Exiled Villainess: They Threw Me Out, Now Every Beastman Wants Me novel Chapter 167

Chapter 167: Cracks In The Pack

The air went dead.

The elders froze, and every head turned toward the young wolf. Even Hiro, who had been silent the entire time, took a small, involuntary step away from Girruk.

Calis turned slowly.

His crimson eyes found Girruk, and the look in them was something the young wolf had never been on the receiving end of before. It was not the controlled displeasure of a leader correcting a subordinate. It was the slow, coiling fury of an alpha who was deciding how much damage to inflict.

"What did you say?" Calis asked quietly.

Girruk’s bravado wavered. His jaw worked, but the words didn’t come out as easily the second time. His eyes darted to his father—

A heavy crack echoed through the clearing.

Greymaw’s open palm connected with the back of Girruk’s skull so hard that the young wolf stumbled forward, his ears ringing. His eyes went wide with shock as he caught himself, barely staying on his feet.

His father had never hit him that hard.

"You FOOL!" Greymaw snarled, and the raw fury in the old wolf’s voice confused Girruk.

His father had been badmouthing the Alpha ever since the shiftless female appeared, why was he so angry with him?

Before Girruk could recover, Greymaw seized his son by the back of the neck and forced him down. Girruk’s knees hit the dirt, and Greymaw shoved his head low until his forehead nearly touched the ground.

"Forgive him, Alpha!" Greymaw’s voice had shifted from fury to something urgent and desperate. He bowed his own head. "You know how reckless Girruk has always been. This idiot!"

The elders were glaring at Girruk with a mixture of anger and disbelief. Whatever private doubts some of them might have harboured about Calis’ decisions, not a single one of them would have dared to voice it like that.

It was plain disrespectful.

A young wolf challenging the alpha’s fitness to lead was not a disagreement. It was an insult to every wolf who had followed Calis through migration, starvation, and loss. It was an insult to the alpha who had sacrificed his own mating rights so his males could sire cubs. It was an insult to the memory of Calis’ father, who had built this pack from nothing.

An elder might have the standing to raise such a question carefully, through proper channels, with decades of service behind the words.

But not some young wolf like this.

This sort of statement was an invitation to a fight to the death.

Calis stared down at Girruk’s bowed form, his hands clenched into fists as a barely audible growl vibrated in his chest.

"I did not mean it," Girruk managed, his voice muffled against the dirt. "I am sorry, Alpha."

Calis frowned, disgusted.

His voice was ice. "You are lucky we have visitors. The next time you question my right to lead, I will take it as an open invitation for what it truly is. And we both know how that ends."

Girruk’s body went taut, but he didn’t move.

Calis straightened and turned to Greymaw. "Teach your son some manners."

Greymaw nodded vigorously, and Calis shook his head, turning away. "We will discuss this later."

The elders stood in the heavy silence Calis left behind, some seething at the situation and others glaring at Girruk and Greymaw with annoyance.

Greymaw slapped his son.

"Foolish boy!" Greymaw’s voice was shaking with barely contained rage. "Do you have any idea what you have done?!"

Girruk stared up at his father, holding his burning cheek.

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