Fall of the Packs: Void

Chapter Eight

Minerva tried not to drag her paws as she followed behind the rest of the pack on the road to the Hunter's Moon. She had no desire to interact with the other packs, much less when Wind Pack was hosting. Hunting in their rival pack's territory just made her very uncomfortable.

But Draco had chosen her to come, and she hadn't voiced any objections. It was only one night, after all, and mercifully it was clear. There would certainly be more rain as summer continued to draw to a close, but at least she wouldn't have to spend more time out in the meadow underneath the rain. She guessed it would be rather difficult to hunt with the muddy ground, however.

Night Pack was one of the last to arrive, with only Frost Pack coming afterward. Minerva guessed Draco was trying to make some point by being fashionably late, but Gabriel made not so much as a comment towards it. The Wind Pack leader rarely ever did, to the point that Minerva wondered why Draco even bothered baiting him so much. She had started to believe that wondering about why her uncle did most of the things he did was a fruitless exercise.

There was little time for conversation before the packs settled in for the announcements, but Minerva wouldn't have engaged in it anyway. She could feel hostility radiating off of her packmates as Gabriel started speaking--the memory of Chloe's death was all too fresh.

"Wind Pack has had no major events in the past months," the red Kelpie said. "The rain has somewhat compromised our attempts at hunting, but our trainees are progressing swiftly and overall we have done well."

"I wonder if that wild young collie of theirs is 'progressing swiftly,'" Minerva heard Jade whisper to her mate, Colt. "That one is dangerous."

Colt scoffed. "No more than the rest of them."

"No, you haven't seen him," Jade insisted. "Something in his eyes gives me the chills."

Minerva turned her attention away from their conversation and back to the alphas. Since Gabriel had finished, Kestrel, Storm Pack's alpha, was now speaking. "Due to the rather unreasonable amount of rainfall that we have received in the past weeks a large portion of our territory was flooded. We say with immense sorrow that our sister and packmate, Salixa, was lost in the flood."

A brief moment of silence followed for the fallen dog, and then Kestrel continued. "However, we continue to work hard in her memory and are making preparations to return to our previous living quarters. Even out of tragedy, Storm Pack stays strong."

A few Storm-dogs barked loudly in agreement, and then Kestrel finished. Minerva didn't care much for Storm Pack, what with all their bravado and flaunting and condescension, but she did have to admit that most of the time they could back up their claims. She guessed there was a reason Draco had chosen to assail their eastern neighbors rather than their northern ones.

Lyra, Lake Pack's alpha, went next. "The flood has also been a trial for us, as many of you might have guessed. We were forced to evacuate the island, but, thank the Hunter Dog, none of our packmates were lost. We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Frost Pack for allowing us to refugee on the edges of their territory."

Frost Pack's alpha, Martin, flicked an ear dismissively. "We weren't using it."

Lyra smiled slightly before continuing. "We are also very happy to announce that Ciana was able to safely deliver a healthy son. As soon as the lake recedes, we will return home and continue life as before."

Frost Pack and Earth Pack then relayed their news, of which there was not much of note. Draco went last, which Minerva guessed was once again by design. She was realizing for the first time just how much her uncle's pettiness annoyed her.