Chapter 36
AURORA
After having checked on some of the processes we have in place, I’m taking a few minutes out to gather my thoughts. A lot has happened in a short space of time. Having pack members taken hostage shook me to the core. That was something I never envisaged happening. Not even in my worst nightmares, and I had a few as Alpha.
When I challenged the pack’s previous Alpha, I didn’t know if I could win. I couldn’t hold back any longer, though. Death was preferable to the alternative. The way the she-wolves were being treated had to stop. I was going to be no-one's breeder, and neither was my daughter. Arrangements had been made for her safety, had I failed.
Challenging the Alpha was no mean feat. For someone with beta blood and not alpha, it was even more daunting. Although it was not a quick victory, everyone that I spoke to afterward said it was destined from the start of the challenge that I would win.
Replacing the Beta was a no-brainer. He was as bad as the Alpha where she-wolves were concerned. It wasn’t difficult to get his resignation, after I offered him that option or the challenge circle.
Choosing my own Beta was an easy choice. I had known Raina since childhood. We had similar views on a lot of topics and those we differed on, we seldom clashed. We had a healthy respect for each other's views.
There were others that wished to be Beta, so in the interests of fair play, we had a beta challenge. Fully expecting Raina to excel, it was no surprise when she succeeded.
Working together, we built up our hierarchy with those we knew wanted to better themselves and the pack. It took time and patience, as with anything, there were a few stumbling blocks along the way.
I can say without any doubt that the success of the pack has been a joint effort, and I was a figurehead for that success. Others deserve their credit, where it’s due.
Seeing Raina approaching, I wave to show I’ve seen her. Watching the frown I get from her in return makes me smile. Waving? She’ll think I’ve gone mad.
“You’re waving now? What brought that on?” Her frown turns into a smile.
“Don’t tell me you aren’t feeling a little less stressed these days? Having Gerry on board has taken a huge amount off both our shoulders. Come on. Let’s get to the packhouse. We can get a bite to eat and sit in my Luna office.”
“Food sounds good to me. I’m starving. I think I’ve got what Gerry suffers from. Eternal hunger pangs. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was eating for two these days.” Raina blurts this out and I almost fall over in surprise.
“Is there something you haven’t told me? Eating for two?”
“Unless the Goddess grants us a virgin birth, there’s no chance of any pups coming from here!”
Grabbing a small selection of food and a bottle of water from the dining room, we make our way to my newly acquired Luna office. I refused to have a guard at my door all the time. I compromised and I mind link with Wallace when I’m going to be spending more than a couple of hours in here and he sends someone to ‘watch over me’, as he likes to put it. If his sense of humor doesn’t watch out, I’ll be seeing him in the training area. That would wipe the smile off his face.
Sitting in two comfortable chairs, we finish our meals and Raina surprises me again with her next statement.
“When you told me you had taken a chosen mate, I was going to step down as Beta. I didn’t see myself as someone else’s Beta.”
“What would you have done then? I would have been lost without you, Raina. We’ve been damn near joined at the hip for so long, I’d fall over without you being there.”
“I doubt that, Aurora. You have been a pillar of strength to us all. Your example alone has given many the confidence to battle our own demons. It was only your success in the challenge circle that prevented many of us from abandoning the pack. There was no one that could have held the packs' respect the way you did.”
“We have been friends for a long time. If you have any thoughts of stepping down, please speak to me or Gerry. I know Gerry holds you in the highest regard. You are similar in many ways. Has he spoken to you of the pack run he is organizing?”
“He has, and I think it’s a great idea. It is time there were more of these pack events. I suggested we hold the next mating ball. Oh, and you should speak to Crispin.”
Looking confused, I ask, “Why should I speak to Crispin?”
“Trust me. Speak to Crispin about Gerry. It will make your heart sing. I have to go. I have things to do for the new Alpha. He’s going to prove to be a bit of a slave driver, I think. More so than the last one.”
Laughing together, Raina leaves the office. If she had stepped down as Beta, that would have surprised, and I think hurt, Gerry. I certainly had seen no signs of that. She dodged the question of what she would have done then.
