Chapter 69: Their Cursed

Calder

Cullen and I sat amongst the other Alphas as we listened to the debates on the various treaties and issues being brought forward. So far, we have made truly little input. I was waiting for the right opportunity. As I had thought, Zane was allowing Zeus to take the lead in conducting the Summit. So far, everything addressed had been menial and of no real consequence, but it wouldn’t be for long. There were a couple treaties coming up that Serenity Moon was planning on pulling out of and that is where we were going to get him. When I read through the proposals, I knew the real intention of Serenity Moon. I had agreed with their choice, knowing exactly why they were planning to pull away. Giving aid to failing packs that could not fix their problems after years of assistance was a fruitless endeavor.

But it was also a move that could make Serenity Moon look heartless as the unofficial leaders of our race. If I could pull this off, I could not only make Zeus appear as a poor leader but also potentially shift the power between Blue Moon and Serenity Moon.

“With that, we will close the floor for lunch. We will be dining in the banquet hall while the Lunas, mates and other guests dine on the lawn this afternoon. We will begin again promptly at 2 o’clock,” Zeus said, dismissing the room.

Cullen and I stood. “That was dreadfully boring,” he linked.

“Should get interesting after lunch,” I replied. We moved slowly with the rest of the group out of the stateroom used for business. My mind wandered to Remi. I wondered how she was doing. I knew it would be bad form to interrupt her just because I missed her. When I looked at Cullen, I knew he was debating the same thing. When he scowled, I was worried. “What?” I asked.

“Carson said he had to pull Remi outside earlier. Snowy Peaks’ Luna was sticking her nose where it didn’t belong,” he said. My eyebrows shot up.

“Jaime seems to have followed her here like we feared,” I said. Cullen gave me a grim nod. I was confident Remi could hold her own but that still didn’t mean that the whispers and looks wouldn’t affect her. If Carson had come to her rescue, then whatever was said had been pushing her boundaries.

“I want her,” he said.

“So do I,” I agreed. “But we know how this all works. If we go in there, she looks weak. She has to show them she is strong when she isn’t flanked by two Alphas.”

He sighed. He knew I was right. I was finding it incredibly difficult to concentrate today, my mind constantly straying to Remi. I thought I felt her panic for a moment earlier, but it had passed. I usually got distracted by thoughts of Remi during the day but knew I could get my hands on her whenever I wanted. Keeping myself away from her was difficult.

Cullen and I took a seat in the dining hall. My assumptions were confirmed when I noticed Zane and Zeus coming towards us. I gave Cullen a look which he responded to with a passive nod. Our plan hinged on Serenity Moon upsetting the small packs that held treaties with them. If the second largest pack was in support of the first, there would be little room for argument on the matter. The smallest packs feared us while the moderate sized ones always needed our help or protection.

“Cader, Cullen, how are you this afternoon?” Zane said. He reminded me of my father some. He was a boisterous man and he always seemed to only be cursorily aware of things that he did not deem worthy of his attention.

“Fine,” I said in a civil tone.

“I must say, you look much happier when your mate is on your arm,” he said. “But who wouldn’t be?”

I gave him a shallow laugh. “No less happy; just concentrating on the business at hand.”

“Yes, yes. Very dull this morning but this afternoon should provide some more interesting discussions,” Zane said. A pair of wolves came by the table, bringing plates of food to each of us.

“Yes, some changes need to be made and I am afraid not everyone will be happy about them,” Zeus said in a measured tone. He was gauging Cullen and I for our reaction.

Usually, Cullen was the quiet and methodical one when it came to conversations like these leaving me to be the one to speak for us. “Yes. I think it is about time we saw some… changes amongst the hierarchy of the packs,” Cullen said in a cold tone. Something flashed in Zeus’s eyes.

“Yes, I think the larger packs have been far too lenient with the leadership of these small packs in the past years,” Zane said.

Before the conversation could continue, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to see Gentry calling. “If you would excuse us. Cullen and I need to take this,” I said standing up. Cullen set down his fork and stood as well, not even giving a nod to Zeus and his father. I could feel Zeus’s eyes on me as we both strolled out of the banquet hall.

“Yea,” I said.

“Calder,” Gentry acknowledged.

“Any luck?” I asked.

“No. Nothing. I am going to the Ordinary Realm to see if I can turn up anything there. But I had an idea about the curse and the ashes,” he said. Cullen and I stepped into an empty room off the hallway. I put Gentry on speakerphone.

“You have us both. Go,” I said.

“I don’t know if this is just a desperate attempt at getting around the inevitable but what if Remi didn’t have all the ashes to give the warlock anymore? What if she kept some? We could get her a locket or something that would hold a small amount,” Gentry suggested.

Cullen gave me a look. We had no idea that the ashes would work although Sammy was confident this would be the loophole needed. But would it still work if the warlock was not given all the ashes? “How do we know that it will still break the curse?” I asked.

“We don’t. Ideally I would have asked…” he trailed off for a minute.

“I understand,” I said.

