Chapter 13: Chapter Thirteen

Della was exhausted. So many nights of troubled sleep plagued by memories of Leo, combined with throwing herself into work and her duties to prepare for the next meeting of the Council of Witches, had finally caught up with her. In a way, it might be a blessing, if collapsing into bed the minute she got home meant she might finally be able to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time without Leo invading her mind.

This time, she got a full couple of hours—more than she was averaging in an entire night most nights if she was being honest with herself—before she woke up. This time, though, it wasn't memories of Leo's hands stroking over her fevered flesh that brought her to the surface, but rather her ringing phone. She'd neglected to take it out of her pocket before lying down on the bed, fully clothed, and passing out.

It was Petra. Della groggily picked up the call. "Hello?"

"Della." The werewolf sounded frantic. "I'm sorry, I know it's late, but I need your help."

"What's wrong?" Della asked, immediately wide awake.

"You know how I was telling you my pack and Blue Crescent haven't been on great terms the past few years?"

"Yes," Della said hesitantly.

"There are wolves lining up along their side of the border between our territories. A hundred of them, at least. Della, I think they're going to invade."

"Invade?" Della repeated, disbelieving. "Surely, that's not legal."

"I told you," Petra said, "werewolves stick to the old ways. And this is very, very old. There hasn't been a true invasion in centuries. But back before there was a city here, how do you think Blue Crescent territory got to be so big? They conquered the territories of smaller packs, and Della—I think we're next on the list."

"What do you need me to do?" Della asked, already looking for the shoes she'd kicked off upon her arrival home.

"Anyone who might be willing to come and stand with us, anyone you can think of, please call them in. We can't stand against Blue Crescent otherwise, and if we look like easy pickings, I don't think they'll bother trying to negotiate. I think they'll just attack."

"I'll make some calls," Della promised, running through a list of witches in her head who might be willing to ally themselves with the Apex River pack. "Where are we meeting?"

"Outside the apartment building on Brook Street, where the territory border runs. You'll know it when you see it. Plus, there's a huge crowd of werewolves here. You can't miss us."

"I'll see you soon," Della promised as she grabbed her car keys.

***

Petra was right; the crowd of werewolves outside the apartment building was unmissable. So was the air of menace emanating from the significantly larger pack on the other side of the four-lane road. Surely, there were hundreds of wolves on the Blue Crescent side, and on the Apex River side… well, significantly fewer. There was a rumbling of chatter on both sides when Della joined the Apex River group, but Petra quickly found her and wrapped her in a hug. "Thank you so much for coming."

"Of course," Della said. "And I was able to call in another nine or ten witches. They should be here soon."

Petra looked like she might cry. "Della, I can't tell you how much this means to us."

"But, Petra…" She gestured at the crowd on the other side of the street. "Will it be enough?"

"It's a statement that we have allies," came a voice from behind them. Della turned to see a dark-haired man with the single wildest beard she had ever seen.

Petra stood back. "Delphinia Greenbranch, this is Alpha Simon Bennett of the Apex River pack."

"We are indebted to you, Delphinia," the Alpha said. "Apex River will not forget this."

"Just Della is fine," she said, extending a hand with what she hoped was a convincing smile. "And when I heard that this was what Blue Crescent were planning, I couldn't not come and help."

"They haven't made any aggressive moves yet," the Alpha said, with the air of someone admitting to a flaw.

"Except send a massive pack of wolves to gather on your border," Della pointed out. "I'd say that's a pretty clear threat."

Simon inclined his head. "I'm glad that's clear to more than just us. You see why we need to respond to this show of strength with an indication that an attack on Apex River is going to affect their pack's relationships with more than just us. Your presence, and that of any others you were able to rouse, is more powerful than you might think."

"Do you think they'll really attack?" Della asked, looking between Simon and Petra.

The two werewolves exchanged glances, and then Petra shrugged. "Maybe," she said. "No one can really predict what their Alpha is going to do. But if they do, it'll be a clear act of war."

