On the Outskirts of Manhattan

Riley hadn't stepped inside the Council Chamber's door two seconds before the other four remaining Council members converged on him. “We have an issue,” Gabriel stated quickly. His eyes wide, and his demeanour—like everyone else's—seemed to emit the same distressed feeling. They never decided any important things as anything other than a group, and Riley was starting to realize that whatever the issue was, was probably very important.

“With what? I have Ava and Alexander under control,” Riley responded. She was always on his mind, but he also had an obligation to keep the other Council members up to date on what he was doing.

“Yes, well, while you were out playing with your favourite toy, we were in here taking care of more serious issues. One of the newly instigated Alpha's, Ryder,” Felix stated. Felix was the youngest of the Council members. Although he was infinitely older than other wolves, he had been turned as a teen and his rebellious personality and childish demeanour never completely subsided. “He's requesting permission on a very serious issue.”

Riley stopped walking and raised his brow. “A serious issue?” Riley asked. The boy they were talking about was a new Alpha who was instigated after Ava had chosen her pack days before. He was a relatively new wolf as well, merely a boy who was requesting permission from a much higher power. There couldn't be anything that the boy wanted that Riley couldn't deny him quickly and with a reprimand.

“He wants to talk to you,” Luther told him. “Since we denied him permission.”

Riley chuckled lightly, his fellow Councilmen relied on him too much to dish out punishments. “Bring him into my office in ten minutes.”

“He has the majority of his pack with him,” Gabriel offered.

“So? He took over Malcolm's pack when Ava was being integrated. That was a pack of about twenty at most. The majority of their pack went to Alexander once he took over several decades ago. Let the twenty come into my office with him if they refuse to leave their leader.”

“It's not twenty anymore,” Felix stated.

“Well, how many is it? Thirty?” Riley continued to his office.

“He took over other packs,” Gregory finally spoke up. “Their numbers now rival Alexander's.”

“Alexander has over three-hundred defensive soldiers in his midsts, plus women warriors and their training children,” Riley told them, finally veering toward the throne room out of simple curiosity at this new Alpha.

“Last count, the newby had over three-hundred in the room. He also stated that he had soldiers out recruiting more wolves who want what he wants and that he plans to take over more packs who deny joining him out of respect to the Council and our decision,” was Gabriel's reply.

By then, they had reached the doors to the throne room. Riley pushed the doors and let them burst open to have the desired effect. He kept his face expressionless like he often did around Ava, but he felt the urge to let his eye's bulge. The room indeed held over three-hundred wolves, all standing calmly, all asking permission on what Felix's jumpy demeanour suggested was a very serious issue indeed.

“Oh, and Riley?” Felix was walking quickly beside his friend and co-council member. “They let it be known that if we decline they plan to do it anyways. And they plan to take over the Council.”

Riley's jaw flexed. He didn't want to have to use his secret weapon so soon. He planned to keep that under wraps for years to come, for the power to continue to grow and manifest more fully, and to reach the full potential.

He walked up to his chair and sat. Perhaps he could convince them that it was a bad idea without having a full-fledged war on his hands being the result. “Where is your Alpha?” Riley asked once the other Councilmen sat in their appropriate chairs around him.

It was a boy who looked no more than twenty years of age that stepped forward. He took the stairs two at a time until he was merely a couple feet away from Riley. The guards at their back stepped closer, ready to jump at any moment, at any twitch of the other wolf's hand.

“My name is Ryder Davidson and I'm requesting permission to hunt humans.”

***

The Beta's weren't exactly pissed, but they weren't exactly pleased either when Alex and Ava announced her role as co-Alpha the next day. The thing with the Beta's was that they weren't exactly upset over Ava becoming a co-Alpha, so much as they were upset that the woman—however powerful and dominant—got promoted before they did.

The Beta's had had a long standing competition to become the first Second in Command within Alexander's pack, and although that wasn't what Ava was, she did become somewhat their competition. And she had won. Within two days. She had won on a scale much larger than what they had expected to win. She was not only the first ever Alpha Female of the pack, but the first ever co-Alpha. There were rumours circulating that she used to be an Alpha before she joined Alex's pack. However, those rumours had circulated shortly after she had joined the pack in Grey Wolf Mountain.

