Sitting across from Alastor, I watch him take a sip from the coffee mug Sarah handed to him. Breakfast had just ended and as we waited for Asteria and Gale to join us with this meeting, Rune and I decided to bring Alastor into his office while asking Sarah – one of the few wolves we can trust – to bring refreshments for us.
“Sorry we are late.” The door opens and Gale walks in followed by a tired looking Asteria. I know they are packing, preparing to leave and head back to Crescent Phoenix tomorrow morning, and I feel guilty for asking them to be here.
“No need to apologize, Luan Gale.” Alastor states, waving his hand with a smile.
“I see you also brought in a friend.” Stiffening in my seat, I sniff the air and confirm an unknown wolf’s scent. Blackberries and pine reach my nose and I wonder who it is that Asteria decided to allow onto Pine Moon without telling me.
“Hey Alastor, long time no see.” A dark-haired, green-eyed man walks through the door, his large frame taking up more space than I feel comfortable. Asteria rolls her eyes at this, coming to my side and taking a seat on the sofa Rune and I share.
“Alpha Nyx of Midnight Rain, glad to see you have made it.” Alastor greets, his eyes narrowing.
“I thought you were on a mission with the council.” Alpha Nox scoffs at Alastor, moving towards the love seat the Council Representative sits on and plops beside him. Shocked by the interaction, I wrack my brain trying to remember who Alpha Nyx is.
“Stop working your brain so hard.” Alpha Nyx calls out with a yawn, leaning back onto the loveseat and closing his eyes.
“Midnight Rain are the council’s attack dogs. We take out Packs or spy on them on the Council’s orders and only reveal ourselves when needed.” The man continues, his deep voice rumbling around the room. I look to Asteria, shocked to see she knows such a man and she just smiles, giving me a small wink.
“Nyx and I went to school together.” She states.
“And we were in the same art classes.” Alpha Nyx adds.
“So why are you here then?” I decide to ask, getting straight to the point.
“Yes, even I would like to know that.” Alastor echoes, turning his gaze to the large man beside him.
“Because it looks like Blood Claws doesn’t know about Tanya’s death yet and I wanted Asteria and give her pup the news personally.” Alpha Nyx says nonchalantly, opening one eye to look at Alastor.
“Besides, my men don’t need me since they are keeping an eye on that Pack waiting to see if Jonnah Cross will realize his only daughter is dead and will try to retaliate against Brynlee and Rune.” Rune lets out a chuckle beside me as I continue to try and wrap my head around this Alpha Nyx person and how he flippantly talks to Alastor with a nonchalant demeanor. Contrary to his dark appearance, Alpha Nyx seems like an easygoing person.
“You took art?” I blurt out, not knowing what else to say.
“Out of everything I have said since coming into this office, me taking art classes it what surprises you?” Alpha Nox asks with wide eyes, his attention completely on me.
“I mean, I expected the Council to step in and deal with Blood Claws and keep an eye on them while we took out Pine Moon. It was part of the plan we made when we decided to kill Valor and Tanya.” I shrug, getting a chuckle from Alpha Nyx.
“I like this pup, Asteria. She is a lot like her mother, Talia.” Alpha Nox states with a smile, turning to look at Asteria for a brief moment.
“Call me Uncle Nyx, Brynlee. I can’t wait for the two of you to become Alphas so we can sign a treaty.” I smile, feeling happy to know another wolf that knew my mother. Rune stares at Uncle Nyx, his eyes narrowed as he pulls me closer to his side. I roll my eyes, noticing his jealousy at how friendly Uncle Nyx is towards me.
“Calm down little wolf. I have a Mate of my own.” Uncle Nyx says to my Mate, his green eyes watching Rune with a mischievous twinkle to them. Rune scoffs, turning his face to nuzzle my hair and I realize he is breathing in my scent.
“In three days when we become Alphas of Pine Moon, Brynlee and I will gladly sign a treaty with all the wolves here.” Rune mutters, his face still hiding in my hair as he continues to breathe in my scent. I smile helplessly, deciding to stay held like this by Rune. He isn’t snarling jealously at Uncle Nyx which surprises me. It seems he has changed from the overtly possessive man he used to be to someone who can read the room and understand neither of us are in danger.
“Glad to hear that. But there’s more to what we have to say about Blood Claws being watched.” Uncle Nyx says, leaning forward din his chair to watch mine and Rune’s reaction. Rune lets out a deep sigh, carefully pulling away from me to turn to Alastor. The Council Representative looks at each one of us in turn, his eyes feeling like deep oceans.
“When Nyx and his men started spying on Blood Claws, we learned that Jonnah’s pregnant Mate is carrying a son. We believe right now Jonnah is too busy with the thought of a male heir that he has not time for news of Tanya other than if her own pup is born.” Alastor says, taking over the conversation. My eyes widen at this, wondering what type of heartless man Jonnah is to not even care about his own daughter, but then I remember that he held the life of all Pine Moon wolves over Valor’s and Rune’s head because hos Goddess given Mate was killed by Valor.
“For now, we believe we have at least a year of peace before Jonnah learns the truth of Tanya’s death as we are doing everything to keep news of tonight our of public speculations. You two need time to build this Pack up and Brynlee will be vulnerable once her pregnancy progresses.” Uncle Nyx adds, his emerald eyes staring into mine.
“Will we need to prepare for another war?” Rune asks, his fingers tightening against my side.
“We believe so. The Council and Midnight Moon are ready to take your side when that war comes.” Alastor answers, his lips pressed into a grim expression. I close my eyes and place a hand on my stomach. A bump is starting to grow with each passing day and I think about my pup. Of Emory. We will need to create a strong Pack for her in the future and provide a safe home so that she can grow up without much to fear or worry.
“If you don’t think they are something to worry about for now, then we won’t focus on the threat they might pose.” I state, looking towards Alastor with a determined gaze.
“Right now we are rebuilding a Pack from the ground up. By the time Jonnah and his Mate are a threat, we will be ready for them.” I continue. Alastor looks me in the eyes, his brows furrowed. After a brief pause, he smiles and nods his head.
“I understand, Alpha Brynlee.” With these words, Alastor informs us that he will be in his room for the rest of the day completing some work. Uncle Nyx asks if he can stick around to help give Rune and me guidance and also to get to know me. Rune didn’t like this idea but complied, nonetheless.
With the meeting done, I decided to walk around Pine Moon with Asteria and Uncle Nyx, wanting to hear stories about my mom from this new wolf while also taking note of how the changes to Pine Moon is going. Apparently Rune and Gale had taken control of planning where greenhouses and new vegetable fields will go yesterday when I had fallen asleep from grieving the loss of my childhood home. I am curious to see how things are going over there.