Endangered Species

It took every bit of self-control I could muster to avoid reacting to the news. My hands turned white as they gripped my legs just above the knees. I couldn’t look at Cole, or I’d lose it. One excuse from Cole, and I’d be cutting him up into little chunks of stew meat.

I couldn’t do that. Like it or not, Cole and I were linked together by the Moon Goddess. I didn’t know or believe in her, but I couldn’t discount what she’d done to me. If I was to lead by his side, we had to present a united front to the Pack and outsiders. I had to choose my next words carefully. “You should have come to see for yourself before calling the Council together. The world is collapsing, and we must consider more than just Werewolf Law to navigate through the aftermath. Dinner will start in about thirty minutes. We should focus on introducing your single wolves to our females.”

Cole picked up on my change in the direction of the conversation. Thankfully, he understood that discussing the females who had left would go badly for him. “The last time your men were here, we handled things poorly. We cannot allow them to be chased or scared out of their minds by a male out of control. I trust you’ll keep your men under control?”

“Of course. My Beta did not expect humans to be here. We all know what to expect now.”

I nodded. “The females have all received instruction in Pack ways and mating practices. They are MY responsibility to protect until they accept their mate and the change in Pack allegiance. Is that understood?”

“I would expect no different from a Pack Luna,” Alpha Edward conceded.

The introductions were simple to arrange. The Quinalt Pack males lined up along the wall, and Melanie had my females enter the room single-file for dinner. I wasn’t shocked that we had another six matings, over half of the single males he’d brought along, plus the first two. Melanie told me this was unheard of; a Pack was lucky to have two new matings in a year!

The happy couples were a hot topic of conversation at the head table. The table held ten people, with four on each side. Alpha Cole was the host, so he sat at one end with Alpha Edward to his right as the guest of honor. Since Melanie was technically the Pack’s Luna, she was on the other end with the Quinalt Lead Warrior to her right. I was seated across from Alpha Edward, with the Beta couple to my left and the Gamma couple to Edward’s right. “These matings have to be Luna’s will,” Edward speculated. “With everything dying out, propagation of the species becomes all-important. For that, you need mates.”

It was a chance to get an independent view of the situation; everything I’d learned had come from the Brinnon Pack leadership. “Do you believe mates are paired together by the goddess from birth?”

Edward took a sip of wine and thought about his response. “Perhaps before birth? Since mates may have an age difference, like between you and Alpha Cole here, it could be anything. I am a simple man, not a mystic or a Priestess. I believe that each of us has a mate, and the fortunate ones find them early.”

“I’ve been taught that if you reject your mate or they die, your wolf eventually dies along with you.”

He nodded. “It’s sad, but when you’ve experienced the fullness of the mating, you’ll understand better why the loss is such a blow.”

“What if your mate dies before you meet him or her,” I asked. “Do you get another, or do you never find your mate?”

“I don’t know,” he told me.

“I think we do now,” I replied. “Statistically, there is no other explanation.” You get that for being a math major; I’m a whiz at statistics. “Before all this, your males visited other Packs to search for mates?”

He nodded. “As soon as they are eighteen. They start with nearby Packs and expand out as needed.”

I looked at his men. “These unmated males look to be in their twenties or thirties. Is it fair to say they’ve checked every Pack in the country since coming of age?”

“That’s a fair assumption. After the first round, you spend more time around humans and revisit Packs as more females come of age.”

“Fair enough. Human matings are much less common than among werewolves, correct? I was told one in five matings involve a human.” He nodded. “From what I’ve been told about Pack numbers and sizes, assuming all werewolves survived the solar event, I figure there are somewhere around a thousand unmated males in North America.”

“That’s a good guess.”

“So about two hundred of them have human mates. You had thirteen unmated males, so you should expect two or three, but you now have eight. That’s statistically significant. A month ago, two million women lived in the Puget Sound area. We have about two hundred human females here, yet somehow you find eight mates among them?”

The entire table was listening to me lay this out, and some figured out the implication. Melanie got it first. “As the population collapses, Luna has fewer and fewer females to pair with our males,” she said quietly.

