Page 23 of Spirit Walker Pack (Kingdom of Wolves #5)
LYLE
Understanding why Chief Glen didn’t notify me immediately of the rogue's presence in the pack lands doesn’t make me any less angry.
That was most definitely a wrong decision on his part, and he’ll know it when he returns.
I’m not going to go charging off after him because I don’t know enough detail to risk my warriors' lives on a whim.
It is one thing to be protective of your alpha, another thing entirely by delaying a report and not giving all the facts. My beta is keeping his distance, I notice, so probably has more details.
‘Beta Earl to the Alpha’s office immediately...’ I mind link Earl .
Taking a seat behind my desk, I try to calm myself. Breathing slowly and deeply, my mind slows down and begins to function rationally once again.
After a quick tap at the door, Earl steps in. “Yes, Alpha Lyle?”
“Don’t play coy with me, Beta Earl. What is happening with Chief Glen and this rogue incident?” The use of his title has him squirming, as I don’t usually stick to formalities when we are alone.
“All I know is that warrior Sloane informed Chief Glen of a small rogue encampment in the woods by the river…”
“How small are we talking?” I don’t have the patience to be nice and wait for all the information that I should have been given.
“Six males, I believe,” Earl squirms.
“You believe, or you know?”
“Six is what Chief Glen reported, Alpha Lyle.”
“If they are at the river, how far out are we talking?” They could be as close as a mile or near the border. The river and the woods meet all across the pack lands.
“He said that it was less than an hour distant, traveling fast and light. I am expecting to hear from him anytime now.” Earl cringes when he says this, and I am not stupid enough to miss the inference.
“You are expecting to hear from him? Not we? You once asked me about your decision making, and I told you I had no cause to doubt it. You are both giving me that cause right now.” I am gritting my teeth as I speak and Hunter is trying desperately to calm me without much success I may add.
“Why was Sloane so far out alone in the first place? Something else I have not been informed of, perhaps?”
“She was not alone, Alpha Lyle.” Earl looks at his feet as he tells me this and I know I’m not going to like what he’s reluctant to tell me.
“I strongly suggest, Beta Earl, you stop beating about the bush and spit out the whole story before I seriously lose my shit!” I see Earl flinch as I curse, something I have never done in front of anyone before, but this whole mess is testing every nerve I possess.
There is something that is ringing every warning bell in both mine and Hunter's minds.
“Chief Glen had a one-on-one training session this morning with Sloane. After the session, Sloane went for a run in the woods and stumbled across the rogue encampment. She reported six males. Fenya had joined them for the training session and then went on the run with Sloane. She was with her when they discovered the group. I believe it was Fenya’s discovery, rather than Sloane’s.
” Only after his last words does he look up, and I see the fear in his eyes.
He is not afraid of me, of that I am certain, so it must be fear of the unknown.
“You don’t know if Fenya is alright or not, is that right?” I ask quietly and coldly.
“There has been no mention of Fenya in any information we have received so far, Alpha Lyle, which leads me to believe she is fine.” Dropping his head to study the ground with nerves.
“First, WE have not been receiving information. YOU have. Second, I do not subscribe to the ‘no news is good news’ school of thought. I thought that Chief Glen had rushed off without giving me all the information immediately because he was misguidedly trying to protect, knowing that I would want to lead the team to investigate these rogues. Now I’m beginning to think he was trying to cover his own butt because he let a pack guest, my mate no less, wander off into the woods without sufficient protection.
” Taking several deep breaths, I regain my composure.
“Assemble a ten-warrior team immediately. I want them at the front of the packhouse and ready for anything we may encounter in five minutes. When I return, Chief Glen, yourself and I will have a sit down to discuss this in detail. Get those warriors together and meet me outside with them.”
Standing, I turn and look out the window, clearly indicating that this interview is over.
We have been running for over thirty minutes when I receive a mind link from Chief Glen. We are almost at the point of meeting them coming back.
Finding a clearing, we settle down to wait. I feel my temper surfacing along with my impatience, but nothing I think of seems to help.
