"I asked my brother last night why Lucifer was not willing to let me go. Apparently when I was a child, I would dream of a wolf and would say that the wolf was going to kill Jacob as Lucifer was known then. He then changed his name to Lucifer, however from that point my dreams changed slightly to me saying that the wolf was going to kill Lucifer. This resulted in him ordering my father to remove the influence God would have on me by whatever punishment he could devise. Anyway I had always dreamt of a wolf, when things were really bad I knew that in sleep I would be safe, warm and protected. Sleep was my salvation."
Morgan took a minute to compose herself before continuing. "Two days ago I asked Nicky to show me his wolf, when he did I saw that he was my dream wolf. We asked Zachariah what he thought it meant, he believes that me and Nicky were mated in a past life, and that our bond was so strong that when we passed through the afterlife and were reborn the bond was still intact. Nicky's wolf was not willing to let me suffer and therefore through our previous bond, his wolf was able to enter my dreams and lend me his strength and protection."
As Morgan looked up everyone was staring at her, she blushed and made to look down but Lucky was moving round to her with tears streaming down her face.
"That is so beautiful and amazing." Lucky hugged her, wrapping her arms around Morgan's neck from the back.
"I am so glad you weren't alone." She moved to Nicky, hugging him in the same way and then kissed his cheek.
"I have never been prouder of you, you are such a good man Nicky and I love you both." Morgan saw Imogen look at Theo and quickly look away.
Leyland cleared his throat. "Welcome back into the family then Morgan." He too was appearing somewhat misty eyed. "Your mom's going to be so happy when I tell her."
Nicky shook his head. "Do we have to tell her? She is going to be impossible." But he was smiling when he spoke.
"Tell me about the leader Morgan, anything you can offer might help." As Morgan sat back thinking about what Ben wanted from her, she realized how little she knew about Lucifer.
"I know nothing about his background, he was the one who would preach to the men, as well as belittle the women and dictate what people were allowed to do. I have seen him with three wives that I remember, I don't really know where two went, but the third died of heart failure at the evening meal."
"What I don't understand is why if he thinks Nicky will kill him, is he still trying to get Morgan?"
Morgan was really pleased that Connor had asked that exact question, she had been trying to work it out and it just didn't make any sense. There were several discussion's throwing ideas out, from Lucifer keeping Morgan close so she cult run and find the wolf, to Lucifer trying to lure the wolf to him, but it was the voice at the door that came up with the only feasible answer. Morgan watched Ellie wander into the kitchen in her teddy bear pyjamas.
"It isn't rocket science; if he managed to prevent Morgan from leaving then she would never have had the opportunity to meet a wolf. If he is married to her, he can have greater power over her and if she gets out of hand he can make a public example out of her, and then she too can disappear."
Looking at Ben, Ellie continued. "I would imagine that the first two wives didn't run off, rather he or some idiot follower would have killed them." Morgan watched Ellie run her hand across her throat, increasing the drama of her words.
"How long have you been eavesdropping Ellie?" Lucky was trying to look harsh but it didn't work.
"From the beginning of course." Lucky sighed but Morgan could see the tremendous grin on Ben's face, he clearly valued Ellie's opinion and she was pretty certain that he had known Ellie was outside listening.
Everyone was stunned at her logic, except Ben and Lucky. "We are so fortunate to have such bright kids."
Ellie jumped to sit on one of the worktops, while Nicky told everyone about the information from Cane. They were discussing possible plans for a long time, Nicky wanted to go to Lucifer, Ben wanted to prepare and wait for them to come here as there were too many unknowns, the pack didn't have accurate numbers and it could be a trap, Theo wanted to keep the women and children here and meet them on their way, but this would leave the pack unprotected and vulnerable.
Nicky heard Ellie cough, he saw Ben nod at her to speak. "If you leave here they have the advantage, this land and Silver are unknowns to them, they do not know our security measures nor do they know our strengths. Essentially remaining here is advantageous to the pack, and will also keep Morgan safer." Seeing that everyone was listening intently she continued.
"What we do know about this man is that he undervalues women, he doesn't see them as equals, and therefore when he does turn up here there should be a prominent female welcoming. He will consider you weak for letting the women take charge, if he underestimates the women which he will everyone else can then move in slowly and safely to contain the group. This will also give the other wolves a chance to check the boundaries for unwanted enemies, and prepare some traps that will reduce their numbers."
Listening to Ellie made Nicky feel just stupid, although not overly academic like her sister; Ellie was bright as a button when it came to strategy. Nicky knew Ben was already proud of Ellie, but right now Ben was beaming. Lucky had moved to sit next to Ellie, Nicky watched Lucky slide her arm around her.
"My baby you definitely take after me."
