Nathan’s POV
Council Member Fredrick is due to arrive today. I plan on making his life difficult for the duration of his time here.
“It’s disgusting what they are forcing Kris to do. It’s just wrong. Now they are sending someone to make sure she follows their stupid rules.” I ranted at Emily again. No doubt she is sick of hearing me going on about it. Despite everything, she just hands me a cupcake and kisses me. “Best mate ever,” I tell her just before I shove the cupcake in my mouth. Making her smile.
I have been mind linked that the Council Member is the pack. “I have organized somewhere to stay for him,” Rylee tells me. “He’s going to be here a while and Kris won’t want him breathing down her neck.”
“I hope it’s somewhere grubby,” I responded, still unhappy that he would be here watching my sister for over two years, reporting her movements back to the Wolf Council.
Rylee snickers. “I have put him in that house next to the school. All those kid's day in and day out. He won’t get any peace.”
Is he serious? “That means he won’t want to be at home much. He will come here.”
I shook my head at my best friend and then laughed. “You’re so dumb sometimes. Is there anywhere else we can put him?”
“Not at such short notice. We can tell him it’s temporary,” Rylee answers.
I was about to say something to him when a bright yellow car pulled up in front of us. I snickered. “Not something I would be seen dead driving.” I mind link Rylee. Who agrees with me?
A young man opens the door and climbs out. He can’t be older than 25. “Hi,” he says, smiling at us. As he walks towards us both, he holds out his hand. “I’m Freddie.” I take his hand and shake it. Obviously, the son of the Council Member. He seems pleasant enough. “How was the journey?” Rylee asks him.
“Painfully long. But I got to put some serious miles on these tires. Makes a change. She’s usually stuck doing small runs,” he responds, still smiling.
Freddie looks at the pack house and whistles. “Nice place. Better than the crappy place they make me stay in back home. Want to show me around?” Freddie asked.
“I’m sorry. Should we not wait for your dad?” I asked Freddie.
“Dad?” He looked confused.
“You know the Council Member.” Freddie snickers. “That would be me.” I’m shocked. I always thought Council Members were old grumpy men who wear suits to work and take life too seriously. But Freddie is the total opposite. He’s young, trendy and friendly.
“Don’t worry. I get it a lot. My dad was a member of the Wolf Council. I became the successor to his position when he was killed. Truthfully, it bores the hell out of me, totally not what I want to do. But a job is a job, and it comes with a roof over my head. It’s not like I have anywhere else to go, so I stay and go on whatever crappy assignments they send me on.” I look at Rylee, who has the same facial expression that I do. Shock. “Anyway, what did your pack do to piss them off?” Freddie laughed.
I don’t know what to say. I still can’t believe he is a Council Member, nor is he acting like one. Maybe him being here won’t be as bad as I expected it to be.
We took Freddie inside and introduced him to Kris. He has a beaming smile. “Wow, you’re hot,” he says inappropriately to Kris. “Hey, that’s my sister and my Alpha.”
“Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting someone so attractive to be the Alpha.” Freddie says, still looking at Kris. He is a charmer. I will watch out for that.
We all sat down, and I explained the situation in full to him. “It is worth mentioning that Kris intends to leave the pack to find her mate,” I told him.
Freddie looks between me and Kris. “How did you two turn out so great when your dad was so awful?” Rylee snickered. “Clayton has always been a knob,” Freddie said. It made me and Kris laugh. “Even my dad said he was a knob! But he is one to be cautious of.”
“Can you help me?” Kris asked Freddie.
Freddie rubs the back of his neck. “The thing is, I have to send a daily picture of Kris to Clayton. It has to contain something with the date on it. A newspaper. Attendance at a meeting. Something basic. It has to be accompanied by a quick report of her whereabouts. He really hates the idea of you being in charge, Kris.” Kris sighs. “But I am sure we can bend the rules a little. If you know what I mean,” he says, smiling.
“No. Tell me, what do you mean?” I asked him.
“I may be about to fudge some information to give you an extra day here and there. But I honestly can’t lie.”
