"There are seven heads of the Werewolf Union and 23 member packs." Bridget spoke as she wheeled herself around the desk in Tristan's office.
I nodded attentively. Of course I had learnt all this in werewolf history and the current affair classes but I didn't want to come off as arrogant.
Besides, there's probably a lot Bridget could teach me that I couldn't learn in the classrooms. Like Jasmine had said when she showed me the prisons in the tunnels. Some information was reserved for a select few.
And as unbelievable as it was, as Luna, I was officially part of that select few.
"Silvercrest, Calhoun, Stone, Row, Pine, Redstone and the Steppe pack. All of them are sending their representatives today. I don't have time to give you a background on all of them but here are the ones to look out for."
Bridget spoke so quickly, I struggled to digest everything.
It wasn't even her fault though, the representatives were currently waiting for a meeting that had been postponed twice now.
The first time because me, Josh and Mikey had held up Bridget and the second being the video.
If I could take notes I would but something told me I didn't need to give everyone a reason to doubt my capabilities or my right to be here overall.
Captain Nakumora, the new chief of defence sat quietly on the couch hearing Bridget speak.
He was Captain Park's replacement and I didn't really know much about him. But Peter had assured me that he could be trusted before he had left for some duties that Bridget had given him.
I was so used to Tristan's small team of people, I forgot that there were other -more experienced and older people who also ran things.
Not saying Peter or Raphael or even May were incompetent.
It was a known fact that Tristan being such a young alpha would also have fairly young people in his circle.
"Alpha Randall Calhoun," Bridget spoke, showing me a picture on her tablet. "Leader of the union, pompous, arrogant, strong. We might be the most powerful in terms of resources and stability but the Calhoun pack has the numbers, the man power and a lot of territory."
"That he can't control." Captain Nakamura muttered quietly.
From the roll of Bridget's eyes, I could tell she agreed.
"You can bet that's who Ornyx will try to hit after his done with us." She spoke.
I looked at the man's picture. A big and burly man with long dark hair braided to the side and striking Hazel eyes with tan skin.
"This is Jasmine's father?" I asked immediately spotting the similarities.
Jasmine was really tall with more of a slender but athletic build. But I could see the same features in this man as she had.
Bridget nodded.
"He's the WU leader by default. Greatest territory always leads. Stupid old regime rules that we still follow. He'll want to lead the whole expedition and affair. Don't say anything to offend his massive ego, please. Let me and Captain Nakamura handle him."
"Got it. It's not like I plan on doing much talking anyway." I spoke.
The title was to get me in. The only say I wanted to have was the one that would get Tristan home.
"Next Shelby Odoku, Steppe pack. Respectable sized territory, stable and self sufficient enough. But Alpha Shelby? She hates conflict. Personally ran anti war propaganda during the last war. She almost pulled out her soldiers from the night mid battle. She's gonna be a problem in the rallying of fighters." Bridget spoke and I could detect the slight frustration in her voice.
"She only stayed because of her respect for Jean." Captain Nakamura spoke. "Maybe she'll extend the same courtesy to you."
Bridget scoffed. "Tristan maybe. And that's not even a definite. She's been looking for reasons to pull out of the WU for a while. The pack is fine economically, they can make do. The only reason I see her staying is so that she doesn't get attacked personally. She's not fortified enough to ward off attacks. She still needs us."
Bridget was quiet for a second looking deep in thought.
I looked at the picture of the woman. An almond skinned woman with long locs tied above her head in an elegant updo. You could tell she must have been gorgeous when she was younger.
"Okay, now the Row pack," Bridget suddenly continued, "a bunch of 'yes men' and followers led by their chief pushover -"
Captain Nakamura cleared his throat.
Bridget rolled her eyes. "I mean led by Alpha Michael Crowl, he's -"
There was a knock at the door.
The secretary peaked in.
"Alpha, the union is seated and getting impatient." She spoke in a nervous tone.
Bridget sighed.
She looked up at Captain Nakamura.
He got up from the couch he sat on. "Now or never." He shrugged.
"Right." Bridget muttered.
She looked lost in thought again for a while.
She then looked up at me.