Rumours within the wolf community spread like wild fire. They were circulated and changed slightly, so much so that when Ava first appeared on the doorstep to Grey Wolf Mountain's wolf pack with dominance far greater than that seen in any other female wolf, it had circulated throughout the countryside that she had taken over the pack before the end of the day. And then, when Greyson died, it seemed as if Ava and all reference to her dropped off the face of the earth. Until she showed up with Alex four years later.

Alex announced the addition in position before his whole pack with Ava at his side and Dawson standing protectively at the woman's back. There were murmurs at the defensive wolf's meaning behind everything and a worried tension surrounded the meeting room until Nolan broke away from Jackson who had been caring for him while the meeting took place. He giggled and called out for his Mommy before running up on stage beside her. It was then that the wolves saw her powerful demeanour shift. She reached down and grabbed her son up in her arms. It was protective, but it was also loving, nurturing and caring. She smiled at the wolves before her. “I hope to get to know all of you personally and understand your needs. I look forward to an amazing future.”

The thing was, Ava wasn't all for being an Alpha. She understood why Riley demanded it what with her power rivalling Alex's, but she had never been one who wanted to rule. That was something Riley didn't understand. She also knew, however, that Alex's pack did need a little guidance from someone who wasn't a jerk to them, which was exactly how Alex acted. In Ava's eyes, Alex acted like King of the castle. He wanted everything done two days before and he demanded things; he didn't ask. Not even out of professional courtesy. He never interacted with his pack, he simply ruled in a hard and uncaring way. And for some reason, the only pleasure he got out of life was tormenting her.

Once she stepped down from the podium beside Alex, several of the wolves walked up to her to introduce themselves. She was famous after all, but she was also someone a lot of the women were starting to look up to. She was someone who would change their way of living for the better, and for that, the women were eternally grateful. However, not everyone took on such a positive position to having two Alpha's. The camp was obviously divided; those excited to have both a leader who was a woman, and someone who could even out Alex's ruling style; and those who were not so excited, those who liked the traditional route, liked the way things were being run. They had run that way for the past several decades, what made this time so special?

It was those traditional wolves that went to complain to Alex. It was those traditional wolves that got a quick and to the point answer from the man.

“It wasn't my decision,” he told them. “The Council thought it would be a good idea.” He didn't want to say that the Council ordered it, that would be too much and would cause some sort of rebellion within the Base, but that was almost exactly what it was: an order from the Council.

Alex liked the role the Council played within the wolf community. They set the rules, but stayed back and let the wolves live their lives. They would intrude only when they considered it necessary or when a law was broken. And when a law was broken, the penalty was usually death. The penalty being death was simply because the laws that the Council had were very basic; don't expose yourself, don't kill humans, and now, always belong to a wolf pack. They were all for protection from humans and to humans. The last one was protection of the wolf mind. That was what the Alpha's learned at their meeting in recruiting the rogues—being alone for too long affected the mind in horrible ways.

Ava was having just as hard of a time, although it alternated half the time between males and females welcoming her to the pack and asking about her background—mostly wondering if rumours had been true about her and Greyson being mated, and about her disappearance from the werewolf world. She produced simple answers, not exactly confirming them, but not exactly giving away her life story or showing her near constant grief over the matter. The other half of the time, there would be both men and women coming up to her to protest her new position in the pack. They thought that if she wanted to be Alpha, then she should fight their leader for it. Many of the Beta's made it known that they didn't appreciate her taking a role so close to that of their own when they were all hoping for a promotion. By the time the third Beta walked up to her, Blake was at her side. He rubbed Nolan's back who had fallen asleep on his mother as she spoke to people.

“If any of you believe that Alexander or Ava intend to make a Second in Command, then you have all been seriously mistaken,” Blake told the group of Beta's before Ava. “Alex made it quite clear that he had multiple Beta's for a reason, that we're all equally important and earn our places as Beta's. He also makes it clear that he has the right to take away Beta status, so I'd be careful what you said around your new co-Alpha, one that has influence over Alexander, one who can just as easily take said status away.” With that, Blake led her away from the group of misinformed Beta's, and to Dawson's side.

