Chapter 6
The silence in the council hall was thick enough to cut with a knife. Every eye was on Orion, waiting for him to elaborate on the contents of the letter. The Enclave, the very organization that had turned its back on them in their ti of need, was now seeking their assistance? It was almost too absurd to believe.
Finally, Orion broke the tension, a slow smile spreading across his face. "It seems," he began, his voice laced with amusent, "that the Enclave is soliciting for help. There’s a plague going around the werewolf community, spreading like wildfire."
He paused, letting the information sink in. "They’ve gotten word that the Nightshade Pack has the... best dical facility around," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "and they’re asking if we would be willing to extend our help to heal our kind."
He finished speaking, and the room remained silent for a mont longer, as if everyone was trying to process the sheer audacity of the request. Then, a chuckle escaped from Caspian, a dry, rattling sound that broke the spell.
Soon, the chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh, and others joined in, the sound echoing through the hall. Even Lysander, usually so stoic and composed, couldn’t suppress a smile. The irony of the situation was simply too rich to ignore.
Orion watched them, a smirk playing on his lips. He understood their reaction. It was almost comical. The Enclave, the organization that had left them to rot, now crawling back with their tails between their legs, begging for help.
He tore the letter into shreds, the sound sharp and decisive in the midst of the laughter. "Well," he said, his eyes gleaming with mischief, "I suppose we need to write sothing back to them. Any suggestions?"
The laughter died down, replaced by a flurry of excited chatter. Everyone had an opinion, a suggestion, a witty retort they wanted to include in the reply.
"Tell them to go to hell," Caspian suggested, his eyes twinkling with amusent. "Or, better yet, just send them a picture of a middle finger. That’ll get the ssage across."
Orion chuckled, shaking his head. "A bit too crude, even for , Caspian. But I appreciate the sentint."
"Are they serious?" Mary asked, her voice incredulous. "Do they really think we’re just going to forget what they did to us? They left us to die, raided our pack disguised as rogues, and now they expect us to help them? It’s unbelievable!"
Her words struck a chord with everyone in the room. The mory of the Enclave’s betrayal was still fresh in their minds, a wound that had never fully healed.
"Tell them we’ll help," Daniel said, his voice deceptively calm, "but only if Victoria personally cos here to beg for our assistance. On her knees."
"Victoria wasn’t the only one that destroyed our pack or killed our people. The other leaders were all in it with her," Caspian pointed out, his voice laced with bitterness.
"I know that, but she was the one who hurt us more," Daniel said to him, his eyes hardening. "She gave them the avenue to destroy us. She orchestrated the whole thing."
"We lost our loved ones to that disaster," Tobias said, his voice tight with anger. "Most of us lost our parents and siblings, so not even old enough to walk, and now they want our help? Where were they when we needed help? When we went around begging for just one pack to take us in, to shelter us? I say we don’t do anything, even if they beg."
"For once...I agree with Tobias," Mary said with a sigh, her expression grim. "Fuck them and their need for help."
Orion was quiet as he let them debate what to do. What the Enclave had done to his pack was sothing that each mber was, in a way, still recovering from. Like Tobias had said, most people lost family during the disaster. Orion, for one, had lost his unborn younger sister, one he had begged his parents for. And he wasn’t even aware his mother was pregnant. She had been so sick that it wasn’t until he ca back with the herbs and she had healed that he realized she was carrying his sister. Her weakened immune system was the reason why she had suffered so severely from the plague.
Daniel, for one, lost his wife, an arm, and his eldest son. Ronan was the only family he had left. Brynhild had lost her family, along with her twin sister and her sight. Orion could go on and on about what each person lost. Things important to them, things and people they held special in their hearts.
The Enclave, ant to be a governing body that protected and united all werewolves, had instead beco a symbol of corruption and oppression. Led by Victoria. The Enclave had grown increasingly power-hungry, exploiting smaller packs and hoarding resources for themselves. They enforced their rule through fear and intimidation, crushing any dissent with ruthless efficiency.
After the disaster, Orion and his people had gone to various packs, each one that had served as a friend to their pack, but the Enclave released a statent that whoever took them in would suffer the brunt of it. An alpha, his father’s friend, had gone against the Enclave one ti, taking in Orion’s people, but it wasn’t long before he was branded a criminal and his pack destroyed. So mbers moved with Orion and his people when they left, while so others stayed back, unable to face the unknown.
Simply put, the Enclave had put them through hell. And now, they wanted their help?
"Tobias," Orion called out, his voice cutting through the tension. "Have you heard anything about a plague?"
"No," Tobias replied, his brow furrowed in thought. "But I’ll try to get more information. I have contacts all over the werewolf community."
"Why do we need to know about the plague?" Lysander asked, his voice filled with suspicion.
"Perhaps this is ti to get revenge on the Enclave for all they’ve done and the lives they’ve destroyed," Orion said with a cruel smile that made Ronan shudder. "An eye for an eye, wouldn’t you say?"
"And our reply to the Enclave?" Daniel asked him, his voice filled with anticipation.
"I’ll think of sothing and get back to you guys. I need so ti to consider all our options," Orion said to them. "eting adjourned... for now."
"For now," Caspian muttered, a hint of mischief in his eyes, making them chuckle.
Orion approached Madam Tyler, who was with Lysander, her expression thoughtful.
"Shall we go see the mysterious patient?" He asked her, his voice laced with curiosity.
"Cheeky brat," Madam Tyler said with a shake of her head, though a smile tugged at her lips. She turned to Lysander. "Lead the way."
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