Bewitched

chapter 14 - pack protection

(This chapter has been edited)

That night, Augustus had called for a pack meeting. Normally, the Alpha would only call for a pack meeting with his closest sergeants such as Vincent, Daxton, the Deltas Lloyd and Felix and elders, formally known as Gammas. This time, he had called for the entire pack – also those living on their own scattered around the territory which included the Omegas. Her father and Daxton had found out that the girl killed by the Rogues was an Omega wolf called Liberty Olson. The Olson wolves were a big family; two parents and six children. Ellis' grandmother Hera, who was a Gamma wolf, had told her that the Olson wolves were a family that stumbled upon their territory a couple of years ago. When they were found by the border patrol, they were more dead than alive. Their youngest had only been a newborn back then. They had walked away from their previous pack after being mistreated and in need of protection for their children. After having been given time to heal inside of the pack house, the parents, being called Angelique and Damian, had asked Augustus to live as Omegas. They liked the secluded life but needed the protection of the pack. They didn't mind being workers as long as they were treated fairly. Her father promised them and thus welcomed them into his pack. Liberty was their third child and she had been ordinary for a girl of fourteen. Secluded, trying to figure out who she was and where she belonged within the pack. Augustus had offered help to the family a couple of times, trying to bring them into the pack house for protection and hoping it would help their kids develop their social skills. But Angelique and Damian had refused every time, wanting to give their kids the freedom of growing up in their own way.

Now, while standing in the clearing in front of the pack house, Vivian could see the two parents crying as they stood close to the side - clutching their remaining children close to them. Augustus had brought them the news himself. The parents were ripped apart with grieve hearing the news of their daughter's fate. Angelique had known something was wrong when Liberty hadn't returned home before curfew. She was hardly ever late, she'd said.

Silence washed over the pack when Augustus walked out of the front door with Vincent and Daxton behind him. He stopped at the front of the porch; looking out over his pack with sadness in his eyes, knowing one face would be missing. Vincent stood on his right while Daxton put himself behind his Alpha in respect. His left side stayed empty. Augustus had asked Vivian to take her place on his left but she'd refused kindly, telling him she wasn't ready for that yet. Also, she wasn't sure what kind of message it would carry standing in front of the entire pack. Those that lived inside the pack house knew she was the Alpha's daughter but she was afraid Omegas and other lower ranked wolves would start making conclusions without knowing the entire story.

"My pack", Augustus spoke with a stern but shuddering voice, addressing all of those before him. Again, people had put themselves in ranks. The higher ranked wolves stood in the front while the lowest wolves, the Omegas, stood at the back of the clearing. Vivian stood somewhere in the middle with the girls, clutching the hands of Nora and Ellis. "I have gathered all of you here today to give you a very sad message – the death of one of our own. All of you are aware of the Rogues threatening the area, but before today we hadn't seen or detected a single trace of them on our territory. We warned all of you to be careful while being outside your houses, not wanting to be too rash without any indication of Rogues in the nearby area. Unfortunately, today we have lost one of our own. Liberty Olson, only fourteen years old, ripped away from life. I blame myself as an Alpha for not being able to protect her. I have failed in my duties as an Alpha today. I apologize to all of you for my mistake but I will make sure her death will not be in vain. I have gotten in contact with the Alphas of the surrounding territories and we will meet during the next New Moon celebration in order of addressing this threat together. We will combine our powers and fight these Rogues. We are willing to extinguish them all if we are forced to do so. In the meantime, I need to protect the rest of you. Of course, I wish for you all to stay temporarily inside the pack house but I also realize that not all of you wish to do so. I know that you can take care of yourselves. Still, I will only sleep soundly at night knowing you're all safe from this threat. Which is why I offer temporary residence to those that wish to stay here. Please know that you will be protected inside this house. For those of you that do not wish to stay here but to return to your own homes; I want to make a suggestion. My lovely daughter, Vivian Beauchamp who has joined our pack, is a witch – a very powerful one and has offered to put protection spells on your houses. This will keep threats such as Rogues outside which will assure your safety in your own homes. Also, as your ruling Alpha I hereby order you all to not go outside alone any longer – especially at night. Make sure you are in the presence of at least one other person. As we have seen today, nobody is safe. These Rogues are not afraid to use dirty tricks to get what they want. I do not know their purpose yet but I am sure we will find out soon. So far we have only been aware of three but after reports from surrounding territories, we realize we are dealing with many more. It even seems like there is an entire pack of them, which I am sure you all know, is unheard of for Rogues. But we cannot be careful enough in this situation. They murdered one of our own which means they have just declared war with our pack. Those of you that wish to stay with us, report yourself to my daughter Vivian or Beta Vincent. Those of you that wish to go back to your houses, report yourself to Daxton who will make sure your houses will be accounted into the patrol. Thank you all for coming here, I love you all. Dismissed".