The Reluctant Luna

Chapter 31

Louise and Luca had been training for this meeting for a couple days. They had done tests to determine how much of her blood needed to be consumed before she could force a mind link. Once they figured that out, she practiced forging links to people, then passing their thoughts over to Luca via their mate link. Finally, she practiced rapidly switching, so there would be no bleed over, since two or more people in a pack link would pick up each other's thoughts.

That had lead to the preparations for their guests: wine and rare steak prior to the actual meeting. Louise's blood had been used in the marinade for the steaks, as well as a small amount being added to the wine.

Now that they'd finished their meal, they were in the conference room. Unlike before, the five hostile alpha couples had their beta couples present, as well. Moreover, they had brought numerous personal guards who were relaxing in the pack house, while Luca's pack stayed outside. "Broodmaster Byrne has proposed making this pack neutral territory," Luca stated.

"Why?" Alpha Gregory demanded. ::Sounds like a cheap tactic to avoid having to help when we take down Alpha Wilbur's pack.::

"Primarily, because he wants to protect his daughter. What's more important is she is now a full member of my pack, and, as such, her loyalty to her father has been greatly reduced. Having us be neutral would allow him to continue to use her as a tool to his own advantage," Luca replied bluntly.

"And it would neatly keep her out of rather violent werewolf politics," Alpha Xavier observed.

"No doubt, that has crossed his mind as well," Luca conceded. "Of course, as you've all noticed, along with the change in Luna Louise's status, both of us have grown enormously in Alpha Power. Would any of you really like us to show up at a battle and start commanding large portions of your troops to stand down?"

Alpha Gregory realized, ::Losing half my wolves in an attack would ruin the attack. I can't afford that risk.::

She switched between the other alphas and caught Alpha Henry's thought, ::...couldn't actually steal our troops. It's a complete bluff.::

"I don't think they all believe us," Louise noted with a hint of a smile. Luca simply nodded his head. They'd planned for this, as well. She turned her attention to Henry's beta, Eric. "Eric, punch Alpha Henry," she commanded.

Alpha Henry barely ducked the sudden punch, then caught Eric's fist on the follow up swing, before his Beta managed to get control of himself. A quick scan of the room's minds revealed any doubt that they could cause serious problems with a battle, simply by shouting orders. Louise made a mental observation that werewolves could resist the commands far better than vampires.

"We could just kill you," Alpha Xavier observed. "That would get rid of all this nonsense."

"True, but I suspect you've heard that Broodmaster Henderson tried just that a few days ago. If you haven't, he sent three mid-level vampires to kill me, and was hoping to get Louise too. He got one of his vampires back. We released it to him."

Louise was in Xavier's mind. ::He told us to be prepared, he didn't give us details about why. That bastard's been holding out to make himself look good.::

"Ultimately," Luca continued, "we're simply passing on a proposal made by Broodmaster Byrne. We're presenting it to the most significantly impacted parties, first, and will then pass on the information to others. We invite you to discuss it among yourselves and others, and go from there.

"We intend to work out the details of how such neutrality would work if everyone agrees to it. If you are in favor of the idea, be sure to consider proposals to what actions should be taken if various parties violate that neutrality. Thank you."

Louise didn't pick up any other significant thoughts. Once their guests had left, she let out a breath. "Well that was interesting. Should we warn Alpha Wilbur?"

"That depends on whether Alpha Gregory decides to resist the proposal," Luca replied with a grin. "Of course, Wilbur's already aware of his plans, just not the timing, so it's not a big deal, either way."

Louise nodded and dragged Luca up to their room to "relax".