The Last Bears Daughter

CH 4

Braxton

“It’s time, Brax,” Lockey stated as he walked into his office, 30 min prior to the moon setting.

“Alright.” Had been his only answer with a nod. Lockey understood, as did his unit, that he was not at all interested in a Mate.

He showered and dressed for the night, changed into a simple pair of dark blue jeans and a white short-sleeved dress shirt, he was not out to look his best, just presentable to the pack as their Alpha. None of them would expect to see him dressed up inside his own pack, for a mating ball.

Outside of it and in another pack, the answer would likely be yes, but not here. He was always immaculately presented in other packs, though he did not feel it necessary here inside the pack. He strolled out the front of his packhouse. His mother, he knew, was already out there. He could feel it, she was not out there looking for a new Mate herself, just doing what all Luna’s did. Watch over the pack.

He could see right away half a dozen males hovering around Samira, and he wished her luck as he walked on passed her. He did hope she would be able to find someone that loved her, wanted that for all his wolves. Though he never made any of his wolves accept a mate, he knew three packs that insisted on it regardless.

A Goddess Gifted was sacred and those three packs, he’d seen more infighting than loving, at times. He would not do that to his pack. No, he would let them all decide on their own what was best for them. Though he also offered those rejected by another that lived here, to leave if they didn’t cope.

It was painful, even after a rejection he’d heard, to see your Goddess Gifted with another, he gave his wolves the choice of heading off to the kingdom like he’d done or going to a relative’s pack, or an allied pack. He didn’t want them going rogue over it. Wolves were pack animals, and if they didn’t want to be here, for whatever reason, he wanted them looked after.

They could also return at some point later in time, if they wanted to, and didn’t have to reject the pack and join another, just stay for an extended period of time. He understood a rejection all too well.

He walked himself out into the formal garden which was just a short walk from the packhouse, where all the Mating Balls were held here inside the pack. The place was lit up with a million twinkling fairy lights that wound around all the tree trunks of the trees that were here, a full circular garden, with trees evenly spaced around it to denote the border. Those lights were strung up and over the garden as well, like a roof.

Mating balls here were only ever held inside if it wasn't raining outside. His pack preferred to meet their Mate's out here, where it was romantic and magical; as the she-wolves put it. The garden was large and well maintained, with long paved areas for mingling and there were many stone benches around within the garden itself.

He smiled at the 25 wolves all waiting for the moon to set, they were all standing together, 18-year-olds that all knew each other and were likely in the same social circle, all standing with the hope of pairing up in just a few short minutes now.

Brax stopped walking and addressed them, wished them the best of luck in Selena pairing them up right away. Also, told them that the next mating ball the pack was off to attend in one of their allied packs, those that didn’t pair up tonight would be allowed to attend if they so chose to.

His eyes moved over his un-mated pack members and smiled as a group of his wolves that played musical instruments started to play some gentle classical music to fit with the theme of wolves paring up. The music would change 5 minutes after the moon set to a more upbeat tone of dance music and one or two of the pack members would get up and sing, and the live band would stay and rock out until Midnight.

The full moon was always celebrated here in his pack, a tradition that had started long before he’d even been born, something his pack liked, and so he kept the tradition going, even though he did not think much about finding another Mate, he did want to see his pack happy and paired up.

He understood that a happy pack meant a loyal pack, it also gave him a good reputation and meant that other packs wanted him as an ally and that other packs were happy to come to mating balls here as well. He’d been told many times in the past 7 years of being in charge, that mating balls held inside this pack were considered to be magical in appearance, that most of his allies wanted to come here to meet their Mate.

Some just wanted to come to the pack to experience the atmosphere, and be out in the garden under the full moon. It was a nice thing to hear about. That others just wanted to come for the experience even if they didn’t pair up.

Brax felt the moon set and scented out no one, almost sent up a thank you to the Moon Goddess herself. Actually sighed with relief, and heard his mother huff annoyingly from next to him. Watched over his wolves as eight of them paired up and that group of male wolves around Samira all huffed in annoyance.

He simply shook his head, she always had a group of pack members around her on the full moon, many here wanted to be her Mate. He also saw Samira sigh herself, and shake her head. Her parents had taken her home to India, to their home pack at 21, just in case she had a Mate there, spend two full moons there before returning to the pack. Nothing for her inside her home pack either, had been the conclusion.

