Sitting in my office, hand on my stomach, I read the reports sent to Asteria and me from the Council early this morning for the third time and sigh. The investigation into Jonnah, Valor, and Tanya has taken a turn that surprises even me and I am not sure how I feel about it. Tanya is indeed pregnant and that the father of Tanya’s child is indeed Valor but that’s not the worst of the news. The worst part is about how Jonnah is on his fifth Mate after killing his fourth – the she-wolf that rejected Quincy.
Gale had called stating he couldn’t get a hold of Asteria and wanted to let me know they were a few hours away from the Pack. That’s when I mentioned the email and news of Jonnah Cross being on his fifth Mate. He was pissed, to say the least, but gave me the good news that the Willow Bark Wolves have decided to talk with our Council Representative to help put the nail in our enemies' coffins quickly.
This made the weight from the news weighing me down lighten up and after hanging up, I emailed Alastor Levines – Crescent Phoenix Council Representative – confirming that our new Pack Mates would like to discuss their accounts of the events that led to Willow Bark being attacked. The date was set to a week from now as he would be bringing the other thirty wolves to the Pack then and we could take the time to not only organize what I hope to be the last batch of wolves we accept into the Pack but also organize times for Alastor to talk with the Willow Bark wolves and have Counselors present to help each wolf work through their traumatic past.
“You shouldn’t be working too hard.” Rune calls out, surprising me as he walks into my office.
“I am the Beta. Whether I like working or not, I need to do my job.” I shrug, motioning for him to come join me. He shakes his head in amusement, coming to stand beside my chair as I tell him to read the emails I received. At first, Rune is reluctant, but as soon as he realizes it is about our enemies, Rune becomes excited.
“They are going to trial?” He asks in disbelief.
“They are hoping to arrest everyone by the next Annual Assembly of Alphas as the Council is still collecting evidence, but the Willow Bark wolves agreed to testify against Valor. You will have to testify against all three of them when the trial happens.” I explain, getting an exasperated sigh from Rune.
“Will you be there beside me?” He asks, leaning against the wall. I can feel his nervousness and pain through the bond and I feel my heart clench at his pain.
“I’ll be there. I have a few choice words to say about Valor and Tanya myself.” Rune laughs at this, bending down to place a soft kiss on top of my head.
“Can I ask you about this chosen Mate that Jonnah killed?” turning to look at Rune, I watch as he takes a deep breath before answering.
“I don’t remember much of her, but I do know she rejected her Mate for Jonnah. Unfortunately, Jonnah killed her for being infertile a year and a half later.” Shocked by his answer, I search through the files we have on all the wolves from when the Pack was known as Golden Fang. After pulling up a file of a she-wolf with long chestnut hair and striking blue eyes, I ask Rune to take a look.
“That’s her.” He confirms. A low growl escapes my lips and I close the file, running my hands through my hair.
“Why are you asking about her Brynlee?” Rune asks, turning my chair so that I am looking at him.
“Because that is Quincy’s ex.” I answer. I then move to explain about the pain I went through the night I became Crescent Phoenix Beta. How Quincy had helped me through it because he had gone through a similar pain, just not as intense as he did not hold back like I did. Rune is silent from my explanation, only muttering that he had a feeling Quincy was the one who helped me through the pain.
My office grows silent after this, the heavy realization that one of us will have to inform Quincy of his Ex-Mate’s passing and soon.
“So when will Jett and Gale be back?” He asks, changing the subject and returning to leaning on the wall. I smile, happy to have a change of subject and I reach out to take his hand as I think about the return of Gale, Jett, Ashton, and Eddison.
“Around eight tonight. We will be throwing a small welcome dinner at the Pack House for Willow Bark.” I answer as he moves to sit in the chair in front of my desk.
“Don’t you have training to do?” I ask as I return to focusing on work. The threat of war from Pine Moon still looms over us even with the knowledge that the Council is preparing to arrest Valor, Jonnah, and Tanya, and I need to focus on safety drills, training schedules, and hunting parties as well as the building project for the new wolves joining the Pack.
