6 Council Chambers

SILVER LAKE PACK

The Annual Summer Solstice Hunt for Mates was also a chance for the Council to meet. Four Council meetings held throughout the year, each in a different pack, allowed smaller and poorer packs to participate.

It was just over an hour after Sirius found Wyatt in his sister’s bedroom that the council chambers began to fill with the Alphas and Betas. The chambers for the Silver Lake pack were in a building adjacent to the pack house.

Old colonial style buildings complimented others with their red brick and dark shutters. The former Alpha and his family still lived in the current pack house while Sirius and his family lived in the older and smaller previous pack house. Just like the other official pack buildings for Silver Lake, they were all red brick colonial style. At least from the front.

The new packhouse was nearly three times the size of the old one with pack offices on the first floor, the top two floors were for the Alpha family and their guests. The previous packhouses did not need to house so many offices. Now with the family and offices being kept in one building, it simplified everything.

But as with so many things with the Silver Lake Pack, everything was rooted in tradition. The plumbing improved. The buildings went from whale oil to gas and then electricity for lights and heat. Wi-Fi and internet could be used throughout the buildings.

Every single official pack building was made from the same basic design. Chuckling, Sirius thought about how his mother had described them to her family in Ireland. ‘Basic American colonial, standard American colonial and deluxe American colonial. Red brick, trim in cream or black.’

After Sirius ascended to the position of Alpha, he could have kicked his parents and siblings out, or at least taken over the master suites. However, he had no desire to do so. With no offices being housed in the old pack house, they did not have to worry about random pack members walking into their house.

Sirius and his wife took the smaller and older house for more privacy to start their lives and family together. Plus, there was not another house big enough to house all his siblings when he ascended to the position. Malachi had insisted that Sirius and Laura take the bigger house – it was tradition.

It was also tradition that currently had him walking across the small field between the two buildings to attend the Council meeting. He was tired of some of these traditions and had no issues with refusing to kick his family out of their house just for tradition.

“Tradition. Smedition. Fo-fana-fedition, ” Sirius muttered just before opening the large wood and glass door and entering the lobby. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and plastered a smile on his face.

So many Alphas in one space who were each trying to show that they were more powerful than the others was something that he could live without. This was the hierarchy of werewolf society.

The Omegas as servants and manual laborers were at the bottom of the food chain and were forced to submit to everyone. He had seen the way they were treated — almost like second class citizens. His own wife, Laura, had been Omega- born and living as a Luna of the pack was a drastic change.

Her parents had worked the greenhouses, a necessity for New England winters that can see more than a hundred inches of snow. Because of this, they had been lucky and had always had food, even in the depths of frozen hell. Other Omega families were not as lucky. While he courted his wife, he had seen it all.

Multiple families lived together to take care of children and older generations. Parents went without meals, sometimes days at a time, to ensure their pups could eat. Children were not allowed to play in the snow because they only had school clothes to wear. Houses without heat had only a single fireplace that everyone slept around.

The Omegas were in the twenty-first century and yet the lowest level of their pack lived like they were still in the sixteenth century. And his predecessors had allowed it. Because, once again, tradition.

The Gammas were, according to Malachi, nothing more than glorified Omegas. Their station in life was a little better, but not by much. There were several Gammas who worked in the trades and for the city. Many lived in the pack city, Silver Lake, but went to the neighboring city, Silver Lake Township, to work.

The Betas were all upper middle class by pila standards. But they insisted on separating themselves out into different sects and cliques. Not that the Alphas were any better. The bigger and richer the pack, the higher in rank they believed themselves to be.

How often had Sirius heard his father bragging about their lineage going back to Romulus himself. And his mother’s Lycan heritage … Sure, he enjoyed the height and strength that came from being of Lycan blood. But there were so many issues that came with it.

Entering the foyer of the building, Sirius was assaulted by hundreds of scents from all the Alphas and their staff members. Ranger gave a warning growl at the back of Sirius’ mind. All of these males. powerful and authoritative Alphas, were on his lands, his territory. Even if they were invited, the beast still saw them as a threat to his position. His title. Possibly even his young pups.

With the internal struggle in his head, he was having a hard time paying attention to what was being said. Or even who was saying what. Realizing that he needed to respond, and not just smile and shake hands, Sirius nodded at something that Alpha Sampson of the West Winds pack said. He continued to remind himself and Ranger to keep control of their thoughts and emotions. He was still new to his position and did not need to have the Elder Alphas question his ability to control himself and his wolf.

Shaking the older Alpha’s hand, he continued to circle the room. The older Alphas and their Betas were regaling the younger ones with tales of their Hunts. Looking over at the tall man that he now knew to be his sister’s mate, he could feel the anger building.

The conversation around him not only angered him. but it made him sick. These were the men that were raising the boys who would take his younger sisters, and possibly his daughters as their mates. He refused to look at the crests on the shirts, afraid that the knowledge would make the upcoming meetings even more unbearable.

“She couldn’t get enough of me, ” one Alpha said and another laughed.

