My mind shot to Rourke. “That’s good, because I’m ready to go. When I get back, we’ll have a chance to regroup and figure out what all this stuff means.”
“I don’t want to scare you.” His voice held a raw note that rang through the air. It held dread and anger. “But you have no idea what the impact of this news will have on the supernatural community. Each Sect is more wary and powerful than the next. There will be massive reactive fear in every race. This is not something we will be able to quell or explain away. This is something we have to fight. Fight until they fear our power, and when they stop fearing us, we fight again to prove we are the strongest. It’s the only way they will back down. The only way to lessen the attacks that will come your way.”
I knew he was right; it was just hard to hear it. I’d spent my entire life hoping and praying the wolves would never go to war because of me, that I wouldn’t be the catalyst to end our race like the Cain Myth stated. It seemed now there would be fighting, but the irony was that the wolves wouldn’t be fighting against me; they were going to be fighting to protect me. That is, if they chose to believe the Prophecy over the Myth, which wasn’t a for sure by any means. “I’m willing to do whatever’s necessary,” I said with resignation. “I have no other choice. I can’t go into hiding and I can’t become something else.” Though that sounded awfully good at the moment. “If we have to fight, I will follow your lead.”
My father nodded his head decisively, weariness lining his features. Finding out your daughter was about to become the most wanted female in existence was not on any father’s to-do list. But bemoaning things had never been my style. Nor was arguing a moot point. There was no other way out of this but to keep moving forward.
“Once you return,” he said, “we’ll formulate a plan and take our advantages wherever we can. When we’re more educated about this Prophecy, we can determine your strengths and figure out a solid defense.”
“I’m assuming you’ve come up with a short-term plan in the meantime?” I asked. My father would not have come into this meeting cold when he had information his daughter might be the Y Gwir Lycae.
“Yes.” My father strode from the windows to the table and sat. Even though his stress showed, he didn’t look a day over thirty-five. He was handsome, with a full head of jet-black hair. He leaned over and gave me a small smile. “James and I worked out some of the logistics last night. The very beginnings of a plan to ensure we have a fighting chance once this news spreads. Defeating the threats against you will take every wolf we have. As much as the other Sects will present a problem to us in the future—and the stakes will be high—they are not my first priority. The wolves who recently broke apart from both U.S. Packs have tossed us all into chaos. We don’t stand a chance of defending you from any attack until we can pull ourselves together and unite once again. Infighting will thin us out, make us weak.” He paused, looking down at his hands for a moment. He glanced back up at me. “The short-term plan involves me doing something unprecedented.”
I stared at him, assessing. Being head of Pack wasn’t easy, but I knew whatever he had in mind would be a calculated move in the right direction. “I’m sure whatever it is, it’s the right step.”
“After we finish with this meeting,” he said, “I’m heading down into the Southern Territories to meet with Redman.”
“In person?” I asked, somewhat surprised. Visiting an Alpha you were feuding with was not the norm by any means. From all the stories I’d heard in my lifetime about Red Martin, Alpha of the U.S. Southern Territories, he was a brutal sonofabitch who ruled his wolves with an iron fist. “How big is his Pack these days?”
“He leads fifty-nine wolves,” my father said, contempt lacing his voice. “Thirty-seven wolves thinner than it was twenty years ago. I don’t know where they’ve gone, since only a few have come to my Pack. They aren’t listed as rogue either. I’m assuming they have assimilated into new Packs around the world—either that, or they are the wolves who began the fracture and Red has kept it quiet on purpose. Whatever the reason, I’m about to find out.”
Two hundred years ago, Redman Martin was responsible for the breakup of the U.S. Pack, becoming Alpha of the Southern Territories. As ruling Alpha, my father could’ve easily ended his life. Instead he chose to let Red form a new Pack, because restless wolves were a hindrance to everyone. Red’s nasty influence had already rent a hole in the existing Pack, so there had been no other choice. The wolves who left to run under Red’s directive were of a particular flavor.
My father had not been sorry to see them go.