Page 14 of Spirit Walker Pack (Kingdom of Wolves #5)
LYLE
Traveling to the Alpha meeting at Wolfsfoot town, it was decided to hold it in their town hall rather than the Wolfsfoot packhouse, as security would be better suited there.
There is little interaction between Fenya and myself, I have to say I am more than a little disappointed with how this has panned out so far.
Never in my wildest imagination did I ever see a mating bond being this difficult.
I always thought, and from what I’ve witnessed, the pair find each other, throw themselves at each other, and then disappear for three days, returning with huge, happy grins on their faces.
I can tell you this, my happy grin is a long way off!
Astra will win her over, I’m sure. She strikes me as a very determined wolf. You should suggest letting me run with her.
‘Somehow, I don’t see that suggestion meeting with her approval. She will see it as a way of a sneak attack, I’m sure!’ I reply.
Maybe that will be the only way to go in the end. Astra says that Fenya is the stubbornest human she has ever come across. You may have to throw some of your Alpha power at her, just to get her to speak to you at this rate.
‘If it comes to that, I will walk away. I don’t want a mate that I have to force to even talk to me.’
Arriving at the Wolfsfoot border, I am pleasantly surprised to be met by both Alpha Gabe and Luna Tati. I haven’t seen them for some time, and it’s always a pleasure to be in their company.
As usual, Luna Tati notices there is an issue immediately and takes me off to one side, while Gabe and Falan get better acquainted.
“What’s the matter, Lyle? You are tense and that hug you gave me was something that should be reserved for your weak and feeble grandmother. I expect more from you. Spit it out. Is there something wrong with Alpha Falan? Do I need to warn Gabe of anything?”
I respond calmly, “No, nothing like that. I’m going to tell you something, but I need you to remain calm. Your initial reaction is going to be excited and squeal. I need you to rein that in and stay silent and relaxed. This is important to me, Tati. Please don’t react all hyper and girly.”
“Wow. That’s quite a speech from you and you must not trust me very much.”
“Tati, it’s because I know you so well that I’m asking you not to react to what I’m about to tell you.
Believe me, if I didn’t trust you so much, I would not be telling you this.
” I give her my most serious, pleading look.
“Do you see the tall female warrior close by Alpha Falan? That is his Head Warrior Fenya Stormhowl. My fated mate.”
Tati starts to bounce on her toes and I catch her hands in mine before she starts to clap in excitement.
“Tati! Stop! She doesn’t want me as her mate.” I see the look of excitement leave her eyes to be replaced by one of confusion.
Walking her further away before she starts firing questions at me, I glance over and Fenya appears not to have noticed Tati’s brief show of excitement.
“What do you mean ‘she doesn’t want you’? Is she deaf, dumb, and blind with no sense of smell? How can she not want you? I don’t understand. I think I need to slap some sense into her empty head. How can she not see what a catch you are? Let me talk to her and find out what’s going on…”
“Tati, stop and take a breath, please. She doesn’t just not want me, she doesn’t want a mate. Period. It’s not just the whole mate thing she doesn’t want, she also doesn’t want to be a luna.”
“I take it that you would be happy with this mating?” Tati watches for my reaction.
“She is my fated mate. I would not reject her without a very serious reason. I think, despite our poor start, that she would make an excellent Luna for the Spirit Walker pack and I would be proud to have her stand beside me. It appears that is not to be. At least not anytime soon.”
“Then I will curb my enthusiasm for the time being, but I will try to find out what is going on in that high up head of hers. She’s quite tall, isn’t she?”
“Everyone is tall to you, Tati.” I scoop her into my arms and spin her round quickly.
“Alpha Gabe! Why aren’t you at hand to protect me from this abuse?” Tati calls out and Gabe starts to walk over with Falan.
I notice Fenya tense up and glance at Falan, who does something with his fingers and she immediately stands down. That’s an interesting way to communicate and could be very useful. A mind link would have done the same thing, but there could be times when a mind link wasn’t possible.
