Page 192 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
Tavi was waiting for me outside the council meeting room. She was wearing her usual oversized shirt and leggings. I’d sent a telepathic message to her to meet me there and was glad to see her. She gave me a half smile, which I returned. I wouldn’t have Night by my side, but at least I wouldn’t face the council alone.
We headed inside together. Colby, Ross, Dana, Edward, and Grant were already seated. They rose as Tavi and I entered, but Dana took the longest to get to her feet. I knew it was becauseshe didn’t like or respect me, but whatever; her pettiness wasn’t worth picking a fight.
“Thank you for meeting with us today, Alpha Hunter,” Ross said. His salt-and-pepper hair normally fell down his back, but he’d tied it back in a low bun. Long strands of hair were in their usual place over the scar on the left side of his face. “We wanted to talk to you about the alpha challenge.”
I nodded as Tavi and I took seats across from them. “I wanted to talk about that, too. I’m unclear about what the specifics of the challenge will be.”
“We are still deciding on a system,” he replied. “We want to ensure this is a fair struggle between the contenders, and to do that, we need to vote on the rules.”
Tavi shot me a quick look. I didn’t need my telepathic connection with her to understand her meaning.They’restilldeciding on rules with only a few weeks left before the challenge?
I agreed with her disbelief. “Do you have an estimated time for when you’ll have that decided?”
“We’re hoping to settle on the ground rules at least five days before the challenge. We will let you and your beta know what we’ve decided.”
“Very well.” That wasn’t much, but at least I’d followed up with them about it. “Then what are your concerns?”
“As you know, the council will nominate a candidate for the ceremony,” he began.
Again, I nodded. I and each member of the council could nominate someone for the challenge ceremony. I would, ofcourse, nominate Night, and I expected the choices from each council member would be fearsome. I hoped to find out their picks in this meeting so I could let Night know as soon as possible.
“But if your Night Shepherd wins, it is the opinion of this council that we do not push back against the win. In other words, we see no point in standing in his way.”
That surprised me, and I didn’t try to hide my reaction from them. I looked at their faces, and only Dana refused to meet my gaze. If they were planning on accepting the tournament results no matter what, it would make for an easier transition between Night becoming alpha and merging the packs.
“This wasn’t expected,” I said.
Tavi added, “Does that mean most of you support a merger between the packs?”
“‘Support’ is far from accurate,” Dana said. Her cinnamon-brown hair was slicked back into an elegant updo. “We don’t support a Warg getting his filthy claws?—”
“Dana,” Grant, the oldest council member, growled. “That’s enough. We are not here to sling insults back and forth, and we will not retread the same territory of previous conversations.”
She looked away, and Grant sighed.
“But Dana is right, ‘support’ isn’t the word we would use. We are interested in beginning the next phase of our pack’s future as seamlessly as possible.”
“For the health of the Kings pack,” Colby added, “we would prefer to make the transition to new leadership as easily as possible for everyone. And if that includes a discussionof a merger, should Shepherd win,” he continued with some reluctance, “we want to be sure of what to expect.”
“Oh, I see,” I said. The council’s reasoning made sense—they were trying to be pragmatic to get ahead of any potential conflicts. If they were considering the real possibility that Night would win, that was a good sign. I was sure there was a time not too long ago when they would have been diametrically opposed to having a Warg in the alpha seat.
Having the Wargs initiate repair and reconstruction efforts throughout the compound had been an excellent idea. The goodwill we had fostered made it more difficult for the council to hold an openly hostile position.
“At least they have some sense,” Tavi thought to me. “It’s good that they’re not trying to drag this out but are hoping to meet us halfway.”
Agreed. “So, what are your concerns?” I asked the council.
“Well, there’s the matter of allocating resources and housing, and there’s the matter of outside threats.” Colby’s gray mustache moved up and down as he spoke. It completely covered his upper lip. “Merging two packs usually leads to the two packs sharing enemies, and we’re concerned about the Wargs’ enemies and how they will react to the two packs merging. Would they stage an attack?”
“These are reasonable questions,” I said. “And I appreciate you all showing initiative for trying to get answers now. To be honest with you, the biggest threat to the Wargs has always been the Kings, so in the event that Night wins the ceremony, that threat will be eradicated. I am unaware of any significant threats outside of that.”
I glanced at Tavi, but she shook her head. “None that I am aware of.I’ll ask around to double-check, though.”
“That said, I can’t speak for how other packs will react to two powerful packs combining,” I continued. “I imagine we’ll want to be prepared for anything.”
“Well, that’s a relief to hear,” Ross said. “The Kings have enjoyed dominance of this area for decades, and we have an uneasy peace with neighboring packs for at least as long. The only physical conflicts we’ve had have been with the Wargs. If there is a negative response to a merger, we won’t have to deal with any unknown threats.”
“That’s good to know,” I said. We’d have to monitor the response that the Camas Pack and other packs in the area had to the merger, though I imagined the Camas would remain peaceful.We just need to make sure we find Troy in time, I thought.He’s still the big question mark in this situation.
