Page 5

*Adira*

W e have settled into the farmhouse and Robbie gave his job notice at the school, which has led us to train a new man named Thorn Legend, who is a Leopard shifter. He doesn’t speak much to me or Stella, but he works hard and he has learned quickly.

Murmurs throughout town about the Elder Council have everyone worried about what is going to happen, but the Town Council is firmly behind the Hunters Bow Pack being formed, and being allowed as part of the town.

Robbie has been digging an immense area in the garden where he’s mumbling about fruit bushes and trees, making more jelly and even cakes to sell to the café and Joyce at the B&B.

Joyce has been to the farmhouse twice and even stayed to eat with us one evening. She has asked if she can join the pack and would add a percent of her business profits to the pack’s coffers.

As we have decided to run the pack as a democracy we will put it to the vote if anyone steps forward wanting to join, because the last thing we want is trouble joining. We will have to see what develops, and I’m not going to panic in the meantime.

Wednesday evening and we are just finishing our meal, giving Robbie praise for the amazing grilled steak and roasted vegetables he served us. It was a splendid meal. We all talked, laughed and planned what we had to do on the weekend while we were off work.

The knock on the door surprises us as it’s unusual for anyone to come to the house as we haven’t had a welcome party as yet. Leo walks over to the back door and opens it and gives a rumbled, ‘Come in.’

“Oh, have you got a drink Robbie, my throat is so dry,” Joyce quickly says as she makes herself at home, taking a seat at the table and picking up a piece of meat from Stella’s plate, earning herself a tap on the back of her hand.

“Hey you!” Stella laughs and Joyce chews the meat she stole, but doesn’t suppress her smile.

“So, what are you doing out here in an evening?” Leo asks.

“The Town Council wants to warn you that the Elder Council will be here in two days. You need to be ready and know what you are going to say if they throw arguments at you about finding an Alpha mate.”

“Oh, I’ll have an argument, and I’ll also tell them where to shove themselves. They have no say over what happens to me, and although we are a pack, we are not a registered pack with them at this time,” I respond.

“They could make your pack legitimate, so they could call you out on that one. But that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Mavis said I had to tell you that if you were a registered pack, then ALL the Alphas would have a say in what happened to you as a line from royal blood if that came out.

That would take any decision from the council’s hands.

It would also mean none of the packs would want you pushed in any direction.

They would honestly want you to choose for yourself.

The Blue River Pack may not be happy that someone survived, mind you. ”

“I know I’m human, but it goes against anyone’s rights to be forced into an arranged marriage, or mate-ship, bonding, or whatever the hell you want to call it.

It’s archaic and if it’s still happening, then this Elder Council needs to get with the times, or step down and you all form a ‘Younger Council’,” which Robbie says, giving air-quotes on the last part.

Stella and Joyce are nodding and Leo just looks mean, which we all know is him being angry about all this.

“Well, you could put a damper on them and mate with Leo,” Stella says and we all turn our heads and look at her as though she has lost her mind.

Races rarely mix. A lion-wolf hybrid would be highly unusual, but who knows if it’s already happened yet been kept quiet?

“Nope, not happening. Adira is my sister now, not a mate. I’m also happy to be on my own. Now, we need to give this thought, and have replies ready no matter what crap they throw at you.” We all sit around the kitchen table looking down at the mouth.

Joyce, however, puts the kettle on and makes a pot of tea, placing a cup in front of each of us, then sitting sipping her drink quietly.

The next two hours we throw around questions that may be asked, and orders they may throw out. Finding a rational, negative reason for how to respond.

“How many elders are coming?” I ask.

Joyce rolls her eyes. “They are all coming, all eight of them.”

“You don’t say.” Leo rubs the back of his neck. “I think we need to speak to the town council before the Elders get here. I have a nasty feeling they have something planned and something already up their sleeve.”

Joyce places her cup down and looks at each of us in turn.

