Part of the Promise (Book 3 in the 'Part of' Series)

Chapter 24 Pep Talk

Chapter 24 pep talk

Ralph's POV

There was a lot of repeating myself all through the evening. It was getting to the point where I wanted to rip my hair out. I wasn't the only one getting frustrated with Neva's mannerisms. The rest of the pack were dealing with their frustration in many ways, some were fidgeting, some were tapping their foot, Elowen left the room in order to calm down. It was all very frustrating.

"Your plan is nothing?" Neva summarised with a raised eyebrow as she sat on a settee by herself. "How are you expecting to overthrow the threat if you aren't going to do anything?" I shook my head and groaned internally.

"We're not doing nothing." Aiden spoke up for the first time in a while, he was reaching the end of his tether. "We're going to do what's peaceful and trying not to cause a fight." Neva rolled her eyes at him. I balled my hands into fists, she hadn't been listening to us, that was extremely clear.

"That's basically the same thing," Neva paused for a moment. Within that moment, a knock came. Everything grew still once again. "Aren't you going to answer it?" She gestured towards the doorway of the living room.

I moved off the wall and headed into the passage, Moss following me close behind. I was grateful for whoever was at the door, even if it was Travis. It would give me a break from being constantly judged. I opened the door and surprise washed over me, along with relief.

"Ashton." I moved forward and gave him a warm hug. He was around the same age as my father. You wouldn't think by his appearance that he was the alpha of one of the most prestigious packs in the country. "How are you?"

"My apologies," he said quickly as he nodded inside after pulling away from the hug. "She saw my emails and wanted to do things for herself." His gaze was scolding as he looked at the green paint which was peeling from the passage walls. "I'm as good as I can be." I moved aside for him to enter the house.

"It's good to see you, though it's rather unexpected." He seemed rather small when compared to Moss, though that wasn't often a bad thing when it comes to fighting as wolves.

"Varsha has a good handle on the house." He smiled politely. "She has been taking on more of the alpha role nowadays, it's been very hectic for one person." I nodded in understanding as I led him into the living room.

He made a round of greetings and hello's as he moved through the room. "Who's this?" He looked towards Aiden with interest. "Don't tell me he's yours." He looked at me with a grin forming on his face. Pink rose to my cheeks.

"Yes, he's mine. He's Aiden." I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. "Anyway, moving on." I gestured towards the settee where Neva sat. He looked at her with a stern gaze, she wouldn't meet his eyes. It was natural for the alpha to have an intimidating gaze. It was something which I had always grown up with, though it was now starting to annoy me slightly.

"You're in trouble when we get home." She nodded her head and looked down for a moment before looking back at him.

"If home's still there." The snarky tone was still there but it was laced with softness. He glanced at her before looking around at us.

"Alright, it didn't take as long to get here as we thought it would." He ran a hand through his hair. "Human transport has improved significantly since I was last on it." He chuckled lightly. "We have put word in with the local authorities but they said that they're powerless."

"At the moment," Rhodes nodded politely. "Though we can give them power. If enough people support the cause then they'd be forced to listen." Ashton looked interested in her words but he shook his head.

"We wouldn't be able to get support up there." Neva looked like she wanted to nod and point to him to show her agreement, all she did was shift awkwardly. "We have to strike him where it hurts. There is no way of peace here."

"I thought the opposite a month ago," I trailed off slightly as I looked towards my feet. "I agree, this means more than just involving the humans. Travis has gotten to packs all over the country." Aiden stood up from where he was sitting.

"What about them?" His eyebrows were furrowed and he had his hand in mid air, as though holding the answers which were forming in his mind. "Where would they have gone?" A lot of looks were exchanged.

"Depends," Ashton sighed. "I would say some moved further into the forest, some would have went to the human world with no other choice." His eyes looked at Aiden with curiosity once more. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, if wolves have lost their home to Travis. I doubt he keeps track of what they're doing." Aiden brushed it off slightly, he started to pace and rubbed his wrists. "They'd no doubt be at least somewhere supportive of the cause."

"We could work together to fix things." Beaumont suggested with a shrug. "We might not be able to promise much though," he shook his head sadly, Rhodes laying a hand on his shoulder.

"We can promise justice," Tempest vowed strongly. "We can promise them that Travis will pay for what he did to so many packs."

Aiden clapped his hands a single time. "We can promise that we will support them, we can work together. We have friends, something Travis won't have enough of." He looked towards me with hopeful eyes. I couldn't resist the happiness and determination which filled the room. We may all be in the same horrible situation, but we were there together. We could pick up the broken pieces of the bridge and we can build it again.

"Well, this worked," I looked towards Ashton and Neva. "Our call was heard and we're making an alliance, we can do it again."