“Calm and constructive, remember? Come and sit. You look like a spring about to uncoil. What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I’m just eager to hear what they found. Or didn’t find, as the case may be.” Sitting in a chair, Fenya’s knee is bouncing, and I can’t help but stand and go to her.
“Take a deep breath, hold it and count to five. Release it in a long, slow blow, counting to five again.” I do it with her, and then repeat it.
“Does this help you, Lyle?” Fenya asks with a hint of sarcasm while trying to hide the fact she was the one panicking.
“I’ve never done it before. I just made it up as I went.” I respond, and Fenya jumps up, swatting my shoulder as there is a knock at the door.
When Beta Earl enters, he asks if Chief Warrior Glen should be in attendance, and when I agree he turns and gestures for him to enter as well.
Sitting around the large table rather than the desk, Fenya and I listen to their report, and I have to say, I’m pleased with the results. What does surprise me is the lack of any rogues that you’d expect them to come across. How is Arric preparing to go to war if he has no guards out, no border patrols, no scouts, nothing?
The meeting is over quicker than I expected with there being so little to report, and I prepare to call Bronze with the findings.
“Fenya, what did Alpha Falan say when you rang him? You never said.” I ask her and immediately know the answer when she dashes from the room, no doubt to go to her own office and call him!
Chapter 22
FENYA
Wow! Accepting the mating was one thing. Finding out that Astra may have influenced that decision is huge. I need to have that conversation with her, but now is not the time. I have to place a call to Alpha Falan and tell him of that decision. I should have done this immediately but got caught up in everything else.
Do I call him Alpha Falan or is it now Falan? That’s going to feel weird, just Falan. I don’t know what my being a luna dictates yet. I assume Falan is for times like this or when in informal settings and Alpha Falan for everything else. Perhaps I should have had that conversation with Lyle before I dashed off to make this call.
Calm and constructive. Words to live by, yet they’ll probably kill me! I can see them on my tombstone. ‘Here lies Fenya Walker. Couldn’t be calm and constructive to save her life!’
Being around Lyle will certainly help you with that. He takes things as they come and makes life seem so easy.Astra pops into my thoughts.
‘You can just shut the heck up. You have no input on anything right now. Not until I come to terms with how much I can trust you. You sneaky, conniving…’
Calm and constructive. Words to live by. Tut, tut,Astra chortles.
Snatching the phone from the desk, I place the call to the Wolfsong packhouse. It rings only once and then I hear Alpha Falan's voice.
“Hello, Wolfsong Pack.”
“Hello, Alpha Falan. It’s Fenya. How are you?” I almost stammer the words, I’m so nervous. I’ve never been nervous around Alpha Falan before. If anything, I was probably too familiar.
“Ha! Fenya! I’m fine, thanks. More importantly, how are you? Are you still a Stormhowl or are you now a Walker? I suspect you’re calling to let me know that I need a new Head Warrior.”
“I hadn’t even thought about that. Yes, I am now Fenya Walker.” I hardly recognize my own voice, it’s so quiet.
“Well,‘Luna’Fenya Walker. Congratulations! I am so happy for you both. I think once you’ve settled in and accepted that it was meant to be, you’ll have them eating from the palm of your hand, and worshipping the ground you walk on. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you saw that this was your destiny. The Goddess excelled when she put you two together.” Alpha Falan is almost gushing, he sounds so happy.
“I have a long way to go before anyone offers me anything from their palm. So far, they all believe I’ll bite their hand off at theshoulder if they try that! I have been myself for so long, I don’t know how to be normal or act as a luna should.”
“You are, and always have been, too harsh and judgmental of yourself. Once you let them see past that gruff exterior you seem to relish so much, they’ll see the true Fenya. The one that helps so many and never asks for anything in return. The Fenya that gives her free time to helping those who struggle in their warrior classes. The warrior who takes on extra patrols so that others can spend time with their loved ones on their birthdays rather than having to be on the border. That is the true Fenya that will win the hearts of the Spirit Walker Pack.” Alpha Falan sounds wistful.
“You knew about those things? It was supposed to be done in secret. I am surprised and not a little disappointed that these things were talked about.” I feel betrayed right now.
“They were not discussed openly. I am Alpha. I know more about what goes on in the pack than you could possibly imagine. I expect Alpha Lyle does too. You will also, given time. Shifters will share with you to express their gratitude to someone, hoping that you will favor that person in the future. There is always a gossiper, but mostly you will recognize that they tell you because they feel someone in authority should know that there are those out there going above and beyond.” There is a brief pause, and then he continues.
“Beta Garrin was not aware of all the extracurricular activities that you had undertaken here. I have since had cause to educate him about them since you left. I think you will find he looks upon you differently now, and it has nothing to do with your being a luna.”
“He was never what you’d call a supporter of mine, but I never saw him as a detractor either. I just thought he didn’t like me,and as you know, I never cared how people saw or thought of me.” I never curried favor or went an inch out of my way to get people to accept me. They took me as they found me, and as I didn’t have, want or need friends, I could be pretty abrasive I think to myself. “I know that you were lenient with some of my behavior at times, but I thought that was because you had a ‘soft spot’ for me. I wasn’t aware that you knew about my helping others.”
“I don’t know if ‘soft spot’ is quite what I’d call it, but I respected you immensely. There were times as an alpha that I wished I could be more like you. There has been more than one occasion that I wanted to wipe the smirk off someone's face, and would imagine sending you to their place of residence after dark to do the deed.” Alpha Falan laughs at this thought.