“My mate put up a fight, actually for quite a while, ” a third grinned. “Now that I’ve put a few pups in her, she’s the perfect docile Luna.”

His Beta laughed. “Was it the pups or you correcting her behavior?”

Several of the men laughed.

“That’s something that these younger generations need to learn again. Bitches need to be put in their place, ” the Alpha of the Dark Sky pack declared.

His pack lands were in northern Maine and the pack was known for being hard. They clung to old traditions and consequences be damned. While the Omegas and Gammas were treated barely above slaves, it was rumored that the Dark Sky pack still practiced slavery. It had been outlawed by the Elder Alphas of the council long before any of the pila governments had done so.

But once again, tradition.

“Maybe we need to learn a new place for ourselves, ” Sirius interrupted to a round of laughter.

“Boy, I’ve seen that wife of yours, ” one of the older Alphas said lewdly. “There’s some places that I’d like to put her.”

There was another round of raucous laughter. Before Sirius could do something stupid, Wyatt crossed the room and grabbed his new friend.

“They’re not going to touch her, ” Wyatt reminded him softly. Ranger was still growling in Sirius’ chest and Demon echoed the sentiment. “This is not the time or the place.” He nodded towards the chambers where business would be handled. “In there. That’s where we can make changes.”

“Not with these Alphas, ” Sirius pointed out and Wyatt nodded.

“But they won’t be in charge for much longer. It’s our generation that will make the changes that are needed.” Wyatt tilted his head and the other man followed where he indicated.

Standing only a few dozen feet away was Alpha Henry of the Harbor Moon pack in North Carolina. The man had no sons to take the position of Alpha. His oldest daughter was now the Luna of the Autumn Hills Pack in New Hampshire. But his second daughter, twenty-one-year-old Amber, stood in the place of the next Alpha. Whether it was to learn the duties of the Alpha, or to find a mate, neither man was not certain. But the fact that she was here at the meeting, and not at the Hunt spoke volumes.

Sirius nodded and Wyatt stepped back to let his hands fall away, clasping them behind his back in what the Navy had told him was a normal stance.

After a three-hour session, the Elder Alphas called a recess until the following morning. The Hunt was over, and couples were getting ready for the feast later that night. The new mates would present themselves to their new pack Alphas and the Elder Alphas. Very rarely were the matches denied; if they were, it was typically ignored.

Wyatt’s closest friend and future Beta and second in command, knocked on the door to the master chamber in their pack cabin before entering the room without waiting for an order to enter. Rolling his eyes at his friend, Wyatt finished tying his tie as Stephen held his own out to his friend.

“Seriously?”

Stephen shrugged. “Marine dress blues don’t have these stupid fuckers.”

Finishing his own tie, he took the other one and tied it quickly. “I know you didn’t agree with my decision to leave Devlin and Charissa here.”

“I just don’t think it’s that big of a deal.”

“Maybe because you’ve known your mate since she was born.”

“Some of us are lucky.” Stephen grinned as Wyatt slid the tie over his head and passed it to his friend. “Thank you.”

“Yeah.” He grinned and his friend closed the door and activated the white noise machine.

“You found your mate. See? Some traditions are worth keeping.” Both men looked in the mirror to tighten their ties before reaching for the suit jackets with the Crystal River crest on the breast pocket.

“Where is she?” Stephen asked.

Wyatt’s eyes landed on the crest that he had seen all his life. An elongated shield with a crescent moon hanging with golden constellations of the night sky. In the center stood a majestic werewolf, his golden fur lit with hints of deep red and light blue. Willow trees that were adorned with golden threads in their branches and leaves with a pale blue-ribbon banner ran along the bottom with the motto emblazoned in scarlet red. Flumen Crystallinum, Custodientes Noctis – Crystal River, Guardians of the Night.

“She’s on Parris Island.”

Stephen adjusted his shirt collar before buttoning his jacket and fixing his cuffs. Laughing, Wyatt realized that he and his Beta were doing the same process.

“I’m not sure if I should cheer for a fellow Marine or ask what the hell.” Stephen told his friend as they both finished the adjustments on their suits.

“Don’t say anything about it. It’s complicated, but I promise that I’ll explain later.” Wyatt paused and his friend nodded in understanding. While they were discussing the Hunt, the other elephant in the room should also be addressed. “Stephen, I know you don’t agree with my opinions and actions, but thank you for not openly arguing with me.”

“I might not agree, and I don’t think there’s a reason to end this tradition, but you are still my Alpha.” Stephen admitted. “ More importantly, you’re my friend. We haven’t always agreed, but we’ve always had each other’s backs.”

Wyatt smiled at his oldest and closest friend. His support meant more to him than any blind agreement ever could. Stephen would always tell his friend what his honest opinion was, even if it was not what Wyat wanted to hear. And the Beta might not agree with all the Alpha’s decisions, but he would support him and defer to his decisions in public.

“Come on,” Stephen slapped his friend on the back. “Let’s go eat some good food with some mediocre company.”