"You're about to enter the lion's den, are you sure you still want to do this?" She asked.
Bridget had no love for me. That's how I knew I needed to take her warning seriously.
"He doesn't want to be saved Bridget and I can't let him do that." I spoke.
She shared a look with Captain Nakamura.
He walked closer to us and placed his hands behind his back.
"If Tristan wants us to follow Robert's strategy, we have to respect his decision. But you do know what will happen will still be left to a vote and if you two are not on the same page, it could bring problems in there." He warned.
I furrowed my brows. I had told Bridget about Tristan's last message or order, whatever it was.
I hadn't thought much of it at the time. I thought it was just some army talk I wouldn't understand or was privy to to be honest.
But now I was curious.
"What's up with that, anyway? What was Trsitan's dad's strategy?"
Bridget shifted in her seat
"Robert was a pacifist for the most part." It was Captain Nakamura who spoke. I couldn't tell whether or not he was disgusted by the fact.
"Jean... Jean got things done. Their opinions clashed on war but he still followed her into it regardless." He continued. "He didn't want the bloodshed and the brutality of it all, so he came up with a theory,"
"Cut off the head of the snake and end the war." Bridget finished.
I furrowed my brows in confusion. "The head being Ornyx?"
Captain Nakamura nodded. "Robert believed that if we were to win the war quickly and smoothly without any more casualties, that was the way to go."
I was even more perplexed. "Then why didn't it happen? It sounds like a great idea." I spoke.
I studied a lot about dictators and 'group thinking'. Ornyx was the face of influence here, trying to up hold outdated ways of the past. He had a superiority complex that would surely doom everyone within a mile's radius of him.
He needed to be stopped. Getting rid of him got rid of his ideologies, didn't it?
"It was a controversial idea." Bridget spoke in a lower voice. "The Shadow pack had killed hundreds of our own. People didn't want a quick end, they wanted a battle. They wanted blood. And Alpha Jean agreed. The best way to win a battle is to show how many are left standing. It's an old ideology but one that still works. One that even someone like Ornyx respected."
I shook my head. "But he didn't, did he?"
I remember this part of the history.
Alpha Jean might have been leading the pack to victory with her tactics, but the truth was that even though Ornyx was outnumbered, he still kept going so much so that even when Alpha Jean thought she had the upper hand and infiltration his territory, he killed her.
"Robert wasn't the same after that." Bridget spoke, "any ideas he had on taking Ornyx down swiftly and quickly were thrown out the window, he too wanted blood for what they had done to his wife. That's where the controversy came in." Bridget hesitated.
Captain Nakamura nodded at her.
Bridget sucked in a deep breath and raised her chin as if preserving dignity. Whose exactly, I didn't completely understand.
"That's when he had Ornyx's son taken." She spoke, sounding very much like she didn't want to say the words. "It was supposed to be a war strategy. We were supposed to use him as leverage. But Robert couldn't control his rage... he murdered him."
I let out a surprised gasp.
That part was no where in the history books.
"Everyone knows Robert wasn't able to function after Alpha Jean's death. Many believe it was the grief of what had happened." Bridget spoke quietly. "In reality it was that moment."
She swallowed hard. "He became the very thing he despised."
"We nearly lost until we reverted to her plan in the end. If Tristan wants me to switch strategies, we're going to have to do a whole lot of convincing."
I stilled. "According to all this... Xavier van Cliffe was my father."
Bridget looked at me, no emotion on her face.
I looked at both of them.
"And Tristan's father murdered him..."
"Just thought you should get a heads up." Bridget spoke as if she hadn't just dropped a major bombshell.
I shook my head.
There were so many secrets and details that were being thrown at every random moment.
How could anyone be left standing after this?
I saw that Captain Nakamura and Bridget were watching me carefully now.
"Wait? Do you guys expect me to get mad?" I asked. "Is this some kind of test?"
Did they still honestly believe that my allegiance was elsewhere?
I stood up. "My father is somewhere back at my home not even knowing where me or my mother are. I didn't even know Xavier Van Cliffe."
And I didn't know what my mother could have seen in him either. But this wasn't about my connection to the Van Cliffes and I wish I could scream it out to everyone.
