The Moon Wolf

Chapter 35 (First Draft)

Alpha Troy, First Beta Lucas, his wife Jules, the pack house administrator Fancy, the Master at Arms Anex, his direct subordinates -  Raine, Jenna and Drummond, the pack doctor Reagan and her faithful assistant Ravan, as well as, every member of the tribe who stayed to protect the village were gathered in the town square the evening after Penn had lead half the pack and the elders up into the northern mountain. They gathered to hear and share information about the threat Codax posed, after several wolves had gone on a reconnaissance mission, and to brainstorm together how they might protect their territory and the pack as a whole. The only wolves who did not attend the meeting were those who were currently on patrol keeping their ears tuned and their eyes open for Codax's forces should they come that night.

Though not everyone had been present the night before to hear first hand about Penn's impending vision of the town burning to the ground at Codax's hand, they did not doubt for a minute the seriousness of the claim. Especially, when half the pack and all the elders volunteered to follow this virtually unknown alpha she-wolf into the wilds. The fact that Alpha Troy permitted it, and one might say even promoted this collective action, spoke volumes to all those who remained behind. Clearly, he unequivocally trusted her with his pack.

But, while no one disputed that the silver she-wolf with visions from the Moon goddess was the right person to protect the most vulnerable, no one could come to any agreement on how to prevent Codax from burning the village to the ground. Pack leadership was currently having a heated argument about whether to focus on fire prevention or on preventing Codax's pack from entering Orthos territory altogether.

"We need to beef up patrols, and set up blockades on the roads in and out of the village. We've got to keep Codax out of the village altogether," Anex was arguing with Lucas.

"You are talking like he's going to drive in here and take over the place, but Penn said they were going to burn it to the ground," Lucas shot back irritably. "We need to focus on keeping the village from burning." 

"Well, turning on everyone's sprinklers just isn't going to cut it," Anex retorted. "We don't have that kind of water supply. What if we dry up every well in the village and then Codax attacks? Where will you find water to put out the fires then?" he taunted.

Troy, seeing that this particular discussion was going nowhere, cut in and asked Raine, the tracker, "Are we any closer to knowing Codax's current location and his movements? How likely is he to attack and when? Can you say?"

She had been sent, in the wee hours of the morning, to find Codax's camp and assess his numbers, capabilities and intent. Was he gearing up to invade the territory or was he amassing fuel so he could burn the valley to the ground? These were the sort of details everyone hoped Raine would find out. 

"He's camped on the eastern road about a half mile outside our territory," she confirmed for them. "He's amassed an enormous following - a few hundred wolves. And they are all in their furs just waiting for word from him to attack." She looked over at Anex and elaborated further saying, "they aren't going to drive in here when they come. They are going to attack the village in their furs."

Anex offered her a subtle nod of understanding. But, this news didn't change the fact that he thought dousing the houses with garden hoses was a useless endeavour.