Chapter 11
The Council
Things were going well and several
months had passed. The apartments were all built, six of them. They
were full of pack members. Their small community had taken on a
life of its own with several pack members opening businesses in
partnership with the alpha. A beauty shop, an open air market, a
discount store, and a hardware store all were right on mainthe main
street.
People were happy and many had been
elevated while doing the kind of job they’d always dreamed of. They
had several going to school or college to train for what they hoped
would be lifelong careers. An accountant who worked out of his
house handled most of the businesses in town. A bank was coming
soon.
All in all, the progress had been
amazing, and most people seemed quite happy with everything that
was being done. Duroc was happy with the progress atof the
businesses and had found more businesses that either he or the pack
owned. He had a map in his office that showed the area his pack
covered and all the land that he or the pack owned was marked off.
Businesses they owned were also noted on the map. This pack should
have been running well with good jobs, houses, and prosperity for
all.
Instead, a few selfish and greedy
leaders had hogged everything for themselves leaving others to
suffer in abject poverty. That this had gone on for so long was
unbelievable. The alpha had in time forgotten all about the council
and what they could possibly demand from him. But the council had
not forgotten about the alpha. Damon and Marissa were coming for a
visit and as much as he loved to see them it made him
nervous.
Duroc and Bindi would be going to the
airport to pick them up in an hour. That was when the council plane
was scheduled to land. Others would be on the plane too and he was
not sure who those others might be. The only bright side was that
now he would know what the council demanded of him. He’d figured
out that the council had some kind of plan to bring all wolf kind
into a more modern world. But what did that mean? It was true that
the old style ways allowed some alphas to run their packs at the
cost of the individuals they ruled.
The act of killing the family of the
deposed alpha, sometimes even the mate and female pups, was no
longer acceptable. This abuse and often the demise of any pack
member that disagreed with them could not be tolerated. He agreed
that things must change, but what part could he play beyond what he
had already done? That was what he feared he was about to
discover.
He and Bindi were now loading into the
equivalent of a four wheel drive stretch limo. It was large enough
to hold all their guests. If this was not the case, the SUV
following behind would get any others. The closest airport was now
owned by the pack and used privately. Their council plane was due
to land shortly after they arrived to pick up their
guests.
There was a surprise because the plane
landed early and their guests,guests were waiting on them. He could
see the council president was among them. Damon, Marissa, David,
who was council president, and two of the guards rode with them in
the limo and the others were in the SUV that followed. He could
already see that this meeting was going to be a serious one. As
much as he thought he wanted to know what was truly happening, he
now began to think he might be better off uninformed.
They arrived at the alpha house and
their guests were shown their rooms. It would have been nice to get
a break and let everyone settle in, but Damon had other ideas.
“Okay, Duroc, I think you know what this visit is for, and we need
to get started. Is there a room that will allow us privacy and will
be big enough to hold our small group?
“Yes, we have a meeting room that was
added behind the house that we use for parties and get togethers of
various types. There is a large table that will accommodate all of
this.”
“I will get our group together and you
get your mate. No one else needs to know about this meeting. But if
you are asked, we are simply talking about alpha participation and
inviting you to a council meeting whenever you should find the time
to attend one. We are also checking with you to see how you have
done since you took over this pack.”
“So that is the cover story?” Duroc
asked.
“You are being invited to a council
meeting and we are checking on you to see how you have done since
you took over the pack.”
“Alright. I'll go get my mate and
we'll meet you there.”
He went and got Bindi and they went to
the meeting room where they were the first to arrive. The others
came in and soon they were all there including two of the guards.
Duroc sat upup at the head of the table with his mate beside him
and David the council leader sat at the foot. There was no real
distinction between the head and the foot, .foot, so no one
complained.
It was no surprise that David began
the meeting. “Bindi it is so nice to meet you. I don't often get
away like this where I can get to know my alphas and their mates.
It looks like you have done well here. From reports I see that you
have institutedset many of your original objectives. Most of your
people seem happy and well cared for. I would say the change in
leadership has been successful. It is my hope that you and your
mate might attend a meeting of the council when you are able to. If
you find the time, please just notify my secretary who will make
all the arrangements necessary.”
“Thank you for noticing the
improvements we have made. I'm sure that we will find time before
long to attend a council meeting. But out of curiosity I wonder why
you don't just mark a meeting to be open to pack alphas and others
that have interest?” Duroc asked.
“That would be my way of handling
things if meetings were more regular then twice a year, and those I
call on emergencies. I have tried to get monthly meetings
established but the vote is always overwhelmingly against me. Other
council members say they are simply too busy to plan for that.
Usually those that say that do little to nothing when they are not
in a meeting. Unfortunately, my position doesn't carry the power to
go against a majority vote.”
“I understand.” And he really
did.
Damon spoke for the first time since
they had started this meeting. “I believe the guards should be
dismissed. They can wait outside the door.” David nodded and they
left. “We will now get to our final matter. David, would you like
to begin this?”
“First, I will explain that not
everyone agrees with this plan. If you can even call it a plan.
Some might call this a new order, but I don't. This is simply
taking action that should have been taken years ago. You may notice
that several alphas such as the one that was in charge of this pack
are no longer in charge. These alphas committed atrocities that we
could no longer tolerate. And while the council condemned their
actions, they took no action to correct this.”
“I suspect that everyone has noticed
just that and wondered how the council could allow such things but
the council of old was terribly corrupt and everyone knew it. The
average person had no respect for that council. They knew if they
needed help it would have to come from elsewhere.”
David flushed. “I cannot deny it. But
until we began to weed out the corruption and replace some of those
horrible alphas there was little the rest of us could do. And while
that's beginning to change, we need more change before we can truly
do what's right. I will let Damon explain more.”
It appeared that David was tired of
the hot seat. Damon on the other hand was used to it. “That I can
do. None of these takeovers could have happened without assistance.
Most where spurred on by the matings of victims to capable alphas.
That cannot always be counted on. Ariel joked about the stars
aligning and fate finally claiming her due. It's as good an
explanation as anything. Since Danny’s fight with Hemple we
realized that we could help these challengers by finding them,
assuring a fair fight, and assisting them to restore the pack they
are now in charge of to the condition it should have always been
in. This pack is a shining example of the difference we can all
make.”
“Thank you. Now let’s get down to what
you need?” Duroc questioned.
“Soon, we may need help for one of the
other packs in Oregon.”
“May?”
“We don’t push anyone into anything. A
situation is developing that may cause a challenge or may not.”
Damon admitted.
“Where are we talking
about?”
“A place that affects you a great
deal, middle Oregon. This information is for you and your mate
only.”
“We understand that. Will we be
dealing with a white wolf?” Duroc asked.
“No, none of them have a claim in the
pack. Let’s wait and see what happens, okay?”
“I suppose there is no choice and
there is no guarantee your plan will come together. What is your
success rate so far?”
Damon grinned. “One hundred
percent.”
“We’ll be waiting. Any ideas about
what we should have available for them?”
“Sure. Money, people, supplies, and
good advice.”
Their company stayed for another day
then they were gone. Life would get back to the way it was until
the next pack had a takeover.