"I trust Tristan and his judgement. So if you need me to agree with that publicly in there, I will do it. Now can we have this meeting already so that we can save Tristan?"
Bridget and Captain Nakamura shared a look.
Bridget shrugged. "I guess you're ready for the fire."
All my confidence slightly dissipated when we walked into the conference room.
There were two sets of three chairs on either side of the table. One empty at the head and another occupied by a huge man with dark hair who I instantly recognised as Randall Calhoun, Jasmine's father. And surely enough Jasmine sat in a chair behind him. Looking serious and solemn.
I tried not to make eye contact with the others but I also tried not to look like I was avoiding meeting their eyes I can't imagine a Luna with no confidence.
Peter ushered me to a chair beside Bridget's which was at the head.
The chair was removed and she wheeled herself into the spot.
I could tell from everyone's reaction that they were shocked by Bridget's appearance.
I mean I understood. The pack and the whole union was in a state of panic and not that I doubted Bridget's ability - trust me, I knew her capabilities.
But the Bridget I saw now. She looked like a shell of what she once was. It was the poison. It was still working in her body, slowly but surely.
"My apologies for the delay, alphas." She spoke.
I heard a scoff form a woman with red hair flowing around her face streaked with grey. She had the clearest green eyes I had ever seen.
Bridget ignored her and looked straight ahead. "We can commence, we have no time to waste. My acting beta, Raphael has given you the run down. Ornyx is back, our alpha has been taken and he's threatening war if we don't surrender."
I looked at Raphael who sat in a chair behind Bridget and then at Peter who stood silently in the back. I didn't know Raphael was officially the acting beta.
I had been expecting it to be Peter.
But I guess Raphael was much older and had more experience. Maybe it made more sense.
I jumped when I felt the table shake.
I looked at the other end where Randall had his fist clenched on the table.
"Surrender?" He barked. He rose. "Ornyx makes a fool of us, he questions our strength? He questions my might?"
"Randall please, not now." The red headed woman spoke with a sigh.
The Randall man looked at her. He then looked at everyone around the table.
"We don't need a speech, we need strategy." She told him.
Alpha Randall placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward.
"The strategy is to show him the might of the Calhoun pack, of the whole union. During the last war, Jean's forces and mine didn't waste the time or energy, our soldiers are skilled and brave-"
"And they also got slaughtered by the multitudes the last time."
I turned and saw a woman with short black tightly coiled hair.
Shelby Odoku. Steppe pack.
She sat ramrod straight with a serious look on her face.
"Remember that, Randall?"
"So what do you suggest, we stay out and wait for Ornyx to strike first?" The man I recognised as alpha Michael spoke. His tone clearly condescending.
Alpha Shelby narrowed her eyes at him. "I sacrificed too many of my own and went against my own beliefs and for what? Ornyx to still be alive?"
"So what do we do, gather around and sing kumbayah with him?" Another man whom I didn't know spoke.
"I did not come here to be mocked." Alpha Shelby hissed.
"No, you came here to help." Bridget snapped.
The whole room went quiet. She looked around at everyone. "You all did."
I saw how much she was fighting showing the pain she experienced by just moving slightly.
"Just because Silvercrest has been hit first, that doesn't mean you're not all next."
Alpha Randall sat back in his seat moving his massive arms to the arm rests.
He looked at Bridget at grinned. "I've always liked this one. She has never been one to take crap from anyone. Not even those years older. Not even when she looks like actual shit -"
"Dad-" Jasmine hissed.
But Alpha Randall's smile didn't drop.
He looked around the table. "My fellow alphas, I do understand that all of us here have very different opinions on how we should run our packs.
"Alpha Shelby does not want blood, alpha Carmichael thinks we should strike first,"
The man who had been disputing Alpha Shelby nodded firmly.
Alpha Randall let out a breath and brought his hands together on the table.
"We are a team, as a union we all decide what is best for the packs collectively. But as individuals we all know I have autonomy when in comes to emergency situations such as these. And right now." His eyes fixed on Bridget, then to my shock they darted to me.
