Chapter 67
Amie
aking up with Finlay was a new experience. Yesterday he had wokenW up before me and I could feel him watching me as I woke up. Today he was still asleep. We were in almost the same position as yesterday. Me on my stomach and him draping over me. It was warm and snug and felt safe. I could feel Finlay waking up and I burrowed deeper into him. His grip around me tightened and he pulled me closer.
“Morning,” he said. His voice was still heavy from sleep.
“Morning.” We shared a kiss and took a moment to wake up. We had a full schedule as it was the last day here. Me and Finlay had the meeting with the council, then we would come back and help with packing. After lunch there was the closing ceremony. The late afternoon and evening, we would spend making the final arrangements and saying goodbye to friends and family from other packs. I had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact we were leaving tomorrow morning. Just a couple of days on the road and then we would be home. I sighed as I got dressed. I was homesick.
“What’s with the sigh?” Finlay asked and wrapped his arms around me from behind. He kissed my shoulder.
“I was just feeling happy that we will be home in a couple of days.”
“You won’t miss the excitement?” he wanted to know. I laughed.
“Not the least. I have had enough drama to last me for years. Give me back my boring life and I will be happy.” He chuckled. We went down and had breakfast with the others. Matilda and Jake were in full planning mode and directed the others on what tasks they had. We hadn’t spoken to Jake
about our plan to make him Beta. We wanted to wait until we were back so we could talk to everyone at once.
“We are heading out, we shouldn’t be more than an hour,” Finlay said as we had eaten.
“I’ll walk with you. I need to stretch my legs,” Sam told us. Finlay walked on my one side, holding my hand. On the other side, Sam was walking.
“So, is this part of your bodyguard duty?” I asked him. He looked disappointed.
“I thought you wouldn’t notice.” I smiled at him.
“That’s sweet of you, thank you,” I said. Finlay hummed in agreement and kissed my temple.
“Well, it’s the least I can do.” When we reached the council building, Sam headed back to the cabin to start his list of tasks he had been given.
Finlay and I were shown into the council chamber we had used on the two occasions we had been there to face Finlay’s old pack. The council sat in a row in front of us. Alpha Ryder and his Beta stood on our left side. Neither of them looked good.
“Thank you for taking time out of your morning to meet with us,” the head of the council said. All four of us bowed. “We won’t take up much of your time, we know you have things to do. We feel we need to spend a minute to talk about our ruling at the beginning of the game and where we are now. After yesterday’s results there can be no question. The Blue Mountain pack has shown they are capable of standing on their own.
According to our ruling there will be no merging of the two packs. The council will not entertain another request of this kind from the Ocean Shore pack. If the two packs in the future agree a unification will be for the best, the council will listen to them, but it needs to be a joint decision. Alpha Finlay and Luna Amie have shown they can lead their pack successfully.
We have no other comments. Do you have any questions?” he asked.
“The punishment my brother made my pack take for the hide and seek game is the reason for our low ranking. I can’t see how the council can look at the result as fair,” Finlay’s brother said. I saw several council members raise an eyebrow.
“I think your question contains two misconceptions,” a council member said. “First, you forget that your rank had no impact on the outcome. You could have come last and if the Blue Mountain pack had come below rank
fifteen, we would have forced a reunification. Second, and more important, it was your pack member’s action that led to the punishment. The burden of guilt can’t be placed on Alpha Finlay.” Most of the council nodded, and I was starting to like them.
“His pack members are mine, they belong in my pack!” Alpha Ryder growled. Finlay put his arm out in front of me and pushed me behind his back as he faced his brother.
“Alpha Ryder! Control yourself!” the head of the council called and stood from his seat. Four warriors stepped up to flank the enraged Alpha. I tried to look around Finlay to see what was happening. He gave me an irritated look that told me to stay put. It seemed like Finlay’s brother calmed himself down. The tension in the room eased a bit. “I want to make the council's opinion on this clear. The Ocean Shore pack has no claim on the Blue Mountain pack or its members. If you try to take it by force, the council will see it as any other pack attacking another. We will let the Blue Mountain pack defend themself and if the last game and their track record is anything to go by, they will win. When they do, we will stand back and let them decide the fate of the defeated pack, as is custom. Please keep that in mind,” the head of the council said. I saw how Finlay straightened up to his full length. He rarely let his Alpha power show, but now he let it radiate from him and he was magnificent. “I think we have made the situation clear.
