Chapter 139

He stared at me as he smirked. “I can only assume some of you have put it together. Yes, I am that Rowan. And yes, I am the king. But no, you don’t have to call me King. I would honestly prefer if you didn’t. In class, anyways,” He winked and turned to his computer. He turned on the projector, linked it, and then turned back to us while everything finished starting up. “But there is one thing I have to do.” He released his aura, and it slammed into us. It was the first time I actually felt someone’s power enough that I had to fight to stay standing. He watched everyone drop to their knees, except me. I stood a fraction of a second too long. His eyes widened, and he pushed more power at me. I just winked back and got to my knees to keep up appearances. He gave a tiny nod in appreciation and walked to the front of the classroom. “Since I am here for this class only, I do not want it to be known that I am here. For one thing, I do not want females throwing themselves at me, and second, I do this as my hobby. I enjoy it and it helps me connect with my people.” He opened his hands. “So I hope you all will understand why this is necessary. I forbid you from speaking of who I am to anyone else. Everyone in this program knows but can’t speak my name, and you will be the same. Anything said in here stays in here. So we speak honestly here. Is that understood?”

“Yes,” we all chorused, all but me under his official command. I was just confused. He was the king. Why was his authority, his power, not affecting me? I shook it off and booted up my computer.

“Let’s introduce ourselves and our ranks,” Rowan started. “I’ll start. I’m Alpha King Rowan from the Royal Lycan pack.” He looked around and then pointed to the next person. “Go.” And just like the last class, we went around the room until I was last. Rowan raised an eyebrow and flicked a finger at me, telling me to stand.

“I’m Alpha Amy. My father’s pack is Silvermoon and my mother’s is Oakenfang. So, depending on who I’m with, that’s my pack.” Rowan smiled.

“Amy, in the flesh. Who would have guessed we would meet this way?” He walked closer to me. “Were you able to do what you asked for?”

“Yes, I could glean the information I needed from the traitor.” I smiled as I sat down. “Thank you for giving me permission to torture her.” My grin got wider when I heard the terrified whispers of the room.

His smile dropped when he heard something he didn’t like. He turned to face the guys that were whispering, staring at me. I just shook my head when I caught a few words. “I can only assume you three are unranked?” His deep voice was tight.

“Yes.” Two of the three answered.

“I’m a gamma,” one spoke up.

He walked closer to them and stared them down. “Then you should know better than to speak about an alpha protecting her pack.” He knocked on the gamma’s desk. “Are you in line for first or second gamma?” The gamma leaned back. “First gamma, why?”

I shook my head in frustration and leaned in. “Because your job, your position, will have responsibilities that come with it. As head warrior, second gamma, train your men on how to protect your pack at any cost. That includes torture. First gamma, your job is to protect the luna, in all ways. What happens if she is stolen, and you have a suspect? What are you going to do? Have a nice little chat with him and hope he gives you the information?”

“No, of course not.” He laughed.

“Then maybe…just maybe, think about why I did what I did, and not that I did it. Torture is a tool that ranked wolves may have to wield to protect the lower-ranked wolves in their pack. And it isn’t something we choose to do on a whim.” The three wolves refused to meet my eyes. “Do you think we do things like that for our amusement?”

“Well, no.” The gamma shook his head.

“Then why would you call her sadistic?” Rowan asked. “I want you all to consider this. She is a young alpha, one that isn’t in a technical power structure. She was scared and looking to protect her father. Yet instead of acting out, which no one would have blamed her for, she called the council. She asked permission. She followed the protocol that was in place so that Alphas do not abuse their power. And she waited to use any amount of force until she was given permission to save her father.” He shook his head. “She is the epitome of an excellent alpha, and you all disgraced her. Yet she did nothing to you.”