The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

A member of Pack leadership must claim it before the leadership of at least two other Packs. The usage statute is similar, although it does not require the Pack to be first. It requires continuous occupation of the claimed territory by at least five Pack members for a minimum of one year with no conflicting claim from another Pack.”

“Surely we aren’t saying that visiting Australia on a jet plane is sufficient to meet this statute,” Chairman Platt said with disdain.

“No, we aren’t, and don’t call me Shirley.” He got a few laughs out of that old joke. “Traveling on a sailing ship for six months in the eighteenth-century counts,” Nicholas countered. “Our Pack traces back to Philip Corcoran, a werewolf and Beta’s son from the Wicklow Pack in Ireland. He was arrested and convicted of Treason in the 1898 Irish Rebellion at the age of thirteen. He joined thousands of other prisoners shipped off to Australia, landing in the Sydney colony. He earned his freedom, married, and raised a family. His descendants have continuously occupied the Australian Territory ever since.”

The mention of the Irish Pack caught Chairman Svensson’s attention. “The Corcoran Pack relocated to Australia?”

“The Corcoran Pack is dead, Mr. Chairman,” Nicholas said. “Philip was a Beta, and he had one son. The English wiped out his entire Pack between the rebellion and the reprisals. A check of the European Pack records showed that he had no living relatives, which he found out for himself in the early 1800s. We are not reclaiming that Pack name, nor are we placing ourselves under the dominion of the European Council. We are not North American, European, or Asian, and we are the only Pack in existence in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia does not fall under the dominion of your Councils; we do not ask for nor desire your help.”

The rejection had Chairman Carver leaning forward, holding back his anger. “Miss Lawrence was under the North American Council! That puts your Pack under our authority as well,” he stated firmly.

“It does not,” I said. “Nicholas did not join my Pack, nor did I form a Pack in North America. I joined Nicholas’s pack in Australia. When a female goes to her Mate’s Pack, the Pack and Council she came from cannot retain oversight or rights to her. It has ALWAYS been that way.”

Carver looked over at his lawyer, who nodded her head slightly, telling him I was right. He looked back towards the camera. “You have a mantle, and he didn’t. By rights, he should be joining you in the Miesville Pack.”

“That is a convention, not a law. Circumstances allow for the newly mated pair to make their own decision. It was not in the best interests of his Pack to be ruled from an Alpha seven thousand miles away, and they did not want to relocate to America. The only choice I had was to join his Pack as I did.”

“How large is your Pack? Who is in it?”

“I would rather not say, as the number is still changing. After centuries of living here, it’s far more than five,” I said. “I am not required to submit a Pack roster to you, and I have no plans to do so.”

“I can attest that Nicholas and Vicki meet the minimum requirements for a Pack under the laws of either Council,” Leo said evenly. “Not that she is subject to either, of course.”

I just smiled at that. “Unfortunately, this is a busy time for our new Pack. As such, we will not be entertaining visitors or granting access to our territory for at least a few months. I would remind you all that prior permission from myself or Alpha Nicholas will be required before any werewolves enter Australia.”

Chairman Platt was so red it looked like he might stroke out. “This is completely unacceptable. No Pack is outside the jurisdiction of the Councils! You can’t let them hide out down there and pretend our Councils don’t exist!”

“Why not? It’s been that way for centuries,” I said. “This Pack got along just fine without you, and it doesn’t need you now.” My statement caused another round of shouting; the Council hadn’t been my friend, and they weren’t going to bully me now.

“Mates,” Chairman Wolfe said, and that quieted everyone in the room. “There must be werewolves in your Pack looking for mates.”

I nodded. “I was not the only one to find my Mate in this Pack. I intend to help them find their matches after they have learned the basics of Pack life as we all know it. As you can imagine, with no contact with outside werewolves for centuries, it’s going to take a while to get them ready. With that, I will let you go. We have a lot of work ahead of us today, and our business here is complete.”

“Wait,” Chairman Svensson said. “I would like to offer the services of the European Council Archivist to help you research the history and lineage of the Wicklow Pack. You also have my support if you wish to reclaim your ancestral lands in Ireland and return home.”

“Thank you for the archivist, but no to the reclaiming,” Nicholas said. “We are Australians, and always will be.”

Lars nodded at that. “When you visit, we’ll show you all we can of your heritage. Your ancestor was a strong man to survive all that, and you’ve kept this secret from everyone, including us, for centuries. When you are ready, we will be happy to welcome you back to the rest of the werewolf world.”

I needed to bring this to an end before it got out of hand. “Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, fellow Alphas. Have a good day.” I ended the call before anyone could say anything, switching to the Pack-level feed that Leo had the codes to access. We could listen in and see the reactions as they argued back and forth.

The arguments continued for twenty more minutes with three major factions. The first, mostly in North America, wanted that Council to bring the Southern Cross Pack into its jurisdiction by any means necessary. The second centered around the Europeans and wanted to wait things out until we would voluntarily join a Council. The last group ate popcorn and laughed at how much trouble an eighteen-year-old part-time college student could stir up without even trying. They wanted to know if their mates were in the Southern Cross Pack all along.

“How did we do, Uncle Leo?”

He ended the feed and turned to me. “You kicked over the hornet’s nest, that’s for sure. I’m glad you stepped up when you did, or this could have gone differently.”

“Claiming the whole Continent was the key,” Mom said. “If you had just claimed Southern Australia and Victoria, the Council would send a small Pack to claim Queensland, maybe another to Western Australia. Those Packs would be under the North American Council, and they could use that to force you into their council as well.”

“Any attempt to plant a Pack in Australia now would be an act of war,” Leo said. “Loving, brilliant, and driven. You’re my favorite niece.”NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.

“Thanks, Unky.”

“You need to get back out there with your Pack,” Leo told me. “You don’t have a lot of time to get to know them, and those bonds are important.”

He was right, and not just about the Pack bonds. I still had a month of touring left, and I’d have to leave Nicholas behind to do Alpha stuff. “Carla, I need to free up some blocks of time to visit Pack members and be with my mate. Talk to Linda and Mercedes and see what kind of flexibility we have in terms of dates and travel. See what Linda thinks about having more adventure days with me sitting out, too.”