The Hybrid War

Chapter 5

Walking in to the garden where everyone was gathering for the afternoon discussions we were met with lots of eyes and hushed conversations that pulled us from our laughter. We stopped and greeted everyone, Loch's hand slipped from mine and to the small of my back as he gestured with the other where we should sit. The seats were directly across from Alpha Damian and his Luna Danika, not the most ideal position, but I believe it had been done strategically. This would keep Damian off his game slightly, being distracted by the complete and utter display of his failed attempt to secure his power. Just as Cillian was about to start the proceedings we hear a commotion at the garden door and we turn in time to see a tall blonde enter, it was impossible to mistake the family resemblance.

"Forgive me Cain, but I figure if your future heir is here for these discussions, then it is only fair mine be here as well." Damian states, holding a hand out to his daughter. As she walks towards him she looks around the table and huffs as there is no chair for her.

"Daddy, where am I to sit? How am I to be respected if there is no where for me to join?" She whines, throwing her hair over her shoulder. All of a sudden her gaze falls to Loch and she licks her lips. "Perhaps I could share a seat with someone else."

I feel my rage beginning to burn at the suggestion she is making, as she looks at my mate like a meal. The aura I am sending off must be stifling to some because soon I feel Loch's hand on my cheek, coaxing me back to him.

"Come back to me Ladybug. Nothing to be upset about here." He coos softly. Staring in to his eyes I get a devilish idea and smirk.

"What a lovely idea..." I pause as I don't know her name.

"Davina!" She states. With hope that she's about to hop on my mates lap.

"Davina..." I nod back to her. "Someone should share a seat. You can have mine, I'm sure my mate won't mind if I share with him." I say with a wink to Loch. His grin saying it all as I settle in, moving my notes and tablet over so we can share. She stands there looking between her father and I, angry but nothing she can do about it. Now she has to sit across from her parents, but between Loch and I, and my Uncle. What a fun afternoon this will be.

She plopped herself down in her chair and focused on her nails, and picking fluff off her top. Clearly she had no interest in the topics at hand, and these were mostly lighter topics; focused on pack happiness, events that were coming up, and lastly Jack and I would be collecting collecting info on what prisoners needed to be transferred to the Council. Whenever we had prisoners transferred we had to assess their crimes and decide if they were to remain imprisoned, punished more severely, or if they had paid their dues and set free. This is why these talks involved the Luna's as well, they were the leaders in the packs that were often more concerned with pack happiness and organizing pack events.

We started with individual pack information, as Jack asked questions about the packs I recorded the information. Mostly it was focused on how many new wolves joined the pack the year, what positions were light in the pack that possibly we could help with if we found others wanting to move, how many warriors had been lost that year, and lastly how many had come of age versus having found their mate. It was great to see a positive growth in Alpha Edward's pack, their own son and daughter had both found their mates this year and they had taken in some hybrid wolves that had been fleeing from another pack. When pressed for what pack they were running from I was surprised to hear they had not given that info. Apparently those that had run from their pack were afraid to say, this was a concern since it meant someone was pushing hybrids out and that hurt my heart.

Loch must have felt my pain because as I typed the responses in to my tablet he rested his chin on my shoulder. This move brought his cheek next to my ear, and it was the most intimate we had been yet. I could feel my cheeks heating up, then Loch whispered in my ears, "they don't know what their missing pushing away the hybrids. Don't worry, we treat everyone here well." His admition made me smile and I looked up to let Jack know I had completed with the notes and was ready for the next pack. As I went to open my mouth I noticed Luna Eva and Uncle Jack smiling at us which made me flush again. Until I heard a scoff from beside me, which I turned to see Davina rolling her eyes at us.

"I'm set for the next pack, who are we moving on to?" I stated, drawing everyone's attention away from the Diva to my right and instead to the matter at hand.

