Escaping Wildfire
Chapter 13: Council

Noah

Jordan, Cristian, and I headed upstairs to our floor, and we all piled into Jordan’s room together. Ever since we were younger, we had a habit of hanging out in Jordan’s room together when one of us was feeling down, and today definitely fit the bill.

Cosmo, Neo, and Ax had been silent since our pack bond broke. I hadn’t been able to connect with Cosmo or use the mind-link after I felt the break. That’s how I knew what Elder Frank said was true, and Alpha Henry really was dead. The three of us had always been close to each other’s parents, so it was as much a blow to me and Cristian as it was for Jordan, but Cristian and I set aside our feelings and put all our energy into supporting Jordan right now. Cristian kicked off his shoes and laid on top of the covers of Jordan’s bed while Jordan climbed onto the other side under the covers. I was left with the couch, so I grabbed a throw blanket and settled in for the night.

The three of us were silent for a long while, pretending to sleep but knowing it was impossible. I stared up at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity.

“This blows.” Cristian broke the silence.

“You can say that again,” I added.

“Do you remember that time in middle school when we beat the shit out of those two boys that were talking crap about our sisters? Luna Christina was so mad at us. She said we couldn’t just take justice into our own hands like that…then she told Alpha what we did, and he came in and gave us that lecture, but as soon as Luna left he gave us ice cream and told us he was proud of us for defending our sisters.”

Jordan rolled over and smiled, “Yeah, my dad was awesome like that. After you guys went home for the night, we had to keep pretending he was mad at me the rest of the night because my mom was still super pissed.” We all laughed at the memory.

“We never did get into another fight, though. Luna was always pretty scary…You remember that time we were playing soccer in the house, and we ended up breaking the brand-new television. Luna Christina looked about ready to kill us.”

“Yeah, her angry face could make a grown man quake in his boots...to be fair we were little shits as kids.”

“You’re still a little shit.” I poked fun at Jordan who threw a pillow at my face in return.

“They were always there for us, though,” Cristian said softly.

“I remember when my mom went into labor early with the twins. I had a soccer game, nothing big but I had been excited about it all week, so your parents took me to my game so I wouldn’t miss it. They stayed and cheered for me the entire game because they didn’t want me to feel abandoned…They were always so supportive of everything we ever did.”

“Also, your mom made the best mac-and-cheese,” Cristian added.

“Yeah, she did. I’d invite myself over for dinner with y’all just for her mac-and-cheese.”

“Thanks, guys, it’s good to see that my parents’ legacy will live on through me…through all of us.” Jordan sounded ready to cry again.

Cristian patted Jordan’s shoulder. “We’re always here for you, man, whatever you need.”

“They were the best parents I could have hoped for…” He laid back down as he trailed off.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Do you think our brothers and sisters are okay?”

“Gema’s a fighter, she’ll do everything in her power to get back to us. That bastard alpha may make her bend, but he won’t break her.” Cristian quickly responded.

“She is a fighter.” I agreed. “Doesn’t make me worry any less for her. I hate not knowing how she’s doing or feeling. And my brothers, they are always causing trouble. I’m scared they’ll do something stupid to make the alpha mad.”

“I’m worried, too, man. That phone call with Jasmine is gonna haunt me for a long time. My sisters must be hurting so much right now. I just want them safe here with me.

“We’ll get them back, all of them, and then we’ll do away with Alpha Marek and get our pack back. There’s no other choice for us...” Cristian trailed off as we started to drift off to sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day. We’ll still wake up to the hurt, but we can start fresh with a new plan.

Alpha Kedrick

I tossed and turned all night and finally got out of bed an hour earlier than usual. I had decided to call the Council and have us meet on an emergency basis. I was only considered a trainee member as of now but the other members had always been respectful of my judgment, so I hoped they decided to help.

The Shifter Council was established about 60 years ago after a nasty war between the bears and foxes. The wolves ended up split with different packs helping different sides. After over seven years of fighting, some of the younger shifters got together and decided it was time for peace, thus establishing the Shifter Council. The Council was made up of a total of nine Alphas and Lunas, three members from each shifter type.

Over the years, they had discussed adding more members as packs grew in number and inviting other types of shifters, specifically the cats. The cats had always refused, though, as they preferred to live in smaller groups or on their own.

The Council members served until they retired from their pack. Packs would then nominate their Alpha or Luna, and the Council would select a replacement from those nominated. Alpha Tate and I had been selected together to replace previous Alphas, but we were considered trainees until the other Alphas officially stepped down.

I asked the boys to meet me in my office, and I told them my plan to call an emergency Council meeting. They all agreed with the plan, and I set off to send a message to the Council members who all agreed to meet virtually this afternoon.

