Chapter 197
ALEXANDER
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Cole and Kyle arrived exactly nine minutes after I did. I wasn’t surprised. The moment I told Cole we were moving against Patrick, he would’ve dragged Kyle here if he had to.
I didn’t sit–I didn’t want to. My wolf was still pacing under my skin from the encounter with Marcus, and then the fact that Patrick dared to move against me again… he must have mistaken my silence for weakness. Right now, sitting down felt too close to restraint.
“Close the door,” I said.
Cole did it without a word. Kyle stood with his arms behind his back, waiting. The silence settled thickly around us.
I looked at both of them. “We begin now.”
Kyle straightened immediately. Cole’s gaze sharpened.
“You,” I said, looking at Kyle, “are going to tighten border patrol against North Ridge.”
His brows twitched, just faintly.
“There will be no form of access or interaction on that end,” I continued. “Not trade, not visitation, not temporary crossings… nothing.”
Kyle nodded slowly, probably already calculating the logistics. “Understood.”
“Make it official.” I turned to my desk and slid a document toward him. “Prepare a notice- signed under my authority–addressed directly to North Ridge’s Alpha’s office.”
Patrick’s office.
My pulse spiked with the memory of his name… his face.
But I forced my voice to stay even. “In that notice, advise them to recall any of their members currently within Blood Crescent territory. Business, visiting, trade, whatever the reason–pull
them out.”
“Timeline?” Kyle asked.
“Forty–eight hours,” I said.
Both men stiffened.
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I met Kyle’s eyes. “Anyone who stays past the deadline will be treated as an invader.”
Silence folded over the room again… heavy, charged.
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Kyle and Cole exchanged a quick look–the kind of look that only two men who’d survived too many battles together could share. A mix of is he serious? and well, we’re doing it anyway. Kyle was the first to react. He didn’t argue.
“Then that’s what will happen,” he said sharply. “Forty–eight hours. I’ll tighten patrol lines immediately.”
Good. I needed that kind of obedience right now. Not blind obedience–competent obedience. Kyle wasn’t afraid to question me when necessary, but he also knew when something needed no debate.
I turned to Cole next.
He already sensed his part coming. “Alright,” he said, “what exactly do you need me to do?”
“I want you to contact some of our mutual allies,” I told him. “Two or three of them for now, not all at once. I want this done immediately.”
Cole tilted his head. “And the message?”
“A deal.”
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“I want them pulled out of their alliances with North Ridge,” I said. “Convince them that aligning with North Ridge right now is a choice they cannot afford. And if they cooperate with us, it would be in their best interest.”
Cole blew out a breath. “I can try. But you know how these packs are. Alliances are practically carved into stone with them.”
“Stone breaks,” I said evenly. “And the right resources melt it faster.”
That earned a faint smirk from him.
I stepped closer, letting my voice drop. “When they have to choose between taking my offer or being blacklisted by Blood Crescent… they’ll think twice.”
Cole’s smirk disappeared. Kyle, standing to the side, went absolutely still.
I kept going. “They need us far more than we need them. They know it, we know it.”
And Patrick definitely knew it. The entire region knew it. It didn’t need to be stated on paper.
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< Chapter 197
Patrick called the wrong alpha to a fight.
+25 Points
Cole scrubbed a hand down his face. “You’re right. But Alpha…” He hesitated. “You sure about this move? Because once we start, there will be no coming back from it.”
There it was–the question I knew was coming.
I turned fully to him. “You’re the one who has been telling me to deal with Patrick,” I reminded
him. “Where’s the hesitation now? ”
“I’m not hesitating,” Cole said quickly. He stepped closer. “I just want to be sure you’re not doing this because of… whatever happened today. This isn’t reactionary, right?”
I understood the concern. Cole wasn’t afraid of starting a fight. He just wanted to make sure I wasn’t creating a wildfire that would burn us before it burned Patrick.
But I knew exactly what I was doing. Patrick thought because I didn’t go after him for trying… no, for killing me… that he could still move against me and not get a reaction. By the time he has his own issues to deal with, he won’t have enough time to follow my enemies around.
“Patrick killed me once,” I said, voice low and cold. “He thinks that history makes him untouchable. He has aligned with Marcus. He thinks Marcus gives him leverage.”
My hands curled slightly at my sides. “He made a terrible mistake. Besides, This isn’t just revenge. By weakening Patrick, I’m also weakening Marcus’s alliance.”
Cole’s eyes darkened in approval. “Then I’ll be on it immediately.”
I nodded once.
But Cole didn’t move right away. He lingered, like he wanted to ask something else.
I could see it in his expression: what changed your mind? Why now?
But he didn’t ask.
He knew better than to pry in front of another officer. Around Kyle, I was Alpha before I was anything else. Cole respected that.
He simply gave a last, firm nod. “I’ll make the calls.”
Kyle straightened again. “I’ll get the border directive drafted and delivered.”
“Good,” I said.
They both took a step back.
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+25 Points
For a second, the room was quiet again–eerily quiet. The kind of quiet that comes before a storm fully commits to reshaping the sky.
Cole spoke first. “We’re moving out.”
Kyle followed. “Expect updates from me before morning.”
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