For the Love of The Guardian

No Match

The men were all huddled about a map in the middle of the conference table. Hands pressed flat against the wooden table top, as their eyes moved across the borderlines that had been clearly marked with pen. Muddled discussions took place about the table. Everyone was looking for the best interest of their pack and were willing to defend it.

"We have to ensure we are adjusting for the lumber industry." Alpha Jaroth spoke out, his fingers running along the edge of the old Storm Moon borderline.

The discussion had been going on for hours. Sarah stretched her neck and rose slowly from her chair. Eyes glanced her way, but ignored her movements as she walked from the table. Her coffee cup in hand, she slowly refilled it with the dark amber liquid. Her silent prayer that it would keep her awake through the rest of the conversation, replayed quietly in her mind. With her warm cup in hand, she moved back to her seat.

"Sarah," Alpha Jacob spoke up amidst the ongoing discussions, "you've been awfully quiet. What is your take on the pack lines?"

Silence washed over the room as the males slowly looked to her. She felt the hairs on her neck rise as she stood from her place. She had just sat down as they began to talk to her. Very slowly she looked at the map and territory lines, then looked about the room at all the men. Most had their eyes on her, some had flung themselves into their chairs as she rose. Others, busied themselves by keeping their eyes on the map.

"Freely?" Sarah asked, her eyes moving from Alpha Jacob to her father.

"Of course." Henri's hand ushered into the conversation slowly.

"To be frank, sirs," Sarah spoke with every bit of elegance that Vera and her mother had spun into her, "if you are going to adjust the territory lines so that you can pull down trees and make more homeless animals, then please end the debate now without a change."

Gasps and grunts moved about the room.

"What does she know?" Garrett had spoken from a corner near his father.

"Sarah, you don't understand the supply and demand of lumber." Alpha Jaroth's son, Jared spoke to her from across the table.

"You're right, I don't. I know the meat we hunt comes from the deer in these woods here." Sarah pointed to the forest that sat at the base of the mountains, just on the edge of the Winter's Cross lines. "That rabbit you men enjoyed last night? Those were hunted here." Sarah jabbed a finger on the edge of the Evergreen pack lines, close to Vera's home and Azure Rise lines. "If you keep taking away the forest for lumber our hunts will be more scarce." Her eyes looked to everyone about the room. "Tell me, will your lumber put food on your table and fill the bellies of your pups?"

Silence washed over the room, the men all looking at the map.

"Sarah, we have to think of the supply and demand of the businesses."

"You don't have to meet every demand." Sarah looked to Alpha Jacob, "You just have to meet the ones that will pay you what your product is worth. You can't ask top dollar for junk and you can ask for pennies on a priceless product. Maybe instead of making more, we need to adjust prices."

"We already have," Alpha Gene spoke from the end of the table. "Prices for our products have gone up and we still can't meet demands."

"Then we have prosperity, but we can't starve our families to fill our pockets." Sarah looked at the men, their eyes moving about the map slowly.

"Let's adjourn for the evening." Henri's voice broke the prolonged silence.

Sarah sat looking over the map slowly, her eyes processing the lines and boundaries. She didn't hear her father's voice, only the sounds of the vision that filled her mind. The dagger breaking through a window, shattering that glass into millions of pieces. Her chest it's target, as it moved through the air to reach her.