I looked Alpha William in the eyes, ignoring everything else in the room. Staring down an Alpha was something Lois had warned me not to do. It was a dominance play, a challenge that often led to fights. I had to trust that Cole would have my back in this. He was younger and stronger than William; if he wanted me to stop, he would do something to break my stare.
He didn't. William eventually looked away. "You guys still don't get it," I said.
"What exactly don't we get, Alpha Angela?"
That came from Alpha Trent, who so far was receptive to what I'd been arguing. Alpha Brian was a possible ally since he appeared to have an open mind. Alpha William was out for himself, and Alpha Edward wanted Cole out of the way. "How's your golf game doing, Alpha Trent? You look like you play." He had a good tan, but his right hand was more tanned than his left from wearing a glove, and his cheeks were much darker tan than his forehead. My Dad used to play five times a week in season, so I knew the type.
He looked at me like he couldn't believe I'd asked the question. "I haven't played since this crap began, Angela. Even if it wasn't dangerous to be out in the sun, it's a game! It doesn't matter with all the other stuff going on."
I smiled because he played right into what I was going to say. "Exactly. The five of us following a bunch of rules established before the solar event makes as much sense as worrying about your tee time. Cole fucked up, but not because he broke Werewolf law. He fucked up because he didn't take care of his people. If he had treated the girls better, more would be alive and shifting right now."
"He broke our laws by exposing our kind to humans," Edward countered. "There is no excuse for that."
"I'm sure you'll take comfort in the laws when your Pack is weak and dying," I replied. "Luna couldn't express her divine will more clearly if she was sitting in your lap right now. Humans are critical to our survival. Humans are right up there with shelter, food, water, and power. Quit fucking around in the past, and let's figure out how we can move together into the future."
Edward wasn't giving up that quickly. "That's easy for you to say. You've got a sweet setup here! Deep underground shelter, electricity, running water, sewers, and I've heard you've got quite the stockpile of supplies. The rest of us are struggling to survive, and Alpha Cole here is illegally trying to grow his pack!"
"Alpha Cole killed thousands of humans to take over this base. It's telling that you care less about that than you do about his plans to use women as breeders, Edward." I let everyone think about that. "What was the line from Apollo 13? Work the problem, people."
Cole finally spoke up. "My mate is right. The human females here have too much value to our kind to kill. We need to focus on convincing them to join us. We will all be stronger when they are part of our Packs, whether wolves or humans."
"We have to do something," Trent said.
"William's idea is the WORST possible thing we could do to these women," I replied. "He proposes to punish Cole by leaving the hard cases here. I'm sure he'll propose a time limit, after which we will have no choice but to kill them. He knows this will result in resentment and anger against us, causing other females to flee."
"The women who take the change would be better off elsewhere," William responded. "We can offer them what they cannot get here. A fresh start."
"Yes, but you are not looking at things from the perspective of the humans. Every female we have to kill is a lost potential mate for someone. They should get a fresh start so we can eventually convince them to join us. If it doesn't work at one pack, we try another. The only ones we have to kill are the ones who try to escape. If we Alphas do our job right, we can minimize those losses."
Alpha Trent spoke. "I agree with Angela. Leaving that group of women here will gain us nothing."
"It's not just those women he proposes to take away, Trent. Alpha William wants to take ALL of my women from here. In doing so, he would violate werewolf law."
William didn't like that. "We are the Council! If that is the punishment, then it is legal!"
"No, it is not. Werewolf law does not allow for involuntary transfers of Pack members to another Pack. They can transfer voluntarily, they can leave, or they can join a mate in another Pack. You CAN NOT rip a Pack member out of one Pack and force them to join another."
Cole nodded. "The women taking the change accepted me as their Alpha. Those women who haven't taken the change yet submitted to my leadership. I brought them into Brinnon Pack as human members in front of all. If they find a mate or choose to leave, I won't stand in their way. I will NOT stand by and let you rip them away from the home they freely chose."
I took his hand. "Tell the women of your Packs and your territories. Tell them what kind of life they would have there. If they want to go, I will send them with my blessing. It has to be THEIR choice, Alphas."
"We still have to resolve the punishment for Alpha Cole," Edward complained. "It is the responsibility of the Council."
Alpha Trent nodded. "Since there is no need for a trial, three of us form a quorum for the jury to decide his fate. Alpha Angela, your presence on the jury is not required."
"You were ready to put me on the jury before!"
"To decide guilt, yes. You were one of the injured parties. For Cole's punishment, you cannot sit in judgment. You are his mate and have a wolf now, Angela. You cannot be objective." He looked at Alpha Cole. "I will retire to my quarters with Alpha Brian and Alpha William. We will call everyone together to pronounce the sentence when decided."
Cole and I stood while the others left. I didn't like the look on Alpha Edward's face; he still thought he would win. Cole pulled me closer when they were gone, leaning down and giving me a toe-curling kiss. "You were amazing, my love," he said.
"Do you think I got through to them?"
