Forest's Journey

Chapter 21

Bush

"Retreat, Pack of the Bush wolves retreat." Bush called.

His mate glanced disbelievingly at him as his packmates slowly came back to him.

"What did you do that for? We still had a good fight left." Holly hissed.

"We were outnumbered and overwhelmed, Holly. Forest must've summoned some more wolves from his camp." Bush explained.

"Why didn't we summon some wolves from our camp?" questioned Holly.

"We only have 10 wolves back at camp. We can't summon enough wolves to help us win if we still want to protect our camp." replied Bush.

Holly grumbled, but didn't reply.

I'm going to give the strip of land to the Pack of the Forest." decided Bush.

"You're doing WHAT?" she exclaimed.

"If we don't give the land away, there's only going to be more war and bloodshed, and a strip of land is not worth the lives of many of our wolves." answered Bush.

Holly sighed, uncertainty apparent in her eyes.

"I know that. I've always known that. I thought if we could keep that strip of land to ourselves without too much hassle, that it would be worth fighting once or twice for it. But now it looks like it will be harder than I thought, and if keeping the border as it is will start a war and kill many of our packmates, it's not worth it." Holly decided.

"I'm glad you made the choice that would be the best for the pack, Holly. I'm really, really glad." said Bush.

"Forest and Rose, we have decided to officially set the border to the thick line of bushes, like you initially suggested." announced Bush.

Forest's eyes widened and his mouth gaped with shock before he looked him in the eyes with warmth.

"Thank you, Alpha Bush and Alpha Holly, for making the choice that would bring peace upon our packs." responded Forest.

Bush surveyed his packmates as he led them back to their camp. To his relief, no one seems to have died or had life-threatening injuries. Some carried unconscious packmates between them. They grumbled and groaned the whole way, and Bush got a feeling he would need to have a talk with them later. The camp became a scene of chaos once they got back. Injured wolves lay at the centre of camp while others ran around treating their wounds. Bush and Holly announced their defeat and loss of their territory to their pack. The wolves were angry and in disbelief, but they were too tired to do anything about it.

The next morning, Bush and Holly visited Oat in his den. By the cold, infuriated look in his eyes, it seemed like he had already gotten the news.

"Why did you do it?" Oat asked.

His voice was calm and cold, but Bush knew that he was masking a lot of anger behind it.

"If we didn't, Oat, then the war would've continued, and wolves would be injured and even killed. That strip of land isn't worth the lives of our packmates. It doesn't even bring that much prey." explained Bush.

"But our pack pride, dignity and reputation is. By giving away the land you showed the other four packs that we are weak." Oat spat.

"But if we keep the land, the other packs will think we're unreasonable." argued Bush.

Oat knew that Bush was right, but he didn't want to admit it, so he just gave a grunt.

"Oat, Thistle, please give me a bit of faith in the future and trust Holly and I to make decisions that will benefit the pack. Please at least consider what we're saying instead of immediately dismissing it and asserting your opinions. We have to work cohesively as a team, so we must listen to each other." pleaded Bush.

"Betas and Deltas are not supposed to agree with everything the Alphas say. They're supposed to question their decisions and offer second opinions." pointed out Thistle.

"But they are not supposed to coerce the Alphas to do things either. I admit, I was wrong when I forced Bush to do what I wanted, and I am trying to change. However, it's also very important for the Beta and Delta to cooperate with the Alphas as well." said Holly.

Bush glanced at his mate gratefully.

"Perhaps you're right, boy. Perhaps we should give you some more freedom to make decisions and we'll see how it goes." admitted Oat.

"I don't mind sitting back a little bit, but you can be sure that I'll take up more decision-making if you screw up." added Thistle.

"Thanks, guys. Seriously, thank you so much for just letting it go." said Bush.

The entrance to the Beta's den rustled. Holly peeked out and saw Nettle the Zeta.

"I know you guys are busy, but the wolves want an official statement from the Alphas about what happened." reported Nettle.

"Alright, we're coming." replied Holly.

Bush and Holly called the pack for a meeting. The wolves who were knocked unconscious yesterday had recovered and they were listening too.

"Wolves of this pack, you probably feel that we shouldn't have called retreat so early yesterday and that we definitely shouldn't have given away that land. However, I can tell you that we acted in the interest of our pack. If we hadn't called retreat, wolves would've probably died yesterday. If we decided to keep the land, there would be an ongoing war with the Pack of the Forest and wolves might end up dying. Continuing the fight for that land is no longer worth it. We don't get that much prey from it anyways. Surrendering that land was the only way to keep our pack strong and growing. It's also better for our reputation because now the other packs don't see us as unreasonable. I hope you can understand why we did what we had to do." declared Bush.

Most of the wolves, including his Beta and Delta, seemed to agree or at least accept what he had said. However, some wolves, mostly the younger ones, were still angry and upset at what he did.

"Don't worry about those who don't agree with you, they'll come around soon enough." comforted Holly.