The War

A Proposal You Can't Reject

Amber sat shell shocked as she watched Brutus come from around his desk closer to her and Chance. Quietly he watched the child before finding the front of his desk and leaning against it. His hands held the edge of the table behind him, and he wracked the child with his eyes. 

He could tell she was young, maybe 14 or 15 years of age, but nevertheless underdeveloped. She had no muscle tone to her, and her eyes were wide with innocence, something that she would have to lose if she became apart of the pack. Her small angular face is what intrigued him the most, he had seen a face shape similar to hers before but he couldn't place the individual. Her eyes striked him too, he could have sworn he had looked into those very same eyes before. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts, he summoned Amarok forward to sense the child and attempt to dive into her thoughts. When he did came forward, he inspected the child's aurora and found nothing. "A blank slate." Amarok hissed in the back of his mind. Brutus was confused about this, the child had to originate somewhere, children like this don't appear out of nowhere although her confirmation told a different story. She was malnourished, and judging by her skeletal arms and legs she wasn't thriving where she came from before. 

Brutus noticed how uncomfortable the child became as he stared at her, and he decided to speak and attempt to ease her tension, "I know you met Marzia, the witch" he paused as he felt his counterpart snarkly reply "If that's what you want to call her."  Brutus paused, willing his beastly counterpart to remain quiet. "Did she find anything in the child?" His attention now to Chance who looked anxious and nervous. 

"No sir, she did not. Only that her name was Amber." Chance stepped forward and pushed Amber slightly closer to Brutus, his anxiousness getting the best of him. Amber in reply pushed back against him, an unsettling feeling falling on her shoulders. 

"Goood" Brutus hummed, "this will be an easy conversion then" he stated before pushing off from his desk and clapping his hands together, making Amber jump in the process. He approached Amber, and although he could feel her hesitation in his sudden closeness, she didn't move. Brutus wondered if it was because of her fear that she was emulating. Regardless, he gently put his thumb on her forehead, and felt the cold clamminess of her skin fill his senses. He closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths allowing Amarok to come forward. "So I suppose we aren't giving the child any options?" he asked in the back of his mind. Brutus paused, thinking it over. "Are you insinuating you want to terminate the child?" he asked, his eyebrow slightly raised in question. "No,"  Amarok hissed. "I just feel like we should present her with options." Brutus opened his eyes, and looked at the child in front of him, who practically shook with fear. Her wolf had never presented itself, and she showed no sign of it being active so he never thought about giving her an option. He sighed and closed his eyes again. "The child is nothing more than a child. Options are useless in this situation.." Brutus continued to clear his mind. Amarok grew uncomfortable. 

Brutus felt the pack connection open with the child, although he felt more push back on her soul than any other individual they had inducted into the pack. It confused Brutus but he kept on. "I, Brutus the Alpha of the Walee pack, induct you, Amber into our community." He paused as he felt the child tremble under his thumb. "As a blank slate I propose your position to be a Warrior for this community, you will serve me and the people of this pack honorably." He opened his eyes and saw that Amber's eyes glazed over. His power that he emulated from the amount of people in his pack and the amount of individuals connected by this bond was overwhelming her. Still he pressed on. "Do you, Amber of the Warrior class accept this proposal? Rejection of this, makes you an enemy of the pack and instant termination." Brutus felt Amarok smile, "Thank you for giving her an option." Brutus ignored his counterpart and held his breath waiting for the child to respond. 

It felt like eternity before the child answered. He didn't want to have to kill the child, but he would if she rejected him and his community he was presenting before her. He began to grow angry, how could an individual turn down this deal? He wondered. "She may have a pack already. That would explain the push back you received when you were opening the link." Amarok chimed in. Brutus shook his head. 

"I, Amber, accept your proposal and look up to you, Alpha Brutus." Amber spoke, her voice hoarse and cracked. Her eyes went back to normal, and she looked at her Alpha before her. 

Brutus shook off his counterparts reasoning, and opened his eyes. He looked around the room and released the child from his induction. Chance had bowed his head in respect to the ceremony, and so had Cadell (surprisingly). Amber stumbled backwards the power that had intruded her mind leaving with a click. It gave her a steady growing headache. So this is what it felt like to be an Alpha of a pack, she thought as she rubbed the sides of her head. A small whimper escaped her mouth. 

Brutus smiled with pride, and clapped his hands together once more. Earning yet another jump from Amber in surprise. He looked at Chance, who had a small smile on his face. "Great! Now that that's through, lets get you started." A large smile overtaking his features.