“Unhand my Luna, at once.” Gabe takes Tati from me and wraps her in the protective blanket of his arms. Looking up at him, she kisses him as he bends down to meet her lips.
“Oh, please. Enough already,” Falan says as he pretends to throw up. “You could at least show us to our rooms before you go to yours!”
The trip to the packhouse gives me time to catch up with Tati, and I have to ask, “I’m surprised you don’t have a litter of pups running around by now. Or at the very least, one on the way.”
“I suspect Ebony and Phoenix are to blame for the lack of pups. They enjoy practicing far too much, far too often so that being pregnant may cramp their shenanigans,” Tati whispers to me when she thinks no one is within earshot.
“I don’t know if that’s even possible, Tati, but I wouldn’t put it beyond the scope of our wolves,” I whisper back.
Once at the packhouse, I see that the Shifter Council is already present. Seeing my mother and father again is a pleasure, and after quick introductions to Alpha Falan, I whisk them away to catch up.
While we do so, I keep casting cautious glances at my mother. She has a sixth sense for moods and troubled souls, so I’m waiting for her to say something.
“Lyle, stop beating about the bush and tell me what’s wrong. You keep looking at me as though I’ve caught you with a hand in the proverbial cookie jar. Spit it out and let your mother advise you.” I knew she wouldn’t take long, but this is fast even for her.
“It’s a problem that you can’t help with this time, mother. This one is beyond even your extensive capabilities.” After explaining the whole Fenya thing, it takes both me and my father to stop my mother from searching out Fenya and demanding a reason for her reticence.
Fortunately, the arrival of the rest of the awaited Alphas and Lunas takes the heat off my problem and we go to meet them. The meeting was scheduled to begin after the arrival of all the attendees, and having given them time to freshen up. With that in mind, the meeting would begin within the hour.
Seeing Falan and his half-sister, Hope, reunited is a thing of beauty, I have to say.
They don’t have much in common when it comes to physical features, but there is no mistaking they are pleased to see each other.
Connell stands to one side and lets them have this time together, looking at Hope as if she was the center of the universe.
Bronze and Talia also look good together. They have naturally gravitated to Gerry and Aurora, and seeing mother and daughter together watched over by their mates has me wanting some of this for myself.
Looking around, I fail to see Fenya anywhere, which I find surprising. I was wondering if all this familiarity would have any effect on her, as it had on me.
“Fenya is in the training ring. She made a comment about a female warrior needing a bat as a weapon, and things degenerated quickly after that. I doubt she will return uninjured this time, and I don’t just mean her pride,” Falan states.
“Oh my. I assume the warrior with the bat was Ember? That would be an interesting contest, but I think I’ll stay well out of it.” Talia grins and has put her money on Ember coming out at least equal but probably with far fewer bruises.
Catching all of our attention, Flint calls us to order, as it were, and we are advised that transport awaits us to go to the town hall. Security is tight and also fairly inconspicuous. We are a long way from a potential attack, but Arric has been nothing if not tenacious.
Once in the town hall's main chamber, we all see Porter Riverrun seated to one side. He looks very different from the last time I was in his company. He is extremely thin and his features are drawn. It immediately begs the question, is his wolf still present?
Surprisingly, it is Councilor Lykos that addresses the room first.
“Before we begin, there is something that we wish to address. By now, you are all aware of Porter Riverrun’s relationship and involvement with Arric.
We are grateful that you have kept this amongst the select few present.
It is probably more than we could expect, given the circumstances.
Rather than face the consequences of his own actions, he has taken Wolfsbane in sufficient quantities that he has killed his own wolf, and condemned himself as a human to a slow death, also.
” With this, Lykos signals to two guards standing on either side of Porter and they remove him from the room.
“Our next item of business relates to Councilor Flint Sable. He feels that as the last of the ‘old’ council, and because the others have in recent times let you all down in one way or another, he should step down and relieve us of his services.” Searching everyone's eyes in the room, we all sit stunned into silence by this revelation.