Chapter 16
AURORA
The day progresses well. I greet Flint and the rest of the council members. It’s obvious that Eve Planter is turning her nose up at everything she sees, but to be honest, I don’t care about the female, she is not any of my concern. I will make sure that the rest of the council members see the pack and myself in as good a light as possible.
Flint walks into my office and gives me a half smile with a tint of a grimace. “Everyone is settled and in the dining area eating lunch. I like the fact Taria is helping, that is a good trait for a Luna.”
“Taria has met her fated mate, but he isn’t happy about the attitude Taria displays, and the fact she is not a fighter, expecting the pack to ensure her safety. Her entitled attitude did not sit well with him at all, and to be honest, I do understand. I have spoken to him and he is happy to give Taria six months to pull herself around. I have spoken to her and I will push her in the right direction.”
“Who is her mate?”
“Alpha Heir Bronze of the Eclipse Pack.”
“Oh, okay. I see where the problem could arise. The Eclipse Pack are a strong and independent bunch. They train as hard, if not harder than your pack. Alpha Chet trains daily with his warriors, Luna Sage trains three times a week with the female warriors. It may not be a bad thing to send Taria to be trained by the other Lunas. I’m sure they would help her if she starts at the Blackshadow Pack, then Wolfsfoot Pack, before going to Eclipse, her destined pack.” Flint is rubbing his chin with his thumb, in deep thought.
“I agree, I think that is a good idea, but I want her to work here for a month first. Allow Bronze to return to his pack and give her the time to consider how badly she wants her mate. I have her working in the kitchen and she’ll work with the members that clean the packhouse, and in the laundry room. I want her to have firsthand experience as to how the pack works, and how hard they work.”
“Does Alpha Chet know?” Flint asks.
“I don’t think so as they have not arrived yet to see Bronze. You spoke to them about us finding him and getting him out of the camp, but unless they have spoken to him directly they won’t know.”
The door opens and a frazzled looking Taria walks into the office. She’s so busy muttering to herself she hasn’t realized that I have someone in the office with me. But, when she looks up and sees Flint, a look of horror crosses her face.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you had someone with you.”
“You need to knock on the office door the same way everyone else does. It is not appreciated that you burst in as you have. It’s called being respectful, having manners, and when you have your own Luna office you will understand that is also about privacy.” Flint gives her a look that she can’t but recognize and it’s called annoyance.
“Have you finished helping in the kitchen?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Good. You can go and speak with Sharon to see what help they need in the laundry room.” I give her a stern look, as I can see she is about to argue, but she must recognize I am not going to back down. She gives me and Flint a nod before turning and exiting the office.
Chuckling has me looking at Flint. “She will make a good Luna once she gets past the entitled attitude. Her strength is going to be something that the Eclipse Pack will revere.”
“I hope this works out because the Eclipse Pack are a good pack, it will be a home to Taria and I’m sure she will fit in once she has grown up somewhat,” sighing because I feel most of this is because of my neglect. “What happened with Rona? Did she get settled with another pack?” I can’t help but be curious.
“She is settled in another pack, and the Alpha has all the information regarding why she left this pack. She will be watched closely because no-one wants a pack member that speaks out of turn. Things will work for her because she is not a bad female.” Flint eyes me, wondering I’m sure how I’ll respond, but all I give is a shrug of the shoulder.
“I am pleased she has found another pack, but I would never have trusted her again. It’s a good thing she left and won’t be returning.”
“Let’s not worry about things that have been dealt with and out of your control. We need to get this meeting opened and decide how we are going to deal with the Alpha Arric issue.”
“If you would like to call in the council members I will arrange a tray of drinks to be brought.”
Mind-linking Warrior Wallace, Raina, Gerry, and Roul to come to the office promptly, I notice Flint is also mind-linking, which leaves me free to step out of the office to arrange drinks for everyone. Once that is organized I quickly make my way from the kitchen back to the office and give the attending council members a greeting.
Roul, Gerry, Raina, and Wallace enter the office and give the entire table a tip of the head showing respect. “Please take a seat.” I indicate they sit at the end of the table where I will take my seat.
Once we are all seated, I look over at Flint and wait for him to start the meeting. Thankfully, he does that promptly.
“Council members, as you know we are here to decide on a course of action regarding the rogues in no-man’s-land. The other Alphas of our area will be attending a meeting of their own here in due course. But before they arrive for their meeting, we have to have some things in place,” Flint has a powerful presence and holds everyone’s attention. “I spoke with Warrior Gerry early this morning, and he wants to go back to check out more of the camp. We all know how dangerous that would be, but I can see his point that the more information we have about this rogue alpha the better.”
“That is not something I would want to agree with, it could be classed as a suicide mission,” Ulmer states leaning forward in his seat.
“I would go with Warrior Gerry. I think it’s a decent idea, but he would need backup, and that would be in the form of one, rather than a team. It would be far easier for two to get in and out as we have already, whereas a team would be harder to conceal.” I look at Gerry and he is giving me a look of gratitude that I have not flattened his idea.
