Not The Leader Of The Pack by Annabeth Leong Page B

Neil and Heather. Juli’s body tensed. Heather drew herself to her full height, perfectly poised and graceful in her tall heels.
    “You need to be very careful about the path you’re taking, Mr. Statham. The Council is not tolerant of dissent.”
    “Don’t I know it. All you folks from Lewistown apparently feel free to show up and throw your weight around without ever bothering to think about how you’re affecting the people who actually have to live with your decisions.” He glanced at Juli. “Don’t get me wrong, honey. You should have stayed in Missoula with us. It’s just that ever since you got back, you stink of them.”
    “Didn’t seem to have turned you off,” Juli threw back, then blushed as everyone in the room looked at her with new speculation in their eyes. Wonderful. Now she’d revealed her relationship with Neil, whatever it was, to the Council.
    Heather smirked, but did not comment. Neil shrugged off the remark in favor of continuing his tirade.
    “Have any of you even talked with any member of the Missoula pack besides me? Or of ‘werewolf group 7B,’ as you so aptly referred to it?”
    Heather’s spine stiffened even further. “We spoke with Dr. LaMont.”
    “But none of the regular guys. Do you even know how many people are in the pack? Juli, do you?”
    Juli looked away, taking his point keenly. She truly intended to do right by the pack, but since she’d returned to Missoula, she’d been so caught up with her father’s death, the Council investigation, and the turmoil with Neil that she hadn’t been to see anyone. She could make no excuse for that, but Neil pressed his point.
    “Let me tell you all something.” He stabbed a finger in Heather’s face, nearly grazing her nose. The investigator to her right put up a warning hand. Neil retracted the finger, but did not step back. “The werewolves in Missoula were loyal to Darrow Gunby, because he commanded respect. When he got sick and I asked them to stand by him, we all agreed we couldn’t do without his wisdom. But we had an understanding.”
    Heather interrupted, slicing her hand through the air. “You went over this during your testimony, Mr. Statham. If you can’t see how you’re contradicting yourself, I don’t think I can help you.”
    Neil turned his back on her in an ultimate gesture of disrespect. Heather’s eyes widened and the dart gun came out of that other investigator’s pocket again, but Juli couldn’t watch them because he’d suddenly turned on her full force. She forced herself to meet his gaze boldly, knowing he didn’t truly have much size on her. Still, her own fear filled the air around her.
    Neil seemed to take up the entire room as he advanced on her. He stepped so close she could smell him, feel the heat of his skin, practically taste him. The proximity made her shudder with the recollection of his lips on hers. He leaned in even closer and spoke slowly and loudly, as if she might have trouble hearing him in that totally silent room. “No one is going to follow you. You can play games with statutes and regulations all day long if you want, but nothing is going to change the simple fact that the pack isn’t loyal to you.”
    Heather cleared her throat again, breaking the spell Neil had cast on the room. “As a member of the pack, it’s your duty and obligation to assist your alpha with that. As the current beta, you bear that responsibility even more keenly. If you believe the alpha can’t lead, then you challenge her in single combat. Very simple. What part of this are you struggling with, Mr. Statham?”
    “I know the way it’s supposed to go, Miss Compton.” He returned the investigator’s formal style with sneering sarcasm. “I also know there are free packs in Wyoming that do it differently. They allow the challenges, but they also give current pack members the chance to accept or reject a new alpha. They acknowledge the right of each pack to choose its own destiny, and, by