Blood of Eden

Chapter 7

It didn't take very long to assemble the major players in her father's study but to Katherine the minutes ticked by like hours. She was well aware of the fact that everyone in the room but her knew exactly what was going on and that it was due to her choice of lifestyles that she was still in the dark. As the Alpha's firstborn she should have been among the very first to hear of any news pertaining to her father's territory, but she had stepped away from pack life for what seemed to her a very short time and now her choice was coming back to bite her in the ass.

Her parents took their places; her father in the giant chair he'd sat in earlier, now dragged over near the roaring fireplace and her mother in a more feminine chair by his side.

Katherine couldn't help but compare this gathering to others that had been held here over the years. Comfortable family times when stories would be shared and laughter would ring in the air. Every gathering would begin with a retelling of her family's relocation to Canada and Katherine felt that this story on this night would reveal more to her than it ever had before.

The LaFlamme family had immigrated to Canada in 1803 during the great exploration of the west. Men like Alexander Mackenzie and David Thompson were aggressively charting the wild nature of Canada. Choosing to settle down in Quebec was an easy decision on Pierre's part, his French tongue and customs were accepted far more in that area of Canada than they would be elsewhere. Having the blessing of the local Jesuits also helped smooth out the family's relocation.

Katherine had known the story of her father's appointment as Alpha of Canada since she was a small child. It was as much a part of wolf history as any other tale and so she heard about it in her studies as well as around the fireplace during quiet evenings with her father and mother; quiet evenings that had held none of the urgency that this one nearly hummed with. Her father's voice was low when he spoke.

"The year was 1803 and a great conclave of Alphas was called concerning a new territory that was uncharted and unsettled by our kind. The Americas were another continent that we had long been hearing about but had yet to spread our influence over. Scouting expeditions sent overseas with various explorers sent back news that this new land was beautiful beyond compare and that there was no sign anywhere of any beings like us.

The conclave lasted two whole months. The elders debated long and hard about who they could possibly send to this wild new land to settle it and bring its vastness under the protection and rule of the pack.

I was a young wolf then, married with two young children and so proud of my position of Alpha of France. It was my birthplace after all. I aspired to no more than that and so it was with great surprise and anxiety that I received not one, not two, but five nominations to be Alpha of this new territory. France was such a small territory that the thought of watching such a large area filled me with fear like I had never known before. The entire conclave must have been repulsed by the scent of my emotions.

Finally, after endless interviews, debates and trials, the conclave concluded that I would be appointed Alpha of the Northern most regions of this unfounded land but only on a trial basis. My progress would be assessed yearly and my leadership of such a large expanse of land would remain so only if the population of the pack remained manageable. After all, Europe itself is small and it has five Alphas, and that doesn't even take into account the Alphas located in Asia and other regions."

At this point, Pierre stopped speaking and took a long drink from the crystal glass he held in his large hands. He breathed deeply and raised his head, his eyes gazing directly at his only daughter.

Katherine met her father's eye and it all clicked into place for her. Her mind whirled a million miles an hour as she quickly processed the new information and gathered her thoughts. She had been wrong before when she assumed that her father's leadership of Canada had been cemented and that the threat of his losing the position of Alpha was the central issue.