If one of the enforcers refused to swear loyalty to a prospective Alpha, that Alpha had two options. First, she could fight—and beat—the opposing voter, thus expelling him from enforcer ranks. Or, she could come into the job with sworn enforcers of her own—who hadn’t worked for the previous Alpha—and take the Pride by force. That hadn’t happened in the U.S. Prides in more than a century, but we knew of a very recent case south of the border—that of Manx’s father, who’d been executed by the Alpha challenger.

Fortunately, as in most cases, I’d been named successor by the previous Alpha, and I’d served with the other enforcers, so a hostile takeover didn’t look likely, even if one of them wasn’t willing to serve under me.

As if he knew what I was thinking, my uncle continued. “But being acknowledged by the council is another matter entirely—you have to be recognized by a simple majority of its existing members. But we’ve already agreed that that’s simply not going to happen right now, so I don’t want you to worry about that. When we get to the lodge, you can just make the formal request, then lose as gracefully as possible.”

Well, at least there’s a plan B. Which was good, because I couldn’t even get a majority of the Alphas to agree to leave me breathing, much less to put me in charge of my own Pride.

“Well, let’s not put the tail before the muzzle, right? I mean, if I don’t have the support of the Pride itself, the rest of this is totally moot.”

I glanced down at my leg just as Marc clipped the suture thread on the first gash. About a dozen stitches, by my guess, and they weren’t exactly pretty to look at. But nothing was broken or protruding from my flesh, so all in all, I counted myself lucky.

Marc must have known what I was thinking, because instead of starting on the next cut, he stood, and I stood next to him. “Before we go on, I need to know that you guys are with me.” I met the eyes of the south-central enforcers one by one, wishing desperately that they were all with us. But Owen and Parker had stayed on the ranch to defend the home front, so we’d have to move forward without them for the moment.

“So this is your chance, and I want you to be honest—with yourselves, with me, and with this Pride. This’ll never work if you don’t trust me. If you don’t truly believe that I can do this. That we can do this together. So don’t worry about hurting my feelings or making me mad—I’m a big girl. But you should know that accepting me as your Alpha is going to ruffle more than a few feathers and outright piss some people off. And that the next few days and weeks—hell, maybe the next few years—will be the most difficult you’ve ever served as an enforcer.”

I took a deep breath, concentrating on the four men who’d come to stand in a line in front of me. Marc, Jace, Vic, and Brian. It was up to them. If they all accepted me, our Pride would have an Alpha and a new starting place, no matter how rough the road might be.

But if even one of them was unwilling to put his life in my hands, well, I wasn’t sure what would happen then, because I didn’t want to start my leadership by having to fight one of my own oldest friends.

“So I’m asking you now, will you serve the south-central territory with me as your Alpha?” The words were old and familiar, but the fear bubbling in my stomach was not. “Will you swear loyalty to the Pride, and to me, as you did to my father?”

“You know I will.” Jace dropped onto his knees in a single fluid motion so quick I barely registered the change. “I swear my loyalty and my life to the south-central Pride, and to my Alpha, Faythe Sanders.”

Fresh tears came then, and I blinked them back, desperately clinging to composure. “Thank you.” I took his hand when he offered it, handshake-style, and responded with the words expected of me. “I swear to lead you to the best of my ability, and to always put the Pride before myself.”

When I looked up, Marc took my hand, tugging me gently to stand in front of him. “You’ve had me from the beginning, Faythe. Loyalty, life, heart, and soul.” His hand was warm in mine, but his gaze scorched me as he knelt without ever breaking eye contact. “I swear my loyalty and my life to the south-central Pride, and to my Alpha, Faythe Sanders.”

I wanted to say something. Something important and honest. Something to tell him that I understood what he was giving me, and that I would try to earn it. But before I could form a single world, Brian thumped to his knees on my left.

As badly as I wanted to cling to Marc’s hand and never let him go, I could only squeeze his palm, recite the expected response, then move on to Brian.

Brian Taylor stared up at me with bright, hope-filled eyes, and something heavy settled into my gut as he spoke the familiar oath. He didn’t understand what he was getting into. Not really. He knew that most of the other Alphas wouldn’t like it, but he couldn’t possibly truly understand the fight he’d just enlisted in. The danger he’d just committed himself to.

But we needed him, and I would not deny him his chance to serve.

Only Vic still stood, and my skin prickled when I felt him watching me. Judging me, as was his right. If he had doubts, he shouldn’t serve. It was that simple.

He stared into my eyes, and I stared back, hoping that he saw in me what Marc saw. What my father had seen. What I was still hoping to prove to myself. The only real truth I could claim—the only thing I knew beyond the slightest shadow of doubt—was that I would live and die for my Pride. To protect everyone in it and to try to forge much-needed change from inside the system.