Complications and Meetings

I groan when I wake up, my head pounding. "Fuck." I sit up, holding my head in my hands. I wince when I feel my left hand pull, looking down to see an IV in the back of it. "I passed out, isn't this a tad overkill," I mutter. "Not when you stopped breathing for a bit. When was the last time you actually slept or ate something," Ashton asks, stepping into my room.

I pause, thinking about it. "I ate some cashews last night." He grunts, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "You have to actually eat, Dawn. Snacking here and there isn't enough to keep your strength up," he scolds. I look down, sighing. "I'm just not hungry, Ash." He sighs softly, sitting on the foot of the hospital bed. "I know part of this is from your bupropion. But I also know some of it is from your own body image issues. I can't help if you refuse to help yourself," he says gently.

I wrap my arms around my midsection, squeezing my eyes shut. "Does he know?" My voice barely registers above a whisper. "The doctor told him you were likely stressed and just forgot." I nod, but don't say anything else. He gets up, digging into his jacket pocket and holding a slip of paper out to me. "This was attached to a tree on our border. I assume it's from Caspor." I nod, taking it and opening it.

Dawn,

I apologize for the change in behavior. I thought I could keep my wolf, Caesar, at bay. But as you saw, he isn't stable. I don't know what to call him because he is clearly not Feral. He focuses like any other wolf. But he isn't stable by any means. Please, don't be afraid to return. He won't hurt you, he was more worried about your companion he didn't recognize. When you come back, I will explain a few things to you.

The Ferals are evolving out here. Becoming smarter and more organized. Please be careful when you go out. They've attacked individual Rogues out here that have been on their way to your pack for asylum.

I feel the color leave my face at the last part. Rogues have been killed on their way here. How many? Whose mate were they? Whose sons, daughter, husbands or wives? Did they have people that are missing them? "The doctor said you should be good to go," Ashton says. I nod, handing him the paper and getting up. A nurse comes in, removing the tubes from me carefully. I get dressed, walking out of the room and going straight to my office.

With this new information, I call the other alphas, requesting they come to my territory to have an emergency meeting. Ismael, as I figured, never answered and never returned my call. The others, while some were weary, all ultimately agreed.

I order rooms to be prepared in the alpha house, expecting that this meeting would be it. The meeting to make a plan. Or at least I hope it will be. Training sessions are increased, patrols are scheduled closer together and in bigger groups. The guards in the towers have reported more frequent sightings of Ferals lumbering through the woods, but they never attack. Even our patrols have noticed them, but are never attacked.

The Ferals' behavior is changing. "What can I do, Snow," Vlad asks, barging into my office. I growl warningly. "You can leave my office." My tone is clipped and I pray for once he does as I ask. But nope, he plops down into the couch instead. I roll my eyes, but don't acknowledge him further. Instead I pick up my phone, dialing Mikael's number. He answers on the first ring, growling softly. "Hello?" I chuckle at the crankiness in his tone.

"Hey, Mikael, its Dawn. I was hoping you'd be able and willing to come a little early. I'd like to go over some of the information one on one between us two," I say. I hear a grunt. "Sure. I'll start heading that way." I nod before i remember something. "Bring guards. Ferals have been prowling our area more lately and i don't want to risk that they attack you." He hums softly and I can tell he's considering it. "Alright. I'll see you later." I give my thanks before hanging up.

I look up as Ashton comes in, his face pale as he meets my eyes. I furrow my eyebrows, standing up behind my desk. "Ash, what is it," I ask wearily. He swallows and takes a deep breath. "There's a problem on the eastern border." I sigh and wave a dismissive hand. "The patrols have all been told if it's a Rogue to bring them in and quarantine them. If it's a Feral, they know what to do." He shakes his head before I finish speaking. "It isn't either of those. It's a human. A human girl." I feel the blood drain from my face as my stomach twists like a freaking contortionist. "That's not possible. We keep to ourselves and keep out of the human's way. What the hell would a human be doing here?" My voice comes out sharper than intended, Ash wincing before he replies. "If I knew, I would tell you." I roll my eyes and squeeze them shut. My head snaps back up when an unfamiliar scent floods my nose, my eyes zeroing in on the petite girl that stands in the doorway, her bright blue eyes blazing. Ashton spins around, hissing when he notices her. He backs towards me, one hand on his the hilt of his sword. She looks between us, anger and fear swirling in her eyes. "How did you find us, child," I ask coolly. She focuses her gaze on me, watching my ever move as I step around Ashton. "It wasn't hard. You freaks aren't exactly discreet," she sneers. I roll my eyes as Ashton hisses behind me again. "Now I know that's a boldfaced lie. Because my wolves are all trained in discretion. Among other things."