Sitting at my desk, I spend the next half hour completing paperwork for the areas that I have just audited. I want to keep records of these things so I can watch for any trends or discrepancies.
The phone rings and I consider ignoring it, but that’s not my nature. Answering, I’m glad I picked up as I hear Taria’s voice, and she’s excited about something.
“Slow down, Taria. I can’t make sense of what you're saying.”
“He said yes, Momma, and he called me Sweetpea. He has his own name for me. I love that. Isn’t it just so cool?” Listening to her, it’s obvious that whoever she’s talking about, I assume Bronze, has made her day.
“That’s fantastic, Taria. What did Bronze say yes to, exactly.”
“He said yes to…Bronze? Where did he come into this?”
“You said he said ‘yes’.” I’m beginning to get confused already.
“Momma. I never mentioned Bronze. Gerry said yes, not Bronze.”
”Oh. Well, that makes perfect sense now. Silly me! What did ‘Gerry’ say yes to?”
“To being my Pops, of course. We talked about it and you told me I had to speak to him. So, I did. And then, while we were all excited about it, he called me Sweetpea. It was the most natural thing in the world and I just loved it.”
“It seems like you two are hitting it off straight away. I’m so happy for both of you. Gerry told me he always wanted a daughter, and I was hoping it would be good for both of you. I’m sorry it took so long for me to…”
“Whoa, Momma. Stop right there. You did everything you could for me. Not having a father figure was never a fault of yours. I’ve had a great childhood with just the two of us. This is like the icing on one of Cook Ivy’s cakes.”
“Well, I’m sure everything will be special between the pair of you. I look forward to seeing the father, daughter bond take hold. I believe you’ll be good for each other.”
“Thank you, Momma.”
“You know that Asher will be speaking to Maya all the time, don’t you? He’s not going to give her a moment's peace.”
“They are already talking daily. They have been for a while. I just didn’t see the ‘you and Gerry’ bit coming. I should have, really. Even Aztec had been in contact more than usual.” I hear someone calling to Taria.
“Sorry, Momma, I have to dash. Lots to learn, lots to do. Bye.”
Before I get to answer, the phone is dead, and Taria is gone. I’m happy for her and for Gerry.
Speaking of Gerry, there’s a knock on the door and he sticks his head in. “Hey. What you up to? Fancy coming for a walk? Got some news for you.”
“You sound full of yourself, Pops.”
“I am. Wait till you hear…Oh. You have. I should have guessed.” Walking in and closing the door behind him, he wraps his arms around me. “So. What do you think?”
“Pops makes you sound old, but if you’re okay with it.”
“Not just the name, I mean the whole father, daughter thing. Does anything about it bother you?”
“You know what I think? You deserve each other. Taria’s happy. You’re happy. What’s for me not to be happy about?”
“There’s a birthday party in the dining area. Let’s crash it and get some party food.”
“You can’t just crash a birthday party to grab food. What will people think?” I shake my head at his never-ending quest for sustenance.
“They’ll think ‘Hey, that new Alpha is at my birthday party. How cool is that?’ Come on, let’s go.”
Making our way to the party, we see there’s a lot of guests there already. As we enter Gerry asks whose birthday it is, as there are ‘Happy Eighteenth Birthday’ banners around the room.
Wallace walks in with several of his friends and stops dead in his tracks. Watching him sniff the air, Gerry nudges me.
Two voices shout at the same time and their cries have everyone cheering.
“MATE!”
Wallace looks at the crowd and Nurse Chloe pushes people out of the way as she runs at him, leaping into his arms from several feet away, almost bowling him over. Catching her, Wallace slams his lips on hers and pulls her to him.
Gerry leans into me and whispers, “I think we’ll need a new trainer and a replacement nurse for the next few days.”
The party goers watch as Wallace and Chloe leave them to it and disappear.
“More food for the Alpha, then,” Gerry laughs.
The evening of the pack run, and there has been an air of excitement all day. Everywhere I look, I see smiling faces. Not that the pack has been miserable under my reign, as it were, but there is certainly some excitement buzzing around now.
