Endangered Species Ch. 25-32

William couldn't hide his smile. "I brought eight men with me, and four found their mates. We've never had more than one at a time in the past century."

Brian broke out with a matching smile. "Nine and six for us. Three of the women are already in the process of shifting. One of those is the mate of my Beta! I hope she gets a strong wolf because my Luna needs the help."

I knew he worried about the wolves being weak. They all did. They didn't know my girls, though. They were stronger than those men think, just like I am. "How did your men do, Trent?"

"Seven for twelve," Trent replied proudly. "Four are already shifting, including my Gamma's mate. I'm a little worried about one, though."

"Why?"

"She is in the group that wants to leave, and they want nothing to do with their mates."

Shit. "Did she reject her mate?"

"She told him to go to hell and ran back into the room. Alpha Cole said not to press the issue, and I agreed."

"He was right. I'll talk to them when I can get out of this fucking bed." That got them to smile. "You know I'm right; the Goddess Luna is doing something here. I couldn't fill up a Freshman Chemistry class with the human females here, yet you find mates to fifty-eight percent of your single males in that group." I was a math major, after all. "You can't explain it otherwise. Every one of you is wondering how your pack is going to survive all this. The answer is right in front of you. Humans. Over half your men found mates in a small group of human females. How many of your females are unmated? How many of their mates are dead already? And how many mates are among the few remaining males out there?" No one could answer that. From their faces, they hadn't even considered the implications.

I let them stew on that until the silence grew uncomfortable for me. "What happens now with Cole?"

Alpha Trent replied to that. "Alpha Edward filed formal charges against Alpha Cole. Unless he withdraws them, the Council has to hold a trial where Edward presents his case. By custom, as the senior Alpha present, I will preside over the trial. I need three other Alphas for the jury, and then we can proceed."

"Are more Alphas coming?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Edward sent runners to each Pack, but we don't know who survived or if any more are coming."

"What if none show up?" They hadn't thought about that. "We should get this over with so you can take your new Pack members home. Start after breakfast today."

Trent looked at me quizzically. "We don't have a jury."

"You do. Didn't you boys tell me I'm now the Alpha of the Renfro Pack?"

That dope-slapped them. "You're Cole's MATE, Angela! You can't possibly be on his jury!"

"Then I'll be the judge. I've watched a lot of courtroom dramas, and this can't be that complicated. What is the alternative? Everyone goes home, and we resolve nothing? What does that accomplish?"

The three kicked it around for a while, but no one had better ideas. Travel was too risky anymore, and no one wanted to be away from their Packs again. "We'll give it until dinnertime," Trent finally said. "If no other Alphas arrive, we'll do it Alpha Summer's way."

Alpha Summers.

Something deep in my brain liked that a lot.

The men left, and Cole came back in. The talk had taken a lot out of me, and my head was spinning. I closed my eyes as he pulled a chair up next to me. "Are you all right?"

"You mean, 'Are you all right, Alpha Summers?'" He rolled his eyes at that. "What?"

"It's nothing that has happened before," Cole replied. "We've had Alphas die, and their Lunas took over temporarily. They never stayed in the position more than a day or two before they'd kill themselves or lose a challenge."

"Will someone challenge me?"

"Not if we mate and combine the Packs first," he replied. "Once your wolf comes out? The pull to complete the mating will be five times as strong. I know our human sides haven't always meshed, but our wolves? They want their other half. We have to work things out, Angela. I'm sorry for what I did, and I'll take responsibility for it in the trial. From now on, we need to be a team."

His eyes were pleading with me. "How will it work? Will you respect me? Will we make decisions together, or am I to nod agreement and follow along like some doe-eyed submissive?"

That had him choking on the water he was drinking. "I can't imagine you have a submissive bone in your body, Angela."

"Alphas can't be little bitches," I replied. "What do we do about Renfro?"

He shrugged. "One of the warriors found his mate here, so he needs to stay with her. We should send one of our people back with him as soon as it gets dark. They can bring the Pack here."

"Isn't that a little premature with the trial and all?"

He shrugged. "They can't stay where they are and live. Besides, I'm confident in the outcomes for both of us."

"You broke Werewolf laws, and we all know it."

He smiled and took my good hand in his. "And you are the only one who figured out the will of our Goddess. Werewolf law and tradition? It doesn't matter what the rules say if Luna wants something else." He leaned over and kissed me gently on the lips. It felt wonderful. "Doc is coming in, and I'm playing host for everyone at breakfast. I'll see you later, Alpha."

"I'll see YOU later, Alpha."

Ch. 32

Doc removed my brace and bandage from my arm, and it shocked the hell out of me. I'd seen some of the injuries on my bitten ladies heal, but none of them had the wounds I did. The skin was already knit back together, and I could move my arm around with only minor soreness. "That will pass in another hour," Doc told me. "The Goddess gave this healing power to save people like you with werewolf bites. Trust me; I've seen worse."

"It's amazing," I said as I rotated my arm around.

"I'll check your progress before lunch. In the meantime, let it heal fully. No picking up heavy objects or getting in fights until I've cleared you, Alpha."

"I don't feel like I deserve that title," I said. "I just defended myself."

"You killed a man who attacked without warning or provocation. You'll be better for the Pack than that man."

"Maybe."

She smiled and handed me a bag with clean clothes. "You're good to go. Breakfast will be ending soon, so get some food. The healing takes a lot of calories. I want you to eat as much as you can, while you can, before the fevers hit. Lots of meat and carbohydrates."

"I feel like I could eat the buffet and lick the bowls," I said. "I'll see you there." I put on the white lingerie, followed by a floral dress and ballet flats. I left my hair in a ponytail and washed my face. I looked for the scar above my left eye from getting kicked in a soccer match last year. I looked closer but couldn't see it. I couldn't find any old scars on my body.