"I won't put the wolves of this pack in jeopardy," Simon said quietly. "If they launch an attach we can't repel, I'll surrender to their son-of-a-bitch Alpha. I won't let my people get hurt when I could save them by giving in."

"There are more witches coming," Della said. "Powerful ones. You don't have to think like that."

"I'm the Alpha," Simon said without preamble. "I always have to think about what the best and safest thing for my pack will be."

"You don't have to give up," Della said, hearing the note of desperation in her voice. "We can fight with you. Together, we'll be enough."

"We shall see, Delphinia," Simon said, turning away. The weight of his duty to his pack showed in his slumped posture and dark expression. Della's heart went out to him, and her disgust with the Blue Crescent Alpha only grew.

The other witches arrived one by one, joining the Apex River Pack still collecting on their side of the street as the Blue Crescent wolves waited in near silence. A rumble of mutterings rolled through the Blue Crescent Pack each time another witch joined the Apex River contingent. Good, Della thought. Be worried. Be intimidated. Fear our power.

Clearly, they feared them at least a little bit. Because after the tenth witch arrived, one of the threatening Blue Crescent werewolves strode to the line demarcating the middle of the empty street, two others behind him like a security detail. In response, Simon and two of his own wolves went forwards to meet them. Clearly, everyone was being careful not to cross the centre line that must have indicated the shared border of their territories. This meant that they were standing at least six feet apart, and their projected voices meant Della could hear every word they exchanged.

"Would you like to explain what the hell is going on here?" Simon asked.

"Our esteemed Alpha, James Norfolk, sends his greetings," said the other wolf, with the air of one repeating a memories phrase. "Under the ancient laws of our people, he requests that you surrender your territory, your position as Alpha and the sovereignty of the Apex River Pack to the rule of the Blue Crescent Pack."

"You can tell your esteemed Alpha he can suck my—" one of the wolves behind Simon snarled, but his own Alpha silenced him with a look.

"And if I don't?" Simon asked.

The wolf on the other side gestured widely to indicate the members of his pack arrayed behind him. "Our pack is easily twice the size of yours. This is far from a full contingent of those of us trained to fight. If you really want to watch as your own pack is beaten into the ground, well." His eyes flashed silver so brightly, even Della could see it from where she stood, and his savage grin showed that his canines had elongated into fangs. "We're more than happy to turn this street into a bloodbath. It's been ages since I had a good fight. I can drag you before James by your shredded skin if that's what you'd prefer," he added. "But I thought an Alpha with such a reputation for being reasonable might consider putting the lives of his pack first in this kind of situation."

"I doubt you have any idea what a responsible Alpha would do in this situation, seeing as you have no real experience with one," Simon said, so calmly it took a minute for the insult to sink in. When it did, both the backup wolves on the Blue Crescent side of the street stepped forward, growling. The two behind Simon moved closer to their Alpha, who stayed them with a raised hand. The whole time, the Blue Crescent spokesperson remained unmoved, a faint smile on his face.

"You have an hour to consider your response," he told Simon. "After that, we will consider this territory ceded to Blue Crescent and will cross the border at will. Any resistance will be dealt with as an act of internal terrorism." He turned on his heel and walked back to his gathered packmates, and after a long moment, Simon did the same.

Petra was among those who rushed to their Alpha as he returned to the crowd of Apex River wolves. "You can't surrender to them," she said without preamble.

"What about the honor of our pack?" someone else asked.

"There are too many of them," Simon said. "I won't risk your lives in a fight we'll only lose."

"We have the witches!" another wolf cried out with a grateful look at Della's gathered brethren. "We could win!"

"And who are we willing to sacrifice for that?" Simon asked. "You, Zeke? Do I have to go to your wife tomorrow morning and tell her I let you die in a fight we have only the faintest hope of winning, for the sake of pride?"

"When you became our Alpha, you promised to do what was best for our pack," Petra said.

"What's best for our pack is to survive," Simon insisted, his voice strained. "No matter whether it's under a different name."

