three hundred. I think your insane, and I don't trust you at all. But to defeat the panthers, we need numbers, and wolves that will fight together and not amongst each other, that is how the panthers have gotten so far already, because wolves are not united. Also, we have an abnormally large number of true wolves, which the prides wont be expecting." I looked out at the crowd, even Ari's pack was nodding in agreement. Ari let out a deep sigh,

"I agree with what you are saying, but we will only join you on one condition, we get this territory." Ari smiled, he thought he was going to get it.

"That is not mine to give, but honestly, you still think you would win against three hundred? This territory belongs to Zeke now, if you want to barter on it, then ask him. However, if he doesn't want to let you have it, which he won't I assume, then I guess you will be leaving with your tails tucked between your legs and dying when the panthers come, because you will not have the den's protection." I felt differently than I ever had before, I felt so free and I had so much more confidence.

"We will join your den, even if we need to leave his pack to do so." Kang announced from the back, with the rest of the Blood Ties. They all nodded in agreement as they started transforming back to their human state.

"I hate you, and I hate Siren and his damn family! He killed my parents and left Kang and I to fend for ourselves!" Ari yelled, his eyes watering slightly, but not enough to produce a tear.

"Siren's children probably had nothing to do with that, it isn't their fault. We can discuss this at another time, will you join or no?" I asked, so Kang and Ari are brothers, it must sting knowing his brother would abandon him and join us if it came down to it. Ari looked at Zeke, Ren, Zane, then me, he bared his teeth and started to growl,

"Never!" Ari yelled and turned to leave. Kang looked surprised, Ari walked up to him.

"You are no longer my brother, and I no longer have a pack." Ari said, his claws growing from his fingers as he spoke. I started running toward them just as Ari transformed back into his true wolf form.

"ARRGHH!"