Logan POV
Logan, Nathan, Lane, Adam, Marcus, and Paul all sat in Logan's office. He called them all here so they could try to figure out what their next move was going to be. So far, they had nothing.
"Look, just in case Nathan and Lane are right, and this is some kind of power play and they are going to try to take over our pack, we need to start training more guards. Alpha David and I have an alliance treaty. The treaty also states that any alliance he holds with any other pack, will also be an ally for us as well. He has alliance treaties with the Blood River pack, and the Red Moon pack. And our alliance with the Black Night pack still stands as well. The other three packs all remain neutral. If we need to, we can call on our alliances, but I won't call them until we know for sure what is going on."
"We should only need an extra four guards for the night guard." Paul said.
"That won't be a problem." Adam said. "I have some new recruits that just finished their training. Six in total. We can put four on nights and the other two on days."
Paul nodded his head.
"The next round of recruits will be ready in four weeks." Adam said.
"How many will be in that round?" Logan asked.
"Twelve." Adam replied.
"We need to get more in training. Lower the age limit from 20 to 18." Logan said.
"Yes, Alpha, I will let the pack know. There are a lot of eager 18 and 19 year olds that want to join the guard." Adam said.
"I want their training to be more grueling. They need to be ready if it comes to war. They aren't seasoned enough yet, which is why I have the age limit set for 20. The new recruits also need to be trained even more. They still aren't ready, not really." Logan said.
"Yes, Alpha. Marcus, Paul, and I will sit down and come up with a new training plan."
"I also want the older guard members to go through a round of training, refresh their memories and test their reflexes." Logan said. "We need to be ready at any moment. I hope that moment never comes, but for the foreseeable future, this will be our new normal."
They all nodded their heads in understanding.
"I want to lead a search party out. See if we can find any tracks or scents to follow." Lane said.
"Ok, but before anyone leaves the territory, I want them to take a refresher course on the training ground." Logan said.
"No need Alpha. I have a select few guards that I want to take with me that are great at tracking, and they spend a few hours a day on the training course practicing, they are ready to go now." Lane said.
"Good. Head out, but keep your phones and mind links open. Contact me if you find anything." Logan said.
"Alpha?" Marcus spoke up.
"Yes, Marcus?" Logan said.
"Do you remember my cousin that found her mate in the Blue Lake's pack?" Marcus asked.
"Yeah, I remember her."
"She just sent me a message and said that Alpha Levi has just issued an order, the whole pack is on lock down. Nobody is to leave the territory." Marcus told them.
"Did something happen?" Lane asked.
"She didn't say. All she said was that nobody is allowed to leave, only under special circumstances, and only with permission, and with an escort of guards." said Marcus.
"He is going to be stretching his guards too thin." Adam said.
"Hang on." Marcus said as he sent his cousin a message. When his phone chimed, he looked up at them with concern on his face.
"They have lowered the age limit for guards to 16!" Marcus exclaimed.
"WHAT?" Adam yelled. "He can't do that. They won't be able to shift if something happens. This is why no pack's guard age limit is under 18. A guard has to be able to shift, otherwise they are too vulnerable."
"I will call Elder Michael and let him know. He can get with the other elders and put a stop to this." Logan said. He was furious. No alpha should ever put the pack's children in danger or in harm's way, especially on purpose. This was inexcusable. Alpha Levi was still young, but he still knew better than that.
Logan growled, letting his frustration boil over the surface.
"We have enough to worry about with this strange pack trying to hurt our packs, we shouldn't have to worry about one of our pack's alphas hurting his own pack." Logan said.
"Lane, go see what you can find, but be careful. Don't go into another territory. Call me first so I can get you permission to cross over, even if it is one of our allies."
"Yes, Alpha." Lane said before he got up and left Logan's office.
"The rest of you are dismissed." Logan told them and they all got up and left the office behind Lane. Only Nathan remained.
"Nathan, how is Morgan?" Logan asked him.
"She is good. The baby's heartbeat is still nice and strong. Doc wants her to stay on bedrest for at least two weeks. She isn't happy about that but she will do whatever she has to do to protect the baby. Alexis is there today to keep her company, I don't want to leave her alone right now." Nathan said.
"Do you think she will be up to attending a dinner tonight for my parents? Emma and Patricia have organized this whole thing and they are cooking." Logan asked him.
"She definitely would, but I don't know if she should. I don't want too much stress on her body." Nathan said.
"Of course not, but you know she won't be happy if she gets left out. Ask Patrick and see if he thinks it will be ok if she comes, even if it's just for an hour or so. We will make sure she is comfortable and not up and about on her feet." Logan said laughing.
"No, she would be pissed if she misses out on tonight. I will carry her around all night if I have to. But I will call the Doc and make sure. What time?" Nathan asked.
"I think Emma said 7." Logan told him.
"Ok. I'll talk to the Doc first before I say anything to Morgan."
"Good idea." Logan said.
Logan walked out of his office to find his whole household staff was bustling around the house. He could smell the amazing fragrance of the food coming from the kitchen. He followed the smell into the kitchen, there was food lined up all over the counters, the island, and the kitchen table.
"Whoa." Logan said. "You've been busy."
Emma turned to him and smiled. She walked over and gave him a quick peck on the lips.
"Are you taking breaks?" Logan asked her.
"Yes, she is. I've been making sure of it." Patricia said as she came out of the pantry, arms loaded with supplies.
Emma shot her a side glance with her nose crinkled up. Logan smiled. She looked so cute when she did that, he thought to himself.
"You look like you are having fun."
Emma looked back at him, beaming. "Oh, I am. So much fun."
"She's doing really well too." Patricia said proudly. "She is a very fast learner."
"I have a good teacher." Emma said.
"That you do." said Logan. He walked over to the stove and looked at whatever it was that was simmering in the pot. He didn't know what it was but it smelled delicious. Emma came over and bumped him out of the way with her hip and then stirred the food in the pot to keep it from sticking to the bottom.
Logan went to pick up and piece of the chicken that was sitting on one of the plates on the counter and got smacked on the hand with a wooden spoon.
"That's for dinner." Emma said. "If you want something for lunch, I can get you something out of the refrigerator."
"That's ok, love. I will get it." he told her and leaned down and kissed her on her cheek.
"Then you can go find something else to get into and get out of our way." Patricia told him.
"Yes ma'am." Logan told her.
He opened up the refrigerator and got out stuff to make a sandwich, and once he got it made, put everything back and grabbed a bottle of water. He walked back over to Emma, mouth full of the bite of sandwich he just took.
"I'll see you later love. I'm going to go over to the training grounds for a little while. Call me if you need anything." he gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. "I love you."
Emma smiled. "I love you too."
Logan left the kitchen and headed upstairs to change his clothes, already having finished his sandwich. He opened up the bottle of water and took a drink then replaced the lid. He walked through the bedroom door and sat the bottle of water down on the bar. He got some shorts and a t-shirt that had the sleeves cut off out of the dresser and put them on.
He picked up the bottle of water off the bar and headed back downstairs. He got in his car and drove over to the training grounds. Adam already had the recruits going through their daily training. He got out of the car and walked towards the training area, Adam walking towards him.
"Come to watch the progress or join in?" Adam asked.
"Join. I can't very well ask members of my guard to take a refresher without me taking one too. Besides, it's been a while since I've had any practice and I am getting rusty." Logan told him.
"Good call, I mean I was going to mention that you needed to practice too, but looks like you came to that realization on your own." Adam said laughing.
"Ha ha." Logan said sarcastically.
"Come on, we just got started a few minutes ago. Don't worry, you probably aren't as rusty as you think you are." Adam told him.