“Where do you think I came from? I thought you’d like to get lunch in the Dining Hall with me.” Rune retorts, laughing as my stomach growls with hunger. I blush, saving the documents to my laptop before logging off.
“I could do with lunch.” I shrug with a helpless smile, standing from my desk. The two of us leave my office as we make our way down the stairs. The smell of stew and fresh bread reaches my nose as soon as we enter the Dining Hall. Asteria is already there with Quincy and Quest, the three in a discussion about which Wolves can go for the Warrior and Hunter tests soon now that many of our wolves will be turning eighteen. I wave to them as I pass, Asteria telling Rune and me to join them when we have grabbed our food.
It only takes a few minutes before we are sat at the round table. Quincy looks on edge and his legs shake as if he has drank too many cups of coffee and I ask if he is okay.
“Something feels off.” He sighs out, running a hand through his red hair.
“It’s like I can feel my Mate again, but I haven’t felt her since Jonnah marked her.” Rune and I look at each other. Quincy never learned about his Goddess given Mate being killed a few years ago and I sigh.
“Quincy, we have some news about this.” I state slowly, taking his hand in mine. I feel the jealousy from Rune coming through the bond and send him a warning glare. My friend needs me so Rune can be possessive somewhere else or sit back and behave.
“What? Did Jonnah get her pregnant?” Quincy asks sarcastically, but I see a bit of hurt flash across his eyes.
“No.” I sigh, giving him a sad smile.
“He killed her for being infertile.” The table goes quiet as Quincy looks at me in shock. Grief, anger, and acceptance flash through his eyes and I wonder just what he is thinking.
“Then why do I feel like I am finally going to find my Mate today?” He asks sadly. I shrug, unsure what to say.
“Maybe the Goddess felt bad for what happened and assigned you a new one?” Rune answers. I go to refute this considering no one has been given a Second Chance Mate. But what if I am wrong? What if there have been instances of Second Chance Mates but no one documented them?
“We won’t know for sure, but I have a feeling Rune is right.” Asteria decides to chime in, smiling at Quincy.
“Everyone deserves a second chance at life and love. I have a feeling we will know later tonight if this is true.” She continues. Quincy thanks her before stating he needs to go for his patrol shift. After telling him to be safe, only Asteria, Quest, Rune, and I remain.
“So, how are the plans for the Willow Bark wolves housing?” Quest asks, making me groan in frustration.
“That bad?” Asteria chimes in with concern and I shake my head.
“We have rooms in the dormitories but the thing is, these wolves have only known each other for the last seven years. I want to find them a house they can live in but there aren’t a lot.” I admit with a sigh, breaking off a piece of bread and dunking it into the stew.
“The only place with enough room for all fifteen wolves to live together would be the guest house.” Popping the stew-soaked bread into my mouth, I chew on it while waiting for Asteria’s response.
“Give them the guest house for now. We can talk to each wolf individually. Anyone willing to live on their own in the dorms can be moved and we can find houses closer to each other for the rest.” She suggests. I smile at this decision and make a mental note to prepare everything this way when we are done eating. I know I can rope Rune into helping, but maybe I can get Savannah and Odette to help as well.
Lunch is spent with us talking about the preparations for the welcome dinner and how Asteria is excited to have Gale home again. Quest lets us know that Chastity and the others are on their way home and should be back within the hour. Apparently, Caspian and Odette had both hunted down a few deer and Chastity was proud of both wolves. Rune and I smile at this, happy to hear that our friends are doing well in their new roles, and I wonder if I can convince Quincy to have Odette transferred from a Warrior into a Hunter.
With Lunch done, Asteria and I leave the men to talk to Savannah about preparing the guest house. Rune states he could help but Quest is quick to step in and ask Rune for help with preparing the food the Hunting party is bringing in. Wishing my Mate good luck, I quickly escape the Dining Hall in search of Savannah and the group of Omegas in charge of cleaning while Rune reluctantly trails after Quest toward the Pack Kitchen.