“That’s my conclusion.”

“Why not increase the number of matings among werewolves then,” Beta Mark protested. “Those matings result in more dominant wolves. Too many Omegas is not good for the Pack.”

“Inbreeding,” I replied. “Luna uses human mates to ensure fresh bloodlines. If humans die out, that genetic diversity is lost forever. The Goddess knows what she is doing. These women are more important than you know.”

“Perhaps Luna protected them until they could meet my males?”

I snorted. “The ones who lost husbands and families would challenge your version of ‘protection.’ It seems far more likely that Luna has to find another mate every time the previous one dies, and now she’s choosing from a rapidly diminishing pool.”

“It might be luck, or perhaps my Pack has earned Luna’s favor.”

I nodded at this. “Perhaps. I’m the only one mated to a Brinnon Pack member out of over three hundred females. I assume the other Alpha delegations will be like yours? Heavy on unmated males?”

“My messengers are aware of the two matings. I’m sure their reaction will be like mine.”

“In the next three days, we will have our answer. If other Packs have similar hit rates, we know Luna is actively involved in this.” I sat back with my glass of wine and smiled. “And I wonder how Luna will deal with those who would kill potential mates. How many mates have died in the last two nights because of your werewolf laws?”

I looked around the table, and no one met my look. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to check on my females before turning in for the night. It has been a busy day.”

“Of course,” Edward said. Everyone rose as I got up and said my goodbyes. I choked down my revulsion and gave Cole a goodnight kiss. My look told him he’d be sleeping in the doghouse tonight.

Lois had come to my side as soon as I rose, and she followed me as I made my rounds in the big room. The six new mates were getting to know their males, the twelve of them at a single table near the front. Knowing the Alpha Council was forming, I informed them they could take the change tonight or wait until they reach their new Packs. “You don’t want the fevers on the road, and your Alpha needs to be there for your shift. Alpha Winters plans to stay for at least three days, so there is a window now if you’re up for it.”

“Joe is up for anything,” Carol said as she wiggled on her mate’s lap. His eyes filled with lust as he pulled her into a kiss.

“We’ve assigned you private rooms to get to know each other in,” Melanie said as she joined me. She passed out the keys. “Remember, your permission is required before he can bite you. If you decide to mate tonight, try and keep the noise down.”

“I’ll remind her to scream into the pillow,” Joe replied. Carol grabbed the key and squealed as he ran out of the room with her in his arms.

Melanie touched my arm as I turned to follow them. “Can I walk you to your room?”

“Fine, but I’m not talking until we are behind closed doors.”

“Fair enough.” Lois followed us back to the Alpha Quarters, then took up a guard position at the door. Two other guards stood between the VIP Quarters and my room.

I closed the door behind us and sat down at the table. “The women who left the last two nights. They are all dead?”

“Yes. We gave the women one last chance to change their minds. We followed the others until the trucks were gone, then killed them quickly and painlessly. It is our way, Angela. It always has been.”

I withdrew one of the silver knives from the sheath on my left arm. It was sharp, cleanly cutting the fine hairs on the back of my hand. “I should cut his fucking balls off for this.”

“Cole will not allow you to neuter him, Angela.”

“Keep him away from me. I’m one excuse away from rejecting his lying, flea-bitten hide.”

She nodded. “Cole expects as much. Get some sleep. You’re going to need it.”

Sleep did not come easy, but it did and brought the dream with it. I was back with a group of women I’d said goodbye to that first night. I could see the five of them on the road in my dream. Blood and brains covered the pavement around them where they died. I rolled one over; the exit wound in her forehead was the size of my fist. Her dead eyes stared at me, accusing me of betraying them.

I screamed when her hand grabbed my throat. I tried to break her grip as she choked me, but nothing worked. I didn’t have the strength to pull her hand away, and stabbing her with my knives did nothing.

That was when the other girls joined in. Dead arms grabbed mine, dragging me to the sewer and down to hell.

My guards rushed into the bedroom, waking me from the nightmare. I was so distraught that Cole’s wolf had to come in to settle me down again. I fell asleep with my face buried in his neck, the fur soaked by my tears.