Chapter 2
1692 Words
2
Greylock frowned. “I have already sent you my intention not to attend. Why do you desire for me to hold the meeting at my home?”
A bitter smile appeared on Brix’s lips. “Because not only are you the only one who was not going to attend the meeting, but you’re also the only one who hasn’t asked to hold the meeting at their own estate.”
Greylock gestured to his guest. “Then perhaps you might be willing to hold the meeting because, as I wrote in my letter, I had a choosing to coordinate and new members to train.”
Brix returned his attention to Chris and me and studied us with his old brown eyes. “And what better training than a chance for them to see the workings of our informal government?”
Greylock arched an eyebrow. “I hardly see that as a reason for the council to be held at the manor.”
Brix pursed his lips. “Truth be told, there are other reasons I wish for you to hold the meeting. However,” His eyes flickered over not only Chris and me, but Duncan and Bonnie, “perhaps that is a conversation best spoken in private.”
Greylock swept a hand over the members of his pack. “Anything for my ears can be spoken before my pack. We have no secrets here.”
The council leader bowed his head and sighed. “Were that true of the other members of the council…”
Greylock frowned. “What do you mean?”
Brix lifted his chin and his eyes to Greylock. “There are… rumors spreading that some pack members desire for the council to be broken and the allegiances likewise dissolved.”
A ghost of a smile appeared on Greylock’s lips. “Those stirrings have been around since the creation of the council.”
Brix closed his eyes and shook his head. “Not like these. While a few of the council members do disagree with many decisions, the murmurings come from those within the ranks of their own packs.”
Greylock raised an eyebrow. “Are you meaning to imply a rebellion among them?”
Brix nodded. “I mean to imply just that, and more. I have received letters, without return addresses and printed out on a computer, that have warned me that such coups are not only possible but being planned.”
Duncan scoffed. “Then why have a meeting at all if some of the members are going to be too busy putting down rebellions?” Bonnie glared at him and jabbed her elbow into his ribs.
Brix folded his hands together and inclined his head. “A perfectly reasonable question.” Duncan grinned at Bonnie, “And the risk of a coup is precisely why I desire for the meeting to held here.”
“You seek to avoid animosity by instead breeding trust,” Greylock guessed.
Brix nodded. “Just that. Though the meeting is our annual responsibility, and the itinerary has already been sent out, I will bring the matter of these disorders to the attention of the members in a special session, or more, if needed.”
Chris scoffed. “Talk is cheap.”
The council leader nodded. “I agree that talk can be useless at times, but that must be the first step in any reconciliation.” He returned his attention to Greylock. “Will you do me the greatest of favors by not only attending, but by granting us leave to use your house as the place of meeting?”
Greylock pursed his lips, but after a moment he bowed his head. “I agree.”
At his approval Brix’s face looked years younger. The old man rose and smiled at Greylock. “You cannot begin to know how much I appreciate this. Whatever you need to accommodate the others, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
A few mumbled words escaped Duncan’s lips. “Some bulletproof walls would be nice…” A warning look from Bonnie made him clap his mouth closed.
Greylock moved toward the man’s side, but Brix held up one hand. “I believe I know the way out, and I won’t detain you any longer. I’ll also notify the others of the venue. Until then-” He held out his hand.
Greylock shook the offered hand. Brix was beaming as bright as a star as he inclined his head to us and hurried out.
The door had hardly shut before Bonnie whipped her head to Ethan and her eyebrows crashed down. “Are you sure that was such a good idea?”
Greylock turned to her and clasped his hands over the top of the cane. “Would you have me turn an old friend away during their hour of need?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “The only thing that council needs, is a good kick in the-”
“I think our new friends are a little confused about what just took place,” Duncan interrupted as he gestured to Chris and me. “Maybe we could explain things to them?”
Greylock’s strange eyes settled on us newcomers to the furry party. “The wolf council, as you may have guessed, is a presiding board comprised of the leaders of the local wolf packs.”
I snorted. “I’m also guessing everybody gets along about as well as a divorcing couple in their fifth year of fighting over who gets which half of the dog.”
The corners of Greylock’s lips twitched upward. “I’m afraid so.”
Chris arched an eyebrow. “What’s this about coups happening in the packs?”
