Thawing of the Ice

Chapter 1 - Zane Tries Out Being Alpha

Zane, Alex, and Summer Song left the office and as they were walking, Zane was looking around. The building didn't look in too bad of shape. There were some aspects which could use some work but most of it appeared to be normal wear and tear. It was something which could be addressed depending on the funds the pack had. They came across a number of the wolves and they looked rather worried or scared. Zane didn't blame them, considering he had shot their Alpha. It wasn't an action which lead to trust and joy, most of the time.

Alex was looking around as well but much of his attention was taken up by Summer Song. The looks they were getting was different. It was obvious parts of the pack realized they had found each other. This was going to be interesting and he hoped the change of Alpha's would be as smooth as possible.

Simone and the other two enforcers were following behind. She was obviously acting as one, the other two were looking around and sending comments back and fourth. This was going to be a pain in the butt for her, since she knew she was going to be in charge of the Enforcers. That was going to be exciting since she was as irritated with how the Enforcers had acted. They hadn't done a search which was either bad training or general lack of care.

When they walked into the dining area, it wasn't full. Zane walked to what was obviously the head table and stood at the head of it. He didn't know if this was everyone and he wasn't taking a chance, "Summer Song, send out a call for everyone to come to the dining area. I have some announcements." He kept his voice as relaxed as possible.

Alex gave her a slight nod to follow Zane's order which she did, *Everyone needs to come to the dining area. The new Alpha wishes to see everyone.* She could feel the dominance of the other wolf and her mate. Due to what had happened, she was on the other side of Alex.

It took several minutes. From what he was hearing, many of them were speaking a different language, "Alex talk to your mate and find who can interpret for me. Ensure she understands everything said needs to be translated as close as possible. I don't want any misunderstandings, or as few as possible."

She called out and what he was going to guess was an elder came up, "Good morning. As I am speaking, if people have questions, let me know. I don't want this to take very long, since the food is ready. I will talk again this afternoon and evening." He gave her time to repeat that. As he was waiting, he kept looking around the room. For the most part the wolves didn't look to bad off. There were some indications of neglect. Much like the building, what they were wearing was decent but the clothing was worn. It was clean and tidy but some looked older. They didn't look starved but some looked on the thin side. It wasn't just they might have a slender build but just had a look. Zane had to wonder if it was a punishment, limited food for ranging amount of times. If so that was going away.

"I am your Alpha now. I hadn't planned on this but his intent on attacking a Pride I am a friend with forced my hand. They are also part of an inter-pack treaty. By attacking them it would have quite possibly caused your pack to have been attacked by a force of many packs and they could force the disbandment of your Pack. I don't want them attacked and to lose more Pride members. I don't want your Pack disbanded due to your Alpha forcing an attack." He paused as needed for the woman to translate what was being said. There was some reaction but for the most part they were being quiet. Chances were part of this was due to the breaking of the bonds. There was the scents of fear, pain, and tiny hints of curiosity.

When nobody asked any questions, he kept speaking, "I am going to be speaking to the senior wolves and our elders this afternoon. This is my Second Alex and his mate Summer Song. Enforcer Simone is going to be my senior Enforcer. She is going to be talking to the pack Enforcers over the next few days. We will be testing your skills over the next week. There are going to be changes but we will try to keep them to the minimum possible. As of right now all punishments will come through Simone, Alex, or myself. If a wolf transgresses, you will bring them to one of us. If you chose not to do this, you will be meeting me in the challenge circle. When I win, you will have your rank removed and I will decide what other punishment is needed."