Carly hadn't been able to get Marcus's words out of her head. Ever since she'd joined the council, a knot of unease had settled in the pit of her stomach. She felt like she wasn't ready, like an imposter in a world of hardened wolves. But she also knew that her mother had trained her well, passing down everything she had known about the intricate dance of wolf politics. Even if she didn't feel ready, she was more than prepared. But she wasn't prepared for the visual impact.
It was one thing to read about packs in the quiet solitude of her mother's study; it was another to experience them in person. In all of her mother's diaries, she had never written about the personal thoughts and emotions tied to how packs behaved. They were simply a footnote—a detached acknowledgment that this was how things were done. Carly had never noticed how her mother had been devoid of acknowledgment in those instances. In her personal diary, her mother would write about what she saw and what it meant, but she wouldn't insert her own moral opinions. It was a detail Carly had overlooked.
"I'm surprised you're not lurking in the shadows, Kevin," Beta Skyler said, her voice dripping with an ingratiating sweetness. With the amount of spies Alpha Phoenix had, she was shocked they even bothered to send a representative.
"And I thought you would be dead by now," Kevin shot back, a smirk playing on his lips. Skyler's pack was the closest to the human realm. They were attacked almost daily by rogues trying to escape to the human world or crazed rogues trying to avoid becoming a spectacle for humans. Her pack were practical sentinels, standing guard and protecting the secret of wolves. Their casualty rate was staggering.
"Spectators do live longer," she snipped, the sweetness in her voice turning to a sharp edge.
"The joys of entertainment," Kevin laughed, a low rumble that echoed in the clearing.
Even though the two packs held a lingering animosity, they were tightly bonded—not through false, socially based alliances, but through a delicate balance. The Warden Wolf Pack, Skyler's pack, hunted the rogue wolves escaping justice. In a way, they were the police of the wolf world. Beta Kevin's Moonfang Pack relayed information and provided up-to-date reports on the newest rogues and any sightings, so Skyler's pack could hunt them down. There was always a bit of friction between those who risked their lives and those who directed them toward the danger.
"The warmth of this fire is for the council," Marina said, her hood pulled over her head, shielding her face from the bickering betas. She pointed in the direction of all the hitchhikers, who were having their own little political squabbles by another campfire. They had moved from having one group of unwelcome guests to four.
Exchanging a look, Beta Kevin and Skyler both bowed their heads before walking toward the political nightmare unfolding by another campfire.
The forest canopy blurred into streaks of green and brown as the Queen's Guardians created a perimeter around their makeshift camp. Archer, a man built like an oak with eyes that missed nothing, felt a familiar prickle of irritation under his skin. For weeks, they had been shadowed—fleeting glimpses of fur between the trees, the snap of twigs just out of sight. Each pack they'd visited, it seemed, felt the need to keep tabs on the council's movements.
"They're like gnats," Archer growled, his voice a low rumble that carried easily to the Guardians moving silently between the trees. These were his best, silent professionals capable of moving through the undergrowth like shadows.
"Enough is enough." He was no longer going to tolerate the constant watchful stares. He couldn't properly separate the stares of the spying packs from the true predators in the forest. It all felt the same, and it was putting his group in danger.
A predatory grin stretched across his weary face. "Time to stretch your legs. Let's hunt." His Guardians around him shared his wolfish grin. "Just… persuasion." He gestured with a flick of his hand, and the Guardians melted into the dense foliage.
Archer himself, despite his size, moved with surprising agility, his senses heightened, sniffing the air for the faintest trace of another wolf. He caught a flicker of dark fur high in the branches of a maple tree. A low chuckle escaped him. He hadn't just told his men to do this because they were irritated. Being in close quarters with the council was exhausting. Being spoken down to and guarding someone other than the Queen was a great disrespect. This would help his men blow off some steam and release some of that pent-up energy.
The hunt was swift and brutal. A strangled yelp echoed through the trees as one Guardian expertly leaped into the branches of a young wolf clinging to a high limb, hauling the terrified spy down with surprising gentleness before delivering a stern, hissed warning and lightly slapping him at the back of the head.
Another spy, caught flat-footed near a stream, found himself suddenly surrounded by three silent figures, their teeth bared in a unified snarl that promised pain. The message was clear: the Queen's Guardians were no longer extending courtesy.
Archer savored the shift in the forest's atmosphere. The subtle feeling of being watched was dissipating, replaced by an undercurrent of fear. Good. Let them spread the word.
Finally, after a satisfying hour of their impromptu game, Archer signaled his Guardians to regroup. Most returned with tales of wide-eyed terror and hastily retreating spies. Only one pair hadn't reported back. A low growl rumbled in Archer's chest. He trusted his Guardians implicitly. They were likely just dealing with a particularly stubborn observer. He followed their last known direction, deeper into a less familiar section of the woods.
In a clearing, he found his two Guardians speaking in a friendly manner to a man who stood tall and poised in front of two young women. He already knew this must be more betas and alpha's daughters ready to join their moving herd. What he found strange was their friendly tone. The group turned, ready to walk back toward the waiting camp, when they saw Archer with his arms folded, his eyes fixed on the man behind his Guardians.
"Boris! You're here?" Archer smiled.
Hoisting his and the two girls' bags high on his shoulders, Boris shrugged. He didn't want to be here, but he understood the ramifications of being the only pack not represented. Unfortunately for this group, he would make sure none of them found the new Queen.
The new packs settled in, their presence a palpable shift in the air. The council's camp became a tense, political playground, a training arena for some of the younger women who had no experience with wolf politics. more packs had joined the fold: the Shadowfang Pack, known for their stealth and political maneuvering; the Stoneclaw Pack, stoic and fiercely traditional; and the Nightshade Pack, a pack with a reputation for being ruthless and unpredictable.
Marcus stood at the entrance of his tent, a quiet observer in the bustling camp. He looked back, his gaze sweeping over the various packs. In the dancing firelight, he saw old rivals sharing tense but civil space, a testament to a shift he knew was profound. This wasn't just a gathering; it was a new beginning.
He found himself thinking about how a new Queen could make old grudges feel insignificant, dissolving them with the subtle power of her approaching presence. A new Queen made for some very interesting bedfellows, a reality that Marcus found himself appreciating more and more. Though he valued the times without a queen, when the packs could act without a central influence, he understood the greater good. The Queen's presence brought order and unity—the one thing that could unify the entire wolf population.
It was a quiet, almost unnoticeable phenomenon, and he felt as if he were witnessing magic itself. This was the true power of a monarch. With a mere whisper of her influence, she was already mending the broken pieces of their world.
Author's note
Sometimes I wonder, if readers prefer each chapter to have its own title. Or just chapter 84. I like the titles. It's a nod to what's coming next. Not just the content of that specific chapter itself. Anyway comment vote power stones. I love it all.