Written on November 16th and 17th 2020

C H A P T E R  10

The sun is not yet on the horizon, but the Alpha has already gathered his Delta and head of his Warriors. The three men have gathered in front of Vidar's house and are hit by the first rays of morning glory.

'Some time to wake up,' Bjarne mutters as he tries to suppress a yawn. He stretches out and heaves a sigh. 'Will you tell me what you're planning to do, Alpha?' Although Bjarne already has a suspicion, he would like certainty. Normally Viggo goes along instead of himself; hence this request from his Alpha had surprised him last night.

'I'll explain it in the car, once we're on the road,' Vidar gives a short answer. The look he gives Bjarne says it all. Bjarne closes his mouth and turns to the calm Tarik. 'Did you sleep well, T?'

Tarik rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Furthermore, he does not respond to the Delta's request but tightens the straps of his backpack. 'What time do you want to go?' Tarik looks at his Alpha and waits patiently for his answer.

'Within five minutes,' says Vidar. He glances at his watch, '-Oskar still has to report for the first round, then we'll leave.' As soon as the Alpha's words left his mouth, the early morning was filled with silence again.

'Alpha!' a familiar voice shouts. Sigrid comes out of the big house in a hurry. She has a Tupperware container in her hands. 'Something to eat for the road,' she explains. Without forcing it, Sigrid tries to push it slightly into Vidar's hands. 'Fried egg with bacon and hummus with cucumber,' she adds in a whisper.

Vidar takes the bowl from the maid and gives a short nod. 'Have you seen Oskar?' he asks her, instead of thanking her. Sigrid shakes her head. 'Sorry Alpha,' she begins, '-I didn't see him. But I suspect he'll be here any minute: I heard some of the maids talking about him, so he can't be far away.'

Vidar shakes his head in annoyance and mumbles something that none of his Pack members can understand. Meanwhile, Sigrid walks back into the house to start her tasks for the day. In addition, Vidar had also made it clear to her that she was responsible for Tara today and what exactly would happen to the girl today.

'You guys just sit in the car,' Vidar waves to the two men next to him. Without asking or saying anything in return, Bjarne and Tarik do what they are told. They walk quietly to the black Nissan Murano, with Tarik getting behind the wheel. Bjarne respectfully takes a seat in the backseat of the car.

The moment the car doors are closed, Oskar approaches. He raises his hand to Vidar in greeting, which is supplemented with a broad smile. 'Morning,' Oskar says and puts his hands on his hips as he stops in front of the Alpha.

Vidar raises his eyebrows and continues to look at his Beta with questions. 'Round was good, nothing out of the ordinary. Most Wolves have already started and the guard around the borders will be changed shortly,' reports Oskar.

Vidar nods, '-walk another round in two hours to check whether everyone goes to work and stays.' 'Alright, Alpha,' Oskar answers. 'Do you also want me to do the usual round at eleven o'clock, or is it canceled?' Vidar shakes his head. 'No. Only the round in two hours and then the round at the end of the afternoon. That seems sufficient to me. I expect to be back around nine o'clock to run the last lap of the day myself.'

* * *

It's quiet in the car. Neither Bjarne nor Tarik have opened their mouths to ask what exactly is going to happen today. The only thing the two men know is that they are going into the territory of an adjacent Pack. Due to the direction they are traveling in, both only have Ozack's pack as an option.

'I was on the phone with Ozack yesterday,' Vidar breaks the silence. 'He finally realized that his Pack is too small, and largely too weak, to take on the Rune Pack.' After telling this, the Alpha waits a moment before continuing with his story.

'As I already told Oskar, today we are going to make an inventory of Ozack's Pack members. I made the deal with him to negotiate, or destroy, the Runes. In exchange for the land of their territory, part of their Pack is going to be added to ours.'

Bjarne looks in the rear-view mirror in surprise and makes eye contact with Tarik. Before Tarik can signal him to shut up, Bjarne starts talking. 'Sorry for the interruption Alpha, but which Alpha would agree to give up part of his Pack?'

A fake grin appears on Vidar's face. "That's the part Ozack doesn't know yet. He now thinks that we are going to help him with the problem between his Pick and the Runes, but that will be a little different.' Stunned by the answer, Bjarne keeps his mouth shut and just looks out the window.

* * *

'Ah, Alpha Vidar Thorvald,' a loud voice greets the three men. They have only just gotten out when a broad man, especially well filled in the belly, walks towards them. At his side is an attractive woman, who is clearly the Luna of this Pack.

