I shake my head and whisper back to him, "The 11th house will follow me to the ends of the earth to extinguish my family's line after what my father did.  If I lead you, I just doom you all."

My beta, Fred, struggles to control his wolf and grips my arm, "We're even more doomed without you."

I only have one way to truly save my people and that's to replace the murdered queen.  I'm of the blood, as the last touched I can challenge the rites at any time to claim her throne.  This was always my privilege, instilled in me since birth.  Though I had no desire to take on her mantle, she'd been a kind enough monarch.  I had no choice now.  If I became queen my pack would replace the 11th as the royal pack and they'd become untouchable by the other houses.  It was a gamble, one that would likely kill me, but it was the only play that I had left.

And so, dear reader, this is the story of how I signed up for my own doom.  How I became the willing participant in the rite of queens and lost the one true love of my life.

The massive stone entranceway of the castle echoed with every growl and snap, the walls absorbing the sound of our battle as I locked eyes with the massive black wolf in front of me. Her fur shimmered in the dim light, a dark cascade of midnight black, but it was her eyes that captured me—golden, molten, and burning with unyielding authority. She was a true alpha, every inch of her body radiating power and dominance. I didn't need to know her name to understand who she was. The sheer size of her, her poise, her unshakable presence—all of it marked her as someone who would never bow to anyone. She was a queen in her own right. And that meant only one thing: I had to make her submit. I could only wonder at what made such a powerful wolf lose control, thoughts better left to more peaceable times where she didn't have a chance to rip out my throat.


Chapter 14 - Yield