Checking the mirror one last time, I headed for the door. As soon as I opened it, Lois Fulman dropped to a knee. "My Luna," she said with her head bowed. "I have failed you. I await your judgment."

Seriously? Two other guards with submachine guns stood on either side of the door. Cole wasn't taking any more chances. "No," I said as I reached down under her chin, lifting her eyes to meet mine. "We failed you, Lois. The attack was the fault of your Alphas and the man who did it, not you."

"I did nothing to stop him!"

I pulled her to her feet. "Cole trusted Alpha Max and did not send an adequate guard with me. I trusted Alpha Max, getting close enough to him that you had to approach to protect me. That left you vulnerable to a sudden attack."

"He eliminated me with one punch."

"The aggressor has the element of surprise, Lois. That couple of seconds to eliminate you was enough for me to get a knife out and use it. You gave me those knives, and you trained me to use them. I'm alive BECAUSE of you. Quit your whining. I'm hungry, and breakfast will be over soon."

"Yes, Luna."

"Alpha. As the victor of the fight, it makes me the new Alpha of the Renfro Pack. I don't need to have my wolf yet." My armed guard led the way, and Lois walked to my left and a step back.

"You have a wolf, Alpha Angela. She's inside you, and I can't wait to meet her." She didn't say anything more as we walked to the dining area.

She must have linked we were coming because Cole was setting down two plates loaded with food at my place next to his. The other Alphas were still at the table but done eating. I think they were waiting to see what would happen next. "Good morning, my mate."

"You got me extra bacon," I said with a smile. I wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close for a kiss before sitting down. He scooted my chair in before sitting next to me. "Good morning, everyone. My arm is healing nicely, according to the Doctor."

"That is good," Alpha Edward said. "We should start the trial as soon as possible."

I'd stuffed my face with sausage omelet, so I had to swallow before I could speak. "Why are we even having a trial, Edward?"

Edward looked shocked. "I filed the charges against Alpha Cole, so the Council is required to hold a trial. I would appreciate it if you would address me by my title, young lady. It's proper werewolf etiquette for a higher ranking wolf."

"Why? You don't know that I am now the Alpha of the Renfro Pack?" I got his shocked face again as I drained my glass to wash the egg down the hatch. "Yep, Max challenged me and lost, so I won his Pack. Can you pass the orange juice, please? I'm thirsty as hell."

"Wait a minute! You're Cole's mate, a future Luna!"

I nodded. "I haven't completed that mating, but when we do, I'm sure Alpha Cole will absorb Renfro into Brinnon. From what Max told me, they don't have the people or the resources to survive much longer on their own." I chomped down on a few bacon pieces while they thought about it. "Look, there's no point in the trial because Alpha Cole has already admitted to the charges. Over a hundred women know our secret yet haven't been killed or turned. The violation isn't the question; what we do about the women is."

Alpha Brian caught on to my line of thinking. "The good of the species."

I swallowed a big bite of pancakes before answering. "Exactly. Killing those women after their initial refusal to take the change days ago would have accomplished exactly what?"

Alpha Trent answered. "You would have killed eighteen mates of men from our Packs."

I nodded as I swallowed. "Exactly. Yes, the women knew of our kind. None of them escaped alive, thanks to Cole. He betrayed his mate's trust to uphold Werewolf law, knowing I wanted them freed. No one was endangered by the human females then, and no one is in danger now. Maybe they are the mates of men in Packs who aren't here yet. Maybe wolves from packs Alpha Edward didn't invite will find mates here. They are healthy women of childbearing age. They can live and contribute to the Brinnon Pack, staying alive for other wolves to find. The world is dying, Alphas, and the Moon Goddess is throwing you a lifeline with these women. Don't waste it."

No one said anything for a minute until Alpha Trent spoke. "What do you suggest, Alpha Summers?"

"We wrap this up over breakfast, and you can all go back home with your new Pack members." I looked over at Cole; I hadn't run any of this past him because I needed the other Alphas to read this as me working independently, not as his doe-eyed mate. You can't fake the expressions on his face as I laid out my points.

Alpha William wasn't convinced. "Do the women know they must be turned or die?"

I shook my head. "I didn't want them to feel forced to take what should be a voluntary choice. I convinced Alpha Cole to allow humans to join the Pack at the lowest rank if they volunteered to stay. I figured they'd all make the change sooner or later, especially now that the first women are changing. They'll see it isn't as scary as they thought."

"What about the ones who don't want to change and don't want to join? You have those, don't you?"

"We do, dozens of women who didn't get a chance to leave before you called for this Council. That saved their lives for now, but it isn't over. They were going to be my focus today. Most of them have good reason to hate the Brinnon Pack. I was hoping to convince them to start fresh somewhere new."

"You want to send them with us," Alpha Trent asked.

"I propose that your Packs meet with and attempt to recruit these women to return with you. They are free agents, and you are the teams trying to get them to sign," I said. "If they agree to go with you, they become your responsibility to turn or kill."

"And those who refuse to leave with us?"

"They remain here under Alpha Cole's authority until they turn or die. I'm in no hurry to kill the few healthy humans remaining, Alpha Trent."

Alpha William pounced on this idea. "That is the punishment for Alpha Cole. He keeps the ones who don't want to turn or come with us. Everyone else gets taken from him, divided among the three of us. Alpha Summers doesn't count since she has already signaled her intent to combine her Pack with Brinnon."

Cole put his hands on the table. "These women are ALREADY part of my Pack! You can't just take them away!"

William just smiled, sensing blood in the water. "Those women chose Brinnon without knowing their options. You are the one who captured, enslaved, and branded them. They should get a fresh start elsewhere."

Shit.