Oncethe presents were opened and the cake served, Kane cleared his throat. "As much as I hate to interrupt the festivities, we do have a monthly meeting to hold, so if everyone would take a seat, we can begin."
The general rumble of conversation slowly dissipated as people settled into their seats. Helen, Carrie, and Elise sat to the side near the front, while Kane and John took their places at a central table and podium. After smiling over at Elise, Kane began.
"Before we start, I'd like to thank all of you once again for your good wishes and the warm welcome you've given Elise. I know we both appreciate it. Your support means a lot to us, especially in these difficult times." A polite round of applause cut him off, and he waited for it to die down before continuing. "I have a number of important points to bring up tonight and then we'll open the floor to discussion.
"First, as I'm sure you all know, Thomas was shot two nights ago while out on patrol. I'd like to assure you that he is recuperating at the infirmary and will be fine. At this time, we're not sure who was responsible. It could have been human hunters from town trespassing on our property—it's been known to happen before—but..." Kane paused before dropping the bombshell. "Thomas thought he scented Ryne just before the gun was fired."
Gasps filled the room and then conversations burst out all over. Elise's eyes widened as she took in the bits and pieces of dialogue that flowed through the room.
"Shocking."
"I don't believe it."
"It can't be true. Not Ryne!"
"Kane should have killed him when he had the chance. That's how a challenge works."
"That's what you get for being too easy on upstarts."
"There has to be a mistake!"
Some seemed to be angry that Ryne would do such a thing. Others denied it could even be true. A few voices were advocating killing the offender; Elise found that to be the most disturbing. Wisely, Kane allowed a few moments for the assembly to express their feelings, before trying to proceed.
"I know it's disturbing to think that someone who was once a member of our pack could do such a thing, but we don't have hard evidence against him so there's still the possibility—"
A voice from the back interrupted. "Thomas wouldn't make something like that up. If he scented Ryne, then Ryne was there!" The crowd murmured in agreement.
Kane nodded. "True. No one is saying Ryne wasn't there. Obviously at some point in time he was in the area, though 'when' we can't say, nor do we know if he pulled the trigger or not."
Another voice called out. "You just don't want to admit Ryne is guilty because he's your brother."
A hush fell over the room and Kane's nostrils flared. Elise watched as he gripped the podium with his fingers and she was surprised the wood didn't break under the pressure. With steely eyes, Kane responded to the accusation, his voice a low, deep rumble that sent shivers up her spine. "Are you suggesting that I put personal feelings ahead of my duties to the pack?" The speaker shook his head and seemed to sink into his chair, realizing that in the heat of the moment, he had spoken out of turn. "Rest assured, that since I've become Alpha, I have put the needs of each and every one of you above all else."
"I can't believe anyone would doubt Kane's loyalty." Marla was sitting a few rows away and spoke in a sotto whisper. Elise could clearly hear what she was saying, though she didn't think Kane could. "After all, he agreed to be mated to Elise, just to ensure political stability. Now that has to say something about his dedication to our well-being." Looking towards Elise, Marla leaned her way and smiled condescendingly. "Don't take that personally, Elise."
Feeling her face growing red, Elise stared at the floor and seethed, forcing herself not to cause a scene. That woman was such a bitch! She knew what buttons to push. Elise tried to reassure herself that an arranged bonding was nothing to be ashamed of; it wasn't like no one had wanted her and a political arrangement was the only way her father could get rid of her!
Carrie must have sensed her distress and grabbed her hand, squeezing it comfortingly. Once she had herself under control, Elise peeked at the audience to see who else had heard the comment. A few people were looking at her speculatively while others were glaring at Marla. It gave her some small comfort to know that most of those within hearing range considered the remark inappropriate. She could only hope that they didn't secretly agree with the comment despite its lack of good taste.
Kane, unfortunately, hadn't caught the exchange as he was listening to an elderly man who had just stood up. "May I address you, Alpha?"
Nodding, a ghost of a smile passed over Kane's lips at the old man's formality. Helen leaned over and whispered in Elise's ear. "That's William. He was Alpha over thirty years ago and is now part of the Council of Elders. William is very wise and a great supporter of Kane." Elise nodded and listened intently, pushing Marla's comment aside. She would not let that woman get to her!
"Ryne was your brother, yet he challenged you for the leadership of this pack. Such a challenge, according to the ancient laws, could have only one conclusion. The death of one wolf and the victory of the other."
Again, Kane nodded.
"Kane, you were the victor. Why was Ryne allowed to live and cause such havoc among us? If he were dead, we would all be happier and Thomas would not have been shot." Unlike the previous speaker, this man didn't falter under Kane's gaze, instead standing with his head slightly tilted to the side in inquiry.
