Page 16 of Eclipse Pack

“I can feel it, too. I’ve never been here before, but I feel its aura, its power. It’s not a physical thing, but it's there, talking to me. Like you said, there’s an interaction happening. I feel it. Thank you for bringing us here,” Dahlia says all this without turning her head, she just stares out over the meadow.

“Ditto. Now, where can I find a rabbit for Maya? She’s starving!” Laughing at the look of astonishment on both their faces, I burst out laughing. Receiving a punch on each shoulder from them, Dahlia laughs.

“How could you ruin such a beautiful moment? “

“A girl has to eat, you know. Now, show me the rabbits!” Shifting to Maya, I dash into the meadow and give her full rein to satisfy her hunger. Feeling Conan reach my side and Maiden just behind us, I let all Maya’s instincts run free.

Bursting from the meadow grass into the forest, we surprise a colony of rabbits that have left it late to return to their warren. It isn’t long before we’re all sitting by the meadow's edge enjoying our warm breakfast.

Having eaten our fill, we settle into a steady lope back to the packhouse. No one says anything, but I think we all feel that we’ve just shared something special. Before reaching the forest’s end, we shift back, and I can’t help but give both Dahlia and Oscar a silent hug.

Walking into the canteen, Dahlia sees Silas and I just smile at her as she silently asks permission to abandon me. Smiling, I bid her farewell and grab myself a plate of breakfast. Toast, bacon, sausages, eggs, hash browns, and beans. A couple of bottles of water and my tray is full.

Looking for a table, with my newly acquired sixth sense, I see one by a wall with good views of the room. There’s an elderly female sitting there alone. Even if it hadn’t had the view of the room, I would have gone over to sit with her.

“Excuse me, but do you mind if I join you?” She looks up from her breakfast and smiles.

“Please, feel free. I’d enjoy the company. It’s been a long time since any youngster wanted my company.” She laughs, and it’s a soothing kind of sound that makes you smile along with her.

“I find that hard to believe. I bet you could tell them some tales from your younger days.” I must look horrified as I realize how I’ve just referred to her age. “I’m sorry, that didn’t come out quite as good as it sounded in my head.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. You’re right. I’ve seen and done things that would make their hair stand on end. Pups these days hardly know they’re born. Why, when I was your age, I was mated with pups and trained as a border warrior with skills they could only dream about. I was top female warrior for three years running. Would have been longer if my wolf hadn’t been such a hussy and always trying for pups.”

Her smile loses some of its sparkle when she talks of her pups, and I just know that it must be a delicate topic for her. I feel I need to change the subject.

“My name is Taria. I’m very pleased to meet you.”

“Oh, I know who you are, young prospective Luna for the Eclipse pack. I know a lot about you and it’s all been good so far.” She gives me a sly look and has me on the back foot, so to speak.

“You know a lot about me? And who might you be, to know so much?” I can feel Maya paying attention now and I sense her unease.

“My name is Merry, and I’m a member of the Shifter Council.”

Maya relaxes and, after pacing a couple of circles, she settles back down with her head on her paws.

“Well, I’m pleased to meet you, Merry. I wasn’t aware that I was getting a visit from the Shifter Council?”

“I’m not here for you, per se, but thought as I was visiting my old pack, I’d take advantage of the opportunity to meet you. I wasn’t available for the last Council meeting.” She still looks like an old female but has a glint in her eye that I hadn’t noticed before.

“If there is anything you need to know, or need clarifying, please don’t hesitate to ask. I have no secrets to keep. Well, not yet anyway.”

“After breakfast, if you’ve finished all that before they serve lunch,” she says, pointedly looking at my loaded plate. “You can accompany me while I visit Alpha Connell. His mother and I were very good friends.”

Clearing my plate in record time, I take the tray and dirty dishes away. Merry waits for me and then we head off to the Alpha’s office together.

Watching the way Alpha Connell greets his visitor has me in awe. He is genuinely pleased to see Merry that it looks as though he’ll hug her forever. Merry’s eyes are watery at his heartfelt welcome, and I think I should leave them alone. Walking quietly to the door, I turn just as I am about to exit and catch Connell's eye. I see him mutter a thank you and then shut the door behind me.

Walking to my room to freshen up, my phone rings. Taking it from my back pocket, I see it's Bronze.

“Hi Bronze. Couldn’t get a message to me, huh?” I laugh as this is the first time he has rung me directly.

“Hi Taria. Everyone was busy, so I thought I’d brave it and call you. How’s things over there?”

“Everything is wonderful, thanks. Maya had a good run in the forest this morning with Conan and Maiden. Maya had her fresh breakfast, so she’s in an excellent mood now.”

“Conan is Chief Warrior Oscar’s wolf if I remember correctly, but I’m not familiar with Maiden.”

“Oh, she is Dahlia’s wolf. I made a new friend and did a little touch of matchmaking. Maya and Maiden wanted to meet, so I cajoled Oscar into an early morning run with us. Oh Bronze, he took us to a private place he found, just a meadow, but so much more than that, too. We need a place to go, similar to that at Eclipse. It was fantastic.”

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