Wolf Camp (Bear Naked 2)

Chapter 4: Part 1

Aaron Leidulf was a regular visitor at their cabin over the next couple of weeks. He and Karen returned home when they absolutely needed to for work but with such an important council coming up, they were needed here as often as not. Mitch and Valerie were sharing the house-sitting duty. Vince spent much of his free time away on his motorcycle or in wolf form, searching for any sign of Stanley.

Vince hoped to catch Stanley quickly and make his death fait accompli before the tribe had a chance to make a treaty with Sons of Garm that might invalidate the hunt. Amanda sincerely hoped he would succeed. But with no leads, it seemed unlikely. The Sons of Garm could be anywhere in the Midwest, or even the country, by now.

Aaron was of the opinion that it was unlikely the elders would go so far as to order them off the hunt. The case against Stanley seemed pretty clear and a lot of the Leidulf tribe was outraged by his actions as well. A peace accord between the Sons of Garm as a whole and the Leidulf tribe did not mean that individuals of either tribe could not have individual conflicts, Aaron argued.

The primary supporter of the peace accord, and it turned out the Garm's contact person within the tribe, was none other than Arthur Sage.

"We've got to do something about him," Connor said savagely when his Dad revealed this fact.

Aaron gave a short warning glance back towards the cabin. Arthur was Jonathan's father and while there was no great love lost between the two, Aaron had carefully suggested that Connor, Amanda and he speak alone.

Connor followed his father's glance and said. "I know but..."

"Stop," Aaron commanded. "Listen. I know what you are thinking. But this is my fight, not yours. I will not let Arthur, or anyone for that matter, lead my tribe into an ill-conceived alliance. Especially with these wolves. From what I have gathered in my talks with elders, they talk a lot about peace and alliances but really they want us to acknowledge their dominance in the region. I won't let that happen."

"What can you do?" Connor asked.

"I am well regarded in the tribe, or I like to think I am," Aaron replied. "And many see my point of view on this."

"And the elders?" Amanda asked. "Do they see your point of view?"

"Mostly, yes," Aaron replied. "But they are cautious. They are worried. If the Sons of Garm are as powerful as they claim to be, they don't want open conflict."

"We have faced them once," Connor swore. "We will face them again. I am not afraid."

"Yes, but if they are establishing alliances all around the midwest, the next time it might be Fleischers with them. Don't be too cocky. Save this battle for the adults, okay? You need to concentrate on your training. I hear it doesn't go so well."

Connor looked down and blushed. "I am sorry. We are doing our best."

"I know you are," Aaron said. "And it's hard. You're a wolf short, or a bear." He shook his head. "No offense to you, Amanda. But without the ability to shift." He shrugged. "Whether you be my son's alpha or not, the others look up to you. They do better when you are with them." Amanda was startled. She hadn't thought of herself as being vital and was surprised that Aaron thought so. "But don't worry. You'll get your legs and do fine. Besides, I have heard the elders talking and the challenge will be something she can do as well. That should help you."

Challenge? Amanda knew that every summer featured a big challenge. The packs were given smaller challenges almost daily and awarded points for winning. But the big challenge was scored almost as much as all the smaller challenges put together. That made it crucial. Already the pack was dead last. They needed every boost they could get.