'Ozack.' Vidar keeps it short as he shakes hands with the Alpha in front of him. He then turns to the woman, '-Luna.' The woman smiles slightly and gestures to Bjarne and Tarik. 'Goodmorning gentlemen.'

After the formalities, the three men follow Alpha Ozack and the Luna towards their house. Ozack leads them towards his office, which is on the first floor. He himself goes first, followed by his Luna and then by Vidar, Bjarne and Tarik.

'I want everyone on the training ground,' Vidar gets straight to the point. 'Young and old, I expect every member of the Pack.' Alpha Ozack nods, but the look in his eyes shows that he doesn't quite understand. 'Alpha Thorvald, if I may be so bold,' the Luna begins, '-why exactly do you want that?'

'I have a number of requirements that come with merging the Packs,' Vidar answers simply. 'The terms in which it will happen have not been clearly discussed.' Alpha Ozack's eyes widen and Luna lets out a soft, startled cry. The head of this Pack knows very well what Vidar is known for and realizes that the deal was too good to be true.

'Meia, would you like to get the gentlemen some coffee?' Alpha Ozack turns to his wife and gives her a reassuring nod. De Luna gets up and leaves the room. 'Alpha Thorvald,' Ozack now says to the man opposite him. 'I should have known there would be a catch.'

Alpha Ozack sighs and shakes his head. 'But unfortunately I don't see any other option, so tell me: What are your requirements?' Vidar looks triumphantly at his Delta and Warrior Head before turning to Ozack. 'I can't add the entire Pack to my own. I don't have the space for that, and besides, there is a big difference in skill.'

Ozack's heart sinks. Given the Alpha's reputation, he can almost guess what Vidar's next words will be. 'The Wolves who are offered a place will continue to live on this site,' Vidar explains. 'Under the supervision and training of my Warriors, of course. Within my Pack, a certain skill set is expected of each member.'

'The Wolves that don't fit into my Pack, or the ones that refuse, are on their own,' Vidar continues. Ozack raises his eyebrows in shock, '-you mean they have to pass as Rogues?' Vidar nods. ;Yes, or they can join another Pack: it's not my concern anyway.'

* * *

Outside, 80 Pack members are standing in a very long line. 'Men on the left, women on the right, children in the middle!' Vidar shouts loudly to all the Wolves. Some of the Pack members' eyes dart anxiously towards their own Alpha, Ozack. He nods in agreement and immediately the Wolves start to move. After two minutes, three groups have been formed on the large site surrounded by a piece of forest.

Vidar beckons to Tarik, '-inspect the men, pick out the strongest. If in doubt, use Bjarne for a practice round with them.' Tarik says nothing and immediately follows his Alpha's command. He walks briskly towards the group of men and begins to divide them into three groups: young and athletic men, the older men and the remaining ones.

Bjarne is called by Tarik to assist him in selecting which of the men are good enough, or have the potential, to join their Alpha's Pack. While Bjarne starts doing some basic combat exercises with some of the men, Vidar continues to watch the women's group.

He divides the women into the same groups as Tarik did with the men. 'Ladies,' he addresses the women, '-before I look at who can become part of my Pack, I first want to know who already has a Mate. These women are stepping forward so that I have a clear view of this.'

The women obey obediently. Their Luna is now also coming a little closer to give them some support with a motherly smile. A large number of women are stepping forward. A number of old people remain standing, just like most teenagers. Vidar counts exactly how many there are and then looks back at Tarik. He then sees that some of the men have already been crossed out because of the way Tarik has positioned them in the line.

'Tarik,' Vidar calls, '-how far are you?' Tarik looks back and holds up his hand with five fingers extended. 'Just need five more minutes, Alpha. A number of them have already been selected: to my left, didn't make it.' Vidar nods happily, after which he turns back to the group of women. 'Which of you has a Mate who is in the group just pointed out?'

* * *

Feeling satisfied and content with himself, Vidar is back in his car, accompanied by both Tarik and Bjarne. Bjarne has an overview list with all the names of the Wolves that will be added to the Pack from the day after tomorrow. Tarik has a shorter version of that list, which only contains the names of Wolves that will be trained as new Warriors.

'That went surprisingly well,' Bjarne broke the silence in the car. Vidar makes an approving sound. He thought back to a few hours ago, how the Alpha and Luna gave up their Pack and title so easily. Pathetic is the only word Vidar can think of to describe Ozack and his wife.

'Bjarne and Tarik,' Vidar joins in, 'I want you to leave tomorrow at the end of the afternoon with a number of men - I will let you know who tomorrow - to start the preparations for the merger of the Pack members.' Both of them just nod their heads and mumble an agreement.