The meeting was about to start, and I could see the others log on. We were waiting for two more members, but I was already starting to feel anxious. The Council was established for peace, so I wasn’t sure how they would react to my request to start a war.

“We’re all here now, Kedrick. Would you like to fill us in on why you called this meeting?” Alpha Dawson, our current Lead and a fox shifter, started us off.

“Yes, I’ll get right to it. Alpha Marek has attacked another pack. That makes a total of five packs in the last six years. Four of which were completely decimated. Cobalt Falls was his latest conquest just last night. This time he didn’t kill off the pack completely. He took the ranked families as prisoners and annexed the rest of the pack. The ranked heirs were not present for the attack as they are currently here at Harvest Moon completing a training program, but the three boys have now lost their pack ties and are worried about their families. Harvest Moon has agreed to help them, but I want the rest of the Council packs to also help. It’s time we stopped Wildfire.”

The Council members were quiet for a moment before Alpha Keenan, the bear shifter whom Tate would soon replace, spoke up. “Look Kedrick, I understand your need to help, especially when the boys are in your territory, but the Council is primarily set up for relations between the different shifter types. We’ve never stepped in between business for the same shifter type. Personally, I’d like to keep it that way. Wildfire is strictly a wolf problem, and the bears don’t want problems with Alpha Marek. I won’t agree to start a war with him.” Some of the other bears and foxes nodded their agreement.

“With all due respect, Keenan, what makes you think you’re free from Wildfire just because you’re a bear?” Luna Beatrix, one of our wolf members, cut in.

“She’s right,” Tate added, “Cobalt Falls is only thirty minutes from Brown Claw. Nothing is stopping Alpha Marek from attacking us. This is a matter of prevention right now. If we help the wolves, we keep Wildfire from moving on to the bears and foxes.”

Alpha Georgina, one of the foxes and a rare female Alpha in her own right, spoke up next. “I’m with Keenan on this one. My pack can’t afford to go to war with Wildfire. We are small and much too far away from the main conflict. It doesn’t make sense for us to involve ourselves in wolf matters.”

“I understand being apprehensive about getting involved, but Wildfire is getting out of hand, they have been for years. They’ve kidnapped children this time, and who knows for what purpose? Not to mention that Alpha Marek has no qualms about killing innocents. How can any of us just stand back and let this continue to happen?” My emotions were starting to get the better of me, and I felt the anger bubble up inside me.

A few of the others started talking over each other, and it seemed that chaos would soon give way. Alpha Dawson seemed to sense the same as he took back over the conversation. “Alright, everyone. It won’t do well for us to argue, we seem to all have made up our minds on this matter, anyway, so let’s just put it to a vote. All those in favor of letting the wolves handle Wildfire on their own say ’aye.’” He paused to give the others time to vote. The three fox Alphas and the three bear Alphas all voted in the affirmative. They didn’t want to help, just as I’d expected.

“Now all those in favor of helping the wolves.” The four wolf shifters and the lone bear, Alpha Tate, all voted to help. It wasn’t enough, though. We’d have to replace another way.

“Alright, Kedrick, there is your answer. The Council, along with the fox and bear shifters will not involve themselves in this matter. If anything changes, and Wildfire makes this an interspecies conflict, then we can revisit the matter, but until then, there is no point in discussing this again.” Alpha Dawson said with an air of finality.

“Understood. Thank you for hearing me out.” I managed to remain polite until I hung up the call, but I was seething on the inside. Ellis must have sensed my emotions as she walked into my office just as I was hanging up. “I take it it didn’t go well?”

“Not even close. The foxes and bears don’t want to get involved. They won’t do anything unless Wildfire goes after one of theirs. I just hope they don’t have to replace out the hard way how bad Wildfire can be.” Ellis sauntered over to me, and I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her over to straddle my lap. Her touch could always calm me. I breathed in her wildflower scent and held her close to me as I brought her lips down to mine for a short kiss.

“As much as I would like to take this further, three young men are pacing the hallway outside of your office hoping to hear what the Council decided.” I nodded and swiped at my face as Ellis stepped off of my lap.

“Alright, let me get them in here then.” I opened the door to replace three eager faces staring back at me. I waved them inside and told them what the Council had decided.

“So, they won’t help?” Jordan scoffed. “It figures, I shouldn’t have expected better from them. We’ve been trying to get them to help for years now, but I bet they’d be begging for help if it was their pack.”

“I’m sure you’re right, but they won’t hear more on the matter, so the reality is that we’re on our own. You have the full support of Harvest Moon, though…we just need to come up with a plan now.”