Part of the Promise (Book 3 in the 'Part of' Series)

Chapter 35 Taking Charge

Chapter 35 Taking charge

Harlow's POV

Ralph wasn't too happy with Karim when we showed him what had been recovered from Travis' mansion. I was sure it wasn't all down to what Karim had brought back, considering the majority of the ones who had gone on the trip, came back with money or other valuable items. Karim was one of three people who brought back documentation, things which we could possibly use in order to gain an advantage over Travis.

The alpha's of the packs got into a rather heated discussion over what was really important at this point; power, knowledge or money. It was rather obvious who was on which side from the beginning. Emi and I sat in the corner of the room and watched as everyone went about their daily meeting.

"We have the information we need to shut this down," Ralph argued and held up several contracts. "This is all we need. We don't have to go back." Rasmus shook his head and pointed towards Ralph.

"But do you know how to use it?" It was a fair point from Rasmus but that wasn't why we were here right now. I shifted uncomfortably and looked around the room. Karim was leaning against the wall opposite me, his eyes staring at me with a look which warmed as we made eye contact.

"They were attacked at Trevis' mansion, remember?" Alora seemed to change the subject. "He has enough power to have wolves at his disposal. This doesn't fare well for us if we have to fight him." Kian shook his head.

"He's not very strategic," Kian's drawl was infuriating. "He would have used all of his resources by the time it comes to a big fight, if we continue as we are."

"We can't keep risking the lives of our family," Carme said quietly, her voice being drowned out by everyone else. The only reason I was able to hear her was because she was sitting right in front of me. We had gotten to know each other a little bit, she was a very quiet person who ran her pack on fairness, equality and friendship. It was refreshing to see after being in Kian's and Rasmus' presence.

"We don't know how many people he has," Waverly pointed out and crossed her arms. "We have an estimate, who knows how many packs he's got wrapped around his finger? What if he didn't stick to England?"

"Then we're fucked," Dillion shrugged and stood up. "If he's moved out of England, if he has more wolves then we do...it all just means we've got no chance." The comment caused a lot of angry noises and faces.

The noises started to build and build, people were standing up and pointing fingers, shaking fists. I felt like I took a breath with each word which was shouted across the room. I sunk into my chair and was vaguely aware of Emi's hand covering mine. The temperature of the room seemed to grow with the heat of the argument. Black dots started to come into view and I was very near passing out.

"Shut up." Karim growled loudly. The room quietened instantly. Looks of anger turned to blurry looks of confusion. Karim pushed himself off the wall and moved to where Ashton was standing. He glared around the room and demanded silence. "Travis has attacked us, it doesn't matter whether or not he has more wolves on his side or if he's ventured to another country. We're fighting to protect our own. We are fighting to protect our land and ourselves. Sure, it's nice to think you'd do it for others but when it comes down to it. We're all getting attacked in our own homes. Anything otherwise is irrelevant."

Silence hung in the air, as though waiting for permission to speak. Karim's glare had hardened as he searched everyone's form. I looked shakily to my right to see Emi with a small but proud smile. "There's the alpha," she whispered to me with a twinkle in her eyes.

That was the moment things made sense to me. Karim's father was a beta. Travis didn't have any children, as far as I'm aware. Karim could've become the alpha of the pack if he had a human soulmate. That was one thing Aiden brushed upon and never went into detail with. He didn't really talk about the soulmate situation he and Ralph had.

I nodded shortly and looked back at Karim. His audience had resumed their seating positions and were watching him with wide eyes. Some had folded their arms and looked at him with raised eyebrows but didn't say anything.

"Right," Ralph nodded as he spoke. He moved over to Karim and patted him on the shoulder. "We've got documents against him, we can do that in the background." Karim nodded at Ralph's words, I could swear that I saw his lips twitch into a smile. "We can face him head on, like you suggest." Ralph nodded towards Kian and Dillion respectively. "We would only ask the wolves to fight who we know can handle it, those who are trained fighters."

"We should have plenty of those," Alora nodded sternly. "At least three packs worth." Some alphas nodded in agreement.

"Tell your packs what you have to." Ashton folded his hands in front of him and stood up. "Rasmus, we'll need you to stay and talk to us about legal matters. Alora, Dillion, Kian, please discuss any strategy you can. We know where any potential rival packs are." The three of them nodded whilst Rasmus sat back in his seat. "The rest of you, thank you. We are done here for the day."

I was the first one out of the door, I was also the nearest to the door so that doesn't take much to show how quick I was. Emi followed hot on my tail as we headed towards the waiting room again.

"You'd think this wasn't a nice place," Emi breathed as we arrived at the door. I immediately opened it and sat on the floor just inside. Emi sat on the chair next to me and fiddled with my hair. She seemed to like to play with my hair when she was nervous, it was long enough for her to braid and it gave her something to focus on.

"That was stressful," I commented with a sigh. I rested my head on the doorframe and looked back at her. "This isn't getting very far, is it?" She shook her head sadly and moved my head so I was looking forward again.

"No, but that's alright." A shiver ran through me due to the coldness that I was letting in. "The packs have their specialities and they know what they're doing. They're playing to their strengths," she moved her head side to side as she used a mocking tone.

"It still feels like we're stuck in the snow," I mumbled as a snowflake caught my attention s it drifted towards the ground.

"We'll just have to hope for some sunshine."