Rising Sigma

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

[Leon's POV]

The torture of my body warring with my mind was far easier to control now I wasn't able to physically be near Iodine without half a day of driving. 

I threw myself into my lessons for being a Beta-in-training as if nothing had happened. Even if I didn't use it, it would still be useful information and skills to have. Though I had the suspicion that my father could tell something was up, thankfully, he didn't have a mind to talk to me about it. 

I ached after the sparring practice today, I kept on letting my mind wander and I'd been given enough bruises to not let that happen again. My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I reached over and the light from the screen flooded the room. A new message sat at the bottom of the screen from Iodine.  

    - Awake?

        - Actually texting in my sleep.

            - Ohhhh. Narco-texty. Common condition.

                - What's  up?

                    - Currently confidential, but there's going to be an emergency conference call for all the Alphas in the country and the Council in an hour. 

Shit, getting even half of them together was usually a feat of extreme planning, but that... what the hell was going on? She knew what was going on, so the news was coming from her too. Another message popped up at the bottom of my screen.

    - Do you think you can take my mind off everything for a few minutes?

        - We could set a date for our date. Plan a whole day.

            - A whole day? 

                - Well we should do it properly.

                    - Think you know enough words for a whole day trapped with me?

                        - I could learn some more.

                            - Brb

I watched the three dots dance at the bottom of the screen for a minute and put my phone back down on the nightstand. What could happen this late at night that would warrant waking everyone? My heart was in my throat with worry, and I silently cursed the Moon Goddess for my mate being from a different pack. I wasn't going to sleep until I knew she wasn't in danger. 

If our mate was in imminent danger there would not be time to alert the Elders, or text us. 

That's even worse.

Get our Alpha to clue us in when he knows. 

That was an idea, I wish I'd thought of that. I couldn't compromise Iodine by asking her, but if the information was out there, Marwan would have to share it with his ranking wolves. Goddess, it might shared it with me regardless because of where it was coming from. 

My phone buzzed again and it made me smile to see that she'd wasted a picture message to send me a selfie from that ancient phone of hers. I was going to have to drag that woman into the 21st century just for social media. She was smiling, but even though the picture quality was abysmal, I could see she looked tired, or upset. 

I opened up a tab on my mobile browser and despite being cliché, typed "first date ideas" into the search engine. If she wanted to go on a date like a human, then cliché wasn't a bad starting point. I got so absorbed in the task of whittling down ideas that I noticed Iodine hadn't come back to me yet. No, wait, I hadn't replied after the selfie.

    - Think we could pencil in Saturday next weekend for our date?

        - I don't have anything in my schedule for that day. I'll block it off so Yven can't squeeze in something last moment. 

            - I'll plan everything. 

                - Romantic! What should I wear?

                - Jeans? Something you're comfy in, make sure you're not going to get cold. 

                    - I'll look forward to it. I've got to go, conference call. I'll text you in the morning?

I wasn't going to sleep well. But it had to be done. There wasn't anything I could do.

***

The sun was barely on the horizon when it sounded like a foghorn pierced through my head. It shook every wisp of sleepiness from me like it owed it money. I flailed out in shock and slammed my elbow into the wall by mistake. "f**k!"

"Up, meeting at breakfast in thirty minutes for all ranked wolves." Marwan spoke through the pack link. He sounded exhausted. 

Was it paranoia to think that it had something to do with Iodine? I rushed through getting washed in my ensuite and threw on a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a white tee, managing to meet my father on the upstairs landing. He was an early riser, so I couldn't imagine he was too put out by the hour, though the awakening left much to be desired. "Morning." 

"Barely." He grunted back to me, punctuating the word with a yawn. 

I could smell cooking wafting up from the kitchen, something sweet as well as smoky and meaty. 

The kitchen was empty save for our head chef, the Luna's brother, Richard. His back was turned from us as he busied himself with various pans on the stove. The table was laden with a fresh pile of steaming, fluffy waffles, an urn of coffee, a pitcher of orange juice, and an assortment of toppings for the waffles. I grabbed a plate and helped myself to a couple, drenching the top with maple syrup.

Richard turned round with a plate of crispy bacon rashers and rolled his eyes as I quickly swiped a couple with my fingers and threw them on top of my plate. "I'd have said be careful, but it wouldn't have stopped you, would it?" I flashed him a quick grin and he grumbled again. "Menus are set for the week, just check the boxes and put them back in the proper alcove. And fill it in properly this time."

"Yes, sir!" I mocked, throwing a hasty salute between reaching for a clean mug and pouring myself a cup of coffee. 

"Don't antagonise him, Leon." Rachel said as she entered the room. 

"I did nothing of the sort." I defended. The Luna kissed her brother on the cheek and grabbed a piece of bacon from the plate he was still holding. 

"You're worse." He complained, swatting at her futilely as she sat at the breakfasting table. "At least get yourself a plate. Eggs will be a minute. If you want an omelette, tough, I'm not making one."

"Pretty please? With sugar on top?" She bat her eyelashes at him. 

"What do you want in it?" He groaned, not even bothering to fight back with the Luna.

"Cheese and mushrooms!" She beamed. "Oh, and thank you for getting here early. Marwan's been pacing a hole in the carpet all night."

Damn. Marwan didn't panic, after everything he'd been through, the Alpha took a very measured approach to problems. I carefully sipped at the still hot coffee, hoping that he'd be here soon. It would be no use asking Rachel if Marwan requested all the ranked wolves to attend, even if she knew, she would remain tight-lipped. My father raised an eyebrow but didn't voice his thoughts. 

