Chapter 21 - Jasper

After hearing the news about our welcome in town, the pack was patient, but only for a little while. Killian had returned from delivering my letter to Sparkle Hollow a few days after the verdict from Alpha Nile. As soon as he arrived, he let me know that we had problems in the pack.

"I've been hearing discontent from the wolves since the moment I got back," he told me.

"They aren't happy about the move to Pinedale?" I asked.

No one had come to me to say that they weren't pleased with the progress we had made, and that made me nervous. Surely, they should have known by now that they could bring any issues to me.

"It isn't that," he assured me. "But some have been saying that they are wondering how long it's going to take. They're getting tired of waiting."

"I don't have an answer for that, though," I admitted.

If it had been up to me, we would have been packing up the cabins right now and finding homes in town, but I needed to wait for Nile.

"I'm just letting you know what I heard," Killian said. "If we don't figure out something, they might start getting restless."

I thanked Killian for the information and went for a walk.

The pack typically thrived when they were given orders to follow, so I could see how the delay in moving to a permanent home would cause problems. To them, their promised land was just out of reach. I wondered if it was too tempting for them to pass up the opportunity to take matters into their own hands.

I was lost in thought when April joined me.

"Everything okay?" she asked. "What did Killian want to talk to you about?"

"He says the pack isn't happy with how long it's taking to move to Pinedale. Have you heard anything?"

"No, nothing."

"I don't know what to do," I admitted. "In the past, I wouldn't have been waiting for another alpha to make a decision that would affect the pack. But now…"

We walked a bit further, both of us deep in thought. I was so used to taking whatever we wanted and needed that I wasn't sure how to help the pack get acclimated to a new way of life.

When we got back to the cabins, we both stopped, watching our pack. Most of them weren't doing anything at all. The kids were playing, but we could see that the men and even some of the women were mostly sitting around our camp.

"We should hold a meeting. Right now, before the discontent gets any worse," April said. "They need to know that you want to hear what they have to say and that you'll take action if you can."

I nodded in agreement, and we went down to join our pack.

"Can everyone come sit down with us, please?" I asked.

The few wolves all moved in closer, but the women and children had begun to move further away.

"Everyone," I repeated, a little louder than before. "This isn't just for the warriors. I want the entire pack to be here."

The women and children looked confused, but they obeyed and came to sit among the men. As we all sat side by side, I wondered if this was what family felt like. I was hyper-aware that they were all here because they owed me their fealty, but I hoped that they would also follow me because they believed I had their best interests at heart. The only way to be sure was to find out what they were thinking.

"Luna April and I were just talking about how the pack is doing, and we wanted to get your perspective," I told them. "If there's anything you want to talk about or any questions you'd like to ask, we welcome them."

Silence greeted me as everyone glanced nervously around the tables. Killian had been right. There was frustration and unhappiness here. I was glad April had the idea to speak with them. Now, I just needed to wait patiently to see who would speak first.

One of the teenagers raised his hand, and I nodded toward him so he could speak.

"Alpha, I just had my first shift into my wolf a month ago. Since that happened, I haven't had any training," he said. "I'm worried that we aren't going to move to Pinedale, and that the wolves there will force us to leave. Where will we go, if we have to run?"

He was trying his best to be brave as he brought his concerns to me, but I could see just how scared he really was. It was like looking into the past at my own self. This boy could be saved from the fate that had befallen me, and that responsibility was on my shoulders.

"I swear to you, we won't have to run anywhere," I told him. "Alpha Nile will allow us to move into town soon, and we will live side by side with them in peace."

One of the men sitting at our table cleared his throat, and I turned my attention toward him with interest.

"No offense, Alpha," he began. "But how long do you think that's going to take? You and your mate have been going to a lot of secret rendezvous with the pack in town, but there's not much to show for it. I know you said that it won't be long until we can move, but we're getting bored out of our minds here."

A chorus of agreement rose up in the pack, and others began to chime in.

"We haven't had any conquests for weeks, Alpha."

"When do we get to have some fun?"

"There's nothing to do here."

