5. Strategy

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Gwen smiled as she stared at the photo of her standing next to a wolf Greg on the day of his first shift. 

He was twelve then. 

And what a magnificent wolf he was. White fur with specks of grey here and there. Amber eyes that reflected so much kindness. So much like their father. 

“You promise you are not going to die?” 

Gwen looked up from her phone and sat back in her chair. “You scared I might?” 

Greg sighed as he walked in, placing his favorite gadget on the couch across the room before walking over to her desk and sitting opposite her. 

“Someone is in the mood for a serious conversation.” She spun the chair side to side, smiling at her brother. 

“Let me come to battle with you,” He said. 

“Why?” She asked. 

“Because you are the only family I have known, and if something happens to you, I wouldn’t be able to go on knowing I didn’t even try to protect you.”  

“Wrong answer.” Gwen chuckled. 

He gave her a flat look. “Let me guess, the right answer has something to do with my duty to protect the pack.” 

“Bingo!” She hopped off the chair. “The pack comes first, Greg. The pack should always come first.” 

“To you, it probably should.” He shrugged. “But I am your brother, and your only family. To me, you matter more than anyone else.” 

Gwen sighed. 

After all, his words were music to her ears. 

But she wasn’t just his big sis Gwenny. She was Alpha Gwen. Alpha always came before Gwen. 

“It’s high time you changed that outlook, Greg.” She spoke as she walked around the desk and stopped by his side. He didn’t look up at her. “Your whole pack is your family. Just as much as I am. It is important to remember-”

“It’s not fair.” He cut her off. 

“What’s not?” 

“That you get cursed in exchange for the pack’s good.” He finally looked up, his forest green eyes - so much like his big sister’s - glistening with tears. 

How could Gwen not melt at the look on his face?

“Oh, my baby!” She threw her arms around him. 

“Eww… Gross! Get off of me, woman!” He groaned but he made no active effort to get her off of him. 

“I promise, I won’t die.” She murmured, kissing his hair. 

“And you are going to bring him to his knees?” He asked. 

She nodded. “Yeah, we are going to bring that asshole to his knees.” 

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“The Lupine mountains separate us from the Crescent Moon,” Matt spoke as he pointed at the model of the land. “Attacking from that side is extremely difficult because of the rough topography. Their two sides are coastal lines. We are not merpeople to attack from there.” 

Davin snorted. 

Reagan and Matt looked over at him with identical glares on their faces. But was Davin the least deterred by their temper? Absolutely not. He continued to munch on his muffin and listen to them yap about the takeover. 

“What is left is the east border that they share with the Red River Pack.” 

“They are our allies so they are willing to let us enter through that border” Reagan nodded.

“You mean hostages who have no choice but to do as they are told?” Davin mumbled even though he knew that the duo’s wolf-hearing would pick up his jab just fine. 

“You have a problem, Gamma Ames?” 

“I only have two problems in my life. Both are always in front of me but I can’t do anything about them.” Davin sighed dramatically. “Why? Are you going to annihilate them for me? I didn’t know you came with a self-destruct button.”

Reagan growled while Matt just breathed out to calm himself. 

Why was this Gamma so annoying? 

And why did he have to be so close to them that they could not beat him up like Reagan did with Sir Frederick?

“So Red River is ready to accommodate us if we require it.” Matt decided to just ignore Davin and go on. “We attack in three days. Do we camp there a day before?”

“No need,” Reagan said. 

“I am sorry but do you even hear yourself?” Davin spoke up again and this time, he meant business. He put down his muffin and walked over to where the model was.  

 “Crescent Moon probably has the most complex of all topographies in all of the North American packs. And their territory is vast. VAST. I get that you believe the Alpha to be weak but what about the rest of their warriors? Sir Frederick calls them neo-wolves for a reason. They are very skilled. Are we really going to take them lightly? If we lose, we don’t just lose the lives our own pack warriors but wolves of the Red River pack could also get hurt. That could jeopardize our alliance with them.” 

This time, Matt did not say anything because he too agreed with Gamma. 

The two wolves looked over at their Alpha who sat there, completely unbothered by what Davin had just said. 

“Who says there is going to be a fight?” Arrogance oozed through every letter of his words. 

“She is weak, I will give you that.” Davin was talking logically now. He knew that if he tried to assert that he was right, it would ryb the egoistic wolf the wrong way. “But if there is one thing I understood from the day you rejected her at the were-council meeting, it is that she is proud and she is stubborn. There is no way she is going to bow down in front of you without a fight, especially not when she has the advantage of being at her home base. Her home base which is a very complex territory that she and her wolves are absolutely familiar with.” 

Reagan gave it a thought for a few moments and then looked over at Matt. The Beta nodded in agreement. 

“Fine.” Reagan finally said. “We will set out tomorrow for Red River and we will familiarize with our potential battlefield.” 

Matt nodded. “I will let everyone know.” 

“And ask Frederick Gnome to be there.” The Alpha added. 

The two wolves looked on, confused. 

“Why?” raised the question. 

“I want him there when I take over that pack.” 

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