Chapter 193 Ruling Side By Side

Chapter 193 Ruling Side By Side
Calix Pov

The evening council fire crackled inside the stone pit, sending a few orange sparks upward into the cool mountain air. Seventeen wolves sat in a wide circle on the cedar logs, their plates empty after the meal of dried deer meat and winter roots. I stood near the center post with my hands tucked behind my thick leather belt, watching the younger hunters clean their bone knives by the well. Maddie sat right next to my position on the high bench, her wool wrap parted to show her very large, round belly under her linen shirt.

"The northern wall needs four more cedar logs before the midnight frost hits the grass path, Calix," Rex reported and he pointed his thick index finger toward the logging gap trail. His old hunting jacket was clean now, and his pale face looked full and heavy after three months of proper meat rations. "Mark took the young tracking team to the creek bed an hour ago, but the wood is too heavy for the two pups to lift into the storage racks by themselves."

"I will take the pack horse to the timber line after the council vote ends, Rex," I responded and I shifted my boots on the gravel to ease the tension in my calves. My own chest laces felt tight against my skin, but my jaw muscles remained completely loose as I looked across the fire circle at our people. "The storage racks must be full before the moon reaches the highest peak tonight. We do not leave the north side open when the winter wind is blowing from the high ridge."

"The young ones are already waiting by the tool shed."

"Tell them to sharpen the small iron axes first."

"Understood," Rex replied.

Maddie leaned forward slightly, her palm resting flat over the center of her linen shirt where the baby had been kicking since the sun went down. The soft white glow had not returned to her skin during the daylight hours, but her golden eyes looked bright and steady in the firelight. The young female wolves from the morning training field were watching her movements from the back row, their own wooden spears resting quiet against their knees as they copied her straight posture.

"We need to approve the new salt house location before the snow covers the clearing," Maddie added and she raised her left hand to signal the older council members by the roasting pit.

"The old meat shed is too close to the creek bank, Maddie."

"The water will ruin the salt blocks when the spring ice melts," she explained.

"Put the logs on the dry ridge instead," Cara suggested from the back bench.

"The ridge is too far for the elder omegas to walk during a storm," I countered.

"We will build a covered gravel path from the main kitchen door," Maddie stated.

The older wolves nodded their heads together, their boots shifting in the dirt as they murmured their agreement with her plan. It was a good choice, and nobody argued because her voice carried the true balance of the valley line. We had ruled the clearing side by side through the entire season, making every small decision together without a single dispute rising between our shoulders. The younger generation watched us constantly, their small groups talking about the mate bond whenever we walked down the cabin trail together.

"The meeting is finished for the night," I announced and I waved my hand to dismiss the circle.

"Go help Mark with the timber horse, Alpha," Cara shouted back.

The council members stood up from the cedar seats and began walking toward their individual cabins, their boots making a heavy, rhythmic throb against the hard dirt paths. I stayed by the bench for a moment, waiting until the clearing grew completely quiet before I dropped down on the log right next to Maddie’s seat. I reached out and took her small hand, my big thumb rubbing the clear skin of her wrist where the old scars had completely faded away.

"Your frame is very warm tonight, Maddie," I muttered and I leaned my shoulder against her wool wrap.

"The baby is shifting toward the lower lace," she whispered and she pulled my hand down until my palm was pressed flat against the tight center of her stomach.

"Is the collarbone drawing the cold energy again?"

"No."

"The gold spear mark is quiet?"

"It is perfectly still, Calix," she assured.

A massive throb hit my palm from inside her linen shirt, so strong that it forced my fingers to move an inch sideways on the cloth. I kept my hand locked in place, my breath catching right in the middle of my throat as I looked up at the high ridge. The sky was completely clear of clouds now, and a massive, brilliant white full moon was rising right over the highest mountain peak, throwing a bright silver light across our cedar roof boards.

"The moon is full tonight," I noted.

"It is time," she whispered.

She caught her breath with a sharp, wet gasp that made her spine go completely straight against the log bench, her fingers squeezing my knuckles until my joints cracked. A sudden wave of intense heat rose from her skin, and my own chest bone gave a hard, sympathetic jump as I lifted her frame off the cedar block. I did not look back toward the timber line; I carried her straight through our heavy oak cabin door and laid her down on the green bedroom quilt.

"I will fetch the old female, Mara," I vowed and I turned toward the kitchen threshold.

"Do not stay long in the yard," she requested.

I ran across the gravel path to the elder cabin, my boots kicking up large pieces of frost as I pounded my fist against the wood panel. Mara opened the door instantly, her old wool hood already pinned over her shoulders and a bundle of dry lavender sticks locked between her thin fingers. She did not ask a single question; she walked past my shoulder with the quick, steady steps of an omega who had handled thirty births in the old valley days.

"Keep the fire burning hot in the outer room, Calix," Mara ordered as she stepped over our threshold.

"The pine logs are already piled by the stove," I reported.

I closed the oak door tight and sat down on the pine stool by the hearth, my hands gripping my knees as I listened to the quiet murmurs coming through the bedroom frame. The clearing outside was completely silent now, and the silver light from the full moon was pouring through our small window block, painting the floorboards with a bright white lane. My heart was hitting my ribs with a fast, heavy beat, but it carried no fear of Vespera or the old blood contract.