Page 32 of Claiming Her Alpha

“No. Some packs have bought land within human territory but none of the actual borders have changed.”

“And every time a pack wants to buy land or change their borders it needs to be approved by the others?”

“Yes.”

She continued to study the map, trying to keep her true thoughts masked. While the Blood Wolves were to her pack’s north, the Night Stars were to their west, neighbouring onto the old Mountain Wolves’ territory. Even though the pack had been destroyed a little over a year ago by Alpha Kaine of the Silvermoon Wolves, some refused to leave and lived there as rogues. To her east was Presbury, the closest human city, while both the Dagger Wolves and Silverliners had their territories more to the south.

“That’s why it can take longer to buy new buildings?”

Her pack was into real estate and had a few buildings that they rented out to humans. Her father had a good sense–or maybe just luck–with these kinds of deals and had helped her pack gain good equity.

“Yes. Each time a pack gains land, the others must vote for or against it.”

“But it doesn’t have to be unanimous?”

“No.”

“Otherwise, the Blood Wolves would always vote against us.”

“Exactly.”

As she trailed her fingers over the territory previously belonging to the Mountain Wolves, she asked, “What happened after Alpha Kaine killed Alpha Brock?”

Alpha Brock had gone mad after his mate had been killed by hunters. No one really knew why or how it had happened, but it had taken his sanity. He’d become more and more violent, not just against the hunters but against innocent humans and neighbouring packs as well. She remembered how her father had gone to a meeting shortly after the incident, but he hadn’t talked about it since.

“Technically, it belongs to Alpha Kaine since Alpha Brock agreed to the challenge before his death. However, Alpha Kaine declined it since that would have opened many doors for other alphas to claim land. He had not gone to Alpha Brock with the intention of challenging him, or so he says.”

“Does a pack automatically transfer to the surviving alpha in a challenge?”

“It does, but challenges are forbidden nowadays. Alpha Kaine reported to us that challenging Alpha Brock was the only way to persuade him into yielding without greater blood shed.”

“Was Alpha Kaine punished?”

“He is no longer allowed to gain land and is responsible for the last rogue Mountain Wolves. It was quite the stir when the news spread.”

“Do you think what he did was right?”

“I do believe action was necessary, though I disagree with the challenge.”

“Because if he had taken the land from winning the challenge others could’ve done the same?”

Her father nodded.

“You should frame this and hang it up. The map is beautiful, and the letter is an important piece of history.”

“I think I planned to many years ago,” her father chuckled.

While sorting through his old paperwork, Kendra couldn’t help but think about her new discovery. The Blood Wolves had drawn the blood line past their original territory without anyone’s permission. That was, if her father was correct and they hadn’t been awarded more land since the peace agreement. It wasn’t much, but it gave her an advantage. If anyone knew about this, they would be furious. Gaining territory like that was forbidden and could even start a new war. She just had to figure out how she could use this information without doing exactly that.

“I see everyone is hard at work but me,” Beta Avery chuckled behind her.

Kendra grinned up at him. “Come help then.”

She liked Avery. He was in his mid thirties and the son of her father’s last beta. He’d taken over a few years ago, when his father felt that he was no longer serving the pack to the best of his abilities. With a curious smile, Avery sat next to her on the floor and looked into the box closest to him.

“Are we still looking for the contract of the Vermond property?”

“Apparently, it was neatly put away in one of these,” Kendra laughed.