Trio of Mates
Chapter 42

I make the “walk of shame” back to my room to shower and dress before meeting Zak and Charlie in the dining hall for breakfast. Before grabbing a seat at the head table, I head to the kitchen and ask one of the omegas to add an envelope with a print out of all of the information Charlie and I found out yesterday to the meal that they send to Xander and Devin. I really don’t want to interrupt them again, but they need to be aware of what is going on so far.

When I arrive at the high table, I replace that a seat has been saved for me between Zak and my father. When I sit, greeting all at the table, Zak immediately moves his hand to my th!gh, giving me a light squeeze. Nothing se.xual, just intimate. I can’t help but smile at him.

“As I was saying,” Charlie continues, “we would like to meet with all of the former leadership after breakfast to debrief on what we found yesterday and to begin making plans. I know that mates are busy with the ceremonies of the next two days, but it would be good if you ladies were there as well. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

“What have you been up to, son?” Former-Alpha Jared asks, a smile on his face.

“Just trying to shore up alliances and know all that we can about the surrounding packs, as well as Mathias’s pack, before we meet with them in two days,” Zak says, taking a bite of bacon. “I know that they are fast approaching and our future beta here,” at this he slaps a hand on my shoulder, “is likely to be busy with his new mate tomorrow. So we need to get a little bit of a head start.”

I grimace at the mention of my mate, trying to hide it behind my napkin as I wipe my mouth. Unfortunately, my father notices.

“Aren’t you excited about replaceing your mate, Brandon?” father asks, concern on his face.

“Of course,” I say, busying myself with my food. “I just don’t want to bring my mate into this mess on the first day that we are together. That would kinda su.ck for them, you know?”

My father hums his assent, but doesn’t look convinced.

The former leadership, mates included, agree to meet after the meal and the rest of breakfast is uneventful.

All of us settle into Zak’s office. I’m sitting on the couch with Charlie and Zak, as well as Zak’s parents. On the opposite couch sits Devin’s parents, my father, and Charlie’s parents. Some of the omegas attempted to follow us with coffee, water, and tea, but Charlie assured them that we were fine and insisted that they go downstairs to have their breakfast.

Charlie and I present our replaceings first. Of the 25 other packs on the East Coast, we had alliances with 13 of them. Mathias had alliances with 15 packs, five of them overlapping with ours. We were allies with some of the biggest packs and all of the packs that surrounded us. In the eight packs that were solely our allies, there are a total of 805 wolves and 365 warriors. Mathias’s 10 allies contained 1,285 wolves and 670 warriors. The Eclipse pack contained 100 warriors and 50 more wolves. They would definitely not be helping Blue Crescent Pack and we could probably very easily persuade them to our side.

“What is the likelihood that we will keep all of our allies on our side?” Former-Luna Clara asks. Her eyes scan the printouts of the information that we have gathered and passed out.

“I have contacted all of the alphas of the packs that we have alliances with. They are well aware of Devin and Xander’s mating and Mathias’s personality. They know what is coming,” Zak says. He points to the packs on the list, ticking them off. “Six out of the eight packs that are strictly our allies have vowed to help us. They believe that the Goddess has made this mating and that no one can oppose it. The other two, New Moon and Shadow packs, refuse to support us, but vow to remain neutral in the war to come.”

I make the “walk of shame” back to my room to shower and dress before meeting Zak and Charlie in the dining hall for breakfast. Before grabbing a seat at the head table, I head to the kitchen and ask one of the omegas to add an envelope with a print out of all of the information Charlie and I found out yesterday to the meal that they send to Xander and Devin. I really don’t want to interrupt them again, but they need to be aware of what is going on so far.

“And what of the packs that we share?” Former-Alpha Jared asks.

“Of those five, we will only maintain two,” Zak grimly states.

Muttered curses and gasps fill the room.

“Which two?” Dad asks.

“B***d Moon and Tranquility packs,” Zak answers.

“Those are the two smallest packs of the five!” Former-Gamma Richard exclaims.

“How many warriors does that bring us to?” his wife, Lauren, asks.

“430,” Charlie answers. “That isn’t including the Eclipse packs warriors.”

“He still would have more warriors than us. More resources, too,” Dad says.

We lapse into silence, brooding over our predicament.

“I think we might be able to turn a few of his allies to our side, or at least get them not to participate,” I say. “Look at some of the information that we have on the Earthshine, Dark Side, and Apogee packs. Earthshine’s Luna’s mother chose a female mate after her first mate, a male, died. They might be sympathetic. And Dark Side and Apogee have the highest percentage of homose.xual couples out of all of the packs on the coast. Plus, Apogee is extremely religious. They would never go against a mate bound set down by the Goddess.”