“You know what, Freddie? You’re alright. I wouldn’t ask you to lie. I can tell it’s not in your nature.” Kris says cheerily to him. “Thanks. You’re alright too. I mean, you’re alright.” He says, checking her out again.“Inappropriate Freddie.” Rylee snaps at him. “Sorry, I don’t meet many people at the jobs they send me on. I will do better, I promise.” He takes a breath. “Do you have somewhere for me to stay?”
“Er. I have somewhere temporary for you to stay,” Rylee says. “It’s next to the school, though. I will find you somewhere better tomorrow.”
“Seriously,” Freddie says, staring at Rylee. “That would be perfect. I love working with kids, their minds are like sponges. I just never had the opportunity. Are there any vacancies in the school?”
“Maybe. But you will have to build up to teaching the kids. Start small.” Kris tells Freddie. “My assignment is for a minimum of two years. I will do anything. Please give me a chance.” He states, clasping his hands together in a prayerful gesture.
“I will speak to the principal,” Kris tells Freddie. Rylee takes him to his new home. She looks at me. “He’s not as bad as Clayton. Not even close.” I said to her.
“Nope, and if he will help me a little. I will help him. I know they need a kitchen assistant at the school. He can start there.” She laughs. “A Council Member working in the school kitchen. Who would have thought it?” I said to my sister.
“I can’t imagine Clayton helping anyone. Just goes to show how different the generations are.” She says. “It does get me thinking about how Council Members are replaced and why they are set in their ways.”
“Similar to pack Alpha’s, I guess,” she says. Looking like she is thinking about something. I didn’t ask, as she started writing something down and I didn’t want to interrupt her train of thought. I will ask her later.
Kris’s POV “It’s still dark outside.” Lacie protests as we walk inside the pack house gym. “What do you expect, it’s 5 am?” Rylee says, laughing at her. The way she looks at him could curdle milk. Freddie recommended we take a picture of me holding a Sunday newspaper. He would send it to the Wolf Council later on that day. Then, on Monday, he would submit a report informing the Wolf Council that I had left that day. Effectively, I gain an extra day if he does it this way. “I know it’s early. But if we take a picture in an artificially lit room, Council Member Clayton won’t know what time of day it is.” Freddie answered her. “Now all of you start running. I need you to all make it look like you have been here for hours.” Erin, Lacie, and Isabelle. Start jogging on a treadmill. “Get that speed up. You need to be sweating.” Rylee barks at them as he takes off his top. “He is taking this way too seriously,” Isabelle says, loud and snappy. “No, he underst
Rylee’s POV The visit to the Northern Valley Pack was a good start. It may have been a waste of time from Kris’s perspective. But from mine, we made an ally. Neither Alpha Steel nor Beta Dwight had done that in years. They always felt that others should come to them. Seek their support. They weren’t the best leaders. Finding a suitable mate for Kris is the primary goal. But if we don’t find one on this trip, then there is the next one. The trips might not be a complete waste if we find some allies along the way. It wasn’t far to the next pack, maybe a four-hour drive. We did the bulk of the driving on Sunday. It’s not that I have to drive, but all the girls driving scares the crap out of me. When I let Kris drive yesterday, it was because my brain was frazzled. As we waited at the border of the Mountain Crescent Pack. You could tell we were being sheltered from the icy winds. The thermometer in the car hadn’t changed. But it was at least bearable.
