Luna Athalia

7. Brand and Release

Vincent John Reyes

Learning about Athalia's true mate was the biggest punch in the gut that Vincent had ever heard. Beau had been right all along, not that Vincent ever truly doubted him. He knew the mate pull would have been more than just a childhood crush or delicate borrowed kisses. But it didn't hurt any less to see the look on Athalia's face after Remy left. He truly had never seen her so serene, so sure and confident in her words.

She had always been a bit fluttery, her anxiety making her second-guess everything from legal matters to how she wore her hair that day. And though Vince and Eloise did all they could to ease her mind, she never did quite believe them. But seeing how she was after seeing her mate was almost a completely different person, not in a bad way, but almost like she was exactly who she was meant to be. Vincent envied her greatly for it.

His mate never did show her face and he never felt any inclination to anyone he met, even when visiting other pack lands. Vince found it tremendously unfair.

But for now, his duties as official Alpha of the pack needed to take priority. The most pressing issue was that of the rogues sitting within his territory.

He sat now in the conference room, flanked by Athalia and the rest of their royalty. His brother Julian had taken his place as Beta and Gamma Wilder remained with his mate. Wilder was the eldest of them all - he was already in his mid 20's when his parents passed in the raid. There had been some discussion early on about whether or not he should have seniority and be named Alpha but he insisted on Athalia's capabilities.

"We're talking a simple brand and release." Athalia shuffled the papers in front of her, tapping them on the large table for emphasis, "They will bear our pack's rogue mark and be asked to leave Roaming Ember."

"Julian, Wilder, and I will handle the branding. Along with a few Fighters since there's 43 wolves in the apartment." Vincent confirmed, slightly nervous at the idea of it. Branding was not a pretty task and there were a considerable amount of women and children there. But it certainly needed to be done. At least wolves heal quickly.

"And what of the Union, Alpha?" Wilder asked, his expression firm as he addressed Vince, "We cannot allow them to continue with this mutiny if we are to move forward with the pack's future."

"I agree." Vincent nodded, "Our hope is that the rogues leaving Roaming Ember will sate the majority of them. Keeping them here has always just added salt to the wound so we hope their absence will help move that along."

"And for those who aren't satisfied?" Julian asked.

Athalia bit down on her bottom lip hesitantly, "We have considered the possibility of opening positions for Scouts and Fighters, specifically allowing recruits from the Union. The idea behind it is that they will feel more involved in keeping the rogues out."

"And by law, if any rogue does threaten our borders, Scouts and Fighters can retaliate." Vince continued a bit gravely, "If they insist on violence, it should be violence on the pack's terms."

"So all of this and we let them kill the rogues anyway?" Julian scoffed a bit, "Sounds a bit counterintuitive if you ask me."

"The whole point of letting the rogues go was to give them a fighting chance, Julian." Athalia said sternly, "I never wanted to let them go scot free but I won't allow them to be caged and systematically slaughtered."

The Beta quieted with a nod. They finished their meeting, the Alphas deciding to pay a visit to the rogue families and alert them of their fates.

As they drove towards the apartments on the far side of town, Vincent couldn't help but notice Athalia fiddling with her bracelets more than usual.

"Everything alright?" He tried to ask as nonchalantly as possible.

She shot him a look, a pout forming on her lips, "Not really. We're about to tell 43 wolves that we're going to brand them and kick them out of their homes."

"None of this would've been a problem if we had just let them go two years ago." Vince agreed, turning to pull into the complex, "These wolves built lives here, some were born here."

That last fact chilled the Alpha - wolves born inside their territory were members of the pack. There was never a question of that. Especially wolves who were overseen by their own doctors and housed inside their lines. 

Athalia stiffened as Vince parked at the very entrance of the building, catching the eye of a mass of people outside the doors. 

Members of the Union massed like an angry mob, glaring and standing firm as the royalty pulled up.

"They must have been waiting here for days." Vince murmured, turning off the engine, "Just waiting to cause trouble."

The Luna's eyes darted about, undoubtedly looking for her mate. But he was no where to be seen - only a smirking Dominique standing front and center. She sighed, steadying herself as she gripped her bracelets. Looking back to Vince, her eyes full of worry, he felt a pang of sorrow. 

Reaching over, he gently caressed her face, "It'll be alright. We can do this."

She nodded, still looking downtrodden. Vince sighed inwardly, knowing the only person who could calm her was out of her reach.

They pushed out of the doors, a cacophony of jeers and insults raining down on them the moment they stepped out.

Vince put on a stern face, summoning whatever Alpha voice he could as he turned to face them, "What is the meaning of this?"

They quieted, mostly out of his dominance but partly out of fear. The voice he mustered from his chest was bellowing and absolute, something they couldn't fight against even if they wanted to.

Dominique kept her arms crossed as she stared Athalia squarely in the eye, not even glancing at Vince, "Did you think you could just carry on without addressing us?"

"I believe we addressed you two days ago when your Alpha was crowned." Athalia replied coldly, "I was not aware that you were so deaf and arrogant that I'd have to repeat myself."

Dominique stiffened, her attitude quickly souring, "No, but as the majority of your pack, our opinions must be acknowledged."

"You no longer hold the majority, Dominique." Vincent asserted, looking at the mass of people. Though large and loud, they did not hold the numbers they did two days ago. Many of the Union simply wanted an Alpha, it did not matter much who it was.

But some devout members were steadfast in seeing Remy named Alpha and those were the ones in front of them now.

"Roaming Ember," Athalia finally piped up, her Luna voice ever elegant and commanding, "as your Alpha royalty, we have decided to move forward with releasing the rogues from our territory. Branding will occur throughout this week and they will be released on Monday at dawn."

Murmurs rose in the crowd, doubtful and opposing. Vince added, "We understand many of you still seek retribution for what happened two years ago. So we have decided to open positions in the Fighters and Scouts to help with the release of the rogues and to guard our lands from them returning."

"And I hope, Luna Athalia," a voice suddenly rose above them, just off to the side, "the head Fighter of Roaming Ember will be in charge of these new positions."

Vince watched as Athalia visibly tensed, her jaw clenching and a brow twitching at the sound of her mate. The wolves turned to see Remy, standing confidently as he addressed them. He was looking Athalia in the eye, almost like he was only addressing her. 

The crowd remained silent as he walked up to her, standing just a couple feet away as he waited for an answer. They stared each other down in what everyone assumed was a duel of dominance. But Vince knew it was all an act to steady themselves, to fight their natural instincts and act civil.

"Of course." Athalia managed, turning away from him and beginning to walk through the crowd to the apartment doors. 

"I suppose it's the most efficient thing to do." Remy continued, his deep voice unnervingly powerful, "Perhaps we will hold tryouts for Head Fighter as well, since I will be stepping down from my position."

Athalia paused, refusing to turn around, her hand on the doorknob of the complex.

Vincent took a step towards the male, growling under his breath, "Really now?"

"Really." Remy's gaze moved from the Luna to the proclaimed Alpha, looking him in the eye, "After I take the Alpha title from you in a duel."

Gasps rose from the crowd, Vincent's eyes growing wide at the proclamation.

"I, Remy Samuel Bell, challenge Alpha Vincent John Reyes for his title as Alpha."

What??