She snorts and rolls her eyes. I frown, irritated. "Get her settled into a room. On the eastern side. I've got Blue Dawn's alpha on his way to discuss the situation," I order. He nods, gripping her upper arm. She tips it out of his hand though. "You can't keep me here," she snaps. "I can and until I can figure out what to do with you, I will. Now you can either be a good human and take the cushy room I'm offering or you can be taken to the cells." She glowers at me hatefully, crossing her arms. "And if I don't choose either?" Wynter growls at the challenge in her tone. "Then you'll be taken to the holding cells and executed when I have time. You're a human that's stumbled upon our pack. You're a potential threat and I'd sooner kill an innocent human than risk a dangerous one walking free."

She blanches at my words, her confidence wavering. "I'll take the room." I nod, dismissing  Ashton. "Oh and Ash, make sure to post guards outside her door and window. She's got fire and I would hate for her to jump and wander into the woods alone." Her eyes widen as I meet them, Ashton nodding before taking her away. "Did you have to threaten her? Liliana knows I'm a wolf," Vlad says irritably. I growl, looking at him and jabbing my finger in his direction. "I didn't hear that.  And unless you want her killed, you won't repeat it. Our laws demand the blood of any humans that find out about us. My pack has been nearly destroyed once by wolves. I won't allow a human to do it a second time."

He opens his mouth to argue, but I cut him off with a snarl. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you, Vlad. Really I'm not. Run along and find your mate." He growls but does as I ask. I sigh, fisting my hands in my hair in frustration. Because Ferals weren't enough, now I have to contend with a human girl with a chip on her shoulder. Oh the Joys of being an Alpha. Maybe so, but we're a damn good one, Wynter says. Ah the prodigal wolf does speak, I tease. She huffs indignantly. I have nothing to add to the conversations you've been having, she says smartly. I roll my eyes, leaving her be. Moody ass wolf. I heard that, she snaps. I roll my eyes. Of course you did. You're me, I retort. Yes. So what does that say about you? I growl when she makes a valid point.

I look up when my door opens and Bear walks in. He lifts me up, taking my place and sitting me on his lap. "What's wrong, love?" I sigh, burying my face against his neck. "I don't wanna Alpha anymore," I mumble. He chuckles deeply, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I'm sorry love. But you were born into it. And I doubt your grandparents would want you to quit." I huff, knowing he's right. We sit in silence for a couple of hours, neither of us needing or wanting to say anything, when Ashton comes in. "As sweet as this is, Dawn, Mikael is at the gate." My head snaps up, clipping Bear in the jaw as I do. He groans and i whimper, my hands fluttering uselessly over his fair skin. "Oh ginger snaps, I'm sorry baby," I say frantically. He chuckles, rubbing his jaw, and mumbles something about a hard head.

I chuckle, standing up after I kiss where my head hit him. I walk out the door, going downstairs to meet Mikael. His own guards stand around him, mine flanking them. "Mikael, thank you for coming. Would you mind discussing things in my office?" He nods wordlessly, following me back up the stairs. Ashton and Bear are already in the office waiting. I close the door, locking it behind us, before taking my seat and gesturing for him to take the one in front of me. He does so, his gangly arms resting the the armrests casually.

"Ashton and I went into No Man's land yesterday," I start. He raises an eyebrow. "That alone was a stupid idea," he says bluntly. I roll my eyes, ignoring his comment. "Anyway, we came across a rather interesting person. For the sake of his privacy I will not give a name, but he is a different breed of wolf. He isn't Rogue. Not like the ones we've seen. But he isn't Feral either. He's somewhere in between. He had control for a while, but then something triggered his wolf. He almost appeared and sounded Feral, but he focused on the chase. He specifically followed Ashton and I despite multiple scents that should have distracted a Feral wolf."

Mikael nods, stitching his eyebrows together. "I'm not sure if that's good or bad, to be honest. On one hand it implies that a Feral can be saved. On the other it could also mean they are capable of evolving into something much more dangerous. If we can save them, we can try to eliminate the issue. But if all they're doing is evolving they pose more of a threat than they did, say, twenty years ago." A shiver runs up my spine, causing my body to jolt, at the memories of the stories mema and papa used to tell me. "Is this what you called the other alphas for? To update them?" I nod, leaning forward. "They will all be here except Ismael. I wasn't able to reach him for whatever reason. Not that I'm grieving that absence." I roll my eyes as he chuckles.

"There is one more thing I intend to discuss with the others. A recent development. A human girl found her way onto my land today." He blanches, his eyes wide. "How? All of the packs are careful about humans. We haven't disturbed them in decades." I shrug. "I don't know, but I intend to find out. I just wanted to warn you." He nods before we settle into a calm silence. A knock on the door draws Ashton's attention and he opens it, revealing one of the Elites. "Alpha, the other alphas have arrived."

I nod, standing up and smile at Mikael. "Well, shall we get this party started?"