Oli

Our stay at the Gibbous Moon pack has been very refreshing. I spent most of my time with Luna Jen and we have formed a good friendship. The upcoming Alpha, Alexander, is a very wise young werewolf, and I am confident that the Gibbous Moon pack will be a friend to The Valley into the next generation. So I have some good news to take back to Allfette Davine.

It wasn't all pleasantries. Alpha angus did ask for an alliance with The Valley, and I again had to tell the Alpha that The Valley doesn't make alliances. He went on to tell me that there are forces who might reject his daughter's claim to be Alpha and he wants strong alliances to ensure he has help close by when he needs it. He avoids discussing alliances with Golden Moon because they have had alliances in the past but the current Alpha, in his words, can seem a little unhinged. But he likes the soon-to-be-Alpha of Golden Moon, and is waiting till he comes of age before he negotiates a new alliance with them.

After almost three weeks at Gibbous Moon, it is time for us to continue on our journey. We have achieved everything we came to do here. I have made connections with the Alpha and Luna, Connie has discovered some fantastic information in the ancient library that she has scribed to take back to the Valley. And I definitely didn't find my mate in this pack.

Lucas has found a new home and we couldnt be happier for him. The Gibbous Moon pack life has an excellent vibe about it and the leadership is strong. I feel a sense of pride that we succeeded in our promis to find him a suitable home.

Amelia wants to go to The Valley. We offered to take her to the border, but one of the omegas in Gibbous Moon said she has always wanted to go there. Her mate passed away a few years ago and her children have moved on to other packs with their mates. The pack she grew up in was decimated many years ago and she has always believed that her sister escaped to The Valley. None of us recognised her sister's name, but that doesn't mean much, the Valley is a big place. So she wants to go there in search of her sister. She is an older werewolf, worldly and nurturing, she will be a good guide for Amelia. She has a car and will be able to drive to the border in less than a day. Alpha Angus gave her permission to leave the pack. So they will set off for The Valley after we leave.

The weather took a sudden turn this afternoon and the skies opened up. As such, dinner was inside this evening. The pack house has many different dining halls. I requested to eat with the Alpha this evening so I could thank him for his hopitaliity and discuss our next move with him.

Once we finished our dinner I decided to discuss our departure with Alpha Angus.

"Alpha Angus, you have been so welcoming, we are very grateful for your hospitality, we must continue our journey soon. I believe the next closest pack shares your western border?" I asked.

Alpha Angus' affect quickly turned to a frown and a low growl escaped him "Yes, those bastards? The Eclipse Pack. A more accurate statement would be that they stole my western border and a quarter of my lands with it. They are not the sort of werewolves you should expect any decent hospitality from."

Connie looked just as startled as me, Adi had her head down looking deep in thought, in the short time we have known Alpha Angus we haven't seen him get angry in any way. I will need to get as much information as I can, about the Eclipse Pack, before we make any decisions.

"Alpha, I can see this topic is unpleasant for you, but if you would please share with us, any information you have may help us to make decisions on our next move,"I pressed.

Alpha Angus sighed "No, it's ok, it's no secret anyway. The Alpha of the Eclipse pack is my younger brother, Davis, although I heard his son took over a few years ago. Davis and I were always ok, not great, but ok. We were trained for the Alpha position together, he was my back-up in case something went wrong with me, and according to some, it did. I didn't meet Jen until I was 31. When I turned 30 my brother and a lot of my pack members decided I wouldn't be able to continue as Alpha because I was not mated and had no offspring. They asked me to step down. I could feel that she was close, I knew she was out there somewhere, but still I was about to step aside, when finally, I found her. But my brother and his followers thought I faked it, to keep my position. There was a war, and not just fighting, my brother used pack members to steal assets, they took 2 of our banks, which they now use for unethical loaning, lucrative, but unethical, but that's a story for another day. My brother and many pack members broke off from the pack and settled on our lands to the west. I was disappointed, but it was the best time of my life, I had just met my Luna, we were planning children, I wanted safety and peace for my family and my pack. After all the battles and losses, I decided to just let them take what they won, so long as they left us alone. Although, If I knew then what I know now, I would have had more reason to decimate their pack and prevent them from ever establishing." Alpha Angus took a breath and a sip of his whisky, letting us know he hasn't told us the worst parts yet.