He took a deep breath and continued. “Short of giving her a ceremony for her pup, I don’t know how else we can memorialize it for her. I thought if I could find a way she didn’t have to give everything up completely, it wouldn’t be so hard,” he said. Gentry sounded defeated. I looked at Cullen who seemed to be deep in thought.

“We appreciate the effort, Gen,” I said. “Maybe when we get back we can discuss it with Remi.” Cullen pulled out his phone and started typing quickly. I gave him a quizzical look, but he ignored me.

“How is Carson treating Remi?” he asked.

“Everything is fine so far,” I said, avoiding mention of Pip and Zeus. “We should go. The afternoon session should begin here shortly.”

“Right,” he said. “Let me know if anything comes up.”

“Hey Gentry,” I said before he hung up. “We’ll find her.” I got no response before the line went dead. His mate leaving was really affecting him. I had never seen him so down and sullen in our entire lives. I turned to Cullen. “Let’s go. We have a couple offers to make before things begin again,” I told him. He peeled his eyes away from his phone, tucking it into his jacket pocket. With a nod, we both headed out of the room to find our newest allies.

-

Cullen schooled his features as he watched the debate unfolding in front of us. After we finished speaking with Gentry, we sought out the Alphas of 6 very small packs that we already knew would be losing Serenity Moon’s support from treaties. The treaties were very one sided and offered no real benefit to Serenity Moon. The Alphas were already uneasy about the proceedings, but Cullen and I made our move. We told them if they would relinquish their titles and promise not to challenge us later, we would assimilate their pack lands with ours and offer them protection and growth.

They were resistant at first which we predicted. Cullen had eloquently explained to them what was going to occur once Serenity Moon pulled all of the support they currently offer each of these packs. They finally conceded but we had to make sure that Zeus was unaware of our plan. We instructed these Alphas to argue the point this afternoon when their treaty was brought forth. Zeus was making a power play as the soon to be Alpha of Serenity Moon but wasn’t expecting the move we were going to make.

As we expected when the heated discussions ended, Zeus denied the treaty on Serenity Moon’s behalf. An air of unease settled in the stateroom, especially amongst the smallest of the packs. The packs we had chosen for our plan would become part of Blue Moon tomorrow, unbeknownst to most everyone else in the room. It was a risky play but it would not only serve to cast Cullen and I in a more favorable light than Zeus, but it would change the dynamic of power. The addition of these 6 packs would make Blue Moon the largest pack in both population and land space. Pack mergers had been almost nonexistent for a century now since the rise of Serenity Moon and Blue Moon.

It was nearing the end of the day; it was almost time to get out of here and get our mate. “That concludes the final treaty on the agenda today. Before we conclude for the evening, is there any new business to be brought forward and added to the agenda for tomorrow?” Zeus called out across the room. I could tell he was uneasy by the timbre of his voice. He was trying to hold fast to his decision on the support of the small packs but knew he was facing judgement currently.

At first no one moved in the room. Just as Zeus was about to call things to a close, Cullen stood up, surprising everyone including me. “I move to make a change to the rules regarding interpack mating,” he said in a commanding tone. I couldn’t help the shocked look on my face. We had never discussed this. What was he doing? Zeus looked at Cullen curiously before he continued. “I move that we allow mated couples to choose which pack they will reside in instead of requiring the she-wolf to move to her mate’s pack.”

The room was shocked, and I immediately realized what this was. “We all know that our fated are not necessarily found within our own packs, especially those small in size and number. Our laws are based on the patriarchal assumption that our mates are akin to our property and thus should be given no consideration to leaving their own packs for ours. This is hindering the smaller packs of the Realm. Their populations suffer when their she-wolves are pulled from their packs in disproportionate numbers in order to follow their fated. I move that we allow each mated couple to decide which pack they wish to reside in,” Cullen said. The entire room was silent. Zeus held Cullen’s eyes with an intense look. With a satisfied smirk, Cullen took his seat again.

“You don’t actually care if that passes, do you?” I linked him.

“Nope. Doesn’t matter to me because after tomorrow, we will be the largest pack in the Realm,” he replied.

“You just wanted him to think Pip has other options,” I commented.

“You know me so well,” Cullen said. He sat there with a triumphant half-smile on his lips while Zeus moved to discuss the motion the following day. When he managed to get himself together, he dismissed the proceedings. Cullen and I left quickly but calmly.

Remi

“You did what?” I asked Pip incredulously. We were sitting in her room back in our suite. We left the activities a bit early. She was growing more nervous every moment she spent with Zeus’s mother and I sincerely needed a break from all the whisperings and sneaking looks. “That is why you two were late this morning?”

She bit her lip and nodded. “I thought you were being polite all day. You can’t smell it?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Should I have?” I asked.

“I mean, I don't know. You haven’t shifted yet right? Maybe that is why. Maybe you don’t have your full wolf senses,” she said.

“I really didn’t notice,” I told her.

“Let’s hope no one else did. If Cullen knew, he would probably strangle me,” she fretted.

“If Cullen knows what?” came a dark voice as the door pushed open. Both my mates stood in the doorway. My heart raced at seeing them. I knew Pip’s was too but for a far different reason.