The Lupine Necklace

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Unfortunately, we only made it half-way through the movie we picked out when Jason called the pack meeting to discuss Derek. We groaned and paused the movie. I was unhappy that I had to get up, as I was very comfortable spread across Ian's chest on the couch, whereas the others were just enjoying the movie.

We made our way into the dining room, which was the only room big enough to comfortably seat all the pack members for a meeting. Alice and Jason were seated at the head of the table. Dylan was seated to their right, and Ian and I went to sit by him. Xena, Nate and Lee sat across from us on the other side of Jason and Alice.

The rest of the pack filled in the rest of the table and the extra chairs that were all over the room. Just because the room was big enough to comfortably seat everyone didn't mean everyone had a spot at the table. Most of the higher ups in the pack sat at the table while the lower pack members sat around the room in the extra chairs.

When everyone was seated, Jason stood to begin the meeting. "Hello, everyone, thank you for coming. I know this meeting was a little more last minute than usual, but something has come up."

Everyone nodded and generally told Jason that they had no problem coming on short notice. I smiled. Our pack would do anything Jason told them, out of respect, not fear. It was something I really admired about Jason.

"So, everyone remembers our rescue mission last week when Layla was kidnapped," he paused while everyone nodded or murmured their agreements. "Derek has decided, even after us taking Layla with virtually no problems, that he's going to try again."

There were gasps of outrage, terrifying growls, and a few people even jumped angrily to their feet. Jason held his hands up and everyone calmed down.

"I'm not done. We received a letter from Derek this morning, addressed to Layla's biological father, Jeremy. It stated that Derek wanted to meet him at noon tomorrow to trade the necklace off. If Jeremy fails to show tomorrow, he's threatened not only Layla, but Ian, Nate, Lee and Xena."

Joseph, a boy a couple years older than me, stood angrily. "He can't get away with this, alpha!" he exclaimed. "He can't threaten Layla and her friends and expect us not to retaliate!"

"We're not going to let him get near them, Joseph," Jason reassured him. "We will protect our pack members, but we will not attack unless he does first. We are putting in place some preventative measures to prevent him from being able to kidnap Layla, Xena, Nate, Lee or Ian."

Another guy stood up. His name was Zack and he's in his early twenties. "How should we change patrols to help the situation?" he asked. He may be young, but he's an excellent fighter and Jason put him in charge of patrols when he turned nineteen.

"They'll be upped, but not by a lot. Our patrols haven't had many problems and we've already alerted the wolf pack. They're going to help us keep an eye out for any intruders as this is their territory as well," Jason told them.

Alice also stood, now taking her turn to speak. "We've also talked to Nate, Lee and Xena, along with their parents. For the time being, they will move into the pack house and they will all be together if they want to go anywhere. Safety in numbers and all that jazz."

Even in the tense atmosphere of worry and anger, Alice managed to make most everyone laugh. She was great at diffusing tension.

Now I stood. "I know many of you are worried that I will be taken again, but I want you all to know that I'm going to do everything in my power to protect my friends and my pack. Under no circumstances will Derek obtain the Lupine Necklace, and under no circumstances will he be allowed to harm anyone in this pack. His death will be swift if he dares to try."

Everyone cheered at the end of my speech, which was part of the reason I made it. I wanted to change their worry and anger into confidence. I looked proudly upon my pack and Jason and Alice both smiled at me.

When everyone calmed down and the tense atmosphere was completely obliterated, Jason began breaking down the details of patrols with Zack. Together, they hammered out the details, with some input from the rest of the pack, and officially declared the new patrol schedule.

I smiled at Ian, proud of my pack and the unique ways that we did things. Most packs, the alpha decides everything, based on what he thinks is best, without any input from the rest of the pack. Jason only does that with decisions that need an answer right away.

Your pack is pretty amazing, Ian told me, squeezing my hand gently.

I know, we have a great leader, I told him, watching as Jason moved from pack member to pack member, addressing specific concerns that they all had.

Ian put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him. You're going to be just as great if not greater than Jason and Alice, he assured me, sounding as proud of me as I was of my pack.

And you will be right at my side, leading them with me, I told him, laying my head on his shoulder and watching the interactions of my pack members.