USELESS?

26

Five androgynous figures stand before me and Anthony. The first, who Anthony introduces as Mags, is short and slender, but obviously well-muscled, with disheveled dark hair and dark grey eyes. The second, Vanyel, seems almost feminine; slender, and slightly taller than Mags, with shoulder length blue-black hair and the most striking silver eyes I've ever seen. The third and tallest of the men, Lavan, seems to be the youngest, probably eighteen or nineteen, with curly auburn hair and hazel eyes.

The first of the women, Ylsa, is as tall as Lavan, with a lantern-jawed face, ash blonde hair, and vibrant green eyes. The final, and tallest, member of the scout group, Tarma is as slender as a sword, with jet black hair in tiny braids to her waist and ice blue eyes. She has an odd-looking curved sword strapped diagonally across her back.

"As you all may remember, you five were instrumental in scouting rogue territory almost three months ago ahead of the raid to free our new Luna." Anthony begins. "I have a brief, somewhat dangerous task for you. A Royal proclamation has been issued to the rogue leader and law requires that it be nailed in plain sight on the door of their headquarters."

"How the hell're we supposed to do that?" growls Mags. "That place is probably tighter'n a drum, n guarded round the clock to boot."

"It's not as impossible as it sounds, Mags." I tell him. "The group only had about 250 members before the raid, and likely has quite a bit less now, no more than 50, I'd say. Plus, we have reason to believe that they're expecting US to be locked down tight, not trying to go back."

"Right," Anthony agrees, "So, the five of you will be supplied with scent blockers, and will be traveling in wolf form. You'll leave at sunset tonight, and get there close to midnight. One of you will have a pack containing the proclamation, a letter in a sealed envelope, a strong rubber mallet and sturdy nail with a rubber-coated head. Two of you will pack a change of clothes, preferably the strongest and the best archer.

Once you get there, the strongest will be the one to nail the proclamation and envelope to the door, while the other four stand guard. Then, you will retreat to a safe distance, as far from the house as your archer can accurately shoot, and take out the window of the leader's suite before running back to our territory."

"That's a pretty detailed plan," Tarma says, impressed. "But if you only need two of us, why send five?"

I give her a look and tell her "no plan ever survives an encounter with the enemy. We want you to be safe, which is why we've chosen the best fighters, as well as the fastest runners, among the scouts. If you encounter trouble, you'll be able to handle it."

"The five of you have the day off to rest, and spend time with your mates before dinner. After dinner, your provisions will be waiting at the front door.

"Lendel and Stefen definitely won't like this." Vanyel mutters.

"Neither will Keren and Sherill," answers Ylsa in a similar tone

"That's what ya get fer havin' two mates," Mags jokes as they walk out of the office. "Me an' Lavan only have Amily and Kalira to worry about, an' they're both scouts, too, so they know what's what."

"T-TWO mates?" I stutter.

"Yes. Vanyel and Ylsa are both in polyamorous matings." Anthony tells me. "Vanyel's mates are a scout named Tylendel, and a pack musician named Stefen. Ylsa's mates are a pack teacher named Keren and a scout named Sherill. Tarma, on the other hand, lost her mate, Dharin just before their bonding ceremony when her entire pack was killed by Dale's father.

She received a vision from the Goddess that sent her to our pack to apprentice to the head trainer of our warriors as his replacement when he retires. She's taken a bonded vow of celibacy, blessed by the Goddess herself, so likely doesn't have a second chance mate."

"A bonded vow?" I inquire. "I've never heard of that."

"It's similar to a mating ceremony, but instead of the vows bonding them to a mate, they vow to live a life of celibacy in service to the Goddess." Anthony tells me. "Wolves who take a bonded vow are usually lone wolves. Tarma was healed here after the attack, and decided to stay because of her vision. She has a blessed sisterhood bond with another wolf named Kethry, and helps Kethry and her mate, Jadrek with their pups."

"That's wonderful," I say. "I guess I need to draft the proclamation and letter if they're going to take them tonight."

I move my chair out from behind Anthony's desk, and back to my own to get started. Father sent me copies of a few older proclamations that I can use as guidelines to draft mine. I've studied the laws that apply to what Dale can be charged with, so it should be fairly simple.

Lunch rolls around, and I still haven't found the perfect wording. A pack member brings our lunches to Anthony's office, and we discuss the proclamation as we eat. Afterwards, feeling as though I know what it needs to say, I start again. This time the words flow, and in a matter of minutes, the proclamation is finished.

I set that aside, and write a short, impersonal note to Dale, then seal it in an envelope that I find in a drawer. I slide both documents in a folder, and hand them to Anthony. He looks over the proclamation, then nods, and smiles.

"That's perfect, love. We'll make sure not to mention during negotiations that you'll be the one fighting, we'll just say 'the parties or their champions' Dale will assume you won't be fighting."

"Exactly. If he knows I'm a Guardian, he'll think I haven't come into my abilities, and can't fight if we make it sound like someone else will be fighting on my behalf...if you speak to him, you might 'slip' and say that YOU will see him in the challenge arena," I say, smirking.

Anthony pulls me onto his lap and kisses me. "I love you, my devious mate."