“Look, the town is behind you. They don’t want to join packs because of the politics that come along with them.

But they also won’t watch one of us being taken by force or trickery.

They won’t allow you to be railroaded into something, either.

Leo, you come with me tomorrow and we’ll speak to the town council together.

Adira, you keep your head down until they arrive on Saturday. ”

Once we are all done with the conversation and questions for now, Joyce leaves with Leo, who walks her home. Robbie, Stella and I make our way to bed. It is a workday tomorrow, after all.

The next day after work, Leo fills us in on the conversation he had with the council, along with Joyce, who apparently is making her displeasure known.

Dottie, who is a close friend of Joyce, waded in also, and had given the council a piece of her mind, when they said our pack wasn’t large enough to have enough weight to throw around with the Elders.

Now the pack has grown after I initiated Joyce, Dottie, Asher from the grocery store, and Petra from the hairdressers. Also, Thorn, who is a colleague, and Troy, my boss from school. So, the pack is now ten strong counting myself. I don’t know if it’s enough, but it’s better than we had.

Saturday came around far too quickly, but it has to be faced and no matter what happens, we as a pack will stand together.

Thorn I have noticed keeps sucking through his teeth and giving a feral grin.

When I asked what was wrong he grinned stating loudly, ‘I’m ready for a fight if they are bringing one’.

‘I like him. He has no fear of the Elders. We cannot show any weakness, Adira. We are not under their control, and for now, we need to stay that way. I will not submit to a mating I don’t want, and neither will you.’

“Too true, Blue. We won’t, because we’ve walked away from one pack because of politics.

But these are the same elders that would have had to give permission for Travis to break our fated bond, and for him to take Joliee as his chosen mate.

I have no respect for them, especially as I submitted to their request to go to Luna camp for a year. ”

Stella snorts, “Let them try to force us into anything, because we will fight back. It would start with you, then it would soon lead to them having some sort of freaking lottery where all of us unmated females will be the prize for unmated males, and I’m not being told who to take as a chosen mate.

My mate died by his father’s hand and unless the Moon Goddess sees fit to give me a second chance mate, I don’t want a mate at all. ”

“My mate is also dead, drowned when she was young, playing with her sister in the river. I always thought her sister had a hand in it, but could never prove it. But if I ever can, I’ll drown that bitch in the same river she murdered mine,” Leo snarls.

Robbie interrupts, gaining everyone’s attention. “Come on guys, it’s time to face the assholes.”

Walking into the town hall half an hour later, I take in the long table that has been placed at the top of the room.

Eight Elders are sitting looking stern, and the four town council members are among them.

Two sitting on each end of the table, but all four look as though they want to shift and fight.

Not a good look, and not good for my confidence.

“Adira Strongbow, my name is Elias Whitelaw. I am the head of the Elder Council, and these are the other council members.”

Elias sweeps his hand out to indicate the other council members. I keep my face blank, but say ‘Good Afternoon’.

“We know, of course, you have formed a pack, but said pack is not registered with the council…” Elias starts to speak once more.

“I’m sorry, but we have no intention of the pack being registered. We like being rogues and we intend to stay rogues.” I quickly get that comment out before they start their spiel on becoming members.

“We have put the pack registration in the system. It will be completed in four weeks. You cannot form a pack without it being registered.”

Oh, he looks smug, but he’s going to find out I cannot be bullied anymore.

“So, you have used authority you didn’t have over a rogue town to force the registration of a pack, and we know the reason.

The reason you want me is that of my blood, and you are hoping to put me out there to be a walking womb for some Alpha that I don’t give a shit about.

Now, let me tell you Elias, and the rest of you, it is not going to happen.

I know we have to sign the paperwork for any pack to be official, and as Alpha of the Hunters Bow Pack, I refuse to sign.

” I’m gritting my teeth and my eyes flash as Blue comes to the front.

‘I don’t like them, Adira. I’m watching and I’m ready if anything happens.’

