Chapter 68: Address

“Have any of you ever been around a Moonlight before?” I asked them. They looked at themselves, and then back at me. And said nothing.

“I’ll take that as a no, then What about the other upper-echelon packs? The GTrimmJaws and the Warheads, for example?” I asked. They looked at themselves again, and this time began muttering.

Catherina nudged me. “You’re supposed to be giving them a small briefing. What is this?” she asked.

“You’d find out if you stopped interrupting me every minute” I snarled. “Well?” I asked them. They returned looks of wonder to me. “Another no, then. Then, there Is something you should understand. These people, those packs, live in a different world from us. But that much is clear to you already. But do you know exactly how different? The guards of the Moonlights carry guns, laden with Silver bullets.” I started.

The eyes of the warriors widened even more.

“And it’s not a bluff. They will not hesitate to use it to fuck with you or test your mettle. Look here” I slacked down my blouse to expose my right shoulder, where Mira had shot me on the first day. It had healed quite alright, but there was still a reddish weal uncannily in the shape of a lightning bolt, sitting on my pale skin.

“I was a major witness to that. This was a normal bullet, of course, they weren’t trying to kill me. But imagine if they were? I wouldn’t have had even a second to flare out.” I said, covering back my shoulders.

“The members are even more dangerous than their weapons. I met a warrior who could keep his WereWolf for as long as the days could pass and only wore the human form to attend meetings. It was inconvenient to him”

My audience was transfixed, listening to my tale. Their eyes often oscillated between Wonder and Fright. Catherina on the other hand, had arched her eyebrows on seeing my gunshot wound. She folded her arms as I continued. Jeremiah was in surprise too, but he maintained a neat composure of keeping his hands behind his back.

“There are others. I met a woman who was an Alpha to her very own pack. I hear she is the first of that kind in the Canadian Hemisphere. Her name is-“

“Alpha Winter” finished one of the warriors. She was a female.

“You know of her?” I asked.

“There are stories of a female Alpha, or set of Alphas, led by a woman named Winter” finished the female warrior.

“Impossible!” cried another. “Those are just stories!”

“It is precisely thinking like that they use to enslave packs like us, keeping us in the dark. I met Alpha Winter. I have not heard the stories, but she is a ruthless woman. One of the more ruthless people I may have met If I do say so myself. And finally” I brandished my hand “ Not only are these personas deadly and dangerous, but they are equally exceptional at hiding in plain sight.

Ms Winter’s convoy is a fleet of Range Rovers. Another WereWolf by the name of Jarvus works on Wall Street as a conventional broker too. The leader of the Wargraves drives a G Wagon, and the Moonlights, have a major share in the city of Quebec.”

The might of the story was bearing down upon them, in contrast to the power of the Upper Echelon, were 7 of us, in the back of an old rotting house. It’s a good thing we weren’t heading to war, right?

Catherina nudged me. “Don’t you think it might’ve been a good idea to discuss all this with Harris?”

“We’ll be fine,” I replied.

“Our weapons are a few clubs and knives. And you’re saying the Moonlights could have actual guns? We need to rethink strategies.” “What? Are you scared?”

“Are you seriously asking me that? I’m concerned with the pack’s survival.”

“You still have that secret weapon, right? We should be fine” I replied heartily.

Was the weapon a bluff or not? Catherina definitely hissed irritably.

“Essentially, what I’m trying to say” I addressed my audience again “ Is that we are chill. We are always chill during this trip. There’s no need to get hostile. And start trouble. We’re outmanned, outgunned, and outsmarted, let’s face it. We’re walking into their territory. One wrong move, and we’d be fucked. Understood?” I asked. Perhaps I had successfully conveyed the ultimate terror of that world to them, because this time, I got a response in the form of very slow nods from all five of them.

“Alright” I started “As tradition commands, I must introduce myself to you. I am Naomi Holt, the leader of this delegation. Rank: Gamma. And you all are:”

One of them looked to Jeremiah, silently asking for permission. Jeremiah nodded. That wasn’t good. I was supposed to be the one with absolute power. “Coleman,” said the first warrior to the right. I nodded. “Mercado” said another. “Khoury,” said one tall warrior, approaching Alpha Harris’s height. He wore a light jacket tank top that showed off a variety of gnarly battle wounds and scars. “Thornhill,” said another with a serious tone.

“Garland,” said the female warrior. She was almost as sparsely dressed as Khoury, wearing a crop top vest and military green shorts. Her hair was cut short and not as long as flowing as the females working in the pantry. As for scars, one brushed her upper lip to land beneath her nose, and another huge gash snaked its way around her abdomen.

Her face, besides the scar on her lip, was fair and smooth as porcelain, but steely as the rest of them. I don’t know if it was her fighting spirit that was attractive, but I made a mental note that she was exceedingly beautiful.

“Alright” I began “Catherina will hand you your weapons. And we will begin preparations to head out.”

“Head out to where?” asked Catherina.

“Ontario” I replied without thinking, and then realized I had no actionable plans. They began muttering once more.

“Ontario. How the fuck are we meant to get to Ontario?” asked Catherina, undermining my authority, although I really couldn’t blame her. That was probably the extra thing Vincent didn’t get a chance to say. He would’ve bought us flight tickets, I’m sure.