Chapter 203: Chapter 203

JAYDEN: And feel like she could be with just her friends without the constant bodyguard around if she didn’t want them. Don’t get me wrong here, if she were ever going into unknown territory, she would still have guards, no question. But to just go hang out, or go shopping, she could feel secure in doing that by herself. I just hope that Black Willow isn’t going to prove to be the threat that everybody is thinking they are. But if they do prove to be that threat, their ranked unit won’t last through the day! We walked out of the Packhouse and climbed into our SUV. But when we left the pack grounds, we had a firkin convoy of SUVs. I guess the council members don’t go anywhere without backup.

CAIDEN: Randy was driving. Leanna was next to him. Chi was sitting between Jayden and me. Father was in his own SUV with a driver, Benton, and Cory. Why the heck Cory was coming was a mystery to us. Vance stayed back, to take care of pack duties while we were on this mission. I still wasn’t crazy about Chi being with us on this mission, but she insisted. And I get it. I do, the need to confront the person or people who are causing you harm or fear, to take back your own sense of self, is huge. Especially for Chi. After everything we did to her. And I wouldn’t want to take that away from her. But I also don’t want her to backslide from any of this. It took us an hour to get to Black Willow. They had guards at the gate, which was normal for pretty much every Pack. But I noticed that there was a mix of older guards and younger guards. That in itself isn’t unusual, but the younger guards looked nervous, almost scared. In fact, I could smell the fear coming from a couple of younger ones. It set Axel on edge. “Are you noticing anything, brother ?” I asked him. “Yeah, some of the younger guards are scared. The fear is rolling off of them in waves. It’s got Steel on edge.” “Yeah, Axel is too.” I said. “Hey, you two need to chill, you would be scared shitless to if you had all these SUVs come rolling up to our gates.” Chi said. And in a way, she’s got a point. But I’m not convinced that it’s not something else. But I’m not about to let my guard down.

DERRIC: I was hoping that we didn’t have to announce ourselves so blatantly, but the council does things its own way. I know the boys are wondering why Cory is with us. I didn’t get a chance to tell them his part in today’s mission. Oh well, they’ll learn soon enough. As soon as the vehicles came to a stop, everybody waited for Emmery and Nash to make the first move. But once they did, we all got out of our vehicles as well. I went to stand behind Nash and Emmery. And Cory went to stand with the twins and Chiara. I wanted to get this show on the road and be done with it. But with the council involved, certain protocols have to be met first. So, I wait.

EMMERY: We pull up in front of Black Willow’s packhouse. I couldn’t help but notice some of the looks we got. And something felt off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I’ll just have to keep my eyes and ears open. “I am here to see your Alpha.” I call out to the pack in general. “Alpha Jeremy will be with you shortly.” One of the house omegas stated with a bowed head. “Thank you.” I answered back. And we waited. About 2-3 minutes later, a young man about the same age as Derric’s twins comes out of the Packhouse. “I am Alpha Jeremy. What can I do for you?” He asked. “Do you know who we are?” I asked him, pointing to myself and Nash. “No, sir, I do not know who you are.” “Then let me introduce us. I am council member Emmery, and this is council member Nash. This is Alpha Derric Silver, his twin sons Jayden and Caiden, along with their Luna Chiara Dawson of Pine Hill. We are here to do an evaluation and an assessment of Black Willow.” I tell him. Watching closely for any sign of him knowing anything about the Pine Hill incident. There was nothing. “May I inquire as to why we need to be evaluated and assessed?” He asked. “Sure. We are here to make sure you are not a threat to the wolfen society. And to make sure you are following the king’s laws as far as you are not forcing a breeding program here.” I tell him. I watch him closely as I tell him why we are here. “I understand. Please follow me to my office, and we can talk there.” He says as he ushers us through the house. I take note of how well the Packhouse is kept up. It’s clean, but not overstated. Which is a good start. We get to Alpha Jeremy’s office, and he ushers us in. “Please take a seat.” He says. An older gentleman is sitting in the office when we get there. He isn’t as old as Nash or myself, but a contemporary of maybe Derric. “Gentlemen, this is my head, Delta Nate. Nate, these are council members Emmery and Nash. And Alpha Derric Silver, his sons Caiden and Jayden, and their Luna Chiara Dawson from Pine Hill.” Jeremy made the introductions. I watched the man with a critical eye. I saw him stiffen slightly when Derric’s last name was stated. And again, when Chiara’s home Pack was mentioned. Interesting. But we’ll see how everything plays out. Nate shook hands with all of us. “If I may, council members, I would like to know how long you will be staying for, so that I may have my staff prepare rooms for you if needed.” Jeremy asked. “I hope that it will not come down to that.” I tell him. He nods. Then we get down to business, and I start the interview questions. All the while, Nate is watching and listening to everything like a hawk.

CORY: I’m with a couple of other guards from Silver Aspen. When a guy walks across the grounds to what looks to be barracks of some sort. The building wasn’t the important piece; it was the man himself. I remembered him from the attack. I clued Randy in on what I knew. So, he could let the others know. Yes, I know that I could link the Alpha, but I was still pretty new to the Pack, so it felt strange for me to be doing that quite yet. I watched as his eyes glazed over. So, I know he was passing on my information. I had to work hard to keep my cool here. Because I know that there are others here who were probably in on the massacre of my first Pack as well. I just kept my eyes open to see if there was anyone else that I might recognize.