Alpha Finlay, Luna Amie, you may leave first,” the head of the council said.
“Thank you,” we said as one and bowed. Finlay made sure I walked next to him on the side that faced away from his brother. His arm lay across my shoulders and anchored me to him.
“Time to get working on the list we got from Matilda,” Finlay told me as we headed out of the building. He sounded pleased.
“First we need to find a private place,” I said, looking around to see what
I could find.
“Why? Is something wrong?” he asked.
“You can’t just flex like that and expect me to be fine with going on with my day. I need to strip you naked and climb you like a tree,” I told him.
Finlay stopped walking and looked at me. As he still had a hold on my shoulders, I had to stop as well. “Keep moving, Finn. I’m not kidding.” A smirk grew on his face and he laughed.
“As you wish, my love. I think I know a place,” he told me and guided me towards the communal gyms. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking
about our little encounter the other week,” he whispered to me. I giggled and we hurried our steps.
An hour and a half later, we finally made it back to the cabin and told the rest what had happened during the meeting. It gave us all a new reason to celebrate. Matilda still had us working. No one minded as it was a sign we were going home. Bags were packed, the cabin got cleaned. We just left the things we needed for the day we had left. ‘How do you feel about how we left things with your brother?’ I asked Finlay in our private mindlink while we cleaned my old room. ‘I have given up on us ever being close, or even friendly. It is what it is.’ ‘You are still allowed to be disappointed, or angry,’ I pointed out. ‘I know, and I probably would have been pissed if it happened any other day. But there have just been too many happy things happening the last two days. I can’t find it in me to be angry,’ he explained and surprised me by taking a grip on my waist, lifting me up and spinning me around. I threw my head back and laughed. When he stopped and put me down, I kissed him. ‘I’m happy as well and I’m looking forward to seeing Medow’s face when we get back.’ We got back to cleaning and then walked down to have lunch.
We all dressed up for the closing ceremony. The top six ranking packs were to sit with the Council on the stage. I had on my rust-red dress and for the first time in a while I felt self conscious.
“You look amazing,” Finlay told me for the hundredth time as we walked towards the stadium.
“I should be wearing white and gold,” I told him, as I had done all the other times he had complimented me.
“You don’t have white and gold clothes,” he pointed out. He knew this as he had asked me.
“Of course I don’t have white and gold clothes. Only lunas wear that combination.”
“Right. So you look stunning,” he insisted. He was right, I couldn’t wear what I didn’t own. But I still would have preferred the traditional colours.
We arrived at the stadium but instead of going to our usual seats, we were shown to the stage. A long row of chairs had been arranged in a half circle on stage, a table with chairs stood in the middle of the half circle. We were placed on specific chairs, all facing the crowd. When my old pack walked
up on the stage, Finlay moved his chair closer to me and put his arm around my shoulder. Sam moved his chair closer to me on my other side. I saw my brother and Becky and smiled at them. Some of the other pack members smiled and nodded at me as well. James looked like he hadn’t slept in days and stared at me with a mix of anger and sadness. I saw his eyes dart to my mating mark and more anger replaced some of the sadness in his eyes.
Cindy was clinging to his arm, trying to make it look as if they were a couple, and failing. I felt relieved when they sat down without an altercation. When everyone was sitting down, the council walked out onto the stage and took their seats at the table in the middle. The head walked to the front of the stage and started a speech. It was more interesting than the one at the start of the game. He did a recap of the games and listed a number of interesting facts. During the game sixty two new matings had been made. ‘We are one of those,’ Finlay linked me. He lifted my hand, which he was holding, and placed a kiss on it. Next, highlights from the games showed on big screens. It was a mix of impressive feats and funny moments. We got to see Finlay and Sam pull Jake up. It was even more impressive looking at it from a distance. ‘I really should ask for a copy of that clip,’ I linked Finlay. He chuckled next to me. There was a clip of my wolf being chased by two opponents and Ramses silently dropping down from a tree behind them and snatching their flags. There was a lot of laughing from the crowd. There was a serene looking picture of Sam and me sitting back to back on a log in the water. ‘I really need to ask for a copy of that. It would look amazing on the lock screen,’ I told Finlay. ‘There will be no picture of you with another man on your lock screen.
