This collapse wasn’t just because Ezra had grown accustomed to being an absentee leader, leaving the pack without a leader when I was gone; it was also because his personality had become more obsessive and erratic, causing him to squander opportunities that could have been easily secured.
“It was like watching someone deliberately sabotage themselves,” Lyra explained during our call. “He’d arrive at meetings still drunk from the night before. He would insult potential allies. He didn’t always show up.
Despite my disdain for Ezra, I had to admit that he had once been exceptional in terms of business acumen and strategic thinking.
However, in terms of overall leadership ability, his other qualities–selfishness, impulsivity, and inability to maintain relationships–dragged him down like anchors.
“How about the Northern Alliance?”” I enquired, curious despite myself; that collaboration had been my crowning achievement, requiring months of delicate negotiation.
“Broken within weeks,” Lyra grumbled. “Alpha Zack offered support after hearing you’d left, but Ezra accused him of trying to steal pack territory and threatened him.”
Even when former Alpha allies offered to help bring the pack back from the brink, Ezra turned them all down.
His heart was no longer in pack management; his mind was lost in bitterness, resentment, and self-pity. “And Alexa?I enquired, even though I already knew the answer.
“She saw the writing on the wall,” Lyra said with a stern expression. “The moment the pack’s finances started dwindling, she discovered urgent business overseas.”
Alexa, ever the opportunist, recognised that Ezra had become a dead end, a path not worth choosing, and she quickly left, never to see him again.
With such a deteriorating state of leadership, the pack struggled to survive for a year. However, the inevitable happened: the rogue wolves returned, stronger than before, and without proper leadership or alliances, the entire pack splintered apart.
“We fought as long as we could,” Lyra said, her voice cracking slightly. “But Ezra…” He did not even show up for the final battle. Just locked himself in his office with a bottle of whisky while the rogues ploughed through our defences.”
As I listened to my former pack member’s bitter account, I felt neither satisfied nor vindicated.
If anything, Ezra’s current situation appeared entirely predictable–neither deserving of mockery nor sympathy.
He had chosen this path for himself, and how he continued on it had nothing to do with me.
I smiled slightly and made a quick decision.
“Since you don’t currently have a pack, why not join ours?”
The voice on the other end brightened, rising a few notes with excitement.
“Zara! Even though you left the pack, you’re still my anchor in the storm.”
Her relief was palpable: “If you’re offering, I’d be a fool to decline.”
She paused for a moment before adding hesitantly: “But… I still do not understand. You and Alpha Jackson were friends, after all. How can you be so calm about everything right now?”
Hearing this made me smile.
“If you lose a piece of gold,” I explained quietly, “you will naturally think about it all the time. Even though it will never be found again…”
I traced a pattern on my desk with my finger as I carefully considered my words.