With the decision made, Ben arranged a full pack meeting; everyone attended and brought some sort of dish for food. As Ben talked everyone through the details of what was occurring, Morgan stared in wonder at these people. Even though there were over a hundred members, they were not fighting for control and Bens rule was based on respect rather than fear. So different to what she was used to seeing.
Some people raised concerns about the strategy and causing the plan to be tweaked, but no-one questioned the decision to protect her, she was astounded. Morgan had met some of them on her previous visits yet most of them were strangers to her. Several people asked if Morgan and Nicky intended to mate, although Nicky explained that they were not sure if they were mates. He did add that there was already a telepathic link, which resulted in a general look of both shock and excitement. It was the young male called Danny who stepped forward to speak.
"In my opinion, it makes no difference whether they are mated or not or that they already have a bond. Morgan has been employed by Silver for the last five months; she has offered a positive contribution to the business and has become friends with some of the pack members. This alone is enough to ensure the pack's protection, however we have to recognize that if these people come onto our land, we have to make sure the vulnerable are protected."
Morgan saw that Zachariah was extremely excited and proud of Danny who was his grandson, and the one expected to take over the role of pack elder in the future. So far Danny was reluctant to take on that role, and this continued to worry Zachariah.
"Danny you make a good point, do you have any suggestions?" Ben was clearly taking Danny seriously.
"Well, I think everyone should eat, giving the families a chance to decide who should and shouldn't be here. When that is decided we could invite some of the others here, such as the head of the vampires, witches and Bastian. Each of them is strong and more than able to provide protection to those that are vulnerable. The other thing we need to do is leave some of the stronger pack out of this fight."
"Tell me your thinking behind that Danny." Ben was clearly impressed and so was Nicky, everyone including Zachariah had been concerned at his laid back attitude as well as his lack of interest in the pack history, yet today it seemed that he was maturing.
"Well I was thinking about that, not only do we need to ensure that the pack is protected, but we also need to make sure that the future of the pack is protected." As Danny looked around, he saw that everyone was staring at him almost open mouthed. "Did I really say all of that?"
Ben laughed breaking the silence. "You most certainly did Danny, and what you did say showed not only tho
ught and maturity, but an insightful thought process. I think your mom's waiting to jump up and down with hugs and kisses."
Danny went very red as he went to see his family. Nicky saw Zachariah wipe his eyes suspiciously, he also noticed that May was beaming at Danny. Since Lucky and the girls had joined the pack Danny and May had become best friends, he protected her and she in turn educated him. In the last two years Danny had come into his own in regards to his pack status.
"Does anyone disagree with Danny's suggestion?"
When Ben saw that everyone was nodding in agreement, Morgan watched as he thanked everyone and let them move forward to eat. Several people came over to her during the next thirty minutes, welcoming Morgan to the pack. She had never felt so honored and protected. While she was watching everyone she was trying to work out how everyone could live together in such harmony. She had lived in a similar set up, but it was nothing like this, Nicky came to sit near her handing her a plate of food.
"Not all packs are like this Morgan, some are run similar to how you were brought up and ultimately they are weak packs that are based on fear. That is what is different here, we have laws but these are to ensure that everyone is protected, not controlled and bullied."
"Give me an example of these rules and how they work, it's amazing to watch everyone and it is so alien for me to see people like this."
"Mmmm let me think, okay if a pack member strikes their partner it is a breach of pack law."
"What would happen if someone did this?"
"The last time that happened was before I was born, a male came from another pack bringing with him a female. She wasn't a wolf but a witch; he was physically abusive to her even though she hid it well. Anyway when she was pregnant he really did beat her, my great granddad was Alpha at the time, he took the male out to the other side of the land. After giving him the option of explaining himself which he refused to do, each of his warriors was given thirty seconds with the male, beating him in return. The Alpha had one minute with the male. You can imagine what was left of him. He was then escorted off pack land, no longer welcome to consort with any of the pack."
"Wow, what happened to the female?"
Nicky's voice took on a somber tone, emphasizing his continued dislike of what had occurred. "What wasn't known at the time was that she was in fact the abusive one, however we didn't find that out until it was too late. The rest isn't my story to tell, however she snuck away from the pack one night and was never seen again."
Nicky could see Morgan deep in thought. "What happens if the Alpha is the abusive one?"
"Now that does happen in every pack at some point. Hundreds of years ago, about seven centuries if I remember correctly, the Alpha here was very abusive. He ruled through fear, my granddad was one of his warriors and he spent a long time watching the Alpha and building a group against him waiting for the right time. Anyway something had happened when one of the pups got into a fight with the Alpha's son who had tried to take advantage of one of the females. The Alpha was angry that his son had been hit; he decreed that the pup would be given fifteen lashes of the Alpha's whip."
