The Culling

CHAPTER NINE

Lincoln stood in the king's office, a little nervous. For the past three months, rumors about First Death had spread fast. But he had managed to keep his sister from hearing them. He knew that if she had heard how far their old pack had fallen, it would hurt her badly.

"How have you been settling in Lincoln?" The king asked as he looked up from a few papers before him. "Well sir. Things here are different from what I'm used to, but I'm getting the hang of things."

"That's good. The reason I called you in to see me, is because I've been doing surveillance on First Death. We have reason to believe that your former alpha is being held in the cells, but we can't confirm this." King Stone stood up and walked over to Lincoln. "Look through these pictures and tell me who you know. They are some of the few who have managed to escape and find refuge in nearby packs. Some, however, didn't make it."

Lincoln took the pictures and slowly began to look through them. Most of them he knew. They were the pack elders who had often given him words of advice and encouragement. One by one, he handed the pictures back to the king until he was left holding just one. When he realized who's picture it was, Lincoln's blood ran ice cold in his veins.

His mother's face stared up at him, and his heart stopped. Instinct told him that she hadn't made it. Quickly looking up, his eyes asked the question that he couldn't bring himself to voice out loud. "This woman was one of those who died shortly after stumbling into a neighboring pack. The report that came with her information said that her body had been badly malnourished and beaten."

The king noticed Lincoln flinched at that and anger flared in his eyes. He watched as the young man before him struggled to keep his wolf under control. "Did you know her?"

"She... She's my mother." The king's heart dropped. "I'm sorry Lincoln. Would you like to inform your sister?" He asked but Lincoln shook his head. He knew that if his sister was to learn of their mother's death, it wouldn't be good for anyone. Sure, she had been their father's princess, but Phoebe and their mother shared a special bond. When she learned of her death, it would devastate her.

"What do you plan to do with First Death?" Lincoln could barely hide he anger that was raging in him. "The reports that most of the survivors have passed on is that everyone still in the pack has become a rogue. There is no saving them it would seem. Last week, I received several reports that First Death has attacked several smaller packs around them, adding to their numbers.

"It's my wish that I could knock them all out, killing the original rogues and return the pack wolves to their normal self. But that's no longer possible. I have proof that everyone under the command of the rogue alpha is lost to our people. My only option left is to eradicate every wolf." The pain at losing so many of their kind could plainly be heard in the king's voice, but there was no other way. Lincoln could still remember how he felt while under the control of the rogue alpha. It wasn't something that he would wish on his worst enemy.

"Sir, please don't let my sister learn of any of this. That pack is one of the last things she had of our father, and it would tear her up greatly to learn that it has to be destroyed. I know that I'll have to let her know about our mother soon, but even that will be a hard thing for her to hear."

"I understand Lincoln. I'll make sure that no one tells her. She's a good guard, and while I'm sure that she wouldn't let her personal business interfere with her job, I agree with you that we shouldn't let her know." Lincoln nodded as he looked back down at the picture of his mother. The ghost of a smile on her lips broke his heart. Lincoln said before he slipped the picture into his pocket and bowed before leaving the office.