“Even if we got all three of those packs to our side of the war, it still wouldn’t be enough,” Charlie’s mom, Danielle, says. “We would still be outnumbered.”

“We have to talk to the Diana pack,” Former-Delta Alistar says, quietly.

“Alistar, that’s crazy,” my father says. “You know that their entire pack is nuts. They refuse to interact with anyone from outside of their own. We don’t even know how many wolves they have, let alone the number of warriors. Charlie and Brandon weren’t even able to replace out their Luna’s name because they are so secretive.”

“You forget that my uncle went to live up there with his mate, Carl,” the former-delta says. “I have an in. I think that I can get us an audience with their Alpha. And, based on what my uncle has told me, I think we stand a good chance to get them on our side.”

“What has your uncle told you?” Zak asks, leaning forward in his chair. He and Charlie share a look, but she just shakes her head. She doesn’t know either.

“Look, Xavier swore me to secrecy years ago about our communication. We can only talk through letters, which he can only send out when he goes into town on errands for the pack. He has a post office box there, so no one knows when letters go back and forth. His alpha doesn’t want others to know what goes on up there,” Charlie’s dad says, his look intense. “I haven’t even told Dani everything that Xavier has told me.” Charlie’s dad looks to her mom, a slight look of pain crossing his face. Keeping secrets from your mate is no joke. Our link is deeper than any other. They are literally the other half of your soul. How can you not tell your soul something?

“So, he could get hurt from us attempting to contact his alpha using him,” I say.

Former-Delta Alistar nods his head, his face plainly showing the struggle of worry for his uncle and that of his pack’s safety. “But I think that he would do it.” Giving his head a firm shake, Alistar continues, “The reason that Charlie and Brandon weren’t able to replace the Luna’s name is because the pack doesn’t have a she-wolf luna. Their alpha is mated to a male.”

After a beat, the former-delta continues, “According to my uncle, the alpha of this pack believes in something called a “mate trio.” Three wolves are mated to each other, either two males and a she-wolf or two she-wolves and a male. Their oracle backs it up. The alpha believes that he and his mate have a third mate, a she-wolf, out there. Once the alpha found out about his male mate, he allowed all those who wished to leave to go, then shut down all of his borders. He knew that he would be attacked, as some would think this was blasphemy.”

No one speaks. No one moves. It is as if we are all under a spell, unable to compute the words that the former-delta just said.

“The man is f*****g nuts -“ Former-Alpha Jared begins, but Zak cuts him off with a hand gesture.

“Stop,” Zak says, firmly. “Stop right there. We’ve already had one unprecedented mating in our pack. Is it so hard to believe in this?”

The former-alpha begins to speak, but Zak’s look cuts him off. “We will speak of this with Lucille. Charlie, link her and see if she can meet with us this afternoon. In the meantime, Alistar, I want you to write a letter to your uncle saying that we want to meet his alpha. How often does he go into town to retrieve your letters?”

“Weekly. The day changes, but he always goes in once every week,” Charlie’s dad replies.

“Good. I’ll send a letter to the alpha in yours as a way of introducing myself and our situation. I’ll have it to you by lunch,” Zak says.

“Lucille will meet with us today at 1,” Charlie says.

Zak nods. “Ok, then we’ll reconvene then.” Looking around at the group, Zak face is full of trepidation, command, and…hope? “I don’t think I have to tell anyone in this room not to discuss what was said here with anyone else.”

“No, Alpha,” we all say in unison.

“Richard, get in touch with Devin and Xander and fill them in on everything that has happened. We’re going to need them here this afternoon.”

“Yes, Alpha,” the former-gamma says, though his face pales a bit.

With that, the former pack leaders leave the room. But my father hangs back, pulling me to the side. “Son, I know that you probably want to be with your friends tonight, since it is likely your last night as an unmated non-leader, but could we have dinner tonight? There are…things I want to discuss with you.” His voice is tense and his eyes are almost pleading.

I look toward Zak and Charlie, still pouring over the print out of packs. I had wanted to spend my last night before my birthday with them. Come tomorrow, whatever we have together would likely be done. I want just one last night with the two of them.

But my dad and I rarely spend time alone. He’s never said it, but I know that he blames me for my mother and sister’s deaths. He doesn’t want to, but if Mom hadn’t been so upset about replaceing out that I was gay…and the way they found out, she would have been more in control of the car. They wouldn’t have slipped on the w.et road and crashed into that tree. They’d still be here. If he says that he needs to talk to me, then I need to be there. I can always go back to Charlie and Zak afterwards.

“Sure thing, Dad,” I say, plastering a small smile on my face.

He nods and leaves, closing the door behind him.

Shocked silence reigns in the room. I don’t even know if anyone breathes, it is so quiet. An alpha willingly taking a male mate is unheard of.