Nicky took a minute to recall all of the details. "My granddad stepped forward and argued against this, the Alpha advised that if disliked the punishment, he too could receive the same. Instead of taking the punishment my granddad stepped forward and challenged him instead. According to pack law anyone can challenge an Alpha at any time."
"Oh my god, what happened?" Morgan was aghast.
"Well the Alpha fought hard and dirty, but my granddad wasn't a warrior for nothing. He also fought hard, but he fought with honor and eventually killed the Alpha and that is how our line came to take the role of pack Alpha. My granddad and then my father spent a long time changing the pack's reputation and thinking. I am really proud to have been a small part of that."
They both turned when they heard a sound behind them.
"I see Nicky that you did listen to some of my lessons." As Zachariah sat down, he looked at Morgan and then Nicky.
"Only the interesting ones Zachariah. Young Danny did you proud today, I think even he was surprised."
"That is so; he is showing the potential to be a good elder but also a good warrior. It will be interesting to see how he can merge the roles. I think that many people have changed recently and the pack is developing a new group of strong and brave warriors, including you Nicky."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves; I may revert to my usual form when this is over." Nicky smiled at Zachariah.
"Ah but is that true Nicky, what always baffled me was that you would take challenges meant for Ben without him ever knowing there had been a challenge. Why?"
Sat there with Morgan and Zachariah, he thought about brushing off the question, and then thought better of it.
"Ben's an amazing Alpha he was born to do this, but he is also my big brother, he has always looked out for me. An Alpha faces all sorts of challengers; I was always scared something would happen to him. I don't have another brother and I didn't want to lose him. But I also knew that even though the pack could always find another Alpha, it wouldn’t find a better one. Bens a good Alpha and we couldn't lose him." Nicky was watching Ben mingle with the pack. "Ben's a born leader; I am not which i give thanks to the gods for."
"I am not so sure of that, I agree that Ben is a born Alpha although if you had to step up, I for one would follow you, so don't be so hard on yourself."
As Zachariah left, Nicky turned to Morgan. "So little Pixie, do you like living here?"
"I never wanted to live in a closed community again, I now see that that was short sighted, not all communities are bad, and this one here is amazing. I love being on the land and around the people. It's made me realism that I don't think I can live in a city for long, it's like living alone when you are surrounded by people."
Nicky was deep in thought. "When the meeting is over, why don't you go and spend some time with Cane, he's still in the hospital; I have a few things to sort out. Connor will take you."
"I can walk Nicky." He bent to kiss her. "No you can't."
As Morgan watched him leave she couldn't help but stare at him, now that she knew what was underneath those clothes she couldn't help but think of the night before.
When Ben called the meeting back together, she was surprised to see how many people were willing to stay and fight. Eventually they had decided that Nicky's parents, Conner and two of the warriors would leave with the pups and some of the families. Danny had argued for Zachariah and Alice to leave, even though Zachariah believed that as the anticipated pack Elder Danny should leave. After endless arguing, Zachariah finally agreed to leave.
A lot of the females had decided to stay in order to implement the first part of Ellie's plan; however the majority would then leave to follow the others. Ben had made the decision that Lucky would also leave, this caused a somewhat fierce argument, until Ben pointed out that all of their children needed her and if something happened to him, she needed to nurture and teach the next Alpha.
Morgan found the whole thing quite painful, watching as Lucky kissed her man and remind him that she and their children needed him as well was too much for her, especially when she caught him up in a passionate kiss, and Morgan nearly cried herself.
She also saw that as much as Theo wanted to tell Imogen to leave he didn't, although he did insist that Imogen's sister leave. Ellie made it clear, that she felt it unfair that she was being ordered to leave when it was her plan.
When everything was finally settled and an agreement made for some people to leave first thing in the morning, Ben left to arrange a meeting with the head of the witches and vampires, as well as Lucky's boss Bastian. Nicky was going to help him with the meeting, so Morgan got to go the hospital, taking Connor with her. When she left, Nicky was talking to Yvonne, Sylvia and Lucky, whatever they were talking about had them all excited.
Chapter 1 6
As Morgan sat with Cane she saw her brother through new eyes, only n
ow did she understand the risks he had taken to limit her pain, the times he had covered for her even taking the beatings himself. He was actually a strong man who had been demoralized and bullied because he didn't like to see the people around him being abused. May had been in to document all of his injuries and the progress from yesterday.
Morgan was surprised as she watched May, although she had an incredible mind she was also tender and warm towards Cane, and when she left Cane was smiling.
"Exactly how old is she?" Awe was evident not only in his eyes but also in his tone.
"Thirteen, she has a twin sister who is the complete opposite of her."
She heard Cane sigh. "Do you ever wonder what could have been different if we had grown up normal?" He looked to be off in a place far away from here.
The Wolf With The Silver Smile (The Silver Series) Page 15