Alpha Rori King's POV
Arrowhead Pack House
I put down my phone as Chase was working on setting up the videoconference equipment in our office. "She agreed to sell us the property," I told my mate.
"Good. We're going to need the room, and Spider won't be around to rebuild the home."
"There's a partial bag of cash in the safe room. I said we would retrieve it and ship it to Carson for her," I continued.
"Carson can't openly support her." He thought about it for a minute. "Maybe it could fall off a truck?"
"Or something," I said. "Have you heard anything about Heather?"
Chase shook his head no. "She was still alive, and when I spoke to their Pack Doctor, he had four units in and one out. He was going to do five units of werewolf blood, the same amount we used on Frank."
"Frank's much bigger, is that too much?"
"Frank lost a lot of blood, while for Heather, it's more of a bleed and feed. She was hypothermic, bruised, both bones in her right forearm broken, a severe bite in the same area, and a concussion. She didn't lose as much blood. The good news is that the blood has stabilized her for now." He had the software set up to connect us to the Council teleconference. The Alphas were live in the video link, while the Packs would be watching the live stream on another feed.
"How bad is this going to be
," I asked him as we were on screen now, waiting for it to start.
"
Anywhere between bad and thermonuclear war,"
he replied.
After the last videoconference regarding the hacking of the Council website, we held our own with our allies. If it got that bad, we'd be ready. "
Ron, how is the mood of the Pack?"
"Confused and pissed off,"
he said. "
They liked Spider Monkey, and Vic was a good Beta. Some are wondering why you were so quick to cut ties with them."
"They'll see soon, I bet. When this meeting ends, have them stay for a Pack meeting. We'll get it all on the table,"
I said. I looked at the spot for the Cascade Alpha; Carson was there, his face and neck covered in wounds that were still healing up. It was easy to tell that he was pissed, and he had demanded this meeting.
While I was talking, the last of the world Alphas appeared, and the Council members walked into their places. They were at the Banff Pack, where internet service was back after over a week. They didn't look happy, either. "This meeting is called to order," Chairman Coffey said. "Under Council law, section fourteen, Cascade Pack is presenting a formal declaration of war. War is the final and most dangerous option for us to resolve inter-Pack conflicts."
He gave it a few seconds to sink in before he continued. "As such, our Laws have a process set up to ensure wars do not spill over into the human world. Alpha Carson will have ten minutes to speak, the responding party will have ten minutes, and then the remaining Alphas will have twenty minutes for questions. After that, there are five options. The simplest is that the Cascade Pack withdraws the declaration. Second, both sides can accept binding mediation by the Council for their dispute. Third, both sides agree to have the dispute decided by the remaining Alphas on a majority vote, with the losing Alpha removed from his position and replaced by an Alpha selected by the Council. Fourth, the Alphas can battle in single combat, with the winner taking possession of the losing Pack. The last option is to recognize a state of war exists. If this is the case, other Packs must declare their allegiance to a side, or their neutrality to the dispute. Those that are neutral will not provide assistance or personnel to either side; the penalty for violation is expulsion from the Werewolf Council and removal of the Alphas. Those Packs that join the conflict will no longer be part of the Werewolf Council until the war is over. Any questions?"
"Yes, who is he declaring war on," Alpha Blackledge said.
"I expect we'll find out soon," Chairman Coffey said. "Alpha Carson Nygaard, the floor is yours."
Instead of Carson, it was Alpha Sawyer Nygaard who spoke for him. "As you can see, my younger brother is recovering from injuries sustained in an attack earlier today and requested I speak on his behalf. Nine men attacked Alpha Carson, his Beta, and Heather Rhodes. Alpha Carson and Beta Angelina will recover, but one got through and bit Heather Rhodes."
I saw looks of shock and outrage among some of the Alphas at the news, while for others, it was a look of relief. None of those Alphas were a shock to me. It wasn't long ago that the Council formally recognized Heather Rhodes' sanctuary in the Cascade Pack, and it wasn't a popular decision. Many Alphas refused to accept that a human could be the mate of a werewolf. Now she was as good as dead.
"Who were the men," Chairman Coffey asked.
"We have recovered the bodies of seven of the nine men involved in the attack," Sawyer said. "Six men in the attack; one each by Alpha Carson and Beta Angelina, the other four by Luna Heather. The seventh died when we stopped their vehicle."
"She's no LUNA," Alpha Martin Nemmers said.
Chairman Coffey banged his gavel. "Save your questions for your time, Alpha. Alpha Sawyer?"
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Here are the names and photographs of the people involved." The slide show was split-screen, with the names and ranks across the bottom. The left side was their photo, while the right showed their body before going on the pyre. "One Beta, five Warriors, and three Omegas, all sent from the Blue River Pack to attack and kill Alpha Carson and Luna Heather."
The news that the attackers were from the Pack of his little sister was like a bomb going off in the proceedings. Alpha Coral sat expressionless as the Alphas and Council members shouted at each other until Chairman Coffey was able to restore order. "You are declaring war on Alpha Coral," he asked in disbelief.
"No, he is not. The people involved were no longer members of the Blue River Pack at the time of the attack, and Alpha Coral did not order the attack." He paused and switched the feed to a video. "The attack succeeded because they had a mole inside the Pack, who told attackers where and when the Alpha and Luna would be away from the Pack House. Beta Carl found the mole and arrested her. Pack warriors found the remaining people and took them all into custody. Well, all but the one who resisted arrest. She had an interesting story to tell."
The video played, and I gasped when I saw who it was. I'd talked to McKenna, the Alpha's secretary, many times. She had been crying and was shaking. "You admit that you notified Beta Todd when Alpha Carson and Heather left for their picnic at Triple Falls?"
"Yes," she said softly.
"Why would you do this?"
"Why would he choose that human BITCH instead of ME," she said. "She can't be a real Luna, and she bears another man's children! He was supposed to be mine, and he promised me he would be mine!"
Wow. I didn't have words.
"How did you get involved in this?"