“Thank you, Blue.” I can feel Blue pacing in the back of my mind. She has her hackles up and wants to shift, and I’m sure she will if any threats are thrown my way.

“You cannot stay unmated, Adira,” one of the Elders adds, but I give him a withering look that has Blue’s eyes shining alongside my own.

“If I decide to mate, it will be with who I want and not someone you have lined me up to mate with. I will not align myself with the Elder Council. You asked me to go to Luna Camp. I did that. I worked hard, gained top marks in everything, even excelled at hunting. Then when I went home, YOU…” said with a lot of force as I eye each of them, “had given permission for my fated-mate to reject me for someone else. Now you reap the payment of that choice. You betrayed me, and I won’t forget it and neither will Blue, my wolf.

” My eyes again flair, showing them Blue is in full agreement with my statement.

“Step in line, Adira. You have royal blood of old running through your veins. It is needed for the good of the Wolfen Society…”

Before this elder can say more, I pierce him with a look that is full of Blue. I didn’t know Blue could take over my body, but she is so angry she has and speaks for the first time to anyone other than myself.

“I am Blue, Adira’s other half and we will NOT be mated to anyone unless we want it to happen.

Yes, we have old blood, but that blood is strong and we will never be mistreated again.

We stepped back to allow ourselves to be secondary in what was supposed to be our family, and look at what happened to us.

“You come here sitting on your asses, thinking you are above the rest of us, but you are nothing without the society below you, and we can throw you out as quickly as keep you in power.

“Pack, come forth…”

I push Blue back before she starts a war with the council, but I see the nine members of the pack step forward from where they had been standing at the back of the room watching. Blue pushes again before I can say anything.

“We, the Hunters Bow Pack, remain a rogue pack. We reject the Elder Council as our leaders, and we remain rogue for the good of the pack and the town.”

The pack members unite and stand on both sides of me. “We remain rogue, as does the Hunters Bow Pack.” It echoes around the room, but when the door opens and town members rush into the room, taking places at the side of the pack, and behind, standing united with us, my heart leaps.

Alan, the Estate Agent and caretaker, speaks. “I, Alan Letterman, make a request to join the Hunters Bow Pack.”

Turning, I smile at Alan, but when everyone in the room makes the same request, I hear the Elder Council getting angry behind me.

But I open my hand and slash across my palm, running it along every hand that has been also slashed in front of me.

I walk from one to another, clasping hands and creating one pack member after another.

I have to cut my hand a few times with my fast healing, and the more members of the pack, the faster that healing has become.

I can feel pack members building in my mind, and Blue is strutting proudly, welcoming all wolves, and other that are connecting with us.

Turning, I look at the Elder Council, and I can see they are angry that their plans have been foiled.

The Town Council step away from the table and push to stand within the town, who are now pack members.

They need to remain outside of the pack as liaison with the Elder Council, but they are still rogues and will do what they think is right, and not what they are bid by the Elders.

Joyce steps forward and gives the Elder Council a disappointed look before speaking.

“I’m sad to see that the Elder Council has become a political platform, losing the respect it has always had.

We would have been more than happy to align the pack with the Wolfen Society, but, as you can see, we are not all wolves.

Our town comprises of various shifter species.

We also have humans who are outcasts in their own world, but not of their own doing.

We look after each other, and now we have a pack that is mixed species, the first of our kind, but know that we will all fight next to our pack mates no matter they be wolf, leopard, lion or anything else.

We will not allow you to take our Alpha and we, as a pack, will die stopping you.

Now, I think you need to leave and if you come back, you better come back with less of an attitude. ”

A clapping hand is heard and I stand firm, not turning to see who has started this, but the slow clapping builds until the room is loud and a little overwhelming. I turn and walk out with my pack following behind.

Now there is a huge job to do because I need to make sure of who is in the pack and will need to be recorded in a ledger for posterity. But feeling much lighter than when I came to this meeting, I know there is hope for the future.