Page 17 of Branches of the Willow

My dad got ready to head to his office before I called him back. “Dad, the interlopers on Avery’s land…”

“Yeah?”

“I have a weird feeling. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our three fugitives are missing, and suddenly there’s a hunting problem on the Daniels Clan’s grounds.”

“You’re not the only one thinking that.”

“If anything happens to Annalise because of Zach and Malachi…” I couldn’t even finish the thought. What I wanted to do was crush them. Annalise was such a sweet girl. I couldn’t imagine something awful happening to her just so those sadistic sons of bitches could taunt me some more. If anything happened to her, I would crush them, but it would be without mercy, their deaths would be of the incredibly slow and painful variety.

“Let’s not add to our worries before we need to, Jess, even if we are all thinking it. I’m sure it will take a few hours for the others to gather here. You should go check with the Ancients you have in Jack’s place. They’ve been getting a bit restless over there, wondering why no one’s moved them to their new pack yet.”

“Of course.” I looked over at Mikael questioningly. “Walk with me?”

“Like you had to ask?”

Mikael and I did our rounds, checking in on the three Ancients. Brian and Nicholai were both chomping at the bit to get to the Daniels Clan and get settled in. I was happy to see that Dimitri was settling in with the guys working in the woodshop. They had wonderful things to say about him. Apparently, he was a natural, and had picked up a thing or two when he was watching Mikael’s uncle for all those years.

It was close to five o’clock by the time everyone arrived, and we all met up at the meeting hall. I was surprised to see Avery Daniels there among the group. He noticed the look I passed his way and excused himself from the conversation he was in to come speak to me.

“Jessica,” he acknowledged.

“Avery. What are you doing here? Has there been any word on Annalise?”

“She’s fine. We found her and located Andy. He’ll be staying with my pack for a time though.” I wasn’t known for my poker face, and Avery read the question there. “Can we discuss the details later, in private?” I noticed that there were several people in the room who were trying hard not to look like they were eavesdropping. It was almost laughable how horribly they were failing at their attempts.

“Absolutely.” I moved away from Avery then, and took my place at the table. “I want to thank you all for coming on short notice. I know many of you were here a week ago about the Ancient Immersion Program, but we’re meeting for a different reason now. The last time Zach Brighton went into hiding we all shrugged it off and discounted him. He may not be powerful, but he has a nasty habit of getting in bed with those who can help him cause a lot of trouble for our kind. I want him, the witch-Sophia, and Malachi found. I don’t care what kind of resources you have to put on this, we need to start seeing results.”

“I don’t mean to sound crass, Jessica, but why are these three our problem?” Mac, the leader of the MacDonnel Pack, wasn’t looking at me with the eyes of an enemy. He wanted good reason to throw his resources behind a problem, most saw as my own.

“I have no problem giving you that reason. Avery’s lands have already been used as a hide-out before. He’s had problems with interlopers, trappers, possibly hunters on his lands for a couple weeks now. They are not afraid to use every means necessary to get at me. That includes luring me out with threats of violence against others. If you want your pack to be amongst those used and abused, then keep your resources to yourselves and your mouths shut. I don’t begrudge anyone their choices. I have my own to make too.”

Mac nodded in my direction. “I’ll put some of my boys on it first thing.”

“I can tell you John ain’t doing no such thing.” I looked over at the scruffy man who spoke up. He had been sitting quietly at the end of the table, trying not to draw attention to himself.

“And you are?”

“No friend of yours.” The man stated while simply watching me as if I were nothing more than a pesky fly on the wall in need of swatting.

“He’s one of Freedman’s.” My father snarled as he stood, stalking closer to the man who had spoken.

Mikael released a threatening growl from where he quickly stood beside me, warning the man that there would be consequences for his attitude. The growl was something I had never heard from him before. The sheer menace in the tone set the fine hairs on my body to attention. I put my hand on his to calm him, as I stood too.

“An invitation to this meeting was not extended to your pack.” My father seethed the words through his clenched teeth.

“A little birdy told John about the meetin’. He thought we should be represented, especially since that’n there thought she could just waltz in here an’ take o’er without having to scrap for the spot.” My father was the one to growl a warning that time, and he was right in the man’s face. “Lookin’ like John’s right ‘bout that. Not a hair outta place, but her men folk are spittin’ fire at me.”

I’d had enough. He was calling me out by saying I’ wasn’t wolf enough to take him, or anyone else, on without the assistance of the men in my life. I wasn’t sure if it was solely because I was a woman, or if there was more to it, but I was about to show him what was up.

“You wanna be alpha? You take it, sweetheart. You don’t wake up with white hair, and think your pretty face is ‘nuff.”

“Sit. Your. Ass. Down.” I enunciated each word so that I made myself perfectly clear, and I threw power behind each word as I stalked forward. Every syllable brought me a step closer around that table. The man’s ass met the chair too quickly and it slid out from under him. Still, he didn’t bother to correct, and just sat there on the floor. “Do not ever mistake my kindness or diplomacy for weakness.”

The power oozed from me, electrifying the room with enough static energy that it began raising the hair on everyone’s body. “I am not weak, and you will show respect when you are on my father’s lands and in my presence.” I was right next to the man, looking down my nose at him where he sat rooted to the floor. The stink rolling off him was just as offensive as anything he had said to me thus far. He tried to stand again, but I shoved him back down and threw more power into him.

“SUBMIT!” My voice was all power, and had I looked around the room, I would have seen everyone else there on their knees. He fought it for a second, and then he dropped, wincing from the pain it caused him to attempt defiance. Not only did he drop to his knees, but he also lifted his chin, holding his head off to the side, exposing the column of his dirt-caked throat. His body was shaking under the weight of my command, and with the fact that he did not want to submit but knew he couldn’t fight me. When he began to let out little startled whimpers of pain, I released the hold my power had on him. He collapsed forward, catching himself with the palms of his hands in order to try to shift his body into an upright position again.

“Do not, for one minute, think that I have this position simply because of the color of my hair. I am the white wolf. I hold the power of generations of leaders within my blood. I hold council with the wise ones still. I will not tolerate another showing like this. You let John Freedman know the next time he wants a voice in matters, it better be his own or I will consider him too weak to rule a pack and find a replacement to rule over your pack.”

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