It wasn't just fear that was causing problems in the pack. The bigger problem was boredom. After years of fighting and being on alert all the time, the peace had become mundane. The pack's skills and strengths had been going to waste as they acclimated to a new normal, but invading other packs couldn't continue to be their only source of entertainment.

"Your patience won't be in vain, I swear it," I promised. "In fact, I have an idea to bring to the alpha of the Pinedale wolves."

"What kind of idea?" April whispered to me.

I reached my hand out to grasp hers reassuringly, sensing the tension in her voice.

"The luna and I will head down now to speak with him," I continued, speaking to the group.

The meeting ended without a definite answer, but I could see that the mood had lightened. The simple act of voicing their concerns and being heard had done wonders for the pack and their morale. Now, we just needed to find solutions.

As the pack dispersed, I pulled April toward the car, intending to do what I could as soon as possible to help them.

"What exactly are you planning?" April repeated her question as we climbed into my car.

"Now that we know what the pack is feeling, I think I know how to help—without hurting our alliance with Nile," I added. "They need something to do, something that exercises their minds and bodies. They used to get that from attacking other packs, but do you remember what the kids have been playing lately?"

April thought for a minute, her eyes lighting up when she realized what I meant. "Capture the flag," she said.

"And it keeps them active, helps them focus on teamwork, and gives them something to do," I said. "I think we can combine that game with something the pack would be more accustomed to by setting up some friendly skirmishes between our packs. They'll all get to blow off steam and work on their skills at the same time."

"It could work, but we need to be careful," April warned. "The Dark Moon Pack can be a little over-the-top sometimes. If they can rein in their violent tendencies and not kill anyone, you might be on to something."

As much as I didn't want to admit it, she wasn't wrong about that. Everyone would need to be on board with building friendships with the Pinedale Pack if they were going to refrain from causing injury to the more docile pack.

When we got to Pinedale, we went straight to Alpha Nile's house. A few of his warriors were sitting outside on the front porch, and they nodded at us as we approached. Nile opened the door to greet us before we set foot on the stairs leading to his door.

"I'm getting used to you two stopping by," he said. "Is this a good visit or a bad one?"

"Good, we hope," I told him.

"Actually, Nile," April said, "we had an idea we wanted to run by you."

"I'm all ears," the alpha replied, showing us into his living room.

"We held a pack meeting today and found that many of our wolves are feeling a bit, well, bored," I explained. "They're used to more action than they've seen lately in this peaceful area. We wanted to give them an activity that would energize them and keep their more irrational tendencies at bay."

"What did you have in mind?" Nile asked.

April and I explained the plan we had discussed on the ride there, and Nile seemed receptive to our ideas.

"It isn't a bad idea," he acknowledged. "But I think we need to have some safety measures in place for the protection of my wolves and your pack. I have to be honest: if one of your wolves were to make a mistake, the Pinedale Pack would demand retribution."

"We completely understand," April replied. "We thought it might be beneficial to make building relationships a priority. If our pack has ties with yours, they will be less likely to wish them any harm."

"Hmm, that's a good plan. I'll tell you what—the town is having a festival tonight. Why don't you have your pack come mingle with mine? We'll see how everyone gets along. I'll expect you to keep your eye on everyone," Nile added.

"We will," I promised.

"As long as nothing serious occurs, I don't see any reason why we can't have a few wolves participate in a skirmish tonight," he said.

"Did you have a location in mind?" I asked.

I hadn't gotten that far in my planning yet, and I wasn't sure if there was a place where we could continue hiding our wolf packs from the humans in the area.

"This entire neighborhood houses my pack," Nile explained. "If we meet up in the woods just east of here, there won't be anyone around who doesn't know our secret."

"Do you need any help in preparations?" April asked.

Nile waved off her offer. "Leave it to me."

With our plan set in place, April and I left Nile's house.

"I think that went well," April said. "How do you feel about it?"

"Hopeful. Once we get through this evening, we'll know more about how the rest of our future is going to go," I said.

"What do we need to do to make sure tonight goes well?" April asked.

"Don't worry," I assured her. "I've got everything under control."

April reached over to grab my hand as I drove back to the cabins. With her hand in mine, I felt even more sure that tonight would go exactly as planned.