Dave -
I still find it hard to believe, I agreed to become an Alpha, what was I even thinking, I can’t do this. I mean I know why I said yes. I agreed simply because I didn’t want Jack to have to take on a crumbling pack on top of his own pack right after finding his mate, but jeez, what was I thinking? I’m still not sure that I made the right choice, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I knew that Jack made it look easy, I knew it had to be a tough position and I knew that I would need to work hard, that I would need to work my ass off to bring this particular pack up to scratch. I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge either, but this pack has been hit hard by a few wolves that think the world owes them something, it isn’t just a fixer upper pack, this pack needs emotional support as well as an actual leader. Thank the goddess I worked as closely as I did with Jack and thank the goddess he is only a phone call away for advice.
Ace may have only been in charge for less than a year, but without proper structure and training a pack can crumble in that time, the fitness levels required need to be strictly maintained, the produce thoroughly tended, everything hangs in the balance and having a sick Alpha and a shitty piece of work take over can result in the pack imploding within a matter of months, no matter how strong they are to begin with.
I always knew being an Alpha came with a lot of responsibility, but I truly never fully understood all the things Jack handled on a day to day basis. I know that not having your Luna by your side makes the work that much more difficult and having spent the last month in the Alpha position, I can honestly say that I am so happy for Jack that he has finally found his mate, he deserves her and so does the pack, it does however make me long for my own mate more than I ever have before, I don't know how Jack coped for so long without Cassie, but I am in awe of him. This pack has had a tough time of it of late and needs a solid presence to help build it back up to its former glory and I have decided that I will be the man they need, the man that with the help of family and friends will bring this pack back from the brink that Ace was dangling off of. I will do right by these wolves and I vow, right here, in this moment that I will make Alpha Sven proud.
So here I am, sitting in my office before the sun has even had a chance to touch the lakes. I am taking a look at the notes I made hastily last night of all the things I want to work on today. We are slowly climbing out of the mess Ace sunk the pack into, working hard to repair the damage inflicted upon the pack, lands and our members, but, first things first, I need to get the warriors and tracker here to brief them on the new plan, since this is our most pressing concern at the moment.
Our top priority right now is Ace, we have been here for a little over a month and we can't find a trace of him, though we know he is nearby. The plan was already in motion, Brian and Mark were on their way to the mountains, they would be crossing our border within the next 15 minutes or so and would begin making their way up the mountain towards the area where we know the caves to be. I called Daisy 5 minutes ago and asked her to come down to my office. I want her opinion on some things and her thoughts on others while we wait.
Daisy throws open the door at that moment and enters my office in the same fashion she does every other room she goes into, like a damn whirlwind. I instinctively, almost unconsciously, grab for the papers spread across my desk as though she were an actual whirlwind threatening to spill all of it onto the floor, but they don't stir, as she is, thankfully, only a theoretical whirlwind.
“Good, you're here, we need to go over the plan again, we had to make some changes last minute” I say as she flits about the room, opening the curtains, turning the lights off, rearranging the stuff on the coffee table, “the others will be joining us shortly, they will be here any minute and I wanted to go over it with you first, once they depart we can go over schedules for the day and then go from there.”
I honestly don't know how I would have managed these giant changes without my twin sister by my side, she may be a whirlwind but she is as organized as they come and giving her the Beta position was an easy choice for me. Now all I need is to capture Ace so we can have him relinquish his aura so we might properly secure her position and so that we can be confident that Cassie and both our packs are safe.
Now that all the paperwork has been handled regarding the pack businesses Alpha Sven and Luna Lily had set up I know where we stand financially and I am incredibly grateful they recently went out to oversee and update the companies. There is only one thing that I am still unsure of, there seem to be some significant discrepancies between the payments we were sending and the agreement that we have with Forest Haven, it seems that extra payments were always made when Alpha Sven and Luna Lily were off pack lands, so I plan to send Daisy out to Forest Haven pack soon to check on things and learn what she can from them. There is the added bonus of the fact that they have had a similar situation to what we have now, it was about 50 years ago they had a member of their pack betray their own, but there are bound to be pack members that remember, us outside packs remember the stories that came through word of mouth, but though they resolved the issue their actions are not clear, so I am hoping they may be able to give us some useful advice on how to handle this thing with Ace.