"Why doesn't our host go first? I know I'm eager to hear what they have been able to accomplish this year." Damian offered, the condescending tone in his voice was creating a tension you could cut with a knife. Last year when this was done Red River came in as the second largest pack, though the most profitable, and the highest pack happiness. I started to pull up my spread sheet to start my notes but Loch grabbed my tablet from me quickly.

"Here, I will pull in all the info for you from the cloud so you can listen. After all, they are about to be your pack too, so you should get to know what we have accomplished this year." Loch said and I couldn't help but smile. He wanted me to know his pack, our pack, and was also making a show for Davina. She was becoming increasingly agitated as well as her parents across from us were ready to say something. As he brought up the information his father started discussing the changes that had come for the pack and the surrounding town. I was impressed to hear that everyone was doing so well, the town had grown considerably because they didn't discriminate on who moved in to the town, so long as the supernatural beings abided the laws and didn't start anything. There would always be skirmishes between blood born and lycans but mostly between younger members with more bravado.

"I'm pleased to announce we had very few loses due to attacks this year, 4 lives lost and their families are being taken care of. We have also seen most of our newly of age wolves find their mates, and a few of our older of age wolves as well." Cillian continued, as he smiled to his son. It was good to see the pride in his eyes for his son, it showed they really were a strong family and had built a strong pack. "Quite a few of our new mates were taken in as well when they were fleeing from their original pack. Most of them where blood lycan hybrids, some were human lycan hybrid. Thankfully they are safe here and we are also on the hunt for where they initially came from." As he finished his notes on the pack I was becoming concerned as it seemed someone was hunting down their hybrids, and I wasn't sure why. This concerned me as I didn't understand what was happening, but I knew it would be top of my list.

"Uncle, I believe when we return to the Council I should make this hybrid issue my top priority. It sounds like someone is either chasing then out, or making them fear for their lives." Beneath me I felt Loch stiffen at my mention of returning to the Council. Truthfully, the words were out before I even thought about what I was saying. Before I even thought about it I reached down and squeezed his hand, I wanted him to know I wasn't running away, but I do still have a job. My uncle nodded to me and then asked for the next pack to speak, it was time to hear what Damian had to say.

"We have had a prosperous year as well, a few casualties due to some rogue attacks, and a group of leeches living just outside of our town." He started looking on as if it wasn't a major concern. He looked to his daughter then continued, "many of our of age wolves are still looking for a suitable mate. We don't believe the fated mate is always the best choice and create beneficial matches for our young." Damian spat as he looked at me in disgust. His dislike for me was evident, but I had no idea this was a practice through out his whole pack. I couldn't stop myself from asking a question.

"Forgive me for interrupting, and perhaps you have answered this in a previous year, but this matching of wolves is it at a specific age or once a wolf decides to no longer look for their mate?" I was genuinely curious how they handle the finding of mates.

"All matches have to be approved by myself. If the match is not seen as beneficial for the pack then they are separated, true mates or not, I will not have weak pairings in my pack." As he finished this statement I believe everyone else was in shock. It was one thing to match eligible wolves that are a few years beyond their mating age, but not to be so bold to rip apart the mate bonds as well. I tried to keep my shock to myself but as I looked around I noticed I wasn't the only one torn up about this revelation. For the rest of his pack update I stayed mostly quiet. He did mention his pack had dropped in size and curiously did not have the same addition of hybrids like the others at the table. I noted this as odd; as I wrote it in to the file I saw my uncle was highlighting a few facts as well. He was the only one who had access to the file in real time, he and I both knew there was something more here.

"Thank you all, before we head in to discussing upcoming events how about a break, in that time you can bring me the files on your transfers so I can review them for tomorrow. Shall we say, 20 minutes?" My uncle stated and everyone nodded. As I closed my tablet and put it away I felt Loch was eager to stand. As soon as it was away with my notes I saw him lift my bag and force us both to standing. I looked at him shocked at the move, but when I saw his face I knew the next 20 minutes would not be much of a break.

"We need to talk." He said as he guided me in the house away from curious ears.