“Mother help me,” he muttered under his breath, watching her approach the boy, clearly bedazzled by her, before he continued his journey. Alone, people would stop looking at him with astonishment. He almost faded into the usual movement of the village, nodding a polite, smiling greeting to someone who glanced at him. They smiled back, probably assuming he was a stranger passing through. No one would expect anyone of Thatcher’s pack to have the audacity to wander through their village, considering the current situation.
Milo prayed the unspoken lie kept him safe for the remainder of his journey. He stopped at the podium in the centre of the village, sitting on the steps to give his legs a rest. It was quiet today, though he wasn’t sure if that was normal for this pack. His own was usually buzzing with activity at all hours. Here, there were no screaming matches between arguing soldiers, no fights between his male siblings, no shouting and throwing of things in a fit of temper. It was…peaceful here. An underlying air of casual, everyday normality, despite the pack of invaders waiting on the edge of their land.
None of the people he saw seemed concerned by Thatcher’s presence, and he wondered if that was a sign of Alpha Keon’s good leadership having calmed the panic, or if they trusted the Meskli’s arrival to resolve the issue. Milo had never met the Meskli, but the stories proclaimed him a fair, honest man who ruled the m’weko with compassion and strength.
“Where’d these come from?” a man asked, drawing Milo’s gaze up from where he’d been dazedly staring at the ground, deep in thought. The man was tall, broad of shoulder, with dark hair tied into a bun at the nape of his neck. Dark features matched the brooding tone of voice, the dark clothing of a leather worker and sooty hands suggesting he’d been working.
“The Alpha,” a female replied, hanging washing at a house across the street.
The man grunted a non-committal reply, eyeing the signposts at the edge of the podium. Milo hadn’t noticed them, having come from the other direction, but now he stood shakily and wandered across.
“The Alpha posted these?” he asked, momentarily stunned into forgetting his plans. The signs were…astonishing. A list of extraordinary new laws posted on two wooden boards.
“They’re awesome, right?”
Milo turned, startled by the younger, brighter voice, and found a girl standing beside him.
She beamed bright and pointed to a law: “No limitations will be given to matings.” As Milo read the full notation about including same-sex partners, the girl heaved a relieved sigh and bounced on her toes with obvious excitement. “The Fates gave me a true mate who bullied me for my entire childhood, but I have zero interest in him. Which shouldn’t be how it is between mates, should it?” she asked, not waiting for a reply. “I have the biggest crush on her over there.”
Milo followed her pointed finger to a group of people gathered around Haley, much to his disappointment.
Thankfully, the girl clarified with a whispered, “Her, with the red hair.”
“She’s beautiful,” he agreed, though it was an understated beauty. She seemed shy, from this perspective, hovering in the background, tugging long sleeves over her hands.
“Yeah.” The girl beside him sighed, wistful and adoring.
He smiled at her enthusiasm and continued reading the various laws. Some seemed like common sense, though perhaps that was because Milo had spent time in Dnara before his injury. These were things the Dnarans took for granted, but which had to be fought for in Vihaan.
The laws continued, the careful phrasing indicating Alpha Keon had thought long and hard about all he wasn’t aware of. That there were some bonds, phrasings, and interpretations that might slip his mind, yet he included them in the laws with that handy phrase ‘including, but not limited to’.
Milo was impressed. It was clear Keon was trying to create a happier, more accepting pack. He challenged long-held beliefs in Vihaan that whatever was law was set in stone until the end of time. These laws proved that was no longer the case, and Milo hoped the Meskli approved each and every law upon his arrival. Even if his own fate was sealed, Alpha Keon’s pack could thrive and grow to become a pack Milo wished all m’weko packs could be.
That was when he noticed the final notation, at the end of the board.
These laws are effective immediately, from the moment they’re posted for the pack’s viewing. Any grievances can be taken directly to the Alpha or his Beta. Suggested changes or additions are welcome.
Alpha Keon was brave if he was prepared to post these laws and claim them legal and binding without having consulted the Meskli. That was normally how laws were authorised—passing them by the Meskli,thenannouncing them.
Was Alpha Keon preparing for the worst, binding these laws now in case Thatcher did something underhanded before the challenge? Or was he posting these to gather the support of his pack, and perhaps some of Thatcher’s people, before the challenge took place? It was highly unusual behaviour, but Milo could imagine how it might work well.
Those discontent with Thatcher’s rule could see these laws before the challenge, then use the chaos and upheaval of the night to slip into the woods and wait for the victor to emerge. If Alpha Keon won, they would only need to wait for Thatcher to be removed from the lands before presenting themselves and asking for sanctuary.
The implications were immense, but gave Milo hope. Tonight, he must pack whatever he held dear, have it ready and prepared for a quick escape, and shore his courage for the final leg of his journey. Whether he stayed here or left with the Meskli, he was resolved. He would never survive another day in Thatcher’s pack.
Chapter Ten
Milo
ALPHA KEON’S LAWSchanged everything. Perhaps not immediately, but they promised a better world could be created by brave men willing to take risks.
For that reason, Milo spent the next hour plotting his route from the camp to the bunker, where he easily located a door in the side of the podium where the challenge would take place. The problem was how to get there during the challenge, how to get past the guards on the night shift, and whether the Beta would be willing to listen if he could get the man alone.
There were more people around than his previous visit, and he managed to slip unseen towards the podium. This time, he sat across the street and spent half an hour pondering the possibilities. Whether he could approach from behind, slip around to the side door, and remain unseen. Whether he could use darkness and a disguise to flit amongst the crowd, then find a hiding spot nearby. Everything he thought of seemed fine, and would have been logical for anyonenotusing crutches. But because of his need for them, Milo worried he would be easily identified.
If the challenge went as planned, Thatcher would remain on the podium during the fight, as a ‘sponsor’ of sorts, which meant he was the instigator of the fight but too old or infirm to fight himself. Milo imagined he would hate remaining on the sidelines, unable to dictate Usher’s every move.
As he sat and thought through the problem, he heard murmurs and gossip about the laws that had been posted. Some were excited, some disgusted, and more didn’t know how to react. Milo guessed it was hard for them to reconcile the laws they’d been living under for generations with a new, upstart Alpha, who had been in Dnara longer than they approved of.
