Page 17 of Midnight Moon
“Very well.” Alpha Kurt nodded. “The Moors’ prize is confirmed. Next up, the Coastal Pack.”
I expected Alpha Orlando to remain standing. Instead, his son took his place.
Tyler straightened his expensive, pin-striped shirt and rolled his shoulders back. “The Coastal Pack requests access to the Northeastern Pack’s shipping ports on the East Coast for the duration of three years. We will receive and ship items through the ports with no fee.”
No one seemed surprised by the request. The Coastal Pack was wealthy and had their claws in several industries around the country. No doubt, they could cut the cost of their business if they had access to shipping on the other side of the country.
“Any objections?” Alpha Kurt addressed the crowd.
The Northeastern alpha, George O’Leary, said nothing. Nor did anyone else.
The reward was approved.
Next up, the Northeastern Pack requested yearly inter-pack meetups for all eligible shifters of mating age. It was the same request they made the past three Alpha Games.
The Northeastern Pack was small, and the number of females dwindled each generation. The New England shifters needed to bring in mates from outside packs to expand their gene pool, or they ran the risk of dying out. Maybe not anytime soon, but eventually.
The meetups would be an opportunity for single shifters to interact, potentially allowing a fated mate bond to form between members of separate packs.
Honestly, though, fated bonds were extremely rare. I hadn’t heard of one forming since I was fifteen, and that had been between two Moors shifters. The requested meetups seemed like a waste of an award to me, but it wasn’t my decision.
No one protested the requested award.
Finally, it was my turn.
“And last but not least, the Summit Pack,” Alpha Kurt looked at our group. “What is your requested reward?”
I got to my feet. I would be the one to speak on behalf of our pack.
“The Summit Pack requests access to each pack’s land and their natural resources for one year. We will send workers to your lands for retrieval, processing, and transport of the resource to our territory.”
“Objection.” Tyler stood. “That reward is too broad. What resource is the Summit Pack after in each territory? And how much of that resource? They could drain the packs of valuable materials if not limited.”
Several other shifters murmured their agreement.
I wasn’t deterred. My dad and I had discussed this. “The Summit Pack will take no more than twenty-five percent of each pack’s most abundant resource for one year only. That leaves plenty for the pack to utilize.”
“That will not be an equal sacrifice for each pack,” Tyler countered.
I frowned. “There was no objection to inequality with the other reward requests. Your reward, for example, only impacts the Northeastern Pack.”
“Our reward requires the use of the ports, but the financial impact for the Northeastern Pack will be minimal. What you propose is not an insignificant sacrifice for each pack.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but there are no rules saying the requested reward for winning the Alpha Games must be an ‘insignificant sacrifice’ from other packs.” I looked to Alpha Kurt. “Am I correct, Alpha Kurt?”
“That is true,” he answered from his position at the podium.
Triumphant, I turned back to Tyler. “As I said, the Summit Pack’s request is to receive no more than twenty-five percent of each pack’s most prevalent resource for the duration of one year. We believe this proposed prize is fair and equitable among all packs.” I scanned the room, making a point to meet the eye of the other alphas. “But perhaps we are wrong. Do any other alphas object to our request?”
Opening the floor for additional objections was a risky move, but I hoped it would convey the confidence I had in our pack’s proposal.
Thankfully, the gamble worked in my favor. No other alpha objected. I returned my attention to Alpha Kurt, pointedly avoiding Tyler’s glare. The current Top Pack alpha was the one who ultimately decided what awards were approved.
Alpha Kurt assessed the room. “If there are no other objections, the proposed reward is approved.”
I couldn’t hide my smile.
I lowered myself back onto the bench. Hunter nudged my shoulder, sharing my smile.