"I hope there's a good reason I've been woken at this unholy hour." The Gamma shuffled into the kitchen with a face like thunder. He still wore his pajamas, a pinstripe blue, and a towelling bathrobe, with slippers. He held a folded newspaper under his arm and he didn't look like he'd bothered to do anything other than fall out of bed. Knowing him, he intended to go straight back after the meeting.

It was hard to remember that the Gamma was actually younger than me, he acted twice my age and dressed like he was at least three times it. "What time did you fall asleep last night, Julius?" My father asked him cordially between shovelling in his breakfast. 

The Gamma thought to himself, sighing and puffing out his cheeks. "Three? Maybe four?" Oh, it was getting close to the full moon. He'd have been starting to commune with the Moon Goddess. The big day would mean he'd effectively become nocturnal for a few days, so he made sure he shifted his sleeping pattern accordingly before and afterwards. "Richard - can I have a grapefruit and muesli? Please and thank you."

He was an old man trapped in the body of a twenty-one year old. The chef silently put the box of raisin filled muesli on the table with a bowl, and the Gamma helped himself to a large portion, pulling the box back when the chef went to take it away. "I'll say when I'm done." He growled under his breath. 

"You should go back to bed after the meeting," Rachel smiled at him.

"I intend on it." He snapped back. "Do you two know yet?" He shot at my father and I. 

"No, we're just waiting on Marwan. He stank so I told him to shower." Rachel answered him, Julius had enough mind to look apologetic between mouthfuls of muesli. The four of us tucked into the assorted breakfast foods, carefully avoiding the elephant in the room when Rachel guided the conversation away from it. 

An errant thought crossed my mind. If I was going to be a Lune, I should probably speak to her sooner or later about it. Bright Phoenix didn't have a Luna or Lune for me to train under, as the next one usually did in each pack. Rachel didn't have one to train under either, but I remembered her former Luna coming to the pack for a few months to help train her after she and Marwan took on their ranks. Rachel was a very good Luna, and I wouldn't mind having her teach me how to effectively take my place.

I would ask her after things were a little more official with Iodine. At the very least, after our date. Neither of us had said that it wouldn't happen, but it felt presumptuous regardless to think I'd become the Lune to Bright Phoenix. 

Marwan came into the room and both Julius and my father shot up, giving him a short bow before returning to their breakfasts. Rachel stood too, planting a kiss on his lips. They mumbled to each other and I rolled my eyes at how sappy they could be after so many years. Still, a part of me was hoping that I would get a little bit of that same treatment with my mate. 

"Right. I don't want to draw this out too much." He started. "Can I have an omelette, Richard?"

The chef slumped a the stove. "Yes, Alpha. What do you want?"

"Oh just grab some of this bacon and throw it in." He helpfully passed the plate with the bacon to the chef. 

Marwan looked like he'd been up all night despite his shower, his eyes were ringed with red, and sunken slightly which made his already dark skin appear even darker around them. The chef took the plate and started cracking eggs. "So what do you need to tell us, Alpha?" My father asked. 

"There has been a threat from the neutral lands. The Elder Council wants all packs allied with Bright Phoenix to prepare for war, they've collapsed all existing rivalries across the country, any interpack fighting will be deemed reason to dethrone the Alpha." He wasted no time in telling us now that he'd arrived.

"Pardon? They collapsed EVERY rivalry?" Julius spluttered into his orange juice. "What in the Moon could warrant that?"

I too, thought similarly. Though my thoughts immediately went to Iodine. Marwan, being the only wolf that knew, cleared his throat. "There hasn't been any immediate danger... yet." 

"What about those who aren't in active rivalries but we're allied with them?" My father voiced. 

"Those packs have been given the option to prepare with us all, they all have an alliance with one of the Bright Phoenix allies, so it could become as much their fight as ours too." Marwan explained quickly, accepting the omelette from Richard and dumping near half the pepper from the shaker over the top without looking. 

"Omelette with your pepper my love?" Rachel teased him.

"Best way to have it." He smiled, helping himself to a huge forkful. "The Elder Council has evidence enough to believe that a Sigma has risen up in the neutral lands and is turning humans into werewolves. A newborn was sent to Bright Phoenix last night with a message for the late Alpha. So we can rest assured that regardless of the threat, their information about our packs is not up to date. We have that advantage."

"Did you say a Sigma?" Julius growled. "What even is that?"

"It's a rogue wolf with all the powers of an Alpha, but their authority isn't derived from the fealty of a pack or from fellow Alphas." My father explained, he drained the last of his coffee from his mug. "They can't be dethroned by the Elders or the wolves they're supposed to protect."

"The last one tried to kill every non-rogue wolf in the country... two hundred or so years ago." Marwan frowned. "So the mere implication that there's another Sigma is enough to put the Council on high alert."

"I need to go for a run." I stood up, my wolf was fighting to force a transformation out of me and I was half sure he'd make us run all the way to the Bright Phoenix territory. Marwan put a hand up to stop Rachel from questioning me.

I was out of the house and stripping in the shed put aside for transforming in peace and privacy when he finally linked me. "You know you can't run all the way to Bright Phoenix."

"We have cars, I'm not that stupid. I'm going for a run. If I don't I'm going to wear a hole in the kitchen lino." I linked back.

"Give me some time to finish my breakfast and we'll run together." Marwan promised and with that I was left alone in the shed. 

We should run there. 

Or we could phone her first, she might not need us. What would we even do?

That is our mate! We would protect her!

You think an Alpha needs protecting... I'm more stupid than I think I am. 

From a Sigma - we're all going to need protection.