Dave - Daisy crashes into the chair in front of my desk and crossing her legs she begins tapping her foot on the edge of the desk, “so, what's up?” She asks, “you sound even more stressed than usual this morning, did something happen?” “Yeah, something happened, Mark has got it into his head that he is going to find Ace and take him out, Brian has tried to talk some sense into him, but he is worried it hasn't worked, so we have had to adjust the plan slightly to keep Brian and Mark safe.” Rubbing my temples with the tips of my fingers, I continue, “we are now sending extra men out there in secret, Brian knows about them but Mark doesn't, and Jack has just messaged me saying his extra men are leaving his pack in 45 minutes and that they will meet with ours at the agreed upon location along our adjoining border. I haven't even had a chance to brief my guys. Thankfully they are due to arrive any minute so I will have a good 30 minutes to go over the plan with them before they have to l
Author POV - Brian and Mark departed from their home in Rival River pack and made their way on foot through the woods that separate them from Twin Lakes, they chat idly as they go, talking about the things they want to accomplish in their lives, they talk about anything that comes to mind except the mission they are currently heading towards. Brian dreads the topic coming up, hoping that as their opinions differ on the task at hand that they can just make it through the coming days without any accidents, injuries and more specifically without any fights between themselves. He feared their bond was too new for them to risk a fight no matter how much he disagreed with Mark’s plan, they had after all only been mates for a month and still needed some time to really strengthen their bond to one another.The bond, though accepted by them both was still delicate as they had not yet mated and marked one another, they had originally decided to wait a while and get to know each other better as
Author POVAfter walking for another 45 minutes they find a decent spot that they can set up camp in, in between the trees for cover. Mark starts getting nervous about confessing to Brian, he hopes that Brian understands why he behaved the way he did. The back-up were doing a great job of staying out of sight, Mark only knew they were there as he had heard a man voice faintly when they paused to have a drink, he had pretended not to hear a thing when Brian had looked up sharply in the direction of the voice and continued on as if alone.Brian, having heard the male warrior, made a little more noise for the rest of their journey. They were now at the base of the mountain in the shadows of the trees that wrap around the base tightly. Setting up camp was a quick process for them and it had been planned that they would do their first excursion after s
Author POV - Over at Rival River pack at that very moment, Cassie and Jack were cloistered in Jack’s office having just spoken with Dave over at Twin Lakes. Concern is evident in the air at both packs as nobody has heard from the teams sent out to gather intel on the mountains, their caves and Ace.Jack missed having one of his best friends around all the time and was struggling to add Dave’s Beta duties on top of his own, but he was happy for his friend. Happy that he was going to have the chance to show the world what he was truly capable of.Jack had always felt Dave was meant for more than just a Beta role and he knew that Dave was going to be an amazing Alpha, especially to the Twin Lakes Pack which desperately needed a strong leader after the torment of the past few months. They all knew just how quickly everything can change for a pack, there are many in history that proved that just a few short weeks can change everything. But having his beloved mate close by helps.Cassie ha
Cassie - This last week has been very emotional for me, I have been thinking about my mother a lot in the last week, for some reason she is constantly in my thoughts, I miss her so much. I also keep dreaming of everybody else I have lost recently, Luna Lily for example, seems to be a constant feature in my dreams, telling me everything will work out as it should, and Thomas, my darling Thomas, who sacrificed himself so that I might survive, sacrificed himself because he felt my life was worth more than his. I’m not sure why this last week has been so trying, maybe because I knew what was about to happen, maybe I’m seeing all my lost loved ones because I am terrified that others I have come to love will be leaving me and joining them. Brian and Mark are so close to Ace’s hiding place, I know it, even if we don’t know exactly where he is, I know they are close, and I pray to the Goddess almost hourly to spare them, they don’t deserve to lose each other, not when they have only just fou
Cassie - I roll my eyes the heavens before I look her straight in the eye and reply, “Plenty of people call me Luna, you are my friend, not to mention you are a ranked member of this pack, you are free to call me by my given name, please Tara, I thought we were friends by now?”“Of course we are, I wouldn’t have survived without you and your kindness,” she exclaims.“And I would not have managed to become the Luna you see before you without your help, please, I don’t want to have this argument again,” one good thing about repeating this conversation with Tara is, it has driven the ghosts of my past to the back of my mind and we have managed to arrive at the hospital.“Very well, Cassie, I will try not to call you Luna as it seems to be such an issue for you,” she concedes finally, this is the closest we have gotten to her agreeing to call me Cassie and I take it as a small victory.“Thank-you, now let's get this over with” I pull my shoulders back and head into the hospital with my h
Daisy - So Dave has me packing for this mission, that's all we seem to do lately, plan missions. I am heading to Forest Haven Pack.He is sending me to this pack for two reasons, the first and main reason being that there are some questions regarding finances that were moved between their pack and ours, and the second reason is that they had a similar situation to our current issues with Ace in the past and he is hoping that someone there will remember what happened and be able to advise us on what our next steps should be.Forest Haven knows that I am coming, they are expecting me in a days time, so I don’t have much time to pack up and get going. But I do take the time to call my best friend and let her know my plans.The phone rings out when I try to call Cassie, but I’m not worried. She is often busy with her Luna duties and always calls me back quite quickly, so I leave my phone on the bed and continue to fill my bag with the items I am likely to need for a quick visit. Hopefull
Daisy -I pull up to the pack house at Rival River minutes later, having driven a little too fast around the twists and turns the roads make us take to get to each other and I am jumping out of the car before I realise I haven’t undone my belt. The force of being held into the car by the belt stops me and I hasten to undo it, frustrated when I can’t get the damn button to click and release me.Finally free from the damn car, I race through the pack house, up the stairs and slide to a halt outside the Alpha suite. I don’t bother to knock, they know I am coming, I throw the door open calling out to Jack and looking around the spacious sitting area with the small kitchenette in the corner.Jack appears in the doorway leading to their room and I stride over to him quickly, peaking around his broad chest