Blood Moon (MalexMale Paranormal Fantasy)

Chapter 11 ∞ REEVE

Crowded into the rounded enclosure of the wolf pit, my father stands while the rest of us sit, his enormity enhanced by the low flicker of firelight. "Thank you all for coming," he says. "I just received word from the Council that the Glacier Ridge Pack was attacked last night and Alpha Benton slain."

He licks over dry lips, but otherwise shows no signs of his anxiousness. "As you all know, they are not far from here, just over the easternmost peak of the Simik Range. As with the Jewel River Pack, this new alpha has cast out those who he has deemed unfit to serve him." His eyes meet Daire's with meaning. "Thankfully, the weather is warming, but it is still reaching freezing temperatures in those northern passes. Master Daire, how can we help you track them down?"

"I'll check in with Priestess Blue, but my companion Peter Gerard and I will leave as soon as possible. I'll send word if we should need any help."

"You can bring the wolves here," my father says then gestures to me with a confident nod. "After the full moon, you and Master Daire will go to the Diamond Pack northeast of here to see if they are able to take in any of them and, if so, what assistance they might need as a result. I believe their resources are limited but haven't been there recently enough to be sure. We need a report of their defenses if they were to get attacked. Alpha Nivi is an elder and in a vulnerable state. I'd like to aid him and his pack in whatever they need for preventative measures."

"Yes, Alpha," Daire and I say in unison.

I glance to where the vampyre sits along the wall nearest the entrance and he must sense my attention, looking at me as if trying to read something in my gaze. I smile, offering a link of camaraderie for the task ahead, putting our weeks of training into application. I simmer with excitement to get out there and do something, like I'm finally making progress and taking a real step forward.

As soon as the meeting concludes, Daire hurries out of the pit and is gone before I have a chance to say anything, not that I even know what I'd say. Good luck? Be careful? Can I help you?

He makes me want to prove myself. I see my father call on him as an equal and I want that more than I ever knew. Until now, I've felt like I'm just standing here waiting on orders, unsure of how to best help anyone, always in his shadow and never finding the light.

I scrub at my face. What needs to be done for these wolves coming back with Daire? Food, shelter, clothing.

Through the bond with my father, I say, "I'll check on the open cabins by the beach and meet with mom and Coly on figuring out needed supplies and then I'll let Omega know to be prepared as her abilities may be needed once these wolves arrive."

"Thank you, Reeve. Keep me updated."

I grin. That wasn't so hard. I've always had agency to make these sorts of decisions and proactively lead, I just felt like I never knew how. Partly, I felt like my age held me back, but Daire's shown me differently. No one treats him less than because he's younger. He simply does what he's good at and tells everyone else to piss off. He even already has a benevolent alias as the Ghost—a figure of legends, roaming the lands and saving wolves.

If he can do that, I can do this, and I can do it my own way; and that thought provides palpable relief. I can do this.

For two days, we wait. I've always had a pack link to whomever I've wanted to speak with. This waiting without knowing anything nonsense is bullshit. The sky begins to drizzle, and the cold hits of rain wet my legs where I sit with Matt and my cousin Marcus on the steps to the clinic.

There's a ripple in the air in front of me, a slight disturbance that has me lurching up and swinging out my leg, hooking under the thigh of the vampyre that drops down from the roof.