Flames of Fury

Chapter 33

The last midnight post went over well, I think.

Did you have a nice weekend?

— — — — —

Magnolia

Incandis, Xander, Kat, and Ember are all waiting outside the war room when me and the guys arrive. Kat and Ember take the babies from Ro and Varian, I laugh to myself how they gave our parents more shit about taking the twins than they do Kat and Ember.

"Everyone here?" I ask Incandis and Xander.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm afraid it's standing room only at this point." Xander apologizes but that's fine, I'd rather be on my feet with the amount of energy running through me.

"Great, thanks Xander."

We walk into the war room where close to 150 people are packed in at my instruction. They have all stopped what they were doing to be here, and the work they're doing is vital to the happiness and wellbeing of not only the colony but the pack as well so I want to be respectful of their time and get them back to their stations as fast as possible.

"Good afternoon, thank you for being here on short notice." I address the room. "I want to get you all back to your work, so I'll save my long winded gratitude for tonight's banquet." A few of the guardians chuckle at this, they know that I'm not usually one to gush but I believe that meritorious service deserves to be recognized. They've also been with me most of my life so they feel comfortable relaxing a little and giving the occasional laugh where appropriate.

"Let's start with numbers. How many from Shadowmoon made it into the Grove?" I don't specify a person to answer, my people know exactly who I'm talking to.

"567, not including their majesties and their family." I can feel Ro's and Varian's confusion through our bond and I smirk because they don't know they are the "majesties" he's referring to. They'll get it soon enough.

"How many are placed outside of the palace?"

"24. Eighteen guardian families have taken in the 24 male warriors that couldn't be housed in the palace. Their food and lodging will be taken care of by the families."

"Good, thank you. Make sure Xander gets the names of those families. Where are we with food and other supplies for the pack?"

"We've given every family a packed lunch and snacks to hold them over until tonight's dinner. We will need to send out for an emergency supply run today, and then simply adjust our inventory orders thereafter." Lucy answers my question and predicts my next, because that's just how good she is – or maybe that's just how predictable I am.

"Excellent. You're relieved of this meeting then so you can make whatever preparations necessary." The thirty or so members of the kitchen and palace staff shuffle out and get back to work. "Empaths, how is everyone handling the relocation?"

"As well as can be expected. The males are more angry than anything," Eric begins, but he hazards a cursory glance at Ro and Varian when he mentions the males of the pack, "but that's to be expected. The children have been calmed and the colony has been flocking to the palace with donations of toys and clothes for everyone. There is no longer any detectable panic. Fear and anxiety will probably increase briefly when we leave but we expect that tonight's banquet will help settle those nerves. If I may say, my Queen, oddly enough it was easier to manage their moods with you in close proximity."

Pride floods through me from Ro and Varian, but I don't know what they're so proud about. I didn't do anything special. Anyone would have done the same in my position. My colony doesn't shirk the call to help others in need.