The Claiming by Cooper

The Council Chapter 26 Mason

Mason

The day after she gets back, I have Jara join me in my office and I tell her all about the first alliance

meeting.

“So, my gorgeous Luna,” I say, having pulled her into my lap, “when are you planning to have your first

Luna meeting?”

She looks thoughtful for a moment. “Sooner than I expected. I’ll call Hana today and see when she thinks

we’ll be ready for our first meeting. But if Alpha Zaire thinks that he and Luna Gia can get the Gamma

female and her daughter out of Alpha Shawn’s pack, it needs to be soon.”

“Tell me about Layan. I heard she was not in good shape.”

She leans against me, and I can tell through our bond that she’s hurting for Layan. She tells me about

the weekend and that they all agreed that they need to go back next weekend.

“It will probably be a month, at least, before we can start dividing our time. I’m not sure how I’m going to

manage things here and still do what I need to do for Layan and also start working on our Luna Council.

And, as you said, Alpha Quinton wants us to come visit.”

“You know, there are retired Lunas out there. You should include them, give them a purpose again. Like

your mother. I know she said your father wanted to travel, but both of them need a purpose. I think the

traveling was more to give them something to do. He could act as a guard for your mother or for any of

you and that would give him a renewed purpose, too.”

“You, my mate, are a genius!” She says to me, hopping off my lap.

Not the response I was hoping for, but I’m happy she’s excited.

“I’m going to go call Layan, then call Hana and Mom. We need to start making plans, sooner rather than

later.”

Before she can walk out my door, I call her. “Check in with Brynn. Something changed with her when she

was in the safe room. I’m not sure what happened, but suddenly, she’s taking on a Beta’s role in the

pack. It could be a good thing since you plan to be away so often in the near future.”

“Will do!” She says, before rushing out the door.

I sigh, not wanting her to leave, but knowing I have more work to do. I look back over the report on

Typhon. I’m not sure how he escaped. What I didn’t tell Jara is that my patrols that saw him, said they

weren’t sure they were seeing a wolf at first. They said he was so misshapen that he looked like some

sort of mythological monster. When they finally realized it was a wolf, they were shocked.

“He must have had every bone in his body broken and then they didn’t heal properly.” My patrol had said,

shivering.

“Yeah, Alpha, it was creepy. It wasn’t just that his eyes looked off, dead almost, but his body was

so….distorted.”

It makes sense, knowing how he fell from the cliff. How he has survived is beyond me.

I’m still pondering this when there’s a knock on my door jamb. I look up and see Elijah.

“What do you know about the effects of feral-fever and the claiming haze?” I ask him.

“Uh…they make you crazy?”

Dividing into pages now

I grimace at him. “That’s it?”

He shrugs. “I’ve never really looked into it.”

“Do we have any books on the subject?” I ask, knowing it’s unlikely.

“I’m not sure, but I’ll look. If not, we can ask Elder Jason. He should have access to information like that,

if we ever studied our kind.”

I sit back thinking for a moment before looking back up at him. “You wanted something?” I ask, realizing

he came to me.

“Yeah. Luke said Lewis did a good job over the weekend. He’s green but he’s a quick learner and

dedicated to ensuring that Luna Jara is safe. He is recommending that Lewis continue as Jara’s guard

and requested that we allow him to train him.”

“What do you think?” I ask, not having a strong opinion one way or the other. Jara must have felt

comfortable with him, or she would have said something.

“Let’s give the guy a chance. It will keep him close to Luna Jaral and he has a dedicated interest in

keeping her alive and healthy.”

“Works for me. Tell Luke to keep you informed and let me know if you find any research on either the

long-term effects of feral-fever or the claiming haze.”

“Will do.” He says before walking off.

I grab the phone, calling Elder Jason.

“Hello.”

“Elder Jason, this is Alpha Mason.”

“Alpha, what can I do for you?”

I tell him about Typhon and what my patrol members told me. “Do you know if there are any books or

studies about the effects of feral-fever or the claiming haze.”

He’s quiet for a moment. “There might be something at the council chambers. I can go look for you.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

“Elder, there is one more thing, while I’ve got you on the phone. I’m not sure if you’ve heard from Alpha

Saul, but we found out some disturbing information about Elder Carson.”

“You mean about how Alpha Shawn came to be Alpha?” He asks and his voice has gone hard.

“Yes.”

“Yes, Alpha Saul talked to me about it. I’m going to see what I cant find out about that as well. And it

appears that Alphas Zaire and Saul are going to visit Alpha Shawn along with their mates. I plan to join

them. I could swing by your pack, and we could go through. any books or research I find, together.” He

says.

“I would appreciate the help. You are welcome in my pack any time, Elder.”

“Good. When I have more details, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you and have a good day, Elder. I’ll see you soon.” I say, hanging up.