Just a Wolf

Beta Nolan

My assistant Evan meets our caravan in front of the River Moon packhouse when we pull up just before eight in the morning. We left well before dawn and have been on the road for four hours, and thankfully this time managed to drive straight here from Dark Woods without stopping for sightseeing or rogue tricks or anything else.

It was hard to leave Bonnie and the kids again, but we still believe it doesn’t make sense to try to drag a car full of toddlers across country to attend the New Year’s mating ceremony. There will be plenty of opportunity in the coming years to spend time with our new friends at River Moon. Alpha Ross and I are committed to this alliance.

Dominic is with Evan, and he immediately starts pulling our cars around to the packhouse garage as soon as we are unloaded. Evan approaches me, clipboard in hand. “I hope you had a nice Christmas with your family,” he says.

“I did, thank you. Sorry you didn’t get the chance to come with us and join yours. Anything to report?”

He nods. “We got all the gear ready for the cave expedition today. Before that, you have a meeting scheduled with the River Moon Beta and Gamma, in fifteen minutes.”

“All right. Do we know yet who all is coming to the cave run?”

“I figure we’ll get the final count after breakfast at nine. We have enough gear ready for a dozen people,” he informs me.

“Thanks, Evan, I knew you’d handle it. Much appreciated.”

He nods. “I’ll see you at the meeting. In the conference room.”

The pack is disbursing, mostly to go up to their rooms to freshen up before heading in to breakfast. I take a quick pit stop in my room as well, seeing Alpha Ross and Luna Darlene as they are heading into their room, probably to say goodbye for the day. She has already told us that she isn’t coming to the cave, she is going to stay here and coordinate the mating ceremony with Gamma Michael’s assistant again.

When I get back downstairs and head into the conference room, Beta Malcolm and Gamma Michael are already inside, along with their assistants. Evan is waiting for me at the door and follows me in.

“Welcome back, Nolan,” Malcolm tells me. “I hope you had a nice Christmas.”

“I did, thanks.” I look around at the others, seated at the table. “What’s the agenda for our meeting?”

Michael quirks his head a little, as though thinking that I already know. “I thought you called the meeting?”

What? Before I have the chance to respond, thinking perhaps there has been a misunderstanding, Malcolm’s assistant speaks. “It seemed best to calendar this meeting to update the three of you on the situation as it developed yesterday.”

“Ah, about the caving expedition gear?” I ask.

“No,” the assistant… um Theo, right… says. “There has been another development with the rogues. We need to bring you up to speed.”

Malcolm looks at him keenly. “Was there more trouble?”

“Not at all,” Theo says. “One of the rogues has left their pack, approached us, and has offered to assist our effort. We have acquired some very helpful information about the rogues and their operations.”

I look over at Evan, and he just nods. “What happened?” I ask him.

“It was a female rogue,” he says. “She approached Amelia two days ago in Arcata, but ran away when she saw Dominic. Then I tracked her down yesterday in the forest outside of Arcata. She submitted immediately, and last night we questioned her extensively. She was very willing to answer any question we had about the rogues.”

Michael crosses his arms. “It’s another set-up.”

“No, sir,” Amelia says. “We are all completely convinced that she is being truthful, and wants to help us. She is not trying to trick us.”

Malcolm says, frowning, “What’s in it for her?”

Theo answers, “She wants at least amnesty, the guarantee that she can safely remain in our territory without being counted as a rogue. Ideally, she wants to join our pack.”

Michael snorts. “Rogues don’t join packs. This is ridiculous.”

Amelia says, softly, “I think maybe that is something that should change. I believe that she deserves a second chance.”

Michael starts to respond, but Malcolm interrupts him. “Let’s discuss that after we hear the information she provided. Is there actually anything useful?”

