USELESS?

25

The pack is gathered behind the house, in the outdoor training area, in preparation for the run. Anthony told me it's usually loud and boisterous, especially among the newly shifted excited for their first run, but tonight it's oddly quiet, the crowd giving me curious glances and whispering amongst themselves. By tradition, the Alpha and Luna, if there is one, are the first to shift for a run.

I remove my shirt and pants before turning to step behind a screen to remove my underwear to shift. As I turn, the whispers get louder, erupting into cheering. I shift into my wolf, then step from behind the screen to find the rest of the pack already shifted. As I come into view, the wolves lift their muzzles and howl in joy at the full moon.

Zeus steps up to my left side, and leads me through our pack, with many wolves lightly scenting me as I pass. As we reach the edge of the crowd of wolves, we break into a run, and the pack follows joyfully. The younger, newly shifted pups run protected in the middle of the pack.

We run for what seems like hours, circling just inside the borders of our territory, making sure to interact with the guards as we pass them, so they feel themselves included in the run. A select group of volunteers will take their places after the first lap around the border, so they can join the run.

We make three laps of the territory before returning to the outdoor training area, where all members have the choice to either interact with the pack as wolves, or shift and mingle as humans, enjoying refreshments that were set up before the run.

I step behind the screen, shift, and get dressed, stepping out to find that the rest of the pack has shifted as well. Every member of the pack, except for Anthony and Archer, has knelt down, bowing their heads over their knees. I immediately gesture for them to stand, flustered, and link my hand with Anthony's.

"As you have all seen," He begins loudly, addressing the pack, "The Goddess has seen fit to honor the Golden Moon Pack by bestowing Her Guardian as my mate and your Luna. It is Prince Hunter's request, however, that you refrain from kneeling or bowing in his presence, and grant him no more or less deference than you would any other Luna. Also, please refrain from referring to him as 'Blessed One'. Hunter or Luna Hunter will be sufficient. Thank you all, and enjoy your evening."

"Thank you, Anthony." I say to him quietly.

Anthony kisses my temple before answering, "It's my pleasure, Hunter. We've all noticed how uncomfortable it makes you to be the center of attention the way you have been lately. I just decided to curb as much of it as I can before it gets out of hand."

As he's speaking, Joseph, Victor, and our family approaches. Angela gives me a quick hug of reassurance before telling Anthony, "That was well done. I'm sure that won't stop the traditionalists from hounding Hunter, but if need be, you can order them to leave him alone with Alpha voice."

"Well," I ponder, "that's out of the way. Now we need to find the fastest, stealthiest pack members to deliver the proclamation to Dale. I'd prefer a small group, that way they can fight if they have to."

"We have a few scouts among our best fighters. We can summon them to the office tomorrow morning," Jeremiah responds, "and supply them with scent blockers for the trip. With five of them, they should be able to nail the proclamation to his door as the law requires without being caught."

"Five? Are you sure that's enough?" Xavier asks.

"We did heavy damage to the group when we raided two months ago," Anthony tells him. "I'd be surprised if there's more than fifty wolves left. And our scouts are all mated, so we won't have to worry about someone finding their mate there, and getting sidetracked. Once the proclamation and Hunter's note are in place, the scent blockers will ensure they just have to get out of sight.

"We know there are a couple of buildings that they can hide in if need be." He continues, "we may not have had long to plan the raid two months ago, but we did manage to scout well beforehand. The same scouts are going in this time, so they're familiar with the area already."

"That's a relief," Archer says, joining in the conversation. "Then the greatest risk is in actually nailing the proclamation to the door. Perhaps instead of a regular hammer, they can use a rubber mallet? That would reduce the sound considerably. I assume they're going in at night?"

"They are," I confirm. "And since the rogue headquarters has soundproofed rooms similar to the pack house, even werewolves won't be able to hear anything. We thought about having someone ring the bell afterwards to alert the house, but we can't figure out how to do that without endangering the group."

Archer scratches his chin. "Well, you could always send one of the scouts with the best aim with a blunt-tipped arrow. Have them hide behind a tree as far as possible from the building, and shoot the arrow, either at the doorbell or through a window. That would get their attention."

"Perfect. We know which windows go to Dale's suite, since we grabbed blueprints on our way out during the raid, so we can tell them to aim directly at his window." Anthony says. "By the time he gets to the door, the team should be halfway back to our territory if they travel in wolf form."

"Wait. Dale might have moved suites, since he's claiming to be the Alpha now." I mention. "The suite I shared with him wasn't in the alpha's quarters."

"So, they aim for the Alpha suite instead of Dale's old suite," Joseph concurs. "Whether or not he's in the Alpha suite, those windows usually have sensors to alert if someone is attacking, anyway."

"So, is the plan complete?" Asks Victor.

We all look around at one another, trying to decide if we've forgotten anything. Not thinking of anything, we each shrug, then Anthony is the one to answer, "it is."