The room went deadly silent watching Kane and waiting for his reply. Elise clasped her hands tightly together. If this man was one of Kane's supporters, she'd hate to think what those who weren't as fond of him might be like. This Elder was basically saying that Kane had broken pack law, messed up as leader, and endangered them all! Nervously, Elise wondered how her mate would refute such a claim.
Kane stood impassively surveying the crowd before speaking. "The council of Elders agreed to allow the challenge to proceed so that the most capable leader could be determined. The minute I won the challenge, I became Alpha. By virtue of that fact, everyone who lives in this pack is subject to my rules and my decisions. It was my decision to allow Ryne to live, and it was not based on brotherly love—there was little, if any, of that left. The needs of the pack were foremost in my mind, even during that first moment of victory. Ryne had many friends within our pack and his death would have served no purpose except to cause grief, division, and discord at a time when we need to be unified.
"As for the laws, as Alpha, I know them better than most. Even before the challenge began, I had carefully studied the ancient rules as part of my Beta duties. While it does state that the victor will become Alpha, it does not say his opponent must die." Kane opened up a very old leather-bound volume and began to read. "The challenge shall proceed with no interference until only one stands victorious as the Alpha. All who dwell in the pack shall bow before him and be subject to his decrees. His dictates shall be abided by, upon the fear of death."
Slowly Kane closed the book. "The death, or life, of any pack member has always been in the hands of the Alpha. Our ancestors were not as civilized as we are, and often chose to kill their opponents. We, however, have evolved beyond that. To revert to killing out of fear, or to maintain power, would be to turn our backs on all the advances we've made and to become little more than creatures governed solely by ancient instincts.
"Ryne may or may not be responsible for Thomas' injury. We are searching for him and when he is found, he will be questioned about this incident and the others. Once his innocence or guilt is determined, suitable consequences will follow."
The Elder slowly nodded. "Wisely spoken, Alpha. You know our laws and rule with justice and fairness. We are fortunate to have one as enlightened and dedicated as you to lead us." William turned and surveyed the room calmly before sitting down. Elise was sure you could have heard a pin drop.
Helen poked her in the ribs and whispered in her ear. "See? William was playing devil's advocate; he knew what the law was. He just wanted to give Kane a chance to say his bit."
Kane waited a moment before talking again, giving any further dissenters time to speak, but no one came forward. Returning the Book of the Law to the table, he picked up the agenda and addressed the next point. "Due to Thomas' accident, I'm declaring much of the woods out of bounds. The primary pathways will remain open for your use and I've doubled our patrols in those areas, but we can't cover every acre of the entire property every day. Patrols will still be dispatched throughout the territory, but we're focusing most of our energy on those places closest to home in order to ensure your safety. Any questions?"
When no one spoke up, Kane nodded to John who began to hand out what appeared to be a map of the pack's territory. Two areas were marked off in colour. Elise studied it with interest. What was the significance of the coloured regions? After the maps had been distributed, John began to explain.
"I've given each of you a map so that you can see the exact areas in question. The section outlined in red indicates where Northern Oil wants to do its exploratory drilling. It's close to several underground streams and could possibly result in the contamination of our ground water and thus our wells. In addition, in order to bring in the needed equipment, several large tracts of land would have to be cleared and temporary roads constructed. As you can see, it is a significant area, despite their claims otherwise.
"They've offered us a very large sum of money as compensation if we sell outright. Alternatively, they've proposed leasing the land, and if no oil is found, they would assist us in replanting. However, should oil be discovered, we'd be bound by the lease for a specified number of years or until the wells ran dry. During that time, there would be inspectors and trucks visiting the area regularly and it would be out of bounds to all of us. I know this isn't new information, but we wanted to bring it to your attention again, since they've upped their offer substantially—it's noted at the bottom of the page, in footnote number three."
As people read the amount, gasps could be heard around the room. Elise had difficulty not exclaiming herself. It was a significant amount of money. Again conversation erupted around the room.
"We'd be rich."
"Look at all the land they'd be clearing."
"Well, we really don't use the northern corner that much."
"I wonder if they'll raise the offer even more."
"If we don't take this, and the courts order us to allow them in, I wonder how much the amount will drop."
"It's ridiculous. We're wolves. Money means nothing. Territory is everything!"
John called for quiet and as they settled, he looked over the crowd. "Yes, it is a sizeable sum, but at our last meeting we decided that our privacy and the need for space were more important. Both Kane and I still feel that these factors take precedence over monetary gain. However, another issue has come to light and it might require us to reassess our stance on Northern Oil. It's the next item on our agenda."