He continued "Davis has many children, his oldest was a boy, that was his biggest selling point to the pack members who followed him. 'My son will be the next generation of this pack, Angus doesn't have any offspring.' After the pack divided and Davis started to establish his own teritory, Davis' son died. It some sort of construction accident. The kid wandered off somewhere he shouldn't have. His next few kids in line were all girls but his youngest was a boy. He was so damned stubborn on all his bullshit he said against me, he wanted to be superior so badly, so he started a big movement about male superiority, women shouldn't be leaders and all that. He overlooked all his daughters and passed the Alpha position on to his youngest, made a law in his pack that only a male heir can inherit or own anything.

It was all an attempt to have others look down on me and see my family-line as weak. He is my main concern for my girls' Alpha claim. I have heard he has even legalised slavery in his pack, allowing prisoners of war to be used as slaves. I wouldn't recommend that you girls put yourselves on their guest list."

We listened in silence. Shocked at the story Alpha Angus was telling us. We all felt that this man would only tell us the truth.

"Well, with that information, I think your advice is sound, we will look beyond the western lands. what is the next closest pack, Alpha?" I asked, Not wanting any trouble on our journey, and comfortable that the others felt the same, enough for me to speak on their behalf.

"Well, you can travel up north and circle around the western lands, it adds a couple..." Alpha Angus started.

"No," Adi interrupted. We were all stumped, it was not like Adi to cut a person off like that.

"I am sorry, Oli, but I want to go to the Eclipse pack. I can't explain it, but I feel a strong pull to the west, and when Alpha Angus talks of the Eclipse pack my heart races, something important for me is in that pack. Maybe family or my mate, or...something else, I don't know. But I can't walk in the other direction. I feel it, I just can't. It's as though the goddess is calling me there."

Everyone in the room had their jaws on the floor. We were speechless. Adi doesn't ask for much, so when she does, we oblige. Adi held eye contact, waiting for Connie and I to respond.

Connie started "Ok Adi. We will figure something out, but let's talk about this and plan it properly. Ok?"

"I wouldn't expect any less," nodded Adi.

"Well, I do hope it's not your mate in that pack, Adi" said Alpha Angus. "Those men don't respect women, if your mate senses you while you are on their lands, he will probably try to imprison you there, and that bastard Alpha won't stop him. That's the reason men join that pack, to dominate and control their families and mate, it's not a good place for a woman to be. I won't let my daughters within 20 km of that border."

"We certainly don't want a fight; we should do everything to avoid that. Regardless of their ethics, we must always maintain ours. Perhaps Connie and I should go first and meet the Alpha, see if they are open to welcoming us and providing safe passage. This new Alpha might have a more modern approach. We will find out more about the pack and figure out the safest way for Adi to enter the lands. We might be able to figure out if Adi has any family there," I finished and waited for a reply.

"What about the two of you, your safety?" Alpha Angus said, pointing to Connie and me.

"We can look after ourselves. We can't protect others like Adi can, but we are trained to protect ourselves and get out of harm's way, if need be, and we are very persuasive negotiators. Also, the pack is close enough that we will still be able to mind link with Adi, so we can let her know what's going on the whole time. I am happy with Oli's plan," said Connie.

"Thank you both for offering to do this for me. I wouldn't do any less for either of you, I am grateful, and Oli is right, we must always uphold our values and avoid conflicts, but if you run into any trouble I will be there before you know it to bail you out."

"Well, get some sleep ladies, my soldiers will take you to the border in the morning, after breakfast. There is soldiers' accommodation just out from the border where you can stay in Adi, if you want to be closer. You are welcome to stay here if you want though." Said Alpha Angus

"Thank you, Alpha, once again you are giving us more hospitality than we would ever expect. We are very grateful. The soldiers' accommodation is an excellent idea, I would like to be as close as possible to Oli and Connie. You are very thoughtful. Thank you," Adi said as she lowered her head in thanks and respect.

"It's no trouble at all ladies. I would offer to help more, but I am afraid sending any of my pack into Eclipse territory would not be the best way to help you uphold your values, on the contrary it would be sure to start a fight," said Alpha Angus.

"And we would not think to ask it from you. We are very grateful for all you have done," I said.

We all lowered our heads slightly to show our respect to Alpha Angus and Luna Jen, before retiring for the night.