The evening meal has been organized for after the run. Gerry insisted that we have a picnic on the grounds of the packhouse so that the pack doesn’t just disperse and lose the moment.
He’s very insightful when it comes to these things. He must be more of a people person than I am, though I’m not unapproachable, by any means.
Hearing Gerry call the pack together in a mind link, I walk over to where he intends to start the run.
“Welcome everyone! I’m sure you’ve all been on a pack run previously,“ a cheer rolls through the crowd. “Just to make things perfectly clear. We run as a pack and that means we run to the slowest member’s pace. When we run near the border, we stay alert for trouble. A group of warriors will remain here to guard the packhouse. At the halfway point, which has been arranged to pass near the packhouse, warriors with the pack will break off and exchange with those on guard. We intend to include everyone as much as possible.
“It’s called a pack run for a reason and that’s what we intend it to be. When we get back, we eat as a pack. Cook Ivy has gone to great lengths to prepare another of her magnificent feasts as a picnic for all.
“Now, if we’re all ready…”
There’s an enormous cheer from the pack.
“Shift!” Gerry and I shift as one and howl as loud as we can.
The pack howls, and it makes my hair stand on end. It’s an exhilarating feeling.
Leading the pack, we head out through the woods and set a reasonable pace. Glancing back, the pack is bunched nicely and we have no one falling back.
Running near the border, the stench is overpowering and we see a small number of rogues watching from the trees in No-Man’s-Land. I can smell their fear almost as much as the stink of rogue.
Suddenly, Gerry and several of the warrior’s growl. The rogues quickly disappear, and our warriors can be heard laughing amongst themselves.
As we turn away from the border and back into our woods, a figure drops from one of the trees, shifts to a wolf, and looks at me. It only takes a step and a shadow from the base of the tree leaps at it. The wolf is thrown to its back and its throat torn open in seconds. Seeing the dead wolf shift to its human form, I recognize Izzy.
Havoc stands over her, blood dripping from his muzzle. Shifting to Xavier, he turns and gives me a bow before addressing Gerry.
“Alpha Gerry. My apologies for interrupting your pack run. I’ll return to the packhouse so you may continue.”
“No apology necessary, Shadow Warrior Xavier.” Gerry uses his formal title as he addresses him in front of the pack. “And you will not return to the packhouse alone. I ask that you join us and return in the company of your friends, the Blood Pearl pack.”
Those that hear these words, and they are many as Gerry intended, cheer and howl.
“It would be my honor to call the Blood Pearl pack my friends, and to run alongside you all. Not just today, but any day,” Xavier responds, drawing more excitement from the pack.
Gerry slaps Xavier on the shoulder, and I hear him laughing, say in a low voice, “I’m still not sure I approve of these feelings you keep having for MY Luna. As you keep saving her life though, I think I’ll overlook them.”
“Your Luna, yes. The goddess, it seems, still has a duty for me to perform.”
As we pass the halfway point, we see Wallace and the packhouse guards joining us as their replacements have relieved them. Wallace runs by Chloe and rubs against her, then takes his place at my side.
Xavier joins us from where he had been running with the leading warriors.
“Luna. May I take Head Warrior Wallace’s place at your side for the remainder of the run?”
“That would be agreeable, Shadow Warrior Xavier. Thank you.”
Wallace looks at me as though I’ve just slapped him. Before he can object, which I know is coming, “Head Warrior Wallace, please join your mate and enjoy the rest of the run together.”
Realizing what Xavier has done for him, he tips his head first to me, then Xavier and is gone.
Once back at the packhouse, Gerry and I wait for everyone to be accounted for as safely returned and then he calls for everyone to start the meal.
Cook Ivy stands at the food table and no one moves. Looking pointedly at Gerry, she holds out the first plate. Walking over to her, he takes the plate, and she begins to serve him. This show of respect does not go unappreciated by Gerry or the rest of us.
So, Aztec. What’s next on our agenda?
Well, Asher. I was thinking. Xavier looks a little lonely these days. Don’t you think?
You do know I can hear you. Right? Havoc's deep voice rumbles.