Kane took to the podium once again. "On your map, you'll see an area outlined in yellow near the mouth of the river and around the north side of the lake by the roadway that cuts through our property. As you know, earlier this month we found several large barrels of oil had been left at the base of the bridge and had been slowly leaking into the water for an unknown length of time. We immediately cordoned off that section of land and called in environmental experts to help us assess the damage and coordinate the cleanup. Oil booms were used to contain the spill and most of the oil was skimmed up. Chemical dispersants also helped to break the oil down, to make it less harmful to plant and wild life. Unfortunately, there was a significant loss of fish and water fowl. Tests are being continuously run on the water to ensure it is free of contaminants; hopefully, we'll soon receive an all-clear so that we can start using it for drinking again. But even as that problem starts to fade, we're now faced with cleaning the shore line.
"People from the lab were here today, gathering samples and outlining possible steps we might have to take. It was initially thought that it was a surface problem and we could just remove a thin layer of the contaminated topsoil. However, the lab now thinks the oil might have been there much longer than we suspected. It's possible that it's leached deeper into the ground than we originally thought. If this is the case, we are looking at yet another very big, very expensive cleanup project.
"On the other side of the map, I've outlined some of the steps that have already been taken as well as what still needs to be done. We'll have to hire trucks and backhoes, then remove a significant layer of soil and gravel and send it away to be cleaned or taken to a toxic dump. Many of the plants are severely damaged and will have to be destroyed and removed. Sorbents will be spread in the final stages, to pick up the remaining oil and then we'll have to retest to ensure that we've got it all. Finally, we'll have to replace all the soil that was removed and replant the shoreline. If the testing comes back positive for oil having seeped into the ground, the cleanup will require a lot of time, money, and effort."
Someone with black, spiky hair raised his hand. "Do we have the money for this?"
John answered. "Yes, but between what we've already spent on containing the spill in the water, combined with the expense of the land clean up, it will severely deplete our reserves."
"So we might be forced to take Northern Oil up on their offer, just to clean up this mess and keep our accounts out of the red." The spiky haired man summarized.
"Not necessarily, but we are planning for a worst case scenario. The lab tests might have better results than we expect, but at the same time we need to be realistic."
Marla snorted. "With everything that's been happening around here lately, I sometimes think we should cut our losses, sell everything to Northern Oil and buy some land elsewhere. With what they're offering, we'd certainly have enough money to afford it." The assembled crowd reacted noisily to Marla's statement.
"How could she even say such a thing?"
"Marla has a point."
"I could never live anywhere else. This is my home!"
Elise noted that the muscle in Kane's jaw was working and she knew he was extremely irritated by Marla's comment. Surprisingly though, his voice was calm when he called the crowd to order yet again. "That is also an option. This land is our heritage. It's belonged to our pack for hundreds of years and, as Alpha, I'm charged with caring for it. However, if the pack as a whole feels the need to move on, then we would do what we must do."
"I was just playing devil's advocate, Kane." Marla smiled at Kane. He gave the briefest of nods but his brow was still furrowed. Elise noted that Marla's expression sobered in the face of the Alpha's disapproval.
"Uh-oh. Now she's done it. Marla's pissed off Kane," Carrie whispered gleefully in Elise's ear. Pressing her lips tightly together to keep from smiling, Elise gave the briefest of nods and then focused her attention on her mate. Kane was listening to someone from the far side of the room now.
"Do you think the oil company is deliberately poisoning our land in the hope of forcing our hand?"
"It's a possibility that we've been looking into, but we'd need hard evidence to make such a claim stick." Kane agreed. "It could also be that someone unthinkingly dumped the oil by our river or maybe it fell off a delivery truck. There is a bridge there, where the highway crosses that corner of our land."
"Ryne's footprints were found in that area, weren't they?" One of the Elders stood and addressed Kane.
"Yes, they were. His scent was also near the traps we found. That's common knowledge. Whether any of these events are related or if they are all just coincidences, we don't know. But rest assured we are looking at every possible angle." Kane checked his watch. "It's getting late, if no one has any other business that needs to be brought to the floor, we'll adjourn. John and I are both willing to stay and answer any questions you still might have. And, of course, my office door is always open if you have any issues that need to be discussed in private."
When no one spoke up, Kane closed the meeting. A buzz filled the room as everyone started to talk. Small crowds began to gather around both Kane and John, and Elise could see that the evening was far from over for the Alpha and his Beta.