LOGINShare
17. Pack Alliances
‘Seek out alliances; they are essential to growth and provide resistance to bigger competition.’ -Richard Branson
Killian
We arrived at the Dark Cove Pack right before dinner time. We rode up to the gates of the village at a slow pace, then pulled our horses to a stop. The gates were closed for the day but the guards were out on duty right outside.
“What business do you have?” one of the guards asked me.
“I’m Alpha Killian of the Nightshade Pack. I’m here to speak with Alpha Blair,” I told him.
I watched as the guard's eyes went dull to contact Alpha Blair and the gat
Related chapters
Ember 18. Heading Home
‘Still round the corner, there may wait, a new road or a secret gate.’ -J.R.R. TolkienKillianThe morning after getting the alliance with the Silver Dagger Pack, we had a large breakfast, then said farewell to Alpha Blair and Luna Isra. The five of us mounted up and left to start our journey back home. I’m not going to lie, when Ember called Nightshade home and talked about wanting to sleep in our bed again, it made me happy. I wanted her to know that she was always at home with me.Our first day on the road back home was quiet as we watched and listened while moving along. We needed to stay alert in unknown territory in case there was an ambush or anything. I was happy that we hadn’t encountered any trouble while traveling.&nb
Ember 19. I'm Watching
‘Watch your back, little wolf, they say. Enemies arise from unexpected places.’ -Marie Lu Commander Ulric I walked through the halls of the castle from my office to Soren’s study. I needed to see what our next course of action needed to be after letting our people rest for a while. I pulled two units of our army together to make a large one again. I only have four units to use now instead of five. That attack cost us a lot more than what he might be thinking and I needed to let him know that. I stepped up to the closed study door and lifted my fist to knock when I heard the sounds of a woman screaming loudly in pleasure from the closed-in space. I dropped my hand to my side and walked away. I would come back in a little while to ensure that he was finished with whomever he was with. I turned down the hall and went up a flight of stairs to go to the sitting room. I knew that’s where Lark was and I wanted to see her since I had time to waste. I stepped into the room throu
Ember 20. Sea Witch Coven
‘In the hearts of witches, love and hate lie close together and often tumble over each other.’ -George MacDonald Ember The next day, Killian and I wasted no time on the mission we had to accomplish. We had fresh horses saddled up and waiting for us in the stables. We climbed on our fresh mounts and rode towards the Sea Witch Coven. It was only a few hours away from the pack, so we would be there in no time. The ride there was quiet as Killian and I stayed alert for any trouble like we had on our last trip. Bastet slept in my lap the whole ride there. I could feel and hear him purring as he slept. I loved it when he purred. When we arrived at the gates to the Sea Witch Coven, we stopped and the guard looked us over. There was only one guard at the gates. They were at the very edge of the continent and the back of the coven faced the ocean off a cliff. There was only one way in and out of here unless you could fly. “Who are you and what business do you have?” the g
Ember 21. Fever
‘Love is a fever which marriage puts to bed and cures.' -Richard J. Needham Ember It was now time to fully focus on the harvest of the pack’s crops and what we would be taking to trade with the Mirror River Pack. What we weren’t taking on the trip, we were putting in the pack’s storage cellar. I learned that we gave out food once a week to pack members from the cellar and the packhouse kitchen used ingredients from it also. I had just finished looking over how much the harvest was to see how much we could spare as the months were about to grow colder. We would have a good amount of food to trade with the Mirror River Pack and still have plenty for ourselves. I left the cellar with Bastet and went into my office to write down numbers in the ledger. Once I had everything down, I stood up to go into Killian’s office to see what he was doing and if I could help him with anything. I sat in a chair in front of his desk and Bastet jumped up on his desk before lying down on a
Ember 22. Conversation
‘I thought about how there are two types of secrets: the kind you want to keep in, and the kind you don’t dare let out.’ -Ally Carter Ember I said nothing but just looked at him while we lay there naked together on our bed. I was terrified of what was about to happen. I looked away from him and up to the ceiling, trying to fight the emotions going through me. His hand left my stomach and came up to my face. He cupped my cheek and turned my head to face him once more. I didn't fight him, yet I was still terrified of what was to come. “I can feel through the bond just how scared you are. Why are you scared?” he asked me. “Because you know," I said with a waver in my voice. I tried to keep my voice as even as possible but I failed. I hated this feeling. No one knew my secret except for Bastet. Now Killian would know and there was no telling what he was about to do. “What do I know?” he asked with a calm voice. I said nothing. I couldn’t answer him. He seeme
Ember 23. Mirror River
‘They may fight with us, but they don’t fight for us.’ -Christopher Paolini Ember Almost a week later, we were packed up and ready to leave with the food supplies to trade with the Mirror River Pack. We would be trading corn and potatoes for steel and wool. The steel would be used to make weapons and other necessities the pack members needed. The wool would be used for clothing and blankets. Killian and I were mounted on our horses while two warriors drove the cart of food supplies. Kit, Otis and Cyrus were mounted on horses to accompany us yet again. Their company was a welcome sight again. It would take us two days of slow moving to get to the Mirror River Pack. Travel during the day was quiet as we all stayed alert for any signs of trouble. Bastet rode in my lap or in Killian’s. They were becoming really close and I loved that. Seeing this big man that could shift into a wolf, love and pet a small cat was sweet to watch. At the first stop of the trip, we pulled
Ember 24. Covens
Our alliance is born, not of fear, but of hope. It is an alliance that advances what we are for, as well as opposes what we are against.’ -John F. Kennedy Killian Ember and I got up early the next morning and dressed before breakfast with Kyler and Zila. We headed to the stables and got our horses to ride towards the Mirror River Coven. We rode slowly as we stayed alert for any possible problems along the way as always. You can never be too careful while moving between villages. After a short time, I wanted to talk. I was tired of the silence. I wanted to talk and I wanted to hear her thoughts. “When should we go to Scarlet Moon?” I asked boldly. I watched her reaction to the question. She didn’t seem bothered by it and was giving it a good amount of thought. She finally looked up at me and I could see the concern in her eyes. “I have concerns about how he will feel when he learns who I am to him, but we do need that alliance. I say we go a few days after w
Ember 25. Battleground
‘You just can’t beat the person that won't give up.’ -Babe Ruth Ember Over the next couple of days, Killian and I planned out what places we would go in search of our next alliances. We would be heading to Scarlet Moon next, followed by the Midnight Meadows Coven after that. From that coven, I wanted to acquire a chaos witch friend so we could speed up the alliance work by portaling to each place after that. I should have thought of this before and gotten help from High Priest Corbin while we were there. I agreed to swallow my fear and even approach the last three vampire clans. I'm sure they wanted an end to this too. I just felt creeped out because of the way the vampires that the Mystics used acted and fought. I had never seen a vamp
Latest chapter