Theo gestures to Amelia, who opens a notebook, and starts reading some handwritten notes. “There are fifteen people in the pack of rogues that Corinne has been with for the past several months.” She looks up at Michael. “Her name is Corinne, age 18.” She looks back down at the notebook. “With Corinne’s departure, the number of rogues in their gang is now fourteen. Ten are males, and four are females. The group is not run in an egalitarian fashion, instead it is a strict hierarchy of dominance, and the females are the lowest rank. The men are criminally abusive to the women, including a 55-year-old female, all the way down to a 16-year-old female. The females are basically prisoners. Corinne managed to escape after she was disciplined for the failure of the ambush on Dark Woods five days ago. The other females would escape if they could, and if they had some option for survival other than staying with the pack.”

I’m not sure how genuinely helpful this information is. Rogues are outcasts and criminals. It is not a bit surprising to hear that they are brutes who abuse their females.

“We also got information about their whereabouts,” Evan tells me, probably seeing my dubious expression. He looks over at Amelia and waves his hand to her notebook. She looks down at her notes and continues.

“The rogues have discovered an extensive network of tunnels and caves scattered through the area. They have been using these caves for shelter, and to some extent for changing locations. Some of them are very long, up to five miles, and they are able to travel that distance underground without being detected. The cave that you will be exploring today is only one of them. I was able to put together a diagram of that cave with Corinne’s help.” She pulls a sheet of paper out of the notebook and lays it on the table in front of her boss, Michael.

This is astonishing. The other Beta and I exchange glances. If this is true, and the information is accurate, our effort to try to gain information about the rogues has been advanced impressively. This is more than we would have been able to learn in weeks of exploration.

She lays another sheet of paper on the table. It is a rough map of the area between River Moon and Dark Woods, and marks over a dozen spots which apparently are caves being used by the rogues.

“Corinne’s last information was that the rogues are going north up the coast, but she is sure they will return. She anticipates this being the next cave that they will go to.” She points with her pen to the mark the furthest west on the map, only a few miles northeast of Arcata.

Malcolm and Michael and I pass the diagrams around, perusing them, speculating about the accuracy of this information.

Michael looks over at his assistant. “Is there more?” he asks her.

“Yes. We know the names and original packs of each of the rogues. Would you like to hear that now?”

Malcolm nods, and she proceeds to read off the names on the list. I have heard of all but one of the packs, but I have never heard any of the names except one. When Amelia says, “The leader of the rogues is named Xavier Green, his original pack was Hidden Peak,” Malcolm meets my eyes sharply.

He turns to the Gamma’s assistant. “Are you sure? That was the name that she gave for the leader?”

Amelia nods. “Yes, I’m sure.” She looks down at her notes to confirm, then back up at him. “Xavier Green. Does that name sound familiar?”

That name was once well known, and his downfall legend. Malcolm says, “Xavier Green was the Alpha of the Hidden Peak pack, and years ago he was exiled from it, an unheard of fate for an Alpha.”

The assistants exchange glances, apparently surprised. This would have happened before any of them was born, decades ago. Werewolves have very long lifespans.

I add, since apparently the younger group here is not aware of this history, “You know that normally an Alpha is only replaced through succession or challenge. But in this case the pack itself rose up against their leader and ejected him for his cruelty and abuse. Hidden Peak is one of the most savage packs on the continent, located in the remote mountains near the Canadian border. Even for a pack known for its cruelty and lawlessness, Xavier was too extreme.”

Michael adds, “If he is running this band of rogues, then our problems are more serious than we even realized.”

I agree. This goes beyond a little ambush on the road. Our efforts to control the rogues suddenly take on new meaning. Xavier has been the scourge of the entire northwestern quadrant of the country for decades, since his exile. If he has settled into the region between our two packs, our alliance is more important than ever.

Malcolm looks to his assistant. “Where is this rogue that you spoke to?”

Theo replies, “She is waiting in the woods about two miles from here. We didn’t feel that we could bring her to the packhouse without your authorization.”

Malcolm nods contemplatively.

I say, “I propose that we go forward with our plan to explore this cave today. If this diagram is accurate,” gesturing to the paper on the table, “we will know that the rogue is being truthful, and can deal with her when we get back.”

Michael adds, “And if it is not accurate, and we know that the rogue is lying, we will also have to deal with her when we return.”

I nod at him, and at Malcolm. Our agenda for the day is set.

I gather up the diagrams. “I need to go fill in Alpha Ross.”