Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Elijah

In the two and a half months since Lily’s arrival, Elijah had never felt more settled in his own home. Spring had warmed slowly into an early summer, the colours blooming around the endless evergreen.

He was beginning to feel as though his heart was as stalwart as the pines that surrounded him. It had stood strong through many struggles, but it had remained through all seasons. And, now, summer had returned – in more ways than one.

Ithia leant across the ornate desk, hands flat on the table. “So?”

Elijah grinned. “I think you mean, ‘So, Alpha?’”

“You’re becoming unbearable,” Caslein muttered.

“Yes,” said Ithia, examining her nails, “you are. And I hardly recognise you without that constant frown.”

“No, Ith.” Caslein elbowed her. “It wasn’t the frown that made him so recognisable. It was the serious eyes.”

Elijah sighed.

“Ah,” smiled Ithia. “There he is.”

Ithia’s hair spilled in loose curls down the back of the ugly, gilded chair she sat on. Summer sunlight caught the planes of both his Beta and Gamma’s faces, making them glow on one side and casting the other into fractured shadow.

“So?” Elijah repeated, drumming his fingers on the desk. “What did you wish to ask?”

It felt wrong, being in a meeting without Lily. She’d become integral to the Sea Pine pack; they’d needed another wolf to rely on as Red Ripper had become both more bold and more brutal. He'd walked her to the market square before following the winding path back to the pack house for this metting.

“So – where is Lily?”

“She’s the reason I called this meeting,” Elijah said, smoothing his brown hair over his ears. It had become increasingly difficult to hide his faelen side since living with his mate – but that was not the problem at hand.

“With Blood Moon struggling to stay fed, they are no longer a contender for taking down Red Ripper. I had hoped that Atticus’s ego would have pushed him to strike them down before they could do any real damage, but I have received word that they are no longer merely building their army – they are beginning to use it.”

“I can’t believe Bolton and Benest left Sea Pine for… well, for that,” Caslein interjected, his top lip curling in disgust.

Ithia huffed. “We’re better off without them. Continue, Alpha.”

Elijah settled back in his seat. A golden flower poked him in the side. “Red Ripper have procured a number of witches. They have been securing allies and taking wolves from their packs, all the while quietly working on their true aim: to make themselves stronger. Stronger than they were, and stronger than any other wolf in Eldda. Perhaps even stronger than any wolf in the world.”

“What does this have to do with Lily, though?” Caslein asked, threading his fingers together. His rings shone in the bright summer light, coloured glass and rough-hewn jewels glinting as he moved.

“Red Ripper have attacked three packs in the last month. They are not adhering to the code of conduct that has allowed werewolf packs to live harmoniously – well, somewhat harmoniously – since the Longest War.”

“They’re fighting between full moons?” Ithia sat up straight.

“They are. These are not quarrels they wish to settle, either. They are ploughing across Eldda, and offering an ultimatum: join them, or die.

“Blood Moon made up most of their reasons to take to the battlefield, but even they respected the proper conduct. They were… manageable. Red Ripper are not, and I fear it may fall to us to take them down.”

Suddenly, it seemed to click. “You want Lily to step up as Luna,” Ithia hummed, her face thoughtful.

Elijah smiled tightly. “Yes. We must present a united force, and all of us make each other stronger. We have lost only two wolves to Red Ripper thus far, but as they draw nearer more may flee, terrified of the consequences if they do not.

“A Luna ceremony will not only boost morale, linking us as one, but we will be a stronger force with a Luna added to the three of us.” Elijah looked away. “Without my parents, we do not have a Mother Luna. I think it is time Lily took her rightful position and then, together, we can challenge the Red Ripper pack.”

* * *

Elijah sat alone in the office for a while after Ithia and Caslein left. He mulled over his words and theirs, staring down at the twining leaves and flowers sprawling across the desk. Chewing at the inside of his cheeks, he considered what his father might have done in such a situation.

Red Ripper had caused wide-scale change to the system in a matter of months. And, though it was not progressive, good change, it was change nonetheless. Standing abruptly, Elijah moved to the window.

Should he have tried harder? He flexed his fingers, watching as fire sparked in his palm. It licked his wrist, and moved with him as he tilted his hand back and forth. He had almost mastered his own powers since his trip to Entra, and as fear within his pack grew, he felt more and more as though he should use his powers for their sake. Red Ripper were using magic; why couldn’t he?

With a sigh, he moved back to his chair and sank into it heavily. He knew why. It was the same reason his parents had kept his mother’s elemental power a secret. The faelen were still feared within werewolf culture, and adding his secret to the already stirring unrest would only cause his pack to turn on him.

Then there was a knock on the door. “Alpha Elijah?”

“You may enter,” he said, shoving his hands beneath the desk as though they were still aflame. His heart raced as the door opened slowly.

“Alpha,” greeted the girl. She was young – just of shifting age – and he recognised her instantly as an Omega who had recently taken up a role within the pack house. Wide blue eyes watched him nervously as she stepped into the room.

“Hello, Nirmana,” he smiled, gesturing for her to take a seat. “How can I be of assistance?”

“I have something for you,” she said, hovering by the chair without sitting. She thrust a sealed envelope at him, and he scrambled to lift his hands above the desk. “It just arrived.” She tucked a lock of straying blonde hair behind her ear.

“Thank you, Nirmana.” Taking the letter, he tucked it into one of the many cubby holes lining the back of the desk. He recognised the seal, a curving moon cut through with a claw, and a jolt went through him. “Will that be all?”

“Yes – that’s everything.” She ducked her head.

“How are you finding your duties?”

“I am enjoying them, thank you, Alpha.”

“Very well.” He smiled, and was pleased to find that Nirmana met his gaze and smiled back. “You may go, if that is all.”

“It is.” She nodded, and flushed bright red. “Thank you, Alpha.”

“Thank you, Nirmana.”

He could hardly wait for her to close the door before he grabbed the envelope. Rather than hunting for his letter opener, he slid a finger beneath the Blood Moon pack’s seal and broke it.