THE VOTE
1813 Words
EPISODE 10:
*WEDNESDAY. 5:00AM. SECURE WING*
I woke up to Kade’s breathing on my neck.
Not in a romantic way.
In a _“we slept on the floor and I used your arm as a pillow”_ way.
Lila was in the bed. Leo was on the couch.
Both of them knocked out.
For now, they were safe.
Kade stirred. “Morning.”
“Morning.”
“Did you sleep?”
“2 hours.”
“Same.”
Beta Thomas knocked. Soft. “Sir. Council in 3 hours. Marcus filed 12 new character statements overnight.”
“Of course he did.” Kade sat up. Ran a hand through his hair. “Any word on the threat text?”
“Still tracing. Burner phone. Bought with cash in the city.”
I went cold.
City.
Not pack territory.
Someone outside was watching us too.
Kade saw my face. “We’ll handle it. After the vote.”
I nodded. Didn’t believe him.
---
*7:30AM. PACK HEADQUARTERS. HALLWAY*
The hallway to the Council room was packed.
Wolves lined both sides.
Not Council. Just pack.
They’d been allowed in to watch.
Livestream was already at 10K viewers.
Whispers followed us.
“That’s her.”
“That’s the Luna.”
“Look at the jacket.”
“She looks tired.”
I did.
But I held my head up.
Mooncrest jacket. Same one from Monday.
Let them remember.
Kade walked beside me. No hand holding.
Alpha and Luna in public.
Professional.
But his shoulder brushed mine every 3 steps.
Reminding me: _I’m here._
Marcus was already inside.
Surrounded by 4 wolves I didn’t recognize.
His cousin Darius, probably.
The other Beta candidates.
He looked at me. Smiled.
“Good morning, Ava. Sleep well?”
“Better than you deserve,” I said.
He laughed.
---
*8:00AM. COUNCIL ROOM. THE VOTE*
12 chairs.
6 Council members.
Me.
Kade.
Marcus.
Beta Thomas standing.
The doors closed.
No livestream yet.
They’d vote first, then announce.
Council Member Rhea banged her gavel. “We are here to address two motions. One: Beta election. Two: Vote of no confidence in Alpha Kade Mooncrest.”
Marcus stood. “I’d like to speak first.”
He talked for 20 minutes.
About tradition.
About stability.
About “the events of this week proving our Alpha is compromised.”
He played the footage again.
All 10 seconds.
In this room.
With me sitting there.
I didn’t flinch.
Kade did.
Once.
Then Kade stood.
He didn’t talk about Selena.
He didn’t talk about me.
He talked about the pack.
Winter coat drive numbers.
Security upgrades.
Border patrols.
The 3 new businesses that opened under him.
“The pack is stronger today than it was 5 years ago,” he said. “Not because of me. Because of us. And I will not let one man use a leaked video to tear that down.”
He sat.
Rhea looked at Elise. “Council Member Elise. You are the deciding vote on the Beta position. How do you vote?”
Elise swallowed.
She looked at me.
Then at Kade.
Then at Marcus.
“I vote... for Thomas.”
Gasps.
Marcus’s face went blank.
Thomas.
The 22-year-old.
The one Marcus called “green.”
Rhea: “Beta position goes to Thomas. 4-2.”
Marcus slammed his hand on the table. “This is a mistake.”
“This is democracy,” Rhea snapped.
Now the hard part.
The no confidence vote.
“All in favor of removing Alpha Kade Mooncrest?” Rhea asked.
Jonah raised his hand.
Rhea.
And... Darius.
3 votes.
“All opposed?”
Elise.
Council Member Priya, who hadn’t spoken all morning.
And Rhea’s second, old man Harlan.
3 votes.
Tie.
Rhea had the tie-breaker.
The room held its breath.
Even Marcus stopped breathing.
Rhea looked at Kade.
Looked at me.
Looked at the doors where the pack was waiting.
“I vote no,” she said. “Motion fails. 4-3.”
Kade exhaled.
I realized I was holding my breath too.
Marcus stood. “This isn’t over.”
“No,” Rhea said. “It’s not. Because you’re under investigation for leaking classified footage. Security will escort you out.”
Two guards stepped in.
Marcus looked at me one last time.
“You think you won?” he said quietly. Just for me. “They’ll come for the kids next.”
Then they took him.
---
*8:47AM. ANNOUNCEMENT*
The doors opened.
Livestream went live.
Rhea read the results.
“Beta Thomas confirmed. Vote of no confidence failed. Alpha Kade Mooncrest remains.”
Cheers from half the room.
Boos from the other half.
Kade squeezed my hand.
We did it.
Then my phone buzzed.
In my pocket.
During the announcement.
*Unknown: You should’ve picked stability.*
Attached: a photo.
Of Lila and Leo.
At Elena’s house.
From yesterday.
Through the backyard fence.
I made a sound.
Kade heard it.
“What?”
I showed him.
His face went white.
“Thomas. Lockdown. Now.”
---
*9:15AM. PANIC*
The secure wing was locked down in 4 minutes.
All exits.
All cameras.
Sweep teams in the backyard of Elena’s house.
Elena called. “There’s someone in my garden.”
