The Council
"Why should we allow you to create this barbaric excuse for a pack?" The council sneers at me in sync, which is one of the creepiest things I have ever heard. The council members are wise and very knowledgeable, going against their opinions is not only an act of treason but is literally the biggest mistake of your life. They're the council for the reason, the members consist of some of the most successful retired Alphas of all time. The only downside is that they're old, which means they're cranky and have no appreciation for modern opinions and cultures.
"Why barbaric may I ask?" I ask biting down hard on my tongue, making sure my harsh tone doesn't manage to sneak out any time soon. I am starting to get a little bit defensive about my pack, even though we are not an official pack but they're my family and I care for every single one of them and I don't like that the councils are insulting them. The council looks down at me in irritation before speaking.
"You want to create a pack full of rogues! How is that not barbaric?" The youngest council leader asks me with his eyebrows raised up high on his forehead. I sigh softly in frustration, knowing that for a fact I've already been over this question multiple times in the past hour.
"We only accept rogues that gained the title under unlawful circumstances, wolves who have lost their packs due to attacks, people who have been banished because their previous Alpha is threatened by their Alpha gene, wolves framed for a murder they didn't commit and rogue children who grew up and treated like rogues because of their parents' mistakes." I explain to them and they all seem to inch closer in their seats.
"What about the circumstances of your branding, they don't give out those rogue carving to just anyone?" One of the few Alpha Females on the council asked me, and I took a deep breath knowing this conversation was bound to come up sometime in this meeting.
"I was branded and carved at the age of fourteen because I could disobey the Alpha command." The council members didn't gasp out in surprise like other wolves, they've heard a lot of terrible tragic situations that are a lot worse than mine but they did seem to go quiet at what I said.
"If we agreed to grant you the license to start the pack, we will require you to update us whenever a new pack member is accepted and their circumstances for being a rogue, if it's under the conditions that reverse their rogue status with evidence they can join." The eldest council member explains after minutes of almost silent whispering exchange. I smile and nod my head thankful for their understanding, I was almost expecting them to deny my application for a pack license. I bow my head in respect and turn to learn the conference room before they stopped me in my tracks.
"Before you go Miss...Alpha Dawn have you been able to test your past disobedience to an Alpha command after your shift?" The Alpha Female asks and I shake my head, I hadn’t even thought of trying it.
"You do know that if tested and you are no longer able to disobey the Alpha Command, you could rejoin a pack." She explains and I swear my heart stops, it was so tempting to give the license to Joey and run away back to my old pack and see my parents again, but then the look in my Alpha's eyes, the look of the hatred in what I considered my families eyes, and the look of pure happiness when I started the unofficial pack with Sarah, Joey and his mate and child. The hope that they could live their lives without worry, fear that they could be killed or separated from each other ever again. That small temptation to become a pack member slips away.
"I'll stick with my pack, but thank you." I say before leaving that room for good and a weight lifted off my shoulders. I rather spend my entire life fighting for justice for those who have had it ripped away from them than live under the command of those who decide how my people are treated, poorly. I almost felt guilty for even thinking for that one moment that I wanted to be part of my old pack again, never again.
Walking out of the government building I walk across the front lawn and I spot Finn standing just under the shade of the woods. He's been waiting anxiously for me here, wanting to know the results from my meeting. He was startled at first when he found out he was going to be the face of the pack, the Alpha in the sense he enforces the law, while I create the law. He is young as we both know, but there is just something about him that I know is special.
"How'd the meeting go?" He asks nervously shifting on his feet, and I chuckle at his behaviour.
"They gave us the license Finn." I tell him and he nods his head taking in a deep breath.
"It's really happening?" He asks more to himself than to me but I reply anyway.
"Yes, it is." I say placing my hand over his shoulder blade, allowing my support to seep through the pack bond which has already started to form in the last few weeks, after teaching him how to use his gene to form a pack bond. It was not a commonly done practice, most pack bonds were passed down through generations or successors not created from scratch by a young teenage boy. The connection was weak, but he could feel my support flow through the web connecting us all together.
"Are you ready to go?" I ask him removing my hand from his shoulder and he nods his head stripping down to his boxers, although it was supposed to be something common that happened among pack members, stripping and shifting together was natural but I felt really awkward doing this kind of thing with him. Trying not to think about it, I strip and shift in a matter of seconds and Finn follows suit.
His wolf was about the same height as mine, due to his Alpha gene. His coat was pitch black and his eyes turned into a lighter shade of brown than I was used too. He shifted early, before he joined our little pack and he shifted before I even did. I shifted about 6 months ago, it was about 6 months after I went rogue for the second time. It was in the middle of winter; around the same time, I was banished from my pack. I was cold and wet, the coats from Sarah's and Joey's wolves could only keep Patrick and I warm to an extent. My body racked with shivers as I tried to keep them under control, we had met some other wolves in those months, wolves who were now in our pack but at first were strangers. Patrick was so cold he started to cry out in pain, his tears freezing on his checks. We had yet to reunite with Joey's mate and you could feel the depression come off him in waves, I'd feel bad for him if I were warm enough to hold a thought. Patrick's cries started to get more intense, Joey tries to comfort his son but he was focused on trying to ensure neither of us froze to death and Sarah had fallen asleep long ago. Patrick's cries got more frantic and it started to alert unwanted enemy rogue attention from deeper in the forest. I snapped my head up upon hearing their threatening growls and I looked back at Patrick who was still very distressed. Then it happened in that moment, Joey couldn't move in order to fight off the rogues because he had to protect his child and Sarah had given into the cold for the night. The rogues stepped closer and growled revealing their canines, they were hungry with bloodlust wanting something, anything warm to flow down their throats, even if cannibalism was the key. I looked into their eyes and snapped. My bones break, grew, reformed, and slipped into place within seconds as I sprung out in front of my pack ready to defend them. Luckily, the rogues took off after becoming out-wolfed and I don't believe Joey ever managed to find the words to express how lucky we were that night, that I shifted when I did.
My wolf was almost identical to his wolf, except my eyes are a bright blue. He bowed his head before running off into the woods, I run after him right on his tail. We run all the way home, just as the sun started to set.
Joey was standing outside the pack, house and I shifted behind the tree before walking to stand in front of him. I hand him the license and he smiled pulling me into a hug and breathed in deeply breathing in my scent.
"I can't thank you enough for making our family whole again." He whispers and I nod pulling him into a deeper hug, allowing our makeshift father-daughter relationship sink in. Looking over his shoulder I saw Finn standing there awkwardly and I reach my hand out to him, he chuckles taking my hand and I pull him into our little group hug. Soon enough Amelia and Patrick ran out from inside and joined our hug. I could feel Patrick hugging the back of my legs as he was too short to reach. One by one the rest of our pack ran out from the house and joined our group hug. This was my pack; this was my new family and I was going to protect them with my everything...