Page 15 of Eclipse Pack

My beta will be Xavi, as I do not want to lose his experience or knowledge. I know he will continue to serve me and the pack with the devotion he has always shown. I’m surprised he has never found his mate, although he has never been one for going outside the pack lands for anything other than official business.

I would have liked Dixon to become my Delta and take over the Patrols, but he’s such a good Chief Warrior that I’m torn between the two. It’s certainly too much for one person to be both. I need to see how Adaline performs as his assistant, because she could very well be my solution. I don’t recall any pack having a female Chief Warrior, but I’m only interested in the best person for the position. Gender doesn’t come into the equation in this instance. I’ll talk to Dixon and see how he feels how Adaline is progressing.

Next on my list of titles to appoint, so to speak, will be my Gamma. Someone to protect my Luna, should she ever need it. This is a tough choice as my Luna isn’t known to anyone in the pack as yet, so has no bond for me to call on. Taria, I’m sure, will be a force to be reckoned with by the time she is by my side, and I don’t know her well enough myself to make this choice an easy one.

I have one pack member as a definite for my inner council, though she has no idea that this is coming her way. I’m going to have Eve as my advisory member on the inner council. She is a powerful female that doesn’t recognize her own strengths and abilities. I was watching the pups one day and her male pup, Coal, was getting into mischief. I say ‘getting’, his whole life is one mischievous adventure after another. The teacher was asking him about something and he had his hand over his forehead as he was answering, almost like a salute, but his palm was covering his forehead. I could see the teacher was trying desperately not to laugh, and he eventually admitted to whatever wrongdoing he’d been up to. When I spoke to the teacher, she informed me that Eve had told Coal, from him being able to speak, that when a pup lied, a star appeared on their forehead that only adults could see. Every time Coal tried to bend the truth, he slapped a hand across his forehead so no one would see the star.

That is just pure genius. I am so going to steal that when I have pups of my own. That is the sort of out-of-the-box thinking I want from my advisors. I can’t wait to see what else she has come up with to keep that bundle of dynamite on the straight and narrow. Goddess help the pack when he gets his wolf, we’ll all be in trouble from that day forward.

Xander and Wesley will have to have positions on my inner council. They are the two that I would put my life in their hands without hesitation, and I know they would die for me without a thought. Xander and his wolf, Scout, were always the ones that got us out of trouble when we were pups. They could come up with an escape route, or an excuse at the drop of a hat.

Wesley and his wolf, Duke, were always in trouble for fighting. The funny thing was, it was never either of them that would startit, but they would certainly finish it as the last ones standing. Duke is only a fraction smaller than my wolf, Titan, and I’m sure that it’s only our Alpha bloodline that would give us the victory in an all-out fight.

Oh, what a dummy I can be. There’s my Gamma staring me in the face. Wesley. He is perfect for protecting Taria. They will get along easily, everyone does with Wesley, and most of his fights have been with bullies or someone causing an injustice. That’s such a weight off my shoulders right there.

So, Xander and Eve are two of my inner council, I need at least two more. Cameron and Logan spring to mind, but only because they work with Hannah, and we spoke of them this morning. Malakai? He’s a tailor in the clothes shop alongside Reagan. Both are good pack members, but not as advisors.

Nathan, Jack and Ezra work in the garden with Herb. Good guys, but not for my council. Hannah would be a good choice, but she has too much going on to be able to take this on, and I wouldn’t ask her to. This is far more difficult than I imagined. Serenity, Vivian, Daniel, Liam… I could throw names out all day without finding someone that I’ve interacted with enough to involve them in the pack's decision making.

‘Titan, you need to think about this, and see if you can pinpoint a wolf capable of being on my council.’

Yawning, he stretches before sitting and giving me his attention.

I will give it some thought. It is not in my usual job description to choose council members, so it will cost you a run and a rabbit.

I can’t help but chuckle to myself at Titan’s sneaky way of getting an extra run and a rabbit.

Chapter 8

TARIA

Standing at the edge of the forest with Chief Warrior Oscar, I watch the dawn rise. It’s such a beautiful time of the day, I never tire of seeing the sunrise. I see Dahlia heading our way, and I swear she’s positively skipping. Since Silas recognized her for what she is and not what she was, she has just bloomed all the more.

“Morning Taria,” she calls. “Morning Chief Warrior Oscar. Isn’t it a beautiful day for a run?”

“Morning Dahlia,” I suspect he’s not a morning person, as he hasn’t said a dozen words since we left the packhouse.

“Good morning Dahlia. What’s put the spring in your step so early?” As if I didn’t know already. They’ve been joined at the hip since Silas became her mentor, and not only during their work hours.

“Life is great and it’s good to be alive. You coming here, Taria, has been the single best thing that has ever happened to me. I’d still be moping around alone in the herb garden if it wasn’t for you. I owe you my new life.” Watching her with all her newfound confidence and zest has me smiling, too.

“Shall we get on with our run then?” Oscar is not feeling it, obviously. “Do you want to shift here or deeper in the woods?”

“Let’s go deeper into the woods first,” I’m not shy to show Maya in the least, but as a future Luna, I think it is best to show Maya to the Eclipse pack before any other. Some here have seen Maya, but not all.

Linking arms with my bestie, we follow Oscar into the darker shadows of the forest. It won’t be long before the sun invades the canopy, and the darkness is chased away. Once we’re out of sight of the packhouse, Oscar stops and announces that we are good to shift.

Seeing him become Conan, a large gray and white wolf, I have to appreciate why he is Chief Warrior. Size and physical prowess alone would have him standing out in any pack.

Shifting to Maya, I look to Dahlia and see Maiden before me. Her coat is glossy to the point of shining with its own light, and the different hues of browns blend seamlessly. Her yellow eyes are so pale they don’t look like normal yellow wolf eyes.

Following Conan’s lead, we stretch our legs and begin our run through the forest. Nearing a creek, there is still a mist hovering over the ground, and it’s like running through clouds in the canopy rather than trees at ground level. We run for thirty minutes before Conan slows and walks us for ten more.

Walking out into a meadow, we see deer feeding in the distance. Sensing or hearing us, they look our way and then dart into theforest and are gone in an instant. The sun lights up the tall grass as the wind blows gently through it.

Shifting again, we sit in silence, all three in our own little world, when Oscar breaks the moment.

“I come here to reflect on my life. It doesn’t matter if it’s a good time or bad, or just life in general. I sit here for an hour or so, watching all the different birds, animals and insects that call this home, how they interact with the meadow, and it never fails to inspire me to want to do more for myself and the pack, I can’t explain how or why it motivates me, it just does.”

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