Greykin Mountain

| 68 | Hard Choices

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Everybody looked horrified when Damon shared the news of the hostile pack. Some wolves even looked like they were going to be sick. Jackson didn't blame them. They had to find a new home and leave what might be the perfect place for a pack to survive the cadejo-infested woods.

          They all asked the same questions Jackson had already asked. Where were they supposed to go? What was Damon going to do?

          When the Alpha informed them what had happened to the room in the basement, the wolves looked around as if searching for an imposter. And that made sense, too. Half the pack was loyal to Aysel, and the other was loyal to Damon. Since Damon rejected Aysel, the pack tension had grown...and now seemed to have peaked.

          Damon managed to calm everyone down to discuss their options, and the angst in Jackson's gut increased with every passing moment. What would Damon and the council members decide to do? Were they going to vote on Julian's life like they'd voted on his?

          "Quiet," Damon called. It took a moment, but everyone stopped mumbling and stared at him. "This is a decision we must make as a pack. I've already met with the council, and we came to a drawn vote regarding Julian—"

          "A draw?" Iris scoffed. "Just hand him over!"

          "Handing them over does nothing for us," Tokala interjected as Damon snarled. "All we'd be doing is sending them to their death."

          "So? He's one of them," Sani growled.

          "They," Brando snarled.

          Sani snapped back, "I don't fucking care."

          "Calm down!" Damon yelled so furiously that it shook Jackson to his bones. Everyone else was just as startled. "We're not sending Julian to their death. They may not be one of us, but they're not one of the hostile pack either. They left."

          "What? So we are taking in any rogue we see now?" Aysel called from the back, where she was standing with Elias. "If we don't hand that stray over, that other pack will start a war."

          Damon scowled, exhaling as he glanced at his wolves. "This ruin is the safest place we've set up camp since our packhouse. We can't afford to lose it. We don't know how strong this other pack is or their numbers, but I'm sure we can find out from Julian in exchange for their life."

          Jackson frowned. So...Damon was going to blackmail Julian? He didn't want to think of it like that. A deal—Damon was going to make a deal with them. He'd get Julian to tell him about their pack so Damon knew what he was up against. That was the most logical move, wasn't it?

          "Do you think they'll talk?" Wesley questioned.

          "How do we know what they say isn't bullshit?" Tainn asked.

          "Jackson has formed the beginning of a friendship with Julian," Damon answered, glancing at Jackson. "I am confident Julian will tell Jackson anything he wants to know. My questions will go through him."

          Disdainful murmurs echoed among the pack as Jackson shivered. He knew most of the pack thought he would screw up, and he didn't exactly feel confident, either. What if he couldn't get the information Damon needed? What if what Julian said wasn't what Damon wanted? Jackson didn't want to make things worse than they already were...but if Damon wanted him to talk to Julian, he'd try his best.