Filipendulous
(n.) Hanging by a thread

Genevieve POV

The Phantom Pack were a proud pack and after all the centuries of hard work, they had every right to be. We had a considerable amount of land with lush wildlife, hundreds of members, an impressive army and great wealth.

However, none of that truly mattered. It never did, but now it was more than apparent that those things are not what defines a pack.

It's their leader, their alpha that defines the entire pack.

Right now, our alpha was going insane. He was wild, almost feral with the mate bond crushing down on him. He was always a man of few words before, but now he was incomprehensible, speaking only in growls and snarls as his wolf fought to emerge at every second.

He wasn't much of an alpha.

His grandmother would try help but the frail woman was afraid of her own grandson and avoided him after he lunged for her throat in a tirade of anger. Aerin tried to console him too, no doubt to try and mate with him, but he ended up snapping her neck and she remained in hospital, recovering.

Needless to say, he was long gone past civil conversation. Only one person could help him but we had no idea where to find her, where to begin searching.

"Beta Female, what shall I do about the new orphans, they have no beds to sleep on," A woman complained. I sighed, rubbing my temples as a dull throb began to settle there.

"Send them to the empty bedrooms in the pack house for now," I suggested. The woman pursed her lips but nodded reluctantly.

"And the overcrowding children's ward?" She asked. I fought the urge to groan out loud.

"We can set up a makeshift hospital in the ceremony hall for now," The woman nodded and thankfully walked away. I let out a massive sigh, feeling exhausted once again. It was only midday and I still had a lot of work I need to do.

I wouldn't last without a nap so I quickly headed into the pack house, slumping onto the nearest sofa to close my eyes. I felt my brother enter the room, his familiar spicy scent reaching my nose.

"Long day?" I didn't offer much of a verbal response, instead I just grunted. My brother Apollo was now the acting alpha since Aurelius was feral and I was the acting Luna since Artemis disappeared. The pack was a giant clusterfuck.

"The elders called," I snapped my eyes open, all exhaustion leaving me when I heard those dreaded words. "Don't worry, it's not about the alpha. They don't know about this mess," I sighed with relief.

The elders hardly interfered with packs but when they did, it was often serious. They were often involved if there was a large dispute between packs or with the vampires and witches.

"What do they want?" I asked. We didn't have any issues the elders would need to interfere with. Aside from maybe Aurelius but we didn't want them to know about him.

"It's a presentation ceremony. One of the spirit wolves is stepping down and a new one is joining," I furrowed my brows.

"They're real?" I asked. I've only heard of them in legends and myths, I didn't think they were real.

"Yeah, they are. They're good at hiding apparently. I don't know much about them since it's really none of our business," he shrugged. "It's just an official ceremony which every alpha and beta of the pack must attend. It will be held here in the States thankfully," he murmured, his brows furrowed.

"How often do these things happen?" I asked, since I've never heard of these ceremonies before. I mean, I heard it in bedtime stories growing up, but chalked it up to all be a myth since no one had actually seen a spirit wolf or attended a ceremony.

Heck, most of us had never even seen the elders before. They would only ever communicate through ambassadors or representatives and even that was quite rare.

"They're quite rare, happens every few centuries apparently which only makes it more important we show up," His eyes swam with worry and I knew what he was thinking.

We had to show up with the alpha, otherwise it would be considered an immense disrespect to the elders. They would extract the truth from us and would no doubt deem the alpha as unfit to rule. We would be left alpha less and Apollo would be next in line, though he'd have to face many challengers to take up the spot.

It was all too risky and would damage us all.

"I'll go tell him. I'm the least threatening out of both of us," I could see him begin to protest but I shot him with a glare. He pursed his lips after giving a reluctant sigh, knowing I was right.

I couldn't lie, I was afraid of approaching the alpha. He had been locked in his room for months now, barely eating, barely shifting. No one approached his floor except a few of the warriors who'd put food at his door before quickly scurrying off.

I tentatively approached the door, knocking softly and speaking up. "Alpha, it's me Genevieve, your beta female. I have some urgent news regarding the elders," I kept my voice low and soft, laying on the submission a little thick.

The door was suddenly yanked open and I was faced with a large growling alpha, his canines extended into a vicious snarl. I didn't dare look up, afraid it would be mistaken as a challenge and bared my neck, despite my instincts telling me to run.

"You told them about me? You betrayed me?!" He roared into my face. I flinched at the loud volume, feeling his hand grab my throat painfully.

"No Alpha, I would never. It's a presentation ceremony about a new spirit wolf-,"

"Are you lying to me?" He snarled, tightening his grip further on my throat. I could hardly breath never mind speak but I forced the words out of my throat.

"I would never lie to my alpha," I wheezed. He held me for a moment longer before pushing me away. I choked down lungfuls of air, feeling the bruise around my throat begin to heal.

"When is it?" He growled.

"Exactly a month from now. It will be held in the central territories. The alphas and the betas of every pack are expected," I breathed out.

"We'll go. Now leave," I didn't need to be told twice. I quickly scurried out of the bedroom, noting how there were giant claw marks over the walls and the broken and destroyed furniture.

As I headed to my bedroom, I let out a silent prayer to the moon goddess that this would all go well.