The back of the leather swivel chair was all I saw at the end of the table. On the wall, which I presumed my father was staring at, was a large portrait of the family.

It was taken about eight years ago, and it was the last full family photo we had. Victor's head was tilted upwards, a large grin on his face, while my father's hand, proud and firm, held him on his shoulder. A ten-year-old me stood at the side, back hunched, hands grasping on my mother's skirt, with a body language that screamed "I-want-to-be-out-of-the-frame-please". Within eight years, the number in the family had halved. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Father."

Slowly, the chair turned and my father came into view. His grey beard had grown a lot more, but it could not cover the exhaustion that was painted on his face. He leaned back on the leather backrest, his eyes barely reaching me.

"Bodie." His low voice was almost a growl. "How have you been?"

A polite "I'm okay." would have been too obvious of a lie, so I opted to be honest.

"Not good at all."

My father's brows furrowed. He sat forward, clasping his hands together. I found myself wanting to step backward, but I managed to stay still.

"If you ever want to take over the pack," he said softly, "the first lesson you need to learn is that you should never reveal your true feelings this easily. Take a step back, absorb your instinctual thoughts, and then take action with a clear mind. Otherwise, you will get taken advantage of. And as the leader, you can't ever let that happen."

I blinked. "But you're my father."

"This lesson applies everywhere, at any time."

"That's cr..." I stopped myself from finishing the sentence. "Yes, sir."

My father pinched the bridge of his nose, his frown remaining above it. "I should have taught you more earlier. I didn't expect... Never mind. What's done is done. What was the phrase that the werebirds always say? Something about not putting all your eggs into one basket?" He slumped back in his chair. "I did just that. I put way too much on Victor. I relied on him too much, and I ended up... neglecting you."

The invisible boulder on my head weighed further down on me. I did not have the heart to tell my father that it had not been completely his fault—I had skirted my responsibilities as much as I could, just because Victor had been there.

"It is now time for me to right this wrong," my father continued. "And it is time for you to step up as well. Even if you feel unprepared, even if you are unprepared, you need to become prepared as soon as possible. Our war against the werebears is still ongoing. We need a good heir in place as I lead our pack through this."

I stuffed my hands into my pocket. These political talks always made me queasy. "Does it... have to be me?"

My father raised an eyebrow. "What other child do I have?"

"Does it have to be a person born into this family?" Can it be Celine?

"Are you crazy?" My father raised his voice as he sat up in agitation. "Of course it has to. My grandmother fought hard for our family to clinch this position in the pack. We have to maintain it."

His blazing golden eyes met mine as I squirmed under his glare. "Second lesson for you, Bodie. Alphas have to win. Always. You should never compromise, or back down, or admit defeat. Your brother knew that; he embodies that."

I felt a scowl climb over my face. Wasn't this belief the reason Victor died on the battlefield?

But I also knew that this was the most important mindset to have for an Alpha. Without this adamant competitiveness, nobody in the pack would believe in my ability to lead, and the betas would continue staring daggers at me till the end of time. Victor had always commented that I relented too easily. It was a sign of weakness and it was something I needed to fix.

I clenched my fists.

"I'll try my best to fill his shoes, Father."

"Not try. You have to." He pulled open a drawer and threw a folder onto the desk. "I'm going to hand some tasks to you to train you up. Your first will be an easy one. Somewhere in the southern forest area is the wererabbits' territory. They have been burrowing a little too much and are weakening the ground in the area. The weremonkeys have been complaining."

I picked up the folder and flipped through the pages. Indeed, there were pages detailing the various reports by the weremonkeys and weresquirrels. The maps of their territories were drawn, and a few contact names were provided.

"I need you to tell them to pull back on their burrowing, or whatever they're up to," my father said, waving his hands in the air. "I need you to step up and be an Alpha. Can you do that?"

"Don't take no for an answer," was all I heard.

This was what it was like to be at the top of the werekingdom—we had to be in charge of all wereanimal territories and disputes, even if it meant forcing some wereanimals to go against what they wanted.

My throat felt sandy and coarse as I closed the file and nodded. As much as I hated this task, it should be easy. If there was anybody I could easily say no to, they would be the wererabbits, the ultimate prey animals of the wereanimal kingdom.

"I need it settled by next week," my father added.

"Consider it done," I said before marching out of the office.

Celine was waiting for me outside. When I waved the folder at her, her lips tugged into a relieved smile.

"Congrats on your first task, Bodie. Let me know if you need any help."

"I will. Thank you."

I looked out the floor-to-ceiling window that lined every corridor of the building. The sun was shining way too bright, so I shielded my eyes and squinted.

Being on the twelfth floor, I could easily see the forest sprawled beside our territory. I could spot the demarcated wererabbit burrows, the weremonkey treehouses, the weredeer ranges. I straightened my back. Time to get to the bunny burrow.

Time to emerge from Victor's shadow.