What seems like hours passes, but in fact is only minutes, when Chief Glen and his team arrive with Fenya and Sloane. Seeing that both females are uninjured, I turn my attention to Chief Glen.
“We will talk privately along with Beta Earl when we return to the packhouse, until then I want to know about this rogue camp.”
“Fenya and…” Before Glen gets another word out of his mouth, I silence him.
“I want the report that my Chief Warrior should have given to me hours ago. I do not expect to receive what is essentially a war report from a guest of this pack! Do I make myself perfectly clear?” I say this in a complete monotone and as calm a voice as I can muster.
“Alpha Lyle, if I may…” Fenya begins as she takes a step forward.
“No. You may not, Fenya Stormhowl. You are a guest of this pack, and of me personally. As Head Warrior for the Wolfsong Pack, you are also aware that guests should be accompanied by an escort at all times.” I raise my hand to silence her when I know she is going to argue that she was with Sloane.
“And that said escort should be in relation to any danger that the guest may be put, or put themselves in. Running free in the woods far from the packhouse warrants more than a single warrior, wouldn’t you agree?
I doubt that it varies between packs. Knowing that, you took it upon yourself to not only risk your own safety, but that of one of my warriors.
One that will now face punishment for the same reason. ”
I look at Sloane who is holding her head up but clearly worried that she did not think of this earlier. I know she is not worried about any consequences, but it is clear that when setting out on the run she did not consider Fenya’s status as a guest.
“When we return to the packhouse, you will go immediately to the guest suite where you will remain, under guard, until I see fit to talk further on this infraction.” I try not to snarl, but it is said sharply.
Turning back to Glen, I listen to his description of the camp and the details that he was given by both Fenya and Sloane of the mysterious Number Seven, as they call him. I am particularly interested in his all-black eyes. This fact alone triggers something within me, but I’m not sure what.
We will talk later about these all-black eyes. I know what they could represent. Hunter nudges my awareness.
After a short break, we begin the return journey to the packhouse. Although much calmer now that I know Fenya and Sloane are safe, I’m ashamed to admit that Fenya’s safety was higher on my priorities than one of my own pack.
I sense someone approach my right side and I glance to see Fenya running beside me.
“Whatever you are about to say, Head Warrior Fenya Stormhowl of the Wolfsong Pack, you can save for later. I told you I demanded the same respect from you, that I afforded you, did I not? Do you think putting yourself, as my guest, and no matter what your opinion of me is, my fated mate, and one of my warriors in danger, shows that respect? Think on this while in the guest suite. We will talk later. After we have spoken, you may feel differently about joining me for the ‘pickernic’ I had arranged for us. Now…kindly return to your position within your escort and remain there for the rest of the journey.”
“Escort, or guard now?” I hear her ask quietly and almost subserviently.
Watching for her response, I state, “I’d prefer escort while in the woods, but I’m happy to reassign it as whatever is deemed necessary. It will be guard at the packhouse as you clearly cannot be trusted with your own safety.”
“Whatever damage I have done here, you should know, I am truly sorry.” With that, she drops back, and we return to the packhouse without further words between us.
The interview with Earl and Glen is short and brutal.
I do not waste time with niceties or formalities.
I accept Glen’s explanation that he wanted to get to Sloane and Fenya as quickly as possible, and that it was not due to any feelings of self-recrimination by letting them run alone.
I was intrigued when he stated that he hadn’t thought of her as a guest during training and more of a pack member or even warrior comrade.
Earl admitted to concerns over Fenya’s safety and wanted clearer information before speaking to me.
I know that he was also trying to have Glen’s back in all of this, but reminded them both that they should have my back, first and foremost. They were both to engage in tactical theory training with the warriors for an extra two hours per day.
I later thought I may have punished the warriors more than my chief and Beta.
Before they leave, I arrange the recon mission to no-man’s-land that Bronze thought up, and that I discussed with Fenya.
Reiterating the importance of secrecy for this mission, I allow Earl to lead it and Glen to choose the team with him.
Only the two of them are to know the mission's purpose, and Earl can inform the team as they arrive at their destination.