“That’s something new,” Bonnie spoke up as she took a side-saddle seat atop the head of the couch. “Though it’s no big surprise. A lot of new werewolves wouldn’t know loyalty if it bit them in the tail.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That sounds like the werewolf chiefs haven’t been choosing their packs very well.”
Greylock eased himself into the high-backed chair formerly occupied by the council president and set his chin on his hands. “Many of the pack leaders have, against their better judgment and the warnings of others, sought quantity over quality.”
Chris’ curious gaze settled on Greylock. “Your warnings?”
A bemused smile slipped onto Greylock’s lips. “I do have an inclination to quality over quantity.”
Bonnie nodded her head at their leader. “It’s because you know that the world doesn’t need more predators than it has. Besides, not many people nowadays deserve to be a werewolf. It’s not a life for the cell phone obsessed.”
Duncan clapped a hand on her shoulder and grinned down at her. “That’s only because you won’t try Candy Crush. One successful explosion and you’ll be an instant fan.”
She shrugged off his hand and glared up at him. “I’d rather go eat a skunk and speaking of those things-” She returned her attention to Greylock. “What are we going to feed these vermin who are coming here?”
Greylock sighed. “Only the finest. Our coffers can sustain the damage, and no one will say that our table is not hospitable.”
Bonnie wrinkled her nose before she faced away from us. “Who the hell cares what they say…”
Greylock’s voice took on a more serious tone as he swept his eyes over us. “Regardless, if there are to be brawls, we must be a party to diplomacy, not members of the combatants.”
Duncan grinned and nudged Bonnie with his elbow. “Hear that? We get to be the umpires.”
Bonnie scowled at him before she hopped onto her feet and marched upstairs. Her grumblings echoed behind her. “This is so stupid! We should just hang them all out to dry!” Duncan watched after her with a pained expression on his usually jovial face.
Greylock stood and walked over to Duncan where he put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “She’ll be fine.”
Duncan turned to him with a grin, but I detected a hint of melancholy at the corners. “Of course, she’ll be fine. It’s the guests I’m worried about.”
“Perhaps her favorite dish tonight will soothe her frayed nerves,” Greylock suggested as he turned to Chris and me. “If you will excuse me, I must make some phone calls to prepare for our illustrious guests.” He bowed his head and disappeared down the lower central hall.
Chris stepped toward our remaining fellow and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well?”
Duncan arched both eyebrows. “Well what?”
Chris nodded at the top of the stairs where the curved flights met. “Care to explain her animosity toward the other packs? She seems to have it out for them.”
Duncan’s face fell. “I suppose it is hard not to notice that Bonnie doesn’t have much love for other packs.”
I snorted. “She seems to have as much love for them as a violinist does for a bagpipe.”
Duncan ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Yeah, well, it’s because this isn’t her first pack.”
Chris raised an eyebrow. “She belonged to another?”
Duncan winced. “Well, sort of. You see, the calling, that’s the thing that brought you guys here-”
My eyes widened. “You mean the dream we had?”
Duncan nodded. “Yeah, that. Well, it’s kind of a roll of the dice with anyone who’s able to become a werewolf. You just have to be a certain age and in good health to hear the summons, and Bonnie happened to be a good listener. One of the other packs had a few slots to fill, so she came running.”
I frowned. “It wasn’t the Wild Claws, was it?”
He shook his head. “No, the Shadows. They’re even worse than the Claws. It’s them we have to watch out for when the council members get together. But about Bonnie, she fell in with their initiation and, well, they didn’t pick her.”
I blinked at him. “Doesn’t that happen a lot? I mean, we had ten other people against us, and they had to go home, too.”
Duncan hopped over the couch and slid onto one of the cushions. “Yeah, but they lost fair and square. Bonnie beat her opponent in a final hand-to-hand combat test, but she wasn’t allowed to join them because she wasn’t as beautiful as the other woman she beat.”
My face drooped. “Seriously?”
“You implied that this Shadows group was the strongest,” Chris pointed out as he furrowed his brow. “Why would looks matter?”
Duncan turned his face away and pursed his lips. “Because werewolves mate for life, and sometimes they even manage to have kids together. The Shadows wanted the strong and handsome kids.”
I blinked at him before I looked up at Chris. “Mate how?”
The corners of Duncan’s lips twitched upward as he looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. “Why, the two who win the competition to become werewolves become mates.”
- Writer