"That asshole Alpha of theirs won't let you stay in his pack," a tall blond man pointed out. "And with the shame of a surrender to your name, who else will accept you into theirs?"

"That's a price I'm willing to pay to keep you all alive," Simon said quietly.

"Alive and shamed," Petra said. "Alive and forced to bow to an Alpha who rules with violence and threats. Apex River might have a reputation for being reasonable, but we're not weak, Simon. I'd rather meet this threat fighting, with no promise of victory, than put our noses to their boots like a pack of shamed dogs. This isn't just about pride, it's about who we are."

There was a chorus of agreement from the other wolves.

"I'd rather go down fighting with my honor intact than bow to their tyrant Alpha," another wolf said. "Apex River to the end."

"To the end," several others echoed, then several more, until a wave of the words was moving through the crowd.

"You really all feel that way?" Simon asked.

An affirmative chorus sounded.

The Apex River Alpha took a long, deep breath. "Then I guess we tell them to go fuck themselves," he said simply. "Apex River to the end."

Della looked at the other witches gathered around her. Most wore the same expression of moderately intrigued shock that she could feel on her own face, but there was some horror mixed in there as well.

"Is this really how werewolves do things?" one of the witches Della knew from the council asked. "No, I don't know, committees? No reasonable discussions between parties? They're just this aggressive about territory disputes and solve it all with violence?"

"This isn't a territory dispute," Della said. "It's an invasion. And from what they're saying, I think it's an unheard of thing to do in modern times. The territory lines have been set for as long as Mystic City has existed. The Blue Crescent Alpha is an asshole, though, and it sounds like he's made this archaic decision to expand the territory he rules over."

"Are they really planning on killing each other over this?" one of the warlocks from Della's coven asked.

"I don't know if it'll go that far, or if they'll just injure each other," Della said. "If you want to leave, Wes, no one will judge you."

"I'm not good with violence," Wes admitted, looking pale. "I can't even watch action movies without feeling sick."

"I'll see you at the coffee shop on Monday and tell you what happened," Della assured him kindly.

"Are you sure you won't get hurt?" Wes asked. "They won't attack you?"

"And risk starting a war with every coven in the city?" Della asked, putting more certainty in her voice than she felt. "They wouldn't dare."

In the end, five of the witches Della had called in stayed. Vivian and Lucille, twins with whom Della had gone to school, Troy and Normandy, who Della knew from the council, and Adele, a family friend who brought Della cookies every time she baked. Not the most overwhelming alliance, but enough to make a dent in this attacking wolf pack. She hoped.

Della found Simon in the middle of a group of werewolves, outlining battle plans. She quietly joined the group, considering the strategy they were putting together.

"Where do you want the witches?" she asked when conversation lapsed.

"You're staying?" Simon asked in surprise. "When some of them left, we thought—"

"You have six of us," Della said firmly, refusing to apologize for those who had departed. "Viv and Lucy will do best if they're placed together. Adele is strong but doesn't have much stamina. She'll need backup beyond the initial clash. Normandy is best with elemental manipulation—fire, water, you know. Troy can manipulate emotions well. You'll want to put him somewhere a healthy dose of fear will do some damage to the attackers."

To his credit, Simon hardly missed a beat. "And you?"

Della shrugged. "Whatever you need me to do." Abandoning modesty, she added, "Someone tried to take my magic away once, and it just made me more powerful. And the Blue Crescent wolves can't hurt us in case it starts an all-out witch-werewolf war."

She could see Simon turning that information over in his head. "All right," he said eventually. "Here's what I'm thinking. We use the witches' power to force a bottleneck. Funnel their attack into where we're strongest. Place some of the pack along the line so if the magic breaks, we're still protected, but the bulk of our fighters stay in the centre. That way, we control the playing field. They might outnumber us, but that won't matter if they can only attack a few at a time."

Out of the corner of her eye, Della was aware of the Blue Crescent wolves arraying themselves along the territory border. Their hour was almost up.

It was nearly time.