Tall Dark Stranger

Tall dark Stranger- Chapter Thirty

A/N:

CHAPTER THIRTY! I fianlly made it all the way up to thirty freaking chapters! Yay! I wanted to thank everyone who´se been putting up with me with my irregular updates and crazy plot twists, and I really appreaciate all those who have commented and voted for all my stories. I know the story has some (a lot) of editing mistakes and some things aren´t quite clear, but you guys seem to like it allright, so I promise to make an extra long update.

Sam out.

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The Gathering.

New York City loomed above me as the SUV drove into town. The sky was a dull grey, with harsh winds whipping through the forest of skyscrapers as pedrestrians tried to rush from one place to another. The streets were bustling with activity, people hurrying about, all busy with nothing. A maze of stainless steel and iron, with a seemingly endless amount of cars streaming through the streets. The neverending noises generated around me seem to blend in with the cacaphony of smells and impressions. I can't help but notice the stench of the city. It was a mix between carbon monoxide from cars, trash, and other indistinguishable things. Stores and shops line the streets, and looking around all I can see is the monotone movement of the mass of people around me. The people. They all seem unconcious about anything that goes on around them, and yet they never run into eachother, avoiding collisions and walking in a hasty pace that matches the feeling of frenzy that lingers in the morning air.

It´s like this constant state of near-chaos, and as we drive into the city John is eying me from the corners of his eyes, his hands tapping the steering wheel impatiently as we get stuck in a traffic jam. On the back seat Angelea is listening to music, although I see her eyes dart to me occasionally, like a worried mother hen checking up on her chicks. Somtimes I really felt like she was more of the mother I never knew and sister I never had than I would have ever thought possible.

There was about a three dozen pack members that were coming with me to the Gathering. I had chosen an equal part of old and new members, to make it a point of showing that I trusted all of my pack equally. Most of our best Fighters and Trackers had come, as well as Amalia.

I had asked Declan to supervise pack buisness while I was away, and recognizing his abilities I made him my Gama. Which, technically, made him like my third-in-command. John had openly disapproved of my decision, but I needed to show the pack that I wasn't playing any favouritism when it came to ranking within the pack.

Besides, what better way to keep an eye on Cian's own son than to involve him in pack buisness and make it a normal occurence for the kid to be near me?

That didn't mean I trusted him. Far from it, actually. But in the werewolf society you had to prove your loyalty to your Alpha, you had to earn it, which meant that I also had to give him the opportunity to precisely do that: prove himself to me.

And if the pup decided that he would betray me.... what was the saying? 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer' ?

Since I was now Alpha to my pack I needed to prove myself worthy of the position. It brought  great responsability, leading such a large pack, and for a female wolf without a mate to asume the position of Alpha was almost unheard of. We women were Lunas, helping our mate, the Alpha, to lead his pack, to shoulder that responsability together and support him in his duty. For a she-wolf to do that on her own had never happened before as far as I knew.

The Council of Elders had summoned me, after all.

The Council of Elders consisted of  7 werewolves. All of them were Alphas, and all of them were extremely powerful. It was like the Wall Street of the Werewolf society. Only the most influential and powerful were chosen for the council, with the single purpose of mantaining the peace and equilibrium amongst our kind. Most didn't have a pack, although three members of the Council did. They were older though, and both were either grooming their offspring or second-in-command to lead the packs they were renouncing for their position as Elders.