The troller arrived at Fisherman's Wharf in the late morning, which means that by sometime tomorrow they will finally reach their final destination ... the Rainier Pack territory. The infants are now about seven months old, and Irena, who was charged with their care, is feeling a bit relieved that this long, tiring journey is almost at its end; for this grueling traveling has certainly taken its toll, both physically and mentally, on her. But that said, Irena is immensely happy, almost to point of being ecstatic, that she is no longer under that daily 'iron-fisted' tyranny of the sadistically malevolent Princess Vodrak. Irena still has no idea what awaits her here, but after surviving all those years subjugated to the princess's viciously cruel treatment, she has no doubt that she will persevere in her new life.
The three were discreetly as possible taken off the fishing boat by a couple of the crew ... the crew, including the captain, having no idea who their 'passengers' were or anything about them; only knowing that they were being very well paid for transporting them ... and, of course, to keep their mouths shut about this. They were then handed over to four witches from the Raven Coven, which is based out of Seattle Washington; so, they were the obvious choice to deliver 'the package' to the Rainier Pack ... 'the package' being the code name used by those undertaking this covert operation.
From Fisherman's Wharf, 'the package' was transported to a safe house located on the outskirts of Portland Oregon; where they will rest for the night, then continue on to their final destination in Washington in the morning.
Meanwhile ... within the Rainier Pack's territory at the Alpha's mansion...
The alpha is back once again in his private study, this time meeting with Beta Stephen Caldwell and Delta Colin Thompson; whom are not only the alpha's most trusted subordinates and confidants, but also childhood friends. The topic of their discussion obviously being the imminent arrival of the werewolf child. The witches from Raven Coven had notified the alpha that the child had been picked up in San Francisco and should be arriving sometime tomorrow afternoon, barring any unexpected delays. However, what the alpha wasn't told ... among all the other details that are yet to revealed to him ... was that there will be two others arriving along with the child.
Delta Colin, who like Elliot Chandler and the other elders, feels that agreeing to allow this rogue werewolf child into the pack was a bad decision made by the alpha; one which never should have been made in the first place, and needs to be rescinded.
"If you ask me, Julian; you should call this whole thing off now while you still can. The last thing this pack needs is a rogue brought into our ranks."
"Not you too, Colin; I got an earful of this just last night from Elder Chandler. In fact, I've been hearing this same complaint from all members of the Tribunal of Elders ever since I announced my plans of taking in this child."
Beta Stephen, who's been much more open-minded about this, nonchalantly adds, "Let's not forget about all the gossip and grumblings among most of the pack in general."
The delta emphatically responds, "Exactly! That's what I'm talking about ... Julian, you need to put an end to this and call it off; don't allow them to bring the rogue here."
The alpha raises an eyebrow to the delta as he asks, "And what do I tell Teresa, then?"
"Tell her ... tell her..." Delta Colin appears befuddled and is tongue-tied at the moment; but is suddenly hit with an epiphany. "Oh, I know; tell her we'll make arrangements for a surrogate mother among one of our she-wolves already in the pack. How about that; good idea, right?"
A contemplative expression overtakes his visage as he takes a brief moment to mull this proposal over in his mind. He slowly rubs his chin between his thumb and forefinger...
"Hmm. An interesting thought ... one that up until to now hasn't even been considered." He ponders a little more, while lightly rubbing his chin; then turns to the beta, "What do you think Stephen? What are your views about this situation? Do you have any objections to me allowing a rogue to enter the pack?"
Again, Beta Stephen, as opposed to many of the other wolves in the pack, has always been more open-minded and tolerant. And although he is extremely loyal to the alpha and respects his authority as leader of the pack, the beta also always considers what's best overall for the pack and keeps that in mind. So, after some brief consideration of the situation, the beta responds as diplomatically as he can...
"Well, Julian, in all honesty, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have any concerns about allowing a rogue into the pack." He quickly glances over at the delta, who's conveying a slight yet noticeable smug face of vindication; then looks back to the alpha. "However, that's not the biggest issue I have with this situation. My real concern is that we really don't know anything about this child, or the details surrounding it. I mean, other than the fact that it's supposedly a werewolf child, we know nothing else. The fact is, Julian, we don't even know whether it's male or female, or how old it is."
The delta brusquely interjects, "Stephen's right; we don't know if it's male or female or how old it is! Or where did it come from? Why is it an orphan ... were its parents killed, or did they give it up? Were the parents rogues themselves? What about..."
Fearing that there was no end to this barrage of questions, the alpha interrupts the rambling delta...
"Enough already, Colin. We've already established the fact that we know nothing about the child, so there's no point to this incessant questioning of yours. No matter what you ask or how many times you ask it, no answers are magically going to appear out of thin air. We'll just have to wait until tomorrow and find out the details when the witches arrive with the child."
The delta displays an incredulous look upon his countenance as he sharply turns to the alpha and asks in disbelief; unable to conceal his disapproval in his tone...
"So ... you're still really going to allow those witches to bring that rogue here tomorrow?"
The alpha delivers a brief resolute response, "Yes, I am."
After a brief moment of uneasy silence, the beta announces...
"Well, I suppose I better get going and start making preparations for their arrival. Is there anything special you wanted prepared, Julian; or should I just follow the usual protocol?"
"The usual protocol should suffice. Thank you."
"Alright then, with your permission, I'll take my leave now, Alpha?"
"Yes; you may go." The beta starts to leave, but before he exits the door, the alpha calls out to him, "Stephen, a moment. Quick question ... is there anything else bothering you?"
After a moment's reflection, the beta answers, "In all honesty; there is one other thing that I've been wondering about."
"And what's that?"
"I was thinking ... how did the witches come into possession of a werewolf child?"
The delta once again brusquely interjects, "That's right, Julian; you can't really trust a witch."
The alpha delivers a quick eyeroll as he turns to the delta and aloofly declares...
"Actually, nowadays you really can't trust anyone considering the times we live in."