Lamplad sighed in sadness. "Looks like I have to leave."
He had made up his mind to run away but he recognized the howl and who it belonged to. It belongs to someone on his side of the rift.
He smiled after the realization. "This is good too. I can still get my revenge."
He stood up from where he was meditating and left his cave. He found his Betas already waiting for him at the entrance. They heard the howl so they came to him for their orders. The four of them are looking at him intensely.
One of them asked him. "What are we doing boss? Should we make a run for it?"
Their allegiance remains with him. They listen to him for now, not the pack leader. That will only change when their Alpha submits to the new pack leader. Until then, they will run away with him as long as he says so.
He playfully rubbed the head of the one who asked him. He grinned and said to them. "I am glad that I can always count on you. You have always been there for me. But I have good news. We won't run today. Things are good for us."
His Betas cheered and laughed. They will run with him. But it is not a good idea to run. Warrogs are not meant to be alone from a pack. Becoming fugitives will be very difficult for them. Their strength will be weakened and they will be alone. Survival will be very hard for them. So it is good news that they don't need to run.
His smile waned as he watched their happy faces. They used to be 10 but now they are 4. 6 of them died that night when Ragnarok unleashed hell on them. 3 of them died to save him. That is half of the total that died. It is because Ragnarok specifically targeted the Alphas. He knew the Betas would protect the Alphas so he took advantage of their bond to kill more of them. The death of an Alpha will also stun the Betas and turn them into disarray.
"The Executioner took advantage of the bond that makes us stronger. For that, he will pay." He said to them. "Let us go and offer allegiance to the new pack leader."
He howled into the sky. His howl joined the howls of the other Alphas. Every Alpha that intends to answer the call will howl to show their willingness to do so. As for the others that don't want to, they will slip away silently. His Betas joined him in howling and joined him in transforming into their beast form. Then they ran in the direction of the howl of the pack leader.
The new pack leader has been howling for a long while She continued to howl even when Alphas brought their squads to her. The Squads sat on their haunches and waited for her. She stopped howling when she didn't receive a reply for a few minutes. Whoever was going to come will be here already. She looked around the squads that answered her call. It was not what she expected.
"I am pleasantly surprised. I didn't expect many of you to come when you heard my voice. I expected the majority of you to run away since it was the majority that voted against looking for an Emperor. I am impressed by your loyalty. The dedication that you have shown me is a sign of trust and I promise not to betray that trust. I swear that with your help, I will create a pack that will prosper. We shall not want for anything."
The Warrogs howled in agreement with what she said. There is more than 90% of the survivors here. She expected to see 30% since she is from the minority faction. It is understandable for the majority to refuse to heed her call. But they came and she understands why.
It is because while the majority wants to settle down, they also want a pack leader and want to be part of a pack. They miss being part of a pack. It is in their nature to aggregate towards a pack leader and they don't feel strongly negative against her to not let themselves obey her. So they came to her.
She made her promises and they agreed with her. A pact was made through that agreement. And the connection between them formed at that point. The pack became whole again.
The new pack leader spoke after the bonding ceremony. "I know that many of you have questions about the direction that I want to take the pack. You can step forward and speak your mind when I select you."
Lamplad stepped forward with the others. He has questions that he wants to ask. Unfortunately, he wasn't chosen first. Someone else was chosen.
That person is a female Alpha. She asked the question that everyone is concerned about. "So when do we go looking for the mythical Emperor."
This female emphasized the word "mythical." She would put air quotes to buttress her point if she could in her beast form and if it were not disrespectful to do so.
She smiled and replied. "I understand why you asked that question. You assumed that we are going to look for the Emperor because I belong to the minority faction."
Her words didn't make Lamplad feel good. He doesn't know where she is going but he doesn't like it all. So he blurted out, "But we are going to look for the Emperor right?"
The new pack leader growled and snapped at him, "Know your place. You are not to speak until allowed and neither are you to interrupt me. Do you understand?"
He shrunk down on himself and lay with his belly to the ground. It is both an apology and a showing of submission.
"I understand." He replied weakly. "I am sorry for interrupting you pack leader."