Lisa stepped forward from the pack Elders and rushed to Sirhan’s side. “Be reasonable,” she begged.
“Keep your end of the bargain,” Gabriel said.
Sirhan grabbed both Lisa’s and Gabriel’s hands with a fierceness I didn’t think him capable of. Lisa’s face twisted with pain. Sirhan’s face resembled that of a rabid, deranged beast. “No!” he roared. “A true alpha who possesses all the power but without the curse. No son of Caleb Kalbi should be allowed to have that. No son of Caleb should be allowed to live.”
“That’s the wolf speaking, Sirhan,” Gabriel said. “Come to your senses. The boy has done nothing to you.”
“He has the blood of Caleb Kalbi, the most selfish and treacherous Urbat I have ever known. That is offense enough.”
“Daniel and I are a matched set,” I said. “If you kill him, then you’ll have to take me, too. Then you’ll have no more Divine One.”
“That’s no longer an issue.” Sirhan clapped his mangy hands, and one of the spearmen turned toward me, the sharp blade ready to stab into my neck. “You already told us what we needed to know about the cure.”
Crap, he did have a point.
“Sirhan,” Gabriel said, “the girl still has so much more to give. And the boy may be our only hope—”
“Silence,” Sirhan barked.
“Wait,” I said. “Yes, Daniel has the blood of Caleb inside of him, but he also has yours. He’s your grandson, for heaven’s sake. But he’s so much more than that. He’s proved it time and time again. And he did once more when he freely gave himself over to you. Would Caleb have ever done that?”
“Tricks,” Sirhan hissed between his wolf teeth. “How do I know it was not part of his plan to win my favor?”
“Daniel helped heal me,” my father said from behind us. “He helped heal my wife, too. He’s saved my daughter’s life and my youngest son, also. Where Caleb is selfish, Daniel is selfless.”
“Caleb is coming to the Challenging Ceremony,” Jude suddenly spoke up from our semicircle of Elders. I’d all but forgotten that he and Talbot were here.
“It’s true. He’s amassing an army,” Talbot added. “I used to be one of his generals, until my loyalties changed. The others have seen how dangerous his forces are with their very own eyes.”
“I can also confirm this,” Gabriel said.
Daniel, Jude, and I nodded in agreement.
“He’s planning on tearing the ceremony apart and claiming the position of alpha of your pack, no matter the cost. Is that what you want?”
Rage burned in Sirhan’s eyes. “Never.”
“You kill Daniel now, and that’s exactly what you’ll be asking for,” Talbot said. I felt a sudden pang of appreciation toward him.
“He is right, Sirhan,” Gabriel said. “Daniel, as a true alpha, is our best shot at stopping Caleb from winning.”
“No. You are to be my chosen successor, Gabriel, not the Kalbi boy. You are my beta…”
“I am your beta, yes. I am the caretaker of the pack. Alas, I am not the leader you are. I am not a fighter. I don’t stand a chance against Caleb and his demon hoards. But Daniel has been chosen by a higher power. He is a true Hound of Heaven and a true alpha. It is his calling to take your place. Only he can lead us out of this dark time and defeat Caleb. I believe he and his alpha mate, the Divine One, have been chosen to take the Urbat to a new level. Imagine it. This pack led by a true alpha and the Divine One. A warrior and a healer. The Etlu and the A-zu. Together—”
“No! No! No!” Sirhan roared. “No son of Caleb will rule this pack.”
“Sirhan,” Daniel said. Every head in the room snapped in his direction. The true alpha essence radiated off his body like waves of pure power. The spearmen pulled their weapons back, ever so slightly. “The difference between Caleb and me is that I don’t want to be alpha. I’ve never wanted to be a ruler, or a leader, or even powerful. All I’ve ever wanted to be is an artist. I embraced my true alpha nature only to save the ones I love. And now, if that means my calling is to do it again at the Challenging Ceremony in order to defeat Caleb—then I will do it. If there was any other option, I’d let this responsibility pass to someone else. But once you die, I will be the only true alpha left. Let me be your successor instead of Gabriel. Give me your blessing, grandfather.” Daniel’s voice wrapped around that word like he’d never addressed anyone with that title before. “I will make you proud.”
Sirhan slumped in his chair, clutching his clawed hands to his head. Again, he looked as if he’d aged another ten years in a blink of an eye. “I cannot think,” he said. “The boy has confounded my mind. His words ring true, but the wolf inside of me screams something else.”
“You’re brain is addled by the aging, Sirhan. The wolf has too much control. Let the council decide, if you are not able. Who will be your successor?”
“What say the Elders?” Sirhan asked. “Advise me. Whom do you choose? The son of Caleb, or Gabriel?”
All the Elders huddled together—speaking in whispers so low I couldn’t even make out their words with my sensitive hearing—except for Lisa Jordan, who came to stand in front of Sirhan.
“Your choice sounds more like, ‘Son of Caleb, or Caleb himself’ to me,” Lisa said. “I don’t need to deliberate. I cast my vote for Daniel now.” She turned to him and bowed on one knee. One fist pressed into the ground. “And I will follow him into battle to defeat Caleb if need be.”
“Here, here!” Gabriel knelt, fist to the ground toward Daniel. “I cast my vote also.”
The other Elders took in the sight of Lisa and Gabriel, and for a second it looked like they’d made up their mind to follow their lead.
“This is bullshit,” shouted a voice from the crowd.
I looked in the direction of the voice and found that the man with the blond dreadlocks had stepped forward. I thought hard, trying to remember the name Lisa had called him by … Marrock.
“I will not give my allegiance to this boy, true alpha of not,” Marrock said. “He’s, what, eighteen? Most of us have been alive since the French Revolution. What does he know of being a leader that I do not?”