Luke entered Alpha Garrett’s office without knocking.
As Garrett’s beta, he had the privilege of direct access, but he usually announced himself. The fact that he didn’t suggest the letter in his hand was important.
"Alpha," Luke said, approaching the desk. "This arrived this morning via official courier. Supre Council seal."
Garrett looked up from the paperwork spread across his desk. The Supre Council seal. That was significant. The highest governing body in the werewolf realm didn’t send casual correspondence. Every letter from the Supre Council carried weight. Carried authority. Carried implications.
"Set it on the desk," Garrett said.
Luke did, then left without another word. He’d learned long ago not to linger when council business was involved.
Garrett stared at the letter for a mont before reaching for it.
The seal was pristine...the official symbol of the Supre Council of Elders, the governing body that oversaw all werewolf packs across the realm. Below the seal was his na, written in official script. This was formal correspondence.
He broke the seal and unfolded the parchnt.
His eyes scanned the opening lines, and his stomach dropped.
The Yearly Alphas Summit. Hosted in Shadowre. This year. Less than three weeks to prepare.
Garrett read the letter twice.
Then a third ti.
The words didn’t change. The aning remained the sa. Sohow, against all odds and all expectations, the Supre Council of Elders had chosen Shadowre to host the most important werewolf gathering in existence.
He set the letter down slowly and leaned back in his chair.
Why?
That was the question that wouldn’t stop repeating in his mind. Why Shadowre? There were dozens of packs more powerful, more established, more capable of hosting an event of this magnitude. The Blackwood pack could have hosted it. The Blackpaw pack. The Nightfall territories. Any number of major packs that had the resources and the political standing to handle such an undertaking.
But they’d chosen Shadowre.
A mid-tier pack. A pack that had recently dealt with internal scandal. A pack whose forr Beta had been branded a traitor for his involvent in the death of the Blackwood Alpha.
Garrett’s mind went imdiately to Victor Thorne.
The blood debt. The contract with the Blackwood brothers. The agreent that Shadowre had paid the price for Victor’s alleged betrayal. The promise from the Blackwoods that the matter was settled, that Shadowre was no longer under threat.
Was this about that?
Was the Supre Council using the Summit as an opportunity to inspect Shadowre more closely? To determine whether the pack still harbored any form of betrayal? To ensure that there were no lingering sympathies toward the traitor’s family or the traitor himself?
Garrett stood and began pacing.
But no. That didn’t make sense. The blood debt had been paid. The Blackwoods had given their word that they considered the matter settled. Alpha Nicholas himself had confird that the threat was neutralized. Sending the Supre Council to investigate would be redundant. It would be insulting to the Blackwoods’ honor to suggest they needed the council to verify their claims.
So what exactly was this?
Garrett moved to the window and looked out at the Shadowre pack compound. The grounds were well-maintained but not ostentatious. The buildings were functional, not grand. This was a solid, mid-tier pack. Respectable. But not impressive. Not the kind of pack that typically hosted events of Summit importance.
The timing was also strange. Three weeks. That was barely enough ti to arrange basic accommodations, let alone the kind of ticulous planning required for an event where dozens of alphas from different packs would be gathering. Political tensions would be high. Security would be crucial. Every detail would be scrutinized.
And Shadowre had less than three weeks to make it all work.
Garrett turned from the window and looked back at the letter on his desk.
The Supre Council wouldn’t have made this decision lightly. There had to be a reason. A strategic reason. A political reason. Sothing that served the council’s interests in ways that weren’t imdiately obvious.
Was it a test? A way to see how Shadowre responded to pressure and responsibility? To gauge whether the pack was strong enough to handle the challenge?
Or was it sothing else entirely?
Garrett moved back to his desk and read the letter one more ti, looking for hidden aning in the carefully chosen words. But the Supre Council wrote in official language...clinical, precise, impersonal. There were no hints. No suggestions of ulterior motive. Just the fact: Shadowre would host the Summit. The date was set. The decision was final.
He set the letter down and looked at Luke, who had returned to stand quietly by the door.
"Gather the elders," Garrett said, his voice steady despite the chaos of his thoughts. "Tell them there is an ergency. They need to co to my office imdiately."
"Yes, Alpha," Luke said. He left without question.
Garrett was alone with the letter.
He picked it up again and examined the seal more carefully, looking for any indication of who on the Supre Council had made this decision. But the seal gave nothing away. It was official. It was binding. And it was unchangeable.
Three weeks.
Shadowre would host the Yearly Alphas Summit in three weeks.
And Garrett still had no idea why.
***
The elders arrived within minutes.
Elder Theodore, Elder Mateo and Elder Rivers. entered the office with varying degrees of concern. They could sense sothing was wrong. Garrett rarely called ergency etings.
"Close the door," Garrett instructed.
Elder Rivers did, then all three elders took seats across from Garrett’s desk.
"I received a letter this morning," Garrett said without preamble. He held up the parchnt. "From the Supre Council of Elders."
The mont he said ’Supre Council,’ the elders’ expressions shifted. They knew, as Garrett did, that correspondence from the highest governing body was serious.
"They’ve made a decision regarding the Yearly Alphas Summit," Garrett continued. He paused, letting the weight of the mont settle. "Shadowre has been chosen to host it this year."
User Comments
0 comments from readers