“Stay inside. Lock the doors,” Kade said. Voice flat. Deadly.
We drove there with 3 SUVs.
Sirens.
The twins didn’t know why.
“Is this part of the sleepover?” Leo asked.
I lied again. “Yeah, baby. A loud one.”
When we got there, the garden was empty.
But there was a print.
Boot.
Size 11.
Leading to the fence.
And a small drone.
Crashed in the bushes.
“Pack tech,” Thomas said. “Military grade. Not Marcus’s.”
“Then who?” I whispered.
Kade didn’t answer.
He was already on the phone with the city police.
---
*12PM. CHARITY OFFICE*
We couldn’t go home.
So we went to work.
Because pretending to be normal was the only thing keeping me sane.
Donors were calling back.
3 who pulled out this morning were re-donating.
“After your statement,” Mara said. “And after the vote.”
I signed papers.
Filed grants.
Answered emails.
Kade sat in my office.
On the phone the whole time.
Tracking the drone.
Tracking the burner.
Tracking Marcus in holding.
Every 10 minutes he looked at me.
Checking.
Like I might disappear.
At 2PM, Lila asked, “Mommy, why are the men with guns following us?”
“Because people are being stupid, baby.”
“Oh. Okay.”
She went back to drawing.
The new drawing: 4 stick figures.
Me. Kade. Her. Leo.
In front of a big building with a flag.
“Pack HQ,” she said. “So we’re safe.”
I taped it to my wall.
---
*5PM. KITCHEN. PACK HQ*
We were allowed back to our house.
With 4 guards.
But Kade didn’t want to.
“Not until we know who sent that photo.”
So we ate dinner on the floor. Again.
Burgers. Again.
Thomas brought them.
“Any news?” I asked.
“Drone was bought online. Shipped to a PO box. PO box rented under a fake name.”
“Marcus?”
“Maybe. Or someone helping him.”
Kade looked exhausted.
Dark circles. 5 o’clock shadow.
He hadn’t been Alpha in 2 days. He’d been a soldier.
“Come here,” I said.
He came. Sat next to me.
I leaned my head on his shoulder.
“We won,” I whispered.
“We survived the vote.”
“Same thing.”
He kissed the top of my head.
“Friday. Still on?”
I laughed. “Kade, people are threatening our kids.”
“I know. That’s why it’s still on. Because if we don’t have Friday, they win.”
I nodded.
---
*8PM. TWINS’ BEDROOM. PACK HQ*
Bedtime.
In a room that wasn’t theirs.
Lila: “Can Daddy read us a story?”
Kade: “Which one?”
Leo: “The one where the Alpha fights the bad wolf.”
Kade looked at me.
I nodded.
He read it.
About an Alpha who lost everything and got it back.
About a Luna who was brave.
About two pups who saved the pack with bubbles and drawings.
When he finished, Leo was asleep.
Lila was half-asleep.
“Mommy,” she mumbled. “Is the bad man gone?”
“Not yet, baby.”
“Will you tell me when he is?”
“I will.”
Kade turned off the light.
---
*10PM. OFFICE. ME + KADE*
Alone.
Finally.
We sat on the floor. Again.
Laptop between us.
PackNet open.
The top post: _“Council Stands With Alpha. Marcus in Custody.”_
2.4K likes.
Top comment: _“#ProtectAva #ProtectTheTwins”_
But 3 posts down:
_“This isn’t over. The real threat isn’t Marcus. #WatchTheCity”_
From the same unknown account that sent me the photo.
Kade closed the laptop.
“Thomas thinks it’s a splinter group. Anti-Mooncrest. From before your dad died.”
“You think?”
“I think Marcus was a distraction.”
My phone buzzed.
*Unknown: Vote was cute. See you Friday.*
I showed Kade.
He stood up so fast his chair fell.
“Thomas!”
Beta Thomas ran in. “Sir?”
“Double the guards. At the house. At the office. At Elena’s. At the school. Friday is canceled.”
“No,” I said.
Both men looked at me.
“No,” I repeated. “If we cancel Friday, we’re letting them dictate our lives. We go. But we go with an army.”
Kade stared at me.
Then he nodded. “Fine. An army.”
---
*11:59PM. BED*
We weren’t on the floor tonight.
We were in the small bed in the guest room.
Because the twins were finally asleep and we needed 6 inches of space that was ours.
Kade’s arm was around me.
My face was in his chest.
His heart was beating too fast.
“Do you think it’s really over?” I asked.
“No.”
“Do you think Friday is a trap?”
“Probably.”
“Are we still going?”
“Yes.”
He pulled me closer.
“I’m proud of you. Today. In the Council. You didn’t break.”
“I almost did.”
“But you didn’t.”
Silence.
Then:
“Ava.”
“Hmm?”
“If anything happens Friday...”
“Don’t.”
“I have to say it. I choose you. I chose you 5 years ago and I was a coward. I’m not a coward anymore.”
I cried.
Quietly. Into his shirt.
“Me too,” I whispered. “I choose you too.”
Outside, the guards changed shifts.
Inside, for 6 hours, no one threatened us.
*We won the vote.*
*But the war isn’t over.*
*And Friday is coming.*
- Writer
