three packs. This rather large decision needs to be made before we can start planning our march against Cleo.
I shower and dress, choosing a clean pair of Amora’s khaki pants and a tank top that’s a little nicer than the rest. I still feel like I need to impress the packs. At least, I feel like I need to show them that I’m a supportive mate to the alphas, and part of that is to put my best face forward.
The lawn beside the East Pack meeting house is covered in shifters by the time Dare and I join the others at the head of the crowd. We slide into place behind Ridge, Trystan, and Archer, close enough to make it clear we’re with them, but with enough space to show that we have deference for the alphas of the three packs like everyone else in attendance. There are so many nuances to being part of a wolf pack that I feel like I’ll spend the rest of my life learning them.
Archer holds up his hands to get the crowd’s attention, and the chatter slowly dies down. “Thank you for coming on such short notice to meet with us tonight. We’ve given you a few days to think about what we discussed in our last meeting, and now we’d like to open the floor to each pack regarding their thoughts on the matter. My pack will get us started. Patrice?”
One of the robed elders sitting in folding chairs at the front of the crowd stands and steps up onto the makeshift stage to join us. She shakes Archer’s hand, and then surprises everybody when she turns to offer her hand to Ridge and Trystan too. She’s middle-aged with a stern, hard face and a spray of gray in her blonde hair. But none of the apparent sternness is audible in her voice as she speaks.
“Greetings, everyone. I’m honored to stand before you as the emissary for the East Pack,” she says with a sincere smile. “Our people have met multiple times over these past two days, and the answer for us has remained the same since day one. We are ready to merge with our sisters and brothers of the West and North Packs. We believe in the idea that we shall be stronger together, and it would be an honor to welcome all of you into our lives for good.”
Her final sentence is met with a round of applause, and Archer beams at her as she turns to walk off the stage. She gives him a nod before returning to her seat.
Ridge steps to the edge of the stage. “I’d like to call upon Elder Jihoon of the North Pack to give his report.”
I watch the wizened old man stand and then stroll up to the stage, where Ridge gives him a hand up. I feel a kind of affection for him, since he was the one who told me I had a wolf inside me. He’s an eccentric old man, but I like him. Heck, maybe I like him because he’s eccentric.
“My dear friends,” he starts in his raspy voice. “I stand before you to say the North Pack has voted unanimously to merge. We see a prosperous future for all of us in this venture. I am personally excited to see where this next era takes us.” The old man nods respectfully to the entire crowd before leaving the stage.
I can’t see Trystan’s face from my vantage point, but I can sense the hum of anxiety coming from him. Despite how easily he was able to convince his inner circle to begin his grassroots efforts among the West Pack, he’s nervous. I assumed they gave him their answers prior to the meeting, but apparently not.
“Gloria, if you please?” he says.
I recognize the white-haired, blue-eyed grandmother from the meeting the day Trystan walked away from his dad. She dips her chin respectfully as she shakes Trystan’s hand, probably able to sense his worry too.
Then Gloria turns to the crowd and holds her arms out as if to hug them all. “Friends and family members! I’m pleased and proud to be the voice of the West Pack today, because it’s turning out to be a momentous occasion. A day that will go down in our history as the day three packs became one.” She glances over her shoulder at Trystan and smiles, then addresses the crowd once more. “The West Pack has unanimously decided to join with the North and