He was silent for a few seconds. "Right now a fellow alpha was been attacked. One of us, I think it would be improper if we didn't atleast hear from the ones who knew Tristan the best." He paused. Everyone turned to look at Bridget.
But that's not who Alpha Randall was looking at.
"You must be the controversial new Luna." He spoke.
Everyone's eyes turned to me.
I felt like shrinking into myself at the sudden attention.
Bridgett shifted in her seat. "Alphas, may I introduce Crystal Swan." She spoke.
I felt like everyone was studying me, inch by inch, trying to find pieces of me to pick apart.
Alpha Carmichael's mouth made an 'o' then it twisted into a scowl.
"Ornyx's granddaughter?"
There was a brief moment of silence. Just a brief moment when I thought everything would be okay. And then it happened. Everyone snapped.
"This is her?"
"Wait, the stories were true?"
"This isn't right."
"Why is she here, she should be locked up."
"Randall, is this a joke."
"Why is she here?"
Alpha Randall slammed a fist onto the table silencing everyone.
"Silence." He ordered.
He looked at me and I couldn't tell what was in his eyes.
But I could see the looks in so many others, resentment, curiosity, anger...
But his just studied me, almost... amused.
Was this a joke to him? Was I?
"This is unacceptable, she has too many ties to the enemy. She shouldn't be here." Alpha Carmichael spoke.
"Yet I do." The words left my mouth before I could even think.
The room grew silent.
I turned to look at Bridget expecting a 'you've done it now' look but she was only silent.
I guess this is what she meant about facing the fire.
I swallowed hard and turned to look at the most powerful rulers of the major packs of the union.
I stood up, again without much thought.
Raphael saw my hesitancy and it looked like he wanted to face palm himself.
Jasmine gave me a small nod.
I swallowed again.
"My name is Crystal Swan." I spoke up. "O-or at least that's what I've grown up thinking it is."
I looked around at everyone's face hoping no one threw something at my head.
"I know you've all probably heard your fair share about me. But I can promise you, you don't know me."
"The granddaughter of Ornyx Van Cliffe, I'd say we know enough." The red headed woman spoke indignantly.
I let out a breath. "Listen, I have had to defend myself to this entire pack for years and now I have to defend myself to you but there's no time, Tristan has been taken and if we don't get -"
"How do we know you're not leading us into a trap, girl?" Alpha Shelby asked skeptically.
I clenched my fists. I was so frustrated I could scream.
We did not have time for this.
"I wouldn't do that. I love Tristan, I am his Luna."
"But the pack doesn't recognise you as such." Alpha Randall spoke calmly. "In fact your ascension to the title has been so drowned in controversy it is seen as a joke."
I stared at him, my mouth wanted to open and defend myself but I realised that I didn't know how anymore. Would any of these seven alpha even believe me.
"It was unconventional, I agree -"
"You're unconventional." Alpha Randall spoke. "Raised among humans, barely understanding our protocols and traditions. You didn't even complete the mating ritual and you have been aware of Tristan as your mate for how long?"
I could tell the question was rhetorical. I hung my head, no words to say.
I looked at Bridget and she had a stiff expression on her face.
"This is not a game." Alpha Randall spoke making me feel like I was just a child who was interrupting serious business.
"Alpha Tristan took his mother's place and led us to victory. For that we shall always respect him. But right now, I regret to say that we must all assume he is gone. We all watched that video."
I saw Jasmine visibly tense up behind her father obviously fighting to keep a straight face.
"The Ornyx I knew would never have let him live with all the bad blood he had with his family. Now I am not discounting him, believe me, he was like a son to me. But this is war and we're not going to win by being emotional.
So Luna Crystal or whatever your name may be. It was a pleasure meeting you but I will dismiss you now."
I looked up.
What?
I wanted to argue. They were counting me out? Removing me entirely.
"You're dismissed, Crystal." Bridget repeated in a lower but still a firm voice.
I looked around. All the alphas looked at me with judgement in their eyes.
I felt shakey and weak.
Raphael stepped forward. "I'll escort you out, come on." He muttered.
I had no energy to resist as he led me out.
I didn't even glance back.