Kris’s POV I looked out of the window as we drove towards the Green Trees Pack. “Rylee. Am I doing the right thing?” “What are you talking about?” He asked. “Trying to find a mate. Am I doing the right thing?” “Shut up. Kris. Don’t you dare doubt yourself?” Lacie said before Rylee had time to answer me. “You are trying to find a mate to please the Wolf Council. Is it wrong that they are forcing you to do this? Yes. But don’t you dare doubt yourself.” “River Valley is your pack and our home. You are doing whatever you can to protect everyone. Why should you settle for a loser mate? Not a chance. We are here to help and support you with whatever crazy ideas you come up with.” Isabelle tells me. Erin laughs. “Personally, I can’t wait for you to take down that dammed Wolf Council. Make them realize that a woman is more than who she is mated to.” “They’re right Kris. All of them. It really sucks that you have to do this. But along this journey, you
Kris’s POV “Your home earlier than expected,” Nathan shouted as we walked through the door of the pack house, dumping our bags in the foyer. He was sitting in the dining room with Freddie. “Things didn’t work out as well as planned.” Dillon walked down the stairs, staring at me. He looked confused as he reviewed some papers. “Dillon, we need more information on the packs before we go next time.” Isabelle pointed out. “At least the fair was fun,” Lacie said, laughing. Rylee then tells Dillon, Nathan, and Freddie about what happened. The looks on their faces. “So, you had one Alpha offering you an alliance. In the other pack, you had a pair of brothers fighting over you. Like cavemen,” Nathan said, laughing. “It wasn’t even Kris, it was Isabelle acting as a decoy. They were pathetic.” “I am surprised they didn’t drag Isabelle away by her hair!” Erin says, joking. Everyone laughs. “Maybe they would have done it if the rest of us hadn’t been there.” I couldn’t he
Kris’s POV It was mine and Nathan’s 19th birthday. Thankfully, Council Member Clayton hadn’t arrived yet. We both expected him to turn up today. No doubt he would do it on purpose to ruin our celebration. The pack helped us celebrate. Emily baked us our own separate birthday cakes. Nathan’s was chocolate and mine was red velvet. Oh, how I love a red velvet cake with plenty of frosting. Overall, the day was amazing, and I was so happy. As per usual. Nathan and I met at the dining room table to exchange our homemade gifts. We both agreed years ago we would give each other something personal. Something that reminded us of our bond. An item, a picture. Just something from the past year that reminded us we had each other, and we were not to spend a cent on it. This year, I framed a picture of us that Rylee had taken. Nathan and I were laughing as we stood in front of a barbecue. It was an incredible day that ended with us going on a midnight run with the pac
Council Member Clayton’s POV It was nearing midnight when I received a voicemail from Fredrick informing me of the rogue attack at the River Valley Pack. I hate rogues. This time, they might have done me a favor, though. There is no way Kristen Steel could handle a rogue attack. She is not capable of leading a pack. Nor is she physically capable of leading a wolf pack to victory against a rogue attack. I bet she hid behind her brother or Beta. No doubt there were countless deaths and everyone in the pack now sees how pathetic and weak she really is. “Zackary, I am leaving. Do you want to come with me?” I called out to my son. “Where are you going, dad?” He asks me as he walks out of his bedroom. I had clearly just woken him up, judging by his disheveled appearance. “River valley pack. I shouldn’t miss out on this opportunity.” “No, thanks, Dad. I have an assessment at the training camp tomorrow night. There is no chance I will be back in time.” H
Dillon’s POV Council Member Clayton has been here for over a week now. Kris hasn’t been able to leave the pack on trips because of his presence. He has been checking pack member’s files every day. Ensuring our records were up-to-date. He is so anal. There was a ‘t’ that wasn’t crossed in one file. He complained it looked like an ‘l’, which could have consequences for that pack member. “We are looking at making it digital soon. It will be ready next time you visit Council Member Clayton.” I informed him. “There won’t be any extensive issues like that in the future. I hope you are computer-literate.” I said snidely to him. The look on his face told me he wasn’t. He doesn’t help himself by being an ass. Council Member Clayton has been checking our schedules, ensuring we are dedicating enough time to our senior duties. He’s been scrutinizing any changes Kris has introduced since her father’s death. Dictating to her how she should run her pack. I have never seen a wom
Kris’s POV It was weeks before we got to leave the River Valley Pack again. But finally, once everything was in order, we were all packed into the SUV and on our way. I felt a bit nervous when we left. Like I had forgotten something. Dillon was sending us south this time. On our last trip, we traveled to the farthest point north and made scheduled stops on the journey back. This time Dillon wanted us to stop off at packs on our way to the Southern Sands Pack. Then a couple along the way back. Our first stop was the Green Meadow Pack. Green Meadow Pack is only a few hours away from the River Valley Pack. They have been our allies for decades. During our teenage years, they often held the Alpha Meetings at Green Meadow Pack. Nathan and I would sneak out of the pack house at night with Aaron, the Alpha’s son. We would get up to all sorts of mischief. We used to place bets on who would be caught first. As we pulled up to the gates of the Green Meadow Pack,