The bright sun hung high in the sky, beating down on Calder Lorenson as he hammered away at another dilapidated roof. Lifting his head, he looked around and thought for the hundredth time that he was in way the hell over his head.

Being the Alpha of Twisted Tail had sounded great, and he had already experienced some of the challenges he’d known were sure to come with the job. He never expected the transition to be a walk in the park, but sweet Jeebus, he had not expected every house, apartment complex, and building on pack territory to be in a state of total disrepair. Everything needed something, people and buildings alike. As soon as he fixed one issue, five more seemed to spring up. It had been nonstop since the moment he’d arrived at Twisted Tail.

“How are you doing over there, Alex?” Calder asked, glancing over to the man working beside him.

“Not too bad. It’s nice to see someone take the initiative to clean this place up, even if you are an outsider.”

Calder chugged his bottle of water thinking about what Alex had said. It had definitely been a point of contention with some members in the pack. They despised outsiders and wanted nothing more than for him to walk away. “I’m never going to live that down. Am I?”

“I’m just giving you a hard time. It’s not a problem for me. I’m more interested in doing what’s right for the whole pack, not just a few of the trouble makers. If this pack is going to survive it has to change. And the way I see it, the change you’ve brought has been positive. It’s good for the pack and everyone in it. Those who have a problem with it are the holdouts from Griffin’s reign of terror.”

Calder nodded. “I figured as much.”

And he had.

One of his strengths was the ability to read people. The ability to see who a person really was, what was in their heart and soul, made his job easier at times. It also led to disappointment in people more times than he cared to count. Over the years, he’d hesitated using his gift, feeling as if it were some sort of intrusion. He’d often think, ‘who meets someone and immediately looks at their soul’? His gift was too intrusive and Calder didn’t want to be that untrusting person. Life, with all of its grand betrayals, taught him to be that person.

He knew that his eyes darkened to a pitch black. He likened it to a second sight—one that gave him a glimpse of one’s soul.

He had once believed in giving humans and shifters the benefit of the doubt, but being able to see when a person’s soul had been possessed by pure evil had saved his life time and again. The special sight, as he liked to call it, had never let him down.

Not once.

Calder had taken advantage of his insight to catch that special glimpse of most of the pack members at Twisted Tail over the few short weeks since he had become Alpha. There was no question in his mind who he needed to watch his ass around, and those who would have his back when shit hit the fan.

Alex had his back. He was one of the first members of the pack to offer his hand at helping to rebuild the community, wanting more for the people who’d lived under the horrid conditions of their former Alpha.

Calder had heard stories about the suffering the pack had been forced to endure. The tales survivors told about the atrocities the former Alpha had committed against his own pack—from starving his people to forced matings, brutal beatings, and public executions—made him and his wolf sick. Calder would make damn sure life at Twisted Tail changed for the better.

Signs of the frequent abuses were all around him. But he saw more than a beaten-down pack. He saw people, a pack, desperately wanting a shot at a normal life, one that was free of the never-ending pain and humiliation that had been forced upon them. He saw a pack waiting for someone who cared enough about them to make change happen.

And change was what it was all about: getting the small community back on its feet again and fixing everything that had been broken, buildings and people alike.

“I wanted to give you a heads up. I don’t think those wanting to see you gone are going to come at you head on.” Alex pulled his t-shirt off and used it to wipe his sweaty brow.

“What do you mean?” Calder asked in confusion. Wolves were nothing if not vicious when it came to defending their territory. The most direct route to challenge an Alpha would be initiating a fight. Everyone knew that—or so he thought.

“There’s been whispers about having people search through all of the formal written pack law. I guess they’re looking for a law that could make it illegal for you to continue on as Alpha. That way they could force you out without challenging you.”

“Huh. I’m kind of surprised by that.” Calder took another swig of his water.

“I’m not. They’re a bunch of pussies. They’d never come at you one on one. They know you’d beat their asses and not think twice about doing it.”

“True,” Calder laughed. “Thanks for the heads up.”