“Quite the opposite, in fact, Lyle. You can expect us to support you in your efforts. It doesn’t take a military genius to understand this upstart’s intentions, does it? He wants to be ‘King’ of all the territories, not just yours. Once he swept through your lands with our support, he will no doubt use our warriors in preference to his own. Once he has depleted our resources, he will sweep back north with his untouched army of rogues and conquer our lands. With two territories under his belt, what would stop him from turning his attentions to the Southern Sector lands?” Falan’s logic is certainly just that.
“What you’re saying, Falan, would support our own thoughts, though to be honest, we hadn’t expected him to seek your support.” Flint rubs his chin with his thumb and two fingers. “He wants to accelerate his taking of the lands at a faster rate than we gave him credit for.”
“His ambitions far outweigh his abilities as a leader, Flint. Unless he has a general amongst his warriors, he will not achieveany measure of success. I found him to be nothing more than transparent when dealing with him. If he ever took up poker, he’d be broke by the third hand.”
“Poker? I haven’t heard of that in a very long time.” Flint laughs at the term and I am at a loss as to what poker is.
“My late father kept it alive in the pack as a means of showing how he could manipulate people. He also won back any coin he bestowed on members for a job well done. It didn’t take members long to learn that the bonus was nothing more than lip service.” Falan’s laugh was lacking any humor.
“Thank you for this information and also for your future support. It will be greatly appreciated. Is there anything we can do for you in return, Falan?” Surely he must want, or be benefiting from this, I think to myself.
“You can keep my sister safe throughout the coming war. That would be more than sufficient as a thank you.”
That takes me by surprise. I don’t think I have a relative of Falan’s in my pack. “Your sister?”
“Luna Hope of the Blackshadow pack is my half-sister, though I don’t do anything by half!”
“Of course. I forgot she was hunted by your father who wanted her returned for her bloodline.” I remember now.
“I was never going to allow him to achieve his goal. She was far too innocent for his pack.” Falan sounds firm in that belief. “Now, I must let you do whatever you need to with that information. I can’t speak for the other packs with regard to supporting you only for myself, but perhaps our two councils can come together and sort that detail out. I would appreciate it if wecould meet face-to-face at some point before this war gets a grip on our two sectors.”
“It would be easier for you to come here, I think, and we would make you welcome. When we plan a meeting of the Alphas of our territory, I’ll let you know and broach your attendance with them.”
“I would be honored to attend. Thank you both for your time. Good bye.”
The call ends and I look at Flint, a little shocked by the call. It is certainly not boring at the moment, that’s for sure.
Chapter 4
FLINT
After the call with Falan, I immediately contacted the Shifter Council and to my surprise they knew nothing of Arric’s intentions to create an alliance with the Northern Sector packs. Once I’d given them the bare facts, I took my leave of Lyle and rode my old but trusty motorcycle at some unhealthy speeds back to the council chambers.
Not surprisingly, on my return I found the entire council waiting for me. After assuring Roman and Cinder, Lyle’s parents, that he was fine we got down to the serious business of Arric’s attempt to bolster his forces.
“Fellow council members, the call from Falan was unexpected to say the least, but the timing couldn’t have been better with my presence at the Spirit Walker pack.” I’m immediately interrupted by Porter Riverrun.
“How certain can we be of this Alpha Falan’s motives? Wasn’t it his pack that caused us trouble over Luna Hope of the Blackshadow pack?” Porter is quite toxic with his tone, which surprises me. He is normally a good listener and doesn’t get riled easily.
“I fail to see what he would benefit by telling such a lie, if it was indeed untrue? What would his…”
“Perhaps he is in fact in league with Arric and wants to sow false information or dissent among our ranks?” Again, there is more than a sharp tone in Porter’s voice. Before I can answer, Lykos speaks up.
“Porter! If you have something to say, spit it out, for goodness’ sake. Either that or let Flint speak. We’ll be here until the next full moon if you carry on this way.” Lykos has stood and has his hands on the table, leaning on his knuckles. I can see Troy, his wolf, flashing in his eyes, too.
“The Wolfsong pack tried to take Luna Hope against her will. How do we know this isn’t another ploy so they can get their claws on her again? I don’t trust them,” Porter is almost shouting this now, and it is so out of character.
“If I may be the voice of reason for just a moment here,” Cinder Walker speaks quietly, but with an air of authority that has everyone looking at her. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but it wasn’t the pack that wanted Hope at the time, it was her father, the then Alpha, Soren. Wasn’t it Falan, her half-brother, of whom we now speak, that killed his own father to protect her and then tracked and killed the Wolfsong pack beta who was equally as bad as their father? That does not sound like the shifter that you are trying to portray, Porter. As Lykos said, if you have something you wish to share with this council, spit it out or hold your piece and let us move on.” Cinder’s tone tells me she will brook nofurther nonsense and by the look on Porter’s face, he has got the memo.
Sitting quietly, he gives no answer and we carry on with our meeting, gratefully uninterrupted. Cinder, I have to say, looking a little smug.
“The idea of forming an alliance seems to me to be completely out of character for Arric. Something that Falan said, perhaps flippantly, but it has struck a chord with me. He mentioned how transparent Arric was and that unless he had a general amongst his warriors, wouldn’t be successful.” I look around the room and only Lykos meets my gaze.
“Flint. You think perhaps someone else is pulling puppet Arric’s strings from the wings! That would put a whole new spin on everything. Excuse me for a few moments, I have a call to make.” Lykos quickly leaves the room and we all wonder what has struck a chord with him.
“While Lykos makes his call, let’s adjourn for a quick lunch. I’ll bring something back with us so he can eat, too.” This whole mess seems to be a bigger web of intrigue every time we think we have a handle on things.
Lykos joins us in the dining hall and looks a little deflated from his earlier burst of energy.