Scathing laughter has my head twisting just when we all hear, “successfully got in and out. You were caught, held hostage, and you think that was successful?”
Of course, it is Eve Planter with her scathing remark. Warrior Gerry, however is fast to respond. “Did you not hear the whole story? Alpha Aurora walked into that camp to divert attention from her pack members. She did not get taken. She had her head held high as she gave herself up for her pack.”
Mumbles from the other council members agree as they have all been informed of exactly what happened. Porter speaks with more than a little disgust in his voice. “If you cannot be productive then you need to leave the meeting. I, for one am sick of hearing your snide remarks, underhanded comments and generally being a bitch toward Alpha Aurora.
“We all know you wanted to be the Alpha of the Blood Pearl Pack, but you were not brave enough to challenge for the position. Then you hold it against Alpha Aurora when she takes the position, and not only succeeds in holding the position, but improves the pack tremendously. I applaud what she has achieved, as well as her pack members. They have worked hard to get the pack to this standard, and I won’t sit back while you continue with your vitriol.”
“I vote that we delay going back…for now at least.” Ulmer states and all other council members agree. For now, that is put to bed, unless we do it quietly without them knowing.
“The hostages that were freed thanks to Alpha Aurora and her pack members were not from our area. I have spoken to other area Shifter Councils and they have received news that missing pack members have returned to their relevant packs. They send their thanks to you Alpha Aurora and your pack members. I do think however, that the rogue Alpha is going to be more than a little angry that he lost his hostages. We all need to be alert, and ready to do whatever is needed to maintain the territory border for the Blood Pearl and the Spirit Walker Packs,” Flint states firmly.
Roman Walker speaks, “I agree we do need to be alert. The council warriors have integrated well at the Spirit Walker Pack. I spoke to Alpha Lyle last evening, and he is more than happy with how they are working alongside his warriors on patrol. I have more than a little worry that this rogue Alpha may attempt to snatch more she-wolves.”
Merry taps the table with her knuckles, gaining everyone’s attention. “Do you think he would be foolish enough to try and snatch the female warriors? I know your females patrol Alpha Aurora and now we have the female council warriors too.”
“I will warn my females to be extra vigilant and to make sure they are not alone at any time on patrol. We have placed male council warriors with each of the patrols, so my female warriors have a little more muscle alongside them,” I add to the conversation.
“I have been giving the females of the pack extra training, and I have also increased the intensity of that training. They are all capable of fighting alongside the patrol if the border is breached. The only one I have to concentrate training on at this time is Taria. She has neglected her training for quite some time, but she’s not going to be neglecting it any longer,” Roul states with a huge grin on his face.
Warrior Wallace laughs, “I am going to be watching the sessions because that she-wolf has caused me many a headache, and now it’s time for me to watch her have her headaches.”
The talk banters back and forth regarding training sessions, the intensity, and the fact everyone including the kitchen staff has to train once a day.
“When are the alphas coming for their meeting?” Lykos asks.
“The day after tomorrow. They will stay overnight, but that is all. We will give them all information on what is happening and how we are going to deal with it, once we have decided that is,” I say because they have still not made any headway on the problem.
“Let’s make sure the patrols are strong. Decide if we can add more pack members from any of the other packs to assist with warriors, and do any of the other packs have a shadow wolf?” Merry asks.
Now, a shadow wolf is a specially trained wolf that is nearly invisible when they track for stealth purposes. There are not many that I know of, but packs that train them keep it to themselves, not wanting other packs to know they have that capability.
“We will have to ask the Alphas at the meeting, but I don’t think it will get us a reply.” Lykos chuckles.
“I heard from a friend that the Northern Parklands are seeing a surge of friendly rogues. We all know that Alpha Connell took a lot of rogues from there and made them pack members, along with his own Luna of course. But, it seems that the rogue alpha is losing some of his support and the Parklands have seen a trickle of males settling. It’s not a bad thing to see as it shows they do not agree with the underhanded methods this Alpha Arric, as he calls himself, is doing. They all thought they would get a place to settle, a home to live in, and a mate,” Cinder Walker informs us.
“I feel sorry for them all in some respects. I know that some of them should be rogues and have been rejected by their mates, or banished from their packs. But, we all know that some have not had a decent time of it, and have been held responsible for things they did not do. I honestly think it’s time as a council we spoke to some of these shifters and held any alphas or packs accountable.” Flint states firmly, and all but Eve nod their heads in agreement.
“Let’s close the meeting for now. Bring this back to the table once the alpha meeting has taken place. I’m good to stay until they have met, then continue with this meeting.” Lykos says, looking around the table. Again, everyone agrees, and to my surprise Eve agrees too.
After the meeting is over and making sure the council members have everything they need I make my way to the kitchen, where I grab a small meal and take it to my room. That is where I can eat in peace and get my thoughts in order.