“Thank you,” she smiled at the Beta. “Normally I don't mind all the harsh words, but I have Nolan with me,” Ava shrugged as if that simple movement explained everything. And the thing was, to Dawson, it did explain everything. A child should think their parent is a superhero at least until their teen years, Nolan didn't need to be there while the people who were against her being a significant part of the pack yelled at her.

“It's Tuesday,” Dawson answered, drawing her attention away from the Beta in front of her and back to him.

Ava blinked at him until she understood, “Play date with Josh and Emma,” she smiled. “I'll just let Alex know we're leaving.”

Dawson was surprised when the woman handed off her child to him and went in search of the other Alpha. Although, he rationalized, she had trusted him enough with the little boy before and he shouldn't look too much into it. Even if he wanted to.

***

“My name is Ryder Davidson and I'm requesting permission to hunt humans.”

Riley had to hand it to him, the boy didn't waste time. He stated what he wanted, and got right to the point. It didn't matter that the Council would never give it to him. The boy didn't falter in his declaration, and Riley had a suspicion that he had only come to the Council as a formality before intending to wage war.

“I see,” Riley began. “Of course you know the answer is no, but you knew that before you came here. Were your intentions simply to eat humans at all cost, or are they to take over the Council?”

Ryder smirked at the older man. From where Ryder came from, older meant weak, not strong and powerful like everyone seemed to think. Ryder was a relatively new wolf. He had his newborn instincts, his newborn strength and most of all, he had his newborn training. “Both,” he answered easily. “I have full intentions of taking over. But I also have full intentions of hunting humans. We are the superior species, we yearn for the taste of human blood. You simply expect us to act as vegetarians and suck the juices from other animals. But what we want—what we all want—is to taste the blood of humans.”

To Ryder, it all made sense. There was no point in not eating humans, since that was what a werewolf's natural instincts called for—eating humans. Ryder couldn't understand why the werewolves had gone so long without eating humans. He had to assume that werewolves used to hunt humans before the humans became superior beings to animals and gained the ability to use and create weapons. However, humans and werewolves alike were held at the same regard. They each knew the humans' weapons and fighting techniques. Now, werewolves were the top of the food chain. What was stopping them from fulfilling their natural course in life? Apparently, a group of five old men.

“I highly disagree,” Riley spoke to the man. He didn't believe that all werewolves wanted was to taste human blood. “I have been alive and a wolf much longer than you have, and I do not yearn for the taste of human blood. I do not yearn to sink my teeth into human flesh, or to go on rampages to kill humans and take away the things that they work so hard for. Things that keep us alive and active; like electricity, and cellphones. Wolves did not invent those, humans did. Humans make up a much larger population than ours and although you may think of us as the superior species, we do depend on them.”

“No!” Ryder roared. “We are the top of the food chain. We get to pick who we eat and who we don't!”

“You are not the top of the food chain,” Riley growled out. “I am. We are. This Council is. And we choose not to eat humans. That is an order for all of the werewolf population. If you disobey this order there are consequences,” Riley replied calmly.

Ryder scoffed.

“By consequences, he means death,” Felix supplied. Riley simply sat there in silence as the Alpha paced in front of him. Riley had to hand it to the newcomer. He was powerful, and from the way he walked and guarded himself, he was well trained. He was well trained in the ways that an older wolf would be, let alone the fact that he seemed to be a new wolf. He also had the numbers behind him. If he had multiplied his pack by fifteen in three days, then by the time the boy decided to wage war, he could very well have much larger numbers than the Council would have readily available upon attack. Just because the human population was bigger than the werewolf population didn't mean that the werewolf population wasn't a large one. However, just because the young wolf had followers didn't mean the Council would let them do something so blatantly against their rules. They had those rules for a reason. They had soldiers and spies that enforced those rules around the world. One boy and his pack of followers wouldn't make them change their rules. They were all expendable.

“Ryder Davidson?” Riley's voice stopped the boy from pacing. “Request denied.”

The young boy let out a growl that, although sounded ferocious, didn't concern Riley.

“You'll regret this,” Ryder stated, then turned and pushed his way through his pack to the exit. The pack slowly flowed out behind their leader before Riley spoke again

“Summon Ava,” Riley stated to the Councilmen surrounding him. “We're going to need her.”