Chapter 1 - Shawn
The little park area behind Eccles courthouse is practically overflowing with people, making me feel crowded to the point of suffocation. Every elder from both packs, as well as our alphas, mates, and hangers-on, has gathered for the first joint meeting—and we’ve clearly underestimated how much space we need.
I feel like I’m being slowly crushed to death!
I close my eyes briefly, focusing on my breathing and trying to ignore the searing heat pressing down on us from above. We’re under a bunch of shady trees, but they don’t fully stop the sun’s rays, especially mid-afternoon.
Could be worse. I could actually be in the gazebo.
I look over the rail, not envying those inside. Even though the gazebo has a roof for shelter, there are so many people packed under it, the place must feel like a sauna.
Standing at one end, Rex, Scarlett, Brad, and Alisha try to bring the meeting to order. Every other elder from both packs is in there, all of them talking at once. Spilling out around the gazebo, we’ve got friends, guild leaders, and the rest of our black ops group.
Not a single member of the elite from Eccles. You’d think that all people, they’d want to be in on this.
“Please, everyone, calm down!” Rex shouts. There’s a strong note to his voice that resonates through the clearing, striking every ear. Even though there’s still a rumble of dissent, the noise settles.
“Thank you, everyone,” Scarlett says. “I know this is an extremely trying time for all of us, but we have to figure out what to do, and we can’t do that by arguing.”
“We should organize a funeral,” Alisha says, very softly. A few council members look at her in shock.
“They weren’t from our pack!” Hazel, the Eccles elder, cries. “They attacked us, and you want to mourn them?”
“They were slaughtered,” Alisha says, glaring straight at Hazel. “It was a full-force guard of fifteen warriors, and the combined strength of our packs murdered them in under five minutes.”
An uncomfortable silence falls, broken only by the light tossing of the leaves as a slow breeze moves through above our heads. I look down at the ground, and I know the other black ops guys are avoiding everyone’s eyes right now as well.
We didn’t know! We didn’t know who they were!
“I see your point,” Rex says gently. “But the bodies were sent back to their pack, and I’m sure they have said their farewell.”
“A memorial, then,” Alisha says. “We need to take this to heart and learn from it so it never happens again!”
“Excuse me,” Galant, one of the Rose Hollow elders, says, getting up. “They are a hostile force that attacked us, and we responded in kind. For all we knew, there were hundreds attacking—”
“There weren’t hundreds!” Alisha yells. “Did you see them? Their clothes were threadbare, they were poor-looking—more like refugees than soldiers.”
“But they attacked us,” Scarlett mutters.
“You should not have been there,” Brad says, taking Alisha’s arm. “I blame myself—”
“And I blame myself!” Alisha snaps, pulling away from him. She pushes through the crowd and leaves the gazebo, walking into the nearby trees. I see her friend, a tall, blond woman, break away from the meeting and follow her.
“Do you want to go after her?” Rex asks Brad.
“I will,” Brad says. “But I’ll let her calm down a little. Grace is with her.”
“It’s just terrible what happened,” Gen says, wringing her hands. “It’s so awful.”
A sigh creaks through me, and I look down at the grass again. In all my years of military service, this incident is still one of the worst I’ve ever seen.
Several nights ago, the pack was out for a run. All the warriors and black ops guys were together, including mates and young ones. Alisha and Grace were with a few children who couldn’t shift yet, playing in a meadow not far from town while the pack took to the ridge under the full moon.
When we heard the screams, it was, without a doubt, the most terrifying moment of my life. I’ve never seen Rex and Brad move as fast as they did that night. The children screaming, the women crying—it sounded like a massacre.
And that’s what it was.
When we arrived, Alisha had the children behind her and was using her powers to take down a couple of advancing wolves. We saw others circling the group and moved to attack. All of us were so hyped, we just went in without a thought.
