Chapter 9 - Brad
The next morning, Alisha and I sleep in a little, and I end up rushing off to the council meeting.
Even though I’d happily blow it off to be with Alisha, I have to take my duties very seriously. Not only do I want to create structure for the town and prepare everyone for potential danger from the snake spirit, I am beginning to personally care for every single pack member.
I thought being alpha meant that I held myself apart from the rest of the pack to rule them, but now I see it’s about making a connection—being close to each and every one of them so I can understand their needs and keep them safe.
When I arrive at the building on Main Street, I see the parking lot already filled with cars. The building is a council chamber and courthouse, with an informal study out back where we hold most of our meetings.
Apparently, Azarian was fond of a grander setting, but I wanted to make a clean break from his rule, and everyone seemed to welcome the change.
In the study, I find Gen seated at the table with two other men and women I don’t immediately recognize. Of all the other elders, only Hazel is here.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” I say, sitting down at the end of the table. “Are the others running behind as well?”
“The other elders won’t be attending,” Hazel answers. “Just me and our newly appointed guild leaders.”
“Okay,” I reply carefully. “I’d like all the elders to be present at our meetings, especially when they’re important like this.”
“Gregor and Mitchell are organizing a club event at the school,” Gen says. “That’s why they aren’t here.”
“I should have been informed of this,” I say, tapping the table lightly with my knuckles.
“This is exactly the kind of thing we need to be clear about. If my council has to be absent, I need to know, especially if it’s for a club event at the school.
That’s something all of us should be involved in. ”
“Oh,” Hazel says, her eyes wide. “Azarian never wanted to be troubled with such things. He said the school was beneath his concern, and he couldn’t be expected to attend every bake sale.”
“I’ll bake the damn cookies myself,” I say, irritated. “Our young people are our future, and there is nothing more important to me. Can we call Gregor and Mitchell, and organize to help them?”
“They’ll be out on the field,” Hazel says. “But I’ll send them a message. We can discuss the particulars later, but I’ll let them know they should be here for every meeting, and disclose all other plans to you beforehand.”
“Excellent,” I say, giving Hazel a small smile so she knows it’s not her I’m angry with. “I’m glad we got that sorted out. I want to make sure we all understand that Azarian is gone, and we’re going to be doing things very differently from now on.”
“That’s what we’re here to talk about,” one of the young women says. “At your last meeting, you wanted Gen to choose guild leaders for the town, and we volunteered. I nominated myself for head baker.”
“Okay, great,” I reply. “Didn’t catch your name?”
“Andrea,” she says with a smile. “And this is my cousin, Helen. She’s nominated herself for textiles.”
“That’s me,” the other woman says, giving me a firm salute. “Volunteered for grunt duty. At your service, Alpha.”
“Sure,” I reply, grinning at her spunk. “And you two are?”
“Lindsay,” one of the men says, rising to give my hand a brief shake. “Produce.”
“And I’m Dale,” the other guy says, also rising to shake my hand. “Building and landscaping.”
I look around the table, feeling like our team is a bit lacking.
“Something wrong?” Gen asks.
I shake my head a little. “We don’t seem to have covered all the areas we need to run the town. We don’t have commerce, trade, transport—”
“We’re working on it,” Hazel reassures me. “But it’s not something we ever did before.”
“But you had produce and trade,” I point out. “Once the treaty was struck with Rose Hollow, there was a supply chain immediately, and there’s a transit route out to the human world.”
“We did all that through private companies,” Hazel explains. “Azarian said that competition was good for growth. It created a hell of a class shift, and business at the top was cutthroat.”
“This is exactly my point,” I say. “It’s why I’ve decided to model our new structure on Rose Hollow. Over there, the system is designed to support the most disadvantaged. There’s an even share of profits and excess.”
“Some of our townsfolk won’t like that,” Dale warns, his voice low. “The section of town that Azarian lived in is full of old mansions and even older money. They’ve enjoyed superiority for a long time, and I don’t think they’ll give it up.”
“Sounds like I need to have a meeting with them,” I say. “One of them could be my new minister for commerce.”
“Sounds ambitious,” Lindsay scoffs.
“Maybe,” I answer, giving him a cold stare. “But it’s how I want to run things.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” he adds. “I’m in full support of the changes. I recommend meeting with the younger members of the first families and appointing one of them. If anyone can sway the older generation, it will be their younger relatives.”
“Thank you for the advice,” I reply. “Gen, can you get me those names?”
“I sure can,” she answers. “I can coordinate on this, too—I’m from one of those families.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” she says, giving me a little wince. “I’m ashamed to say I participated in that terrible behavior. Even though Scarlett was my friend, I turned on her because others did. My family said she was worthless. An embarrassment, a disgrace. And I, very stupidly, believed it.”
