Melanie decided to tease everyone by wondering what they wanted to talk about. They were upset about something, but not the Resistance. I actually saw quite a bit of pride in the room. Freya assured me, “Several wolves have confirmed they learned about something else that upset them. Our families wolves are worried about us, but very proud.”
So at least I had that going for me. Anyone from our packs would’ve fought back how I did. Even isolated and cut off… we all knew how things were supposed to go. They were worried about me being the leader though.
I quickly put them at ease because… it was a secret. I thought that was obvious. Jason linked, “Don’t you dare say it’s obvious that you running the Resistance is a secret.” I replied, “Isn’t it though?” Jason answered, “Yes, just don’t say it.” Ok… but it was obvious.
This group knowing made the group much larger, but… it was still a secret. They all seemed relieved at the number that knew my identity. Xander’s relief was all encompassing. I quickly realized it was more than his. I could feel the collective relief of the room.
TJ linked, “We will work on dealing with everyone’s feelings soon.” Thank god. I replied, “I’d really appreciate that.” I went through a high level overview of the information I had access to. Tristan linked, “Can I get in on the access to the system?” I answered, “Ummm why? You wouldn’t get it. Prince Gunner and Micah having access makes sense. Giving anyone else access would be a little silly.”
Tristan put his head down, but I saw his smirk. My big brother tried again, “Can I get the access your non-techy friendshave?” I replied, “Of course… but fair warning they all maintain they don’t understand how it works. They get the basics… but they all say it’s too complicated.”
Freya scoffed, “I cannot believe more of them don’t use ILYX.” Yeah, well…. they couldn’t in the pack, and I was guessing it was just a habit not to now. Freya asked, “And when are we giving the helpful tidbit of the name of the system?” I answered, “Ummm never? That seems like an option.”
Tristan asked, “Does Paige understand?” I admitted, “I mean… more than most people…yes.” That was due to the fact that Paige used ILYX… since she had her own place… and the pack wasn’t stalking her to overhear her talk to the watch.
Dad linked, “I want in the system too.” I agreed, “Ok.” Honestly, he’d understand the most since the filing system was the one I learned from him. Freya snorted, “You don’t plan to give him access to everything.” I replied, “To be fair… the only people with access to everything are me… Kingsley… and Xander… he just doesn’t know that.” Freya cackled in my head.
I had to explain that I had people reporting things to me they’d heard. When people in power considered someone so far beneath them, they underestimated and discounted them. Thinking they would never report the things they heard out of fear.
A lot of people were looking for a way to stick it to their leaders. Wolves are not weak by definition. So treating them as subpar was a bad idea. They knew they were stronger, faster, and had qualities that were better than humans. Yet they were treated like animals instead of people. No one liked that.
They caught onto the fact that we’d taken out Alpha’s and lied about it. Well, I didn’t. Other people did. I’d made sure the allies around here took those new Alpha’s under their wing. I could teach them a lot, but having a mentor who was actually a good Alpha was something they all needed.
People started to believe there was a new rogue King around, but I’d made sure that Eric knew it wasn’t true. I still felt bad he’d looked into it for a while before I realized he’d believed the rumors. I linked my father in law, “I am sorry you guys looked into it… I didn’t want you to waste time.”
Eric replied, “Looking into such things is actually our job. You did nothing wrong, and it wasn’t on you to know we were doing it.” It felt like it kind of way since I was the reason the rumor existed in the first place.
They wanted to know how long I’d had their calendars hacked. A long time… since I was fifteen. Bjourn’s was the hardest. I didn’t get into his until I was almost sixteen. I only got it because I figured out Prince Gunner’s code from Micah’s.
Which I would never share, but it wasn’t uncomplicated. Their codes weren’t exactly the same, and Prince Gunner was REALLY good. Xander’s was the first calendar I got into. I was the most motivated for his though. I wanted to make sure he was ok.
I agreed to share information. I was already doing that, so it seemed like an odd ask. Logically, I’d been feeding the Hackura information systematically through Cayden for years. They had a decent amount of information; we’d just held back the attacks on the family from them.
The Hackura wanted in our missions. I didn’t know about that. If too many of them joined in, it would be obvious they knew us. It’s why I’d hesitated to bring Cayden and Micah in after all this time. One, they would’ve wanted to meet my boss.
Two, they were already shutting down drug operations and Hunting Rings. I could logically say they could infiltrate those things. If the Ring started reviewing tapes and seeing these guys… I just don’t know how that would go. I definitely wasn’t taking a guard. They would guard me, and then it would be noticeable.
Kingsley was probably going to have to slip her guards Hastein put on her for now. It was in his blood to be protective… and given I knew who he’d selected as his future Queen’s Guards… it was not going to be uncomplicated to slip them.
Micah wasn’t happy with what he found in Bankhead. I’d known part of what he’d found. Those people wanted Max. Desperately. They REALLY wanted Maverick too. They were intrigued by his influencing power. Which was absurd.
Freya snorted, “I don’t think they grasp the logic you’re using.” Well, that was crazy. If they let him use it… Maverick would simply influence his way out of there. The larger wanted to know how I stopped all the attempts. I evaded that and pointed out who protected specific people.
I’d had Olivia out with me when I’d saved Maverick from an attempt. She’d spotted him and was captivated by him. Olivia immediately wanted to be in charge of his security, and she was good at it. She was a lot like me…. but in her shell.
From what I’d found she used to be outgoing. Then she was sold to the Ring… and I understood her point of view. She wasn’t the same person she once was. We were slowly bringing her back out. She was most animated when she was talking about Maverick though. So, it was a win, win.
Olivia seemed to understand people better than I did. She also had a keen sense for strategy and great ideas about poison. Olivia would probably do better talking to Haley, but she hadn’t wanted to do that yet. Maverick was the ONE thing Olivia showed the most interest in from the moment she saw him… from a distance… through binoculars.
Tristan linked me, “Mel, Maverick wants to meet your friend.” I replied, “I mean… I’ve tried to get her to meet him… well and Haley… because ya know she’s a powerful Fairy. I can only teach her so much… but she’s not ready.”
Tristan replied, “Maverick believes she’s his.” Well… I was not the Soul Searcher. I just thought they’d be cute together. Freya snickered, “I can just imagine all the pep talks you gave yourself through the years.”
We got into the discussion of what Olivia was. I linked, “Si… that’s Olivia’s call to make… talking about herself is personal for her.” Sierra said, “Hey, I’d like to see the social butterfly we’d learned she was until she was taken.” It was still Olivia’s call to make.
Sierra pressed, “Maverick is our best shot at that. He’d know what she was when they met. I know you, Mel. You’re already planning on a way to talk to her and make that happen.” So… she had a point. If Maverick was Olivia’s mate… I hoped she’d get a wolf when they mated. That often happened with Fairies.
A wolf would definitely help with Olivia’s confidence levels… I was speaking from personal experience. Maverick wanted someone to try for him so he could meet her. Yeah, no. I didn’t like the people that came for Maverick. They were sneaky and annoying.