Not even Sam. We will take a picture you can use,’ Finlay told me. I smiled and nodded. It was interesting to see all the highlights from the games, most of them I hadn’t seen before. They ended with highlights from the last game. When they showed almost the entirety of Finlay’s fight with his brother, I turned my head away. Finlay put his arm around me and I buried my head in his neck. It had been enough to watch it once. ‘I’m fine,’ Finlay reminded me. ‘I know, but I still hate to see you get hurt.’ He placed a kiss on my hair and let me hide in his neck. I was happy when he told me it was over. The head of the council continued his speech. He told us it had been the least
bloody game in seventy years. Which was a surprise to me. He ended his speech and another member of the council took his place. She talked about verdicts the council had made, which was interesting. They had been busy and it seemed our pack wasn’t the only one with drama. The verdict that our pack was to remain a pack was read, as was the verification of Finlay’s and my bond. As she ended her speech, the head of the council stood up again.
“With that, my dear brothers and sisters, I declare this year’s game finished. We will see you in ten years. Please leave as soon as possible. We want the peace and quiet back,” he said. We all chuckled and stood up. We were expected to mingle for a while. Finlay made sure we stayed clear of my former pack. We talked to the first and second rank Alphas. They were interested in forming alliances. It would be a good opportunity for our pack, so we exchanged information and promised to get back to them. When we were free to get going, we were all relieved. ‘I will drop you off at the communal building so you can say goodbye to your brother. Sam and I have to fix a couple of things at the cabin. When we are done, Sam will go and say goodbye to Medow’s father and I will come and join you,’ Finlay linked. ‘Sounds good. Don’t take too long,’ I said. ‘Never. I will miss you too much. If we say goodbye to your family quickly enough we might have a chance at having the cabin to ourselves.
Everyone is planning to be out and saying goodbye. We haven’t tried out the couch yet,’ he told me, kissing me. ‘That all depends on how long you and Sam take,’ I told him, gave him a quick kiss and walked to the room in the communal building where I would meet Elder and Becky. I got a warm hug from Becky and one from Elder.
We sat down to talk.
“Everything ready to go home tomorrow?” I asked.
“Yes, thank the goddess! I miss my baby,” Becky told me. I smiled at her.
“Give him an extra hug from me.”
“I will,” she promised.
“We will make sure the two of you get to meet soon,” Elder said. I nodded. I didn’t want to ruin the mood by saying I found it highly unlikely.
“If we are lucky, Cindy will distract James and get him in a better mood,”
Becky told us. I could hear the sarcasm in her voice. Elder couldn’t help but make a face.
“I know I should let it go, but I just don’t have it in me to forgive that she tried to come between us,” Becky told Elder and me.
“I took one look at you, and I was a goner. She never stood a chance,”
Elder told his mate. They were so cute together I had a hard time not cooing. I missed Finlay and looked at the clock. He should be on his way. I wondered why he hadn’t mindlinked me to let me know. Knowing him, he probably wanted to surprise me. The thought made me smile. It was nice to be close to my brother and Becky, to meet and have a chat, but I had a serious case of homesickness. I wanted to get back, to start my new life as mated for real.
“When is that mate of yours coming?” Elder asked. I was just going to reply he would be here any moment when I felt something in my chest. It made my wolf go on high alert. “Amie?” Elder asked. I was too busy trying to figure out why I felt like I did. It hit me like a bucket of cold water. It was the mate bond, Finlay was angry and in distress. ‘Finn, what is happening?’ I mindlinked. I waited.
“Amie, what is wrong?” Becky insisted. I still hadn’t got an answer from Finlay. It was bad, it had to be. He had never not answered me. I stood up from my chair and headed for the door.
“Something’s wrong. I need to go,” was all I said. I didn’t have time to explain. I started running as I mindlinked Sam. ‘Something’s wrong with Finlay. Please tell me you are with him, he isn’t replying to my links.’ ‘No, I left the cabin about ten minutes ago. I’m on my way. Don’t go there alone!’ Sam linked back. I didn’t care what he told me. I would not ignore this thing, leave my mate all alone. I took comfort in knowing as long as I felt the anger and pain through the bond, Finlay was still alive.