“Interesting,” I say thoughtfully. “So, you’d be able to secure a meeting with these families? I’d like to get their input on our new direction.”
“I can tell you already, they don’t like it,” Gen answers softly.
I look around the room, only to see that everyone is looking somewhere else as if the walls and ceiling have become endlessly fascinating.
“I didn’t know this,” I say, my voice low but stern.
“And I don’t want anything kept from me in the future.
This is serious. It’s potential dissent.
You all know that, or you wouldn’t be so awkward right now.
I need to know I have your trust and your loyalty, not just in important matters like this, but right down to the kindergarten chocolate raffle. You got me?”
“Yes, Alpha,” Andrea says, smiling. “You have my full support. This place is a mess, and it’s about time someone cleaned it up.”
“Thank you,” I reply, nodding to her. Around the table, the others also voice their agreement.
Briefly, we go over the tasks to be covered by their guilds and identify gaps that still need to be managed.
Gregor texts back to inform me that the next school event is in two days if I want to attend.
As we wrap up the meeting, Gen promises to do some work with the first families and bring in volunteers to join the new council.
“I can think of a few older people who would kill to be on the council,” Gen says. “But they’d want power, like what Azarian had. The exact power that he kept from everyone else.”
“That time has ended,” I say firmly. “No one is superior to another in this pack anymore, regardless of their status or financial situation. Surely, after seeing what happened to Azarian, they understand how dangerous that mindset is—not just to the individual, but the entire pack.”
“Some of them won’t,” Gen says ruefully. “They didn’t see the snake or understand the threat. And they’re resentful of the union, and the military presence.”
“Get them into a meeting,” I urge. “Anyone who will come. I’ll talk to them first, then I’ll start knocking on doors if I have to. I’m prepared to give them time to get used to the new ways, but the quicker they accept it and start making changes, the better.”
“Understood, Alpha,” Gen answers.
There is a low murmur of mixed noise as everyone says their goodbyes, heading for the door. I wait for the room to clear before following the others out to the parking lot. I feel as wrung-out as a wet towel on the line, and lean on the side of my truck as I pull out my phone.
One of the WS boys, Shawn, has left me a couple of messages telling me he’s in town, so I drive down to the bar to meet him. It’s mid-afternoon, and the place is pretty much empty except for a few old boys tipping back cold beers out front in the shade.
“Hey,” I say, giving Shawn’s hand a firm shake. “Any news?”
“Not really,” he replies, motioning to the bartender to bring over another drink. “But Rex wanted me to check in here. Is there anything to report?”
“Well, I just found out the older families are not happy with the new arrangement. I’m making plans to meet with them and see what can be done about it.”
Shawn lets out a low whistle. “You think they could start something?”
“Probably not, but I won’t take the chance. I think my worst worry about them right now is directly interfering with the union we’re trying to build—and it could compromise our mission with the snake.”
“They don’t care about our old slithery pal in the mountains?”
“They don’t really believe in it, apparently. They were too far away from the incursion site to notice much, so they might not understand we’re protecting them.”
“Well, I have to say, good buddy, I kind of hope they never find out.”
“I know what you mean,” I answer, turning my bottle of beer slowly in my hands as I watch drops of sweat over the label.
“So, nothing concrete to report to Rex?”
“Nope. At least, not until I meet with these families. Otherwise, our guild system is a mess, but we have some enthusiastic people in charge of it.”
“That’s good, at least. Rose Hollow runs like a well-oiled machine under the guilds.”
“Yeah, but it has a lot to do with equality, too. Like, they are just naturally good people, and they want everyone to feel safe and happy. I was kind of hoping it would spread to Eccles, especially when we held those festivals.”
“I think it has,” Shawn answers. “You said you have good people here, so it’s taken root. You just need to give it time to grow.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I reply, taking a sip of beer. I know he didn’t mean to, but Shawn has sent my mind down another train of thought.
Maybe what this town needs is a luna…
I don’t know how long Eccles has lived without one, but Azarian’s consort was a sorceress and not officially married to him. Aside from that, their relationship was toxic, all about power, and completely negligent toward the pack.
If they had a strong pair of leaders who cared for the pack members as much as each other, it could bring even the older families into the community.
One of the only reasons I consider this is because of Alisha’s endurance. She’s suffered so much, and yet rebuilt herself over and over again.
And I will never forgive myself for my part in her pain.
The longer I think of it, the more in awe I am of her strength and resilience. It seems like a cosmic decree, finding her in the woods a few nights ago, and I’ll be thanking the universe for a long time for putting me in the right place at the right time.
All I want is to keep her safe, make her happy…and make her mine.
“Are you okay there, good buddy?” Shawn asks suddenly. “You’ve drifted off, and you have this goofy look on your face.”
Before I can reply, he grins and shakes his head. “That’s right, I almost forgot. The only thing wrong with you is that you’re in love.”