“No thank you. I won’t be long.” I nodded and sat down in the other chair.
“Your brother has been talking to the council,” Councilman Rador told me. I felt my mood souring.
“He has asked you to force a reconciliation?” I asked. The councilman looked at me with an appreciative look.
“You’re smarter than you look, son. Yes, he has. The council has denied his request as we know the wolves who left with you did so of their own free will, and we don’t want to take that freedom from them.”
“But?” I asked. He wouldn’t be here if they straight up had refused my brother.
“But. Are you sure this is the road you want to walk?” he asked me.
“I am. My pack is doing good. Better than good. We are thriving. Our land is vast and we have just purchased more. The pack members feel seen and heard, they create a stable pack. Everyone has their place in the pack and no one is more important than the others, not even me. It makes the pack feel safe to put down roots. Our settlement is growing and so is the pack. Two of our females are expecting pups. You know as well as I do the births of pups signals a stable pack. We are on good terms with the closest humans and there is harmony,” I told him. It was all I had wanted to tell my mother. He nodded as he listened.
“But as an unranked pack, there are dangers,” he pointed out. It was my turn to nod.
“We are aware of them. We hope the unknown acts as a deterrent, but we have taken precautions. We train everyone in the pack on what to do if the worst comes to worse.”
“At least you have a plan. It means you and your top tier have at least thought about it. I won’t try to persuade you to return to your brother’s pack. I have quite liked to have you as an Alpha. You are doing a good job. The state of your pack is a testament of it. It will be interesting to see what you will do in the upcoming games. Only five years left. Oh well, time for me to go. I’m too old to be up this late. Have a pleasant evening,” the councilman said as he stood up.
“Thank you for coming to see me,” I told him as I held open the door. He just nodded and left. This was a new low for my brother. I needed to think about what this could mean for the future, and why he was so determined to force us back into his pack.Amie
I looked out over the two new houses being built at the edge of the small town that were continuing to grow. I couldn’t believe I had been here for over five years. One of the new houses was for a lone wolf we had recruited. Ramses had been with us for almost a year and he was fitting in as if he had always been with us. The other house was for one of the pack who had found her mate during one of the allied parties we had started to attend. The two had chosen to settle down in our pack. We were slowly growing. It was important to all of us that we didn’t grow too fast. I turned around and headed back to the pack house for breakfast. The fall air was clear and the red and yellow leaves were slowly falling.
“How does it look?” Finlay asked as he came walking from the other direction and met me by the front door of the pack house.
“They are coming along great. It looks like they will be waterproof before the first storm hits,” I told him as we walked inside.
“Perfect.” We sat down at our usual table and Matilda joined us and started talking about the next hide and seek tournament. They were a beloved twice yearly tradition by now. Jake proved with each one that his skills were developing. There was the usual chatter in the dining hall. It all felt familiar by now. Suddenly, the room got dead quiet and everyone scented the air. I was the first one out of my chair and hurrying over to Medow, sweeping her up in a tight hug.
“Congratulations!” I shouted. The room burst out in activity as everyone wanted to congratulate the expecting parents. Finlay and Martin were congratulating Sam, who desperately tried to keep an eye on Medow. Medow was thanking everyone for their well wishes with a blush on her cheeks and a hand on her stomach. Sam finally managed to get away from his friends to get to Medow’s side and place an arm around her.
“Don’t fuss,” she told him as he was about to object to the next batch of pack mates that wanted to congratulate the couple.
“Oh, just let him. It’s part of the experience,” Matilda said as she beamed a smile at the couple.
“Finally, someone sane,” Sam said, sounding relieved. After reluctantly letting the rest of the pack congratulate them, Sam guided Medow to our table and had her sit down. She looked at me, rolled her eyes, and then giggled. I got the impression she didn’t hate it nearly as much as she pretended to. Which was good as we would have seven months of Sam trying to protect her from any kind of danger. Well, more like six months. A pregnant wolf’s scent didn’t change until the third or fourth week of pregnancy, when the hormones really started to do their thing. The conversation had started up around the room again when, for the second time, the room felt silent and everyone scented the air. It was Shelly and Jake who had walked into the dining room, closely followed by a beaming Cadence and Mari. Again, the room erupted into chaos as everyone wanted to congratulate the couple. Jake was as protective of his mate as Sam, even if it would be their third pup.
“Two pups at once,” I commented to Finlay when we sat down again.
“I know. It’s brilliant,” he said with a huge smile. I understood his happiness. Not only was he happy for his friends, it was also a sign the pack was thriving. Everyone knew fertility rates were closely connected to the stability of the pack when it came to werewolves. More pups were born in packs where the members were happy and felt safe, than in packs with unrest. It was such a clear sign of the pack’s health that Alphas would often boast about the number of pups born during a year in their packs. “Aunt, do you think you can arrange for a celebration for dinner?” he then asked Matilda.
“I would love to,” she said.
“Let me know if you need my help,” I said.
“Alpha, we would like for Medow’s parents, or at least her mother, to come here for the birth. Would that be okay?” Sam asked. Finlay smiled at him and Medow.
“The Cayote Hill pack is an ally and has always shown us kindness and friendship. I can’t see why your parents couldn’t come and visit us. Feel free to invite them,” Finlay said.
“Thank you, Alpha,” Medow said. When the conversation changed to another subject she turned to me.
“I was hoping you would be there when I give birth,” she told me.
“Me?” I asked, a little shocked.
“Yes. My mom will be there and so will Sam. My mom will have her hands busy with me, but I need someone to be there for Sam. We both know he will get all rallied up and he will try and protect me and the pup and I just want someone there who can calm him down,” she told me. I smiled at her. She knew her mate.
“I would be honoured to be there. And don’t worry about Sam. He will be amazing and if it’s needed, I will step in. I will even make sure to catch him if he faints,” I promised. Medow giggled and squeezed my hand.
“Thank you. I knew I could trust you.”
The day had started off good, and it continued in the same way. I helped Matilda make a huge cake for dessert and then joined the others as we had a top tier meeting to discuss a new business proposal Ramses had submitted. I had read through it and it looked promising. We were in the middle of debating it when two things happened at once. The first thing was the alarm in the pack house when off, alerting everyone our border had been breached. The second was a link from a patrolling warrior reporting a large amount of unknown, shifted wolves had entered into our land. We all stood as one.
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