VIII
After an exhausting Fulness but with no ease of tension in sight for Zara or Nick, they jumped immediately back into Nick’s work of leading a pack that still needed some very influential friends. They waited to resume in full force until after the other curious packs arrived, since they had more or less already accepted the Earthborn pack from Sweden. The Earthborn themselves were waiting to see who else came before they fully committed themselves, though, and so they stood back and watched, haughtily, as two separate Stoneborn packs presented themselves before Nick. One was from Germany, and the other didn’t like to claim a particular place as home, so they called themselves wanderers.
By the time the Stoneborn decided they were ready to make their appearance, Nick’s pack had taken the time to clean up the compound from the chaos the Fulness had left behind. On one side of the growing town, there was a huge monument built of all manner of metal, contributed by the members of the pack who grieved for his parents. Beneath the monument his parents’ bodies were encased in pure stainless steel, etched and shaped by the elder members of the pack to look like silvered statues of their former leaders.
At a distance from the monument, the Guard shaped a large courtyard from the patchwork sheet metal that was in abundance all around the compound. They formed a kind of throne at one end for Nick and benches all around for those who wanted to attend and hear the proceedings of the pack for the day. Nick looked uneasy on his iron throne, despite the fact that the chair was the most comfortable he’d ever had. He was doing his best to seem more confident than he actually felt as he watched the two Stoneborn Alphas and their retinues approach.
They looked down at the metal platform that covered the ground with disdain as they stepped onto it, but Nick knew the appropriate message was sent by the decor. They were on his ground now, and if they said or did anything he didn’t like, they would be held to account for it. “Welcome, Alpha Metzger and Alpha Sedovin, to our home. I hope the moon was good to you and your people this past Fulness on the road.”
Both the Alphas were matched on either side by their mates, and while the females seemed to be just as fierce as the males, they said nothing during the audience. Alpha Metzger was an older wolf, in the prime of his power but in the last century of his life. Everything about him spoke volumes about his strength. Alpha Sedovin was young and his mate even younger, but they had greater numbers behind them than the wolves who had followed Metzger from Germany.
Metzger was the first to speak, though, since he certainly believed that he had a right to speak first. “The moon has been good to me for many, many years, young Alpha Nickel.”
“Since before my father became the Alpha of this pack before me, yes, I know.” Nick said respectfully, but didn’t move to get up. “We’re glad to see that you’ve come. I believe you know several of my cousins, those that have found their way into your pack over the years. I hope they’ve served you well.”
Metzger looked back beyond the Ironborn guards to his people that had followed with him on the journey. There were mostly males, but some females scattered among them. Not all were fighters, but all were useful. “Yes. We took all of your pack’s Stoneborn pups for a number of years. Even made a few of our own with your kin. We’re family. Your cause is our cause.”
Nick nodded at Metzger and looked to the side as he leaned forward on his seat, bowing slightly without getting up. “Alpha Sedovin, it’s a pleasure to meet you after having heard so very much. I see at least the initial rumors were true.” He said with an open smile, more than his people had seen from him in some time, just because Sedovin’s appearance elicited no other reaction.
The smaller Stoneborn was a contradiction in clothing, and would have looked almost laughable if he’d been in a human setting. He was wearing a large ring, sometimes two, on every finger, and all of them were studded with precious stones so large and intricate they would have made any human jeweler’s head spin. His mate beside him was even more heavily ornamented, if that was possible, but his appearance was not the clean-cut and powerful presence of Metzger beside him. Even so, his bearing was no less lethal. “Happy to meet a fellow rebel any day, Alpha Nickel.” He reached into his pocket and took out a small object, flicking it through the air between them toward Nick.
William, an Ironborn Guardsman, stepped forward and caught the object before it got anywhere near Nick, as a few of the other Guard flinched protectively. After a moment’s examination, William handed it to Nick, and Sedovin nodded an apology for being so carefree. It was an American nickel shaped from a pure emerald. “A gift between friends.”
Zara was standing behind Nick’s throne, watching carefully the exchange between the two Alphas standing in front of Nick. Her glance flicked back to the people that came with the Alphas, examining them as well. The people always said quite a lot about the Alphas themselves; what kind of rulers they were, what kind of example they were. She didn’t make herself known, she just tried her best to blend in with the guards that completely surrounded Nick’s throne.
Slowly and quietly, Zara put
