An Alpha and a witch, one cruel, one kind. Who will win and who will lose in this mateship? Will they come out of it hand-in-hand or part ways when the truth is revealed?
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Hundreds of terrified faces stared back at me.
A feeling of shame crept over me because I knew that I was the reason they were scared to even look me in the eye. They probably thought I was here to give them bad news, not that I could blame them– my last speech was to explain the punishments being put in place.
"Today I stand before you to apologize."
There were a few gasps, and some wolves were staring at me with their mouths wide open, while others didn't seem to believe me yet.
Was it really unbelievable that I wanted to apologize?
"A part of being a good leader is being able to take responsibility when things go wrong, and this past week was an eye-opener to my many faults. I am ready to accept the blame for my misdeeds with open arms and set forth to rectify the situation to the best of my abilities, and I believe the first step would be to apologize to all of you."
I paused to take a moment and gage their reactions.
The tense atmosphere that had filled the field before was gone and left an air of anticipation in its wake as if everyone was eagerly waiting for something else to occur.
I exhaled softly, "Even though all of you are aware that I was not meant to be your Alpha, you still pledged your loyalty to me, and for that, I am forever grateful. It's unfortunate that because of my idiocy, I used your loyalty against you and forced all of you to succumb to my insensitive laws. And for that reason, I want to make changes today, at this moment, and free you from the chains of my tyranny."
I let my words sink in and lifted the corner of my lips as excited murmurs snaked across the crowd.
"Commander Reece has received a copy of the new laws I have written, and she will email each family with a PDF version for you to read. And once you're done, Beta Conrad will be taking a survey of alterations you think should be made."
"As for the punishing grounds," I trailed off slowly as silence fell upon the pack once more, "The grounds will be transformed into a construction site for a new building, and the dungeons will be the primary area for punishments of intolerable crimes. I understand that the orphanage has become crowded after the rogue pups have joined so the new structure should be large enough to accommodate everyone," I said, nodding a little at the caregiver who seemed ecstatic by the news.
"And lastly, I am well aware that the previous punishments could have done severe damage to your mental health, and it may not be in the best interest for you to remain under my rule anymore. So I have talked to neighboring pack Alphas, and they have agreed to make the transfer process easy if you wish to move out and start afresh. You just have to contact Commander Reece about it, and she'll take care of your paperwork."
My lips twitched into a small smile, "Other than that, consider this a new era for us. We will reconstruct, rejuvenate, and rejoice in our future triumphs that will show the supernatural world that our strength has multiplied when they don't see it coming. After all, we are the Prowlers, aren't we?"
