Who Did This?

"I am so sorry, Luna! I had no idea Amber could even THINK to do something like this!" Joyce is beside herself and bowing repeatedly.

"Seriously, Joyce, it's still Brianna."

"I don't understand..."

"Let's start again. I am still Brianna, the person who worked for you for over ten years." I really am starting to lose my patience. I need answers, and the kids are talking nonsense. "I need Amber to tell me the names of all the people she invited to our community. Some of these kids are dead for attacking us. I, myself, have killed a few."

"I'm a rogue, Luna, and you're not going to kill me or Amber?" Joyce is in shock from everything that she has found out in the past five hours.

It seems that Joyce Borne was once known as Janice Walker, a Breeder from Colorado. After a year, she escaped, pregnant with Amber. She settled in Huntington, West Virginia and lied about her conception date, knowing that her pup would be full term in 5 to 6 months. She had no mate. She was named a Breeder after her first shift at 17 years.

She had a birth certificate from a friend of her old pack who was killed for not accepting a Breeder status. She had an ID made in the name of Joyce Borne a week after Joyce died. When she escaped, she left Colorado as a new person. She picked a direction and ran.

"Listen to me, Joyce. You are my friend. You're daughter has been deceived by someone who took advantage of her desire for a father figure. He is now dead. I need to know what other influences there are on her decision to attack my pack."

"I don't know, but I do have access to her computer and phone. She doesn't know I know her passwords, but this is why I do." Joyce goes to Amber's room and unlocks her computer and her media pages. "Oh. My. God!"

There were pictures of all the kids gathering and one picture with what looked like a strategy session. I saw the three that I had encountered in the north of the territory. They were speaking with the person who seemed to lead the strategy session and two others. The lead strategist I don't remember seeing. I did see the other two. He was dead and she was in the medical unit, badly injured.

"These would be invaluable, Joyce. Can you send me a link to them?"

....

Edward was anxious. He sent Leo with Natalie to the New River pack near Morehead, Kentucky and Kevin with Madison to the Ohio Tribe pack north of Caldwell, Ohio. Brianna had sent copies of the pictures from Amber's social media to their cellphones so they can ask about the participants. Edward had called the Alphas of each pack, asking if they had missing young members.

The Ohio Tribe Alpha was a long-time friend and the pack itself was long-seated. The Ohio Tribe pack even helped establish the Adhara Hill Pack before 1800. They taught us to hunt and defend ourselves in human form. We established a bond of packs beyond that of treaties and pacts. It was an understanding. Perhaps it was time to get closer. I would take this opportunity to propose training together, a student exchange program and a sharing of archives.

Stephen Trueblood wasn't pure Native American werewolf, but his tanned skin, warm dark brown eyes and midnight black hair was a tribute to his ancestors. His mate, Grace, was a Japanese dancer in California. She's petite with a fiery personality that balances his patience and calm demeanor.

The New River pack was just that, new. Only ten years in the area, I knew very little of Alpha Joseph Millhouse. He looked like a strong farmer. He was born in Indiana, his sister was the Alpha of the pack there. He is 6'7" and 270 lbs of solid brick. His blonde hair, blue eyes and quick smile belied the razor sharp mind and wit. No mere country boy here. Still, his love for and pride in his chosen pack of former rogues made him a solid leader.

He met his mate, Sheila, at a dance in Indiana. She was a server and he dragged her to the dance floor, much to the chagrin of the Alpha of the pack he'd been visiting. For that, his sister asked him to move away, but she still keeps in touch. Both have become better leaders from the contact and support.

Now, all we can do is wait. Brianna is gardening. Like me, she can't sit still when our minds are going at warp speed. I had to set my mind to something else. I decided to call Joseph Millhouse. His assistant answers on the second ring. I remind myself that I could use an office assistant. "Hello, New River Corporation, Morehead, Kentucky. How may I direct your call?"

"This is Alpha Edward Canis. I would like to speak to Alpha Millhouse, if he's available." I wait until she connects me. After he greets me warmly, I dive in. "Alpha Millhouse, I invite you to call me at your convenience later. We have a very serious situation here and we invite you to visit us as soon as possible.This is disturbing news. I wanted you to be aware that our pack has been attacked. My son's Beta and his mate are on their way to see you to ask you some questions and show your pack members some pictures. Perhaps you can help us identify some of the injured."

"Are you saying that my pack may be responsible?" There was a low growl in his voice, completely expected. "No, Alpha Millhouse. You may know someone, ANYone in the photos. We want to reunite families, and ask for reparation in form of labor on the weekends. These young people are injured and traumatized. We want to prevent this from happening to all our families."

After agreeing to gathering several important pack members and introducing Kevin and Madison personally, Joseph and I promised to speak again tomorrow morning.

I take another deep breath before reaching for the phone again. Time to call Stephen Trueblood and tell him the same information. I hope my long-term friend waits for Leo and Natalie to get there. At least Leo will warn me if Stephen comes back with them.

....

I'm in the atrium, trimming and harvesting some herbs. The smells of oregano, basil and mint calm me. All these children need to be returned to their families. Waiting to find their families was the hard part. We had a list of names of many of the survivors, especially the injured in the medical bay. Some of those in the dungeons were being stubborn, still believing that they were fighting for a cause. The dead had no words, with Carol and her team patching them up as much as possible, we hoped for identification from their families, as well. She took pictures and messaged them to Leo and Kevin so that they had a more complete list to bring the neighboring packs.

Goddess help us.