Brax looked about the Mating Ball, for a particular family. He’d taken a strange phone call before coming home, from an Alpha Council representative, one Alpha Sloan, who had asked him about a young half-breed by the name of Rhyse Otto. He’d not been home to look up the database until this afternoon.

Had told Sloan he wasn’t in the pack, was out at allied assistance, but he’d check as soon as he got back. There was an Otto family here, an unusual family, at that, a Cougar shifter, Ellen, who had a wolf shifter, Kyle for a Mate. Those two had had two daughters once, Rebecca and Rhyse, though Rhyse had been taken, stollen from them over a hundred years ago now.

So, yes it was an odd phone call to have taken. Back then there were also no photos taken of pack members, but now there was. He would have to call back tomorrow morning and let them know there had once been a Rhyse Otto here within the pack. Didn’t exactly know what it was about but was thinking the council had found the girl and was looking to return her to her home pack.

A hundred years missing, he couldn’t even imagine how her parents would feel about seeing their eldest daughter once more. He could only imagine a lot of tears. He couldn’t see them here, but he did know that from the file even Rebecca had a Mate now, his name was Bishop. They were a warrior family.

Rebecca had no children that he had registered to the pack. It was unusual for a mated pair of nearly 110 years. There could be any number of reasons though. He wasn’t going to pry, perhaps they just weren’t ready to have any was all.

He touched his mother’s arm gently and mind-linked to her about the phone call, she’d stared at him for a long minute and then nodded, ‘It would be nice if that was true son, but I don’t know it’s been a long time. I’ve not heard Ellen, Kyle or Rebecca talk about Rhyse.’

‘Guess we’ll have to just wait and see what happens.’ He murmured. If she was the same girl, he could ask Sloan if Rhyse was a cross-breed of wolf and cougar. Though she might not know or might not be willing to part with that kind of information. He did know some didn’t like cross-breeding.

Though here in this pack he had a few, that cougar wolf family, he now had Sloth bears which, at some point, were going to be mated off, and they would likely have the most adorable shifter children if Rohan’s beast was anything to go by. He also had three families where the human mate had not shifted or gotten a wolf.

Some of their children might be considered wolves-less, not that he minded. Those humans, one of them was well known in the medical research world, and two of them were robotics engineers. All three of them lived here but often went out into the human world for conferences and junkets, were the three faces of his company that the humans recognized. He thought it was actually good to have some wolf-less inside the pack, could and did offer them to be the prominent head figures for them in the human world, he thought all packs should do this, also gave those wolf-less a purpose and made them feel fully included and valued within their pack, which they all should be.

He walked into his office and debated if he should go and talk to the Otto’s, he didn’t want to get their hopes up, only to have them dashed and likely have to relive the grief of the loss of their eldest daughter all over again. Sat and stared at the photos on his computer, of the family unit, his record database encompassed not just a photo of each individual pack member and their wolf.

But the entire family unit and one of all their wolves together, something he’d started when he’d taken over, thought it was nice to have them all photographed together, in human and wolfen form. Each family also got a copy of those particular photos as well. And could request another anytime they liked.

Usually, that was done when the children mated off and moved into an apartment with their mate or were headed off out of the pack altogether and wanted to take family photos with them. They were just printed on the spot, he had a dedicated printer for such things only had the highest quality photo paper in it, of all sizes.

He copied a family photo to a single file and would, if Sloan would give him an email address for an actual council member, send it through for Rhyse, who he could only think of was there with them, could look at it and see if it was her family. If so, she was more than welcome to come back here to the pack to be reunited.

Though, if not, he would also accept her if she needed sanctuary, his pack was relatively safe now that he’d cut off all entry to the pack with the exception of the lake and that tiny trial that led off though the mountains that was monitored, anyone coming from the north towards him, he had a good half a day’s notice of incoming and could not only prepare himself but have two allied packs here within 3 and half hours of placing a call for assistance.

He’d made this pack easier to defend now, with only one way in that was not the ferry, and if anyone did come that way, all his wolves would be not on the northern border but out there marching towards the incoming, and all his border patroller's would be standing on the northern border to protect the pack if any enemy got past him and his warriors. It had not happened in his reign yet, but it was always planned for.