Chapter 84

I never expected to have to walk back my words so quickly, but with so few of the pack needing to do things here in the den, I quickly dismissed the majority of them to go off and practice or do what I'd suggested. Before long, the den was quiet and mostly empty of keelish. I could go out and try to find new prey to hunt, but I suspected that would do less for me than staying here, practicing with my magic, and finally finding the first of the swarm to begin gaining control over. 

"Sybil, do we know of any packs that are continuously failing in their hunts?"

She looked at me, and she took only a moment of hesitation before she understood what I was asking. "I think we know of one that has been particularly unsuccessful of late. Etra, please guide him there."

At her words, Etra immediately nodded, approached me, and began to guide me down the tunnels into the deeper parts of the den. Unlike how I was used to, though, before long we entered a side tunnel and followed that for a while. As we walked, Etra was silent, simply guiding me without complaint or comment. Finally, I broke the silence.

"What do you know about this pack?"

"We think they are two generations our senior," Her tone, manner of speech, and demeanor all were an imitation of Sybil's. I'd have thought it cute if she wasn't such a pale imitation of Sybil. Sybil truly was detached and clinical, Etra couldn't hide her desperate need for approval from Sybil, from me, from any in power. Regardless of how she worshipped and tried to be another Sybil, I could see how much her presence and work benefitted Sybil. With a start, I realized that I'd stopped listening to Etra's words and refocused.

"--so we are fairly certain that they are the best option for your first target." I could see that Etra was looking at me out of the corner of her eye, watching for my reaction. I flared my frills in approval, and I noted Etra holding herself a little higher at my acknowledgement. How simple it was to please my pack, and I had taken so long to even begin to realize it…

With the silence broken, the quiet that followed thereafter was more companionable and comfortable. Before long, we arrived at our destination and Etra gestured for me to enter. I squared my shoulders and stepped into the den. Immediately, I was struck by the stench. Looking around, I could see piles of feces, dried urine puddles, and discarded flesh. I thought I could hear a stomach rumble as one of the keelish rose to their feet and looked at me. Around the den, there were maybe twenty keelish, about the same size as the ones Shemira had conscripted, so a bit over 3 feet tall. 

The one who stood seemed unsure whether to stand tall or to avoid eye contact with me as she spoke, "What?"

I stood straight and somehow flared the influence of [Dominance]'s aura. I could see the keelish in front of me begin to retreat in on herself as I did so, and I felt my evaluation of her lessen. As I shook myself from my feelings of superiority, I asked, "Are you hungry?"

She cocked her head, then, still confused, flared her frills in agreement as she answered, "Yes?"

"I have enough food for all of you. For days. Do you want it?"

Less confused now, she flared her frills again, "Yes."

"Then bow to me. Accept me as your new Alpha, and I will ensure you never again go hungry."

At my demand, the female seemed to gain some level of self-respect, no longer nearly groveling before me. "I am an Alpha. You are not better than me." I could hear that, while she spoke in full sentences, she needed to struggle over the words. I felt even more superior to this sniveling weakling as she did. Any remains of my patience disappeared as I spoke again.

"Last chance. Do you submit?"

She began to square herself, ready for a fight, but the moment I stopped seeing her as a pathetic keelish and began to see her as an obstacle to defeat, an enemy, she began to cower before me, baring her throat and lowering herself. For a bare second, I was confused, then I realized that it was the activation of [Adversary], inciting a weakness of her will and fear.

I stepped closer, and with every step I took, she cowered deeper into the ground until she was laying on the ground, every inch of her begging for mercy. I stood tall over her, and stated more than asked, "Do. You. Submit."

Without a word, the female flipped onto her belly and bowed before me. Looking across the den, I saw every one of the twenty keelish similarly in a submissive pose, bowing before me. I felt a flash of pride, of satisfaction in these inferior beings' submission, of their understanding and acceptance of their position below me. I nodded slowly, disregarding the flashing [System] notifications and instead focused on the female prostrated before me.

"What is your name?"

After a moment to collect herself, the female former Alpha stood, keeping her head down. While still refusing to meet my eyes, she finally spoke, "Ytte."

I found myself putting my hand on her head, almost like a parent comforting their child. "Now, are you hungry?" With my words, I found that the resentful eyes of her and every other keelish except Etra in the den changed to hopeful. "I said that you would never go hungry. Now that I'm your Alpha, I'll feed you." With that, I turned and, my tail whipping through the air, I began to lead the rest of the pack back to my territory. 

The trip back was quick and quiet, with little more than the quiet shuffling of scales and feet on the ground accompanying our path back to my territory. I supposed that this area was now my territory as well, but I disregarded that entirely, instead wanting to consolidate all my power and followers into the same space. As we turned down the final steps towards my den, I could feel the moment when the rest of the new keelish smelled the bounty prepared and stowed before us.

Behind me, twenty keelish bristled at the chance to eat their fill for the first time in I couldn't say how long, and involuntary hisses filled the air as they subconsciously began to compete for the opportunity to finally dull the edge of starvation. Before they could begin to rush forward, however, I leveled a threatening look behind me, and all twenty were cowed and waited as patiently as they could as we rounded the corner. As they saw the veritable mountain of food laid out in front of them, I could feel from [Evolutionary Guide] that they now trusted me, at least a little more. 

As Ytte looked up at me and silently begged for permission to begin to eat, I looked across my newest subordinates.

"Eat your fill!" Immediately, twenty voracious predators set to the food laid out before them in a bounteous spread, and I finally took the opportunity to look at my [Status] notifications.