Bnce of Light and Shadow
<b>Chapter </b>180
Arthur POV
I know what I have to do, and I know how to do it. I know I have to do it for Lewana. I wake up and get to work.
I head to the pack house, and after breakfast, I follow Conrad out into the hallway, and I can tell he is heading straight to the library to research whatever is on his mind.
“Hey, son. I need some help with the territory border assessment today. Want to head out now so we can get it done early?“.
He doesn’t even look at me when he responds. “No, sorry. I have stuff to do today“.
I open up a mindlink with myself, Lewana, and Conrad in it.
“Jellybean. I need Conrad’s help with something, and he is ignoring me. I suppose an old man could just struggle to do it alone, but it means I will be out most of the day“.
He immediately spins and stares daggers, at me. I reply with a shit eating grin as Lewana responds.
“Why are you not helping Conrad? Did you have a fight with Arthur <b>as </b>well?“.
He immediately starts apologizing. “Misunderstanding Moonlight. I will just dy what I was doing tilter“.
He storms up to me and starts angrily whispering. “You trying to get me fucking killed“.
“Not trying, but it might be a bonus. Come on.
He was livid as <b>we </b>started work. Every action he took was with a grunt and a stare. It would take us at least four hours to do the full survey. Plenty of time to chat.
I ask him casually. “So, you still got a bee in your bo about whether you’re evil or not“.
“Will you just drop it? It’s something I just have to work out by myself“.
“No. I get it. Every man asks themselves those questions at some point. Alphas in particr“.
He freezes and turns to me, a look of shock on his face. He was dumbfounded. “How do you know?“.
“Because my father <b>was </b>an Alpha“.
“WHAT?“.
I startughing. He might be nearly 30, but he is still a boy.
“My mother was fortunate with fertility. I’m one of nine pups they had. I was actually number eight. As you know, only the oldest can be the Alpha heir, but no one ever thinks about the other pups. My father knew this and decided to train us all the same. He knew if he raised strong pups, they would be good Alphas, Betas<b>, </b><b>and </b>Lunas. I know your father was a jackass to say the least, so you never would have gotten training“.
He sighs. That obvious that I have no idea what I’m doing“.”
<b>“</b><b>Yep</b>‘.
*So you dragged <b>me </b>all the way out here to tell me awful. Thanks“.
‘I dragged you all the way out here to tell you I might have some answers you’re looking for. If you don’t want to <b>have </b><b>this </b><b>chat </b><b>out </b>here while <b>we </b><b>work</b><b>, </b>we can do what Lewana and the girls do by getting our nails done. You strike me <b>as </b>a glittery pink sort of guy‘.
He burst outughing, and Iughed with him.
He looks at me and smiles. You’re such a bastard, you know that“.
We work in silence for a while before he starts asking questions.
“How did you know I have no Alpha training? What is Alpha training?“.
“Well, you start Alpha training when you’re about ten. You run the pack alongside your parent and work your way through issues, politics, war ns, pack maintenance, etc. You normally have to do it for about 20 years before you canfortably take over as an Alpha. It’s clear you have no training, as you <b>are </b>running purely on instinct, but that can only get you so far. You focused on pack protection and their basic needs, but you do nothing to supper! management“.
<b>“</b>What’s that?” he asks.
“Let’s say Liam tells you he wants a holiday. Somewhere tropical where he can chase Michelle in a bikini around on a beach for a month. How will you cope without a Beta? Do you have a temporary backup trained? When you went down, how do you think Liam would have coped with the Alpha responsibilities and Beta tasks by himself? What is another Alpha like Anthony found out and challenged him during this time<i>?</i><i>“</i><i>. </i>
I can see the panic cross his face. The disappointment in his eye that he didn’t think of this, and the fear that he is vulnerable again.
I turn and look at him. ‘Look, son. These aren’t trick questions or criticism. There are puzzles for you to think through. What would you do in certain situations? When you have a n, talk it through and see if that would work or if you need a new n. That’s what Alpha training is. It’s also about looking at your past judgments and seeing if anything can be learned from them to better yourself and the pack“.
We talk for the remaining hours while we work and talk through some of the problems my father used to give me. I can see his brain ticking over as we talk things through, and his confidence starts to grow when he understands what I’m doing
We’re both getting hungry as we nearly finish, so I ask him the final question.
“So, if someone is deemed a threat to the human world and our world. If someone hurt the person you loved in horrific, unimaginable ways. If they died screaming because they deserved it. Do they deserve your guilt? When you look back on how ke died, were you enjoying his suffering or enjoying revenge? There is a difference“.
“I know that. But I developed the whole justice system to be fair. To save lives rather than having needless bloodshed.
<b>I </b>startughing. “No, you didn’t. You did it to prove you’re not your father. That’s why you’re asking if you’re evil. Because you did something he would have done‘.
He drops his head into his hands, and when he looks up, he starts running his hands through his hair. A trait I recognise.
want to start thinking like <b>a </b>King and not just an Alpha, you need to think what is best “Listen, son. You’re not your father. Killing an enemy is the Alpha in you. The wolf in you. He always was, and always would have been a threat to everything. The wolves in all of us will always need revenge. If you for all of us and not just what’s to appease your fears<b>“</b><b>. </b>
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