Chapter 23: Council Continued

Today was the first day Lunas were allowed in the Council.
“Some of the Alphas wanted their Lunas involved,” Lucien said, sounding as if he didn’t understand why. “I have no choice, but to bring you.”
She bit back a retort at his lack of eagerness for her presence in the meeting. She might get some insight into Lucien and how to handle leaving him.
What she would get to see was Dex in action. She could only imagine the ongoing conflict between Lucien and her former lover. She’d heard enough stories, but to see it in person would bring it all into reality for her.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Just keep your mouth shut. You get this meeting and one this afternoon. Tomorrow there’s a breakfast and then the Council is done.”
“We go home?”
“Yes.” He eyed her. “I would have thought you liked the freedom here.”
She just nodded. After they were home, she had to leave him. She couldn’t put it off any longer and as much as she would like to just go home with Dex, that wasn’t the way to handle this.
When they arrived at the meeting room, Lucien pointed Emma to where he was sitting. All the participants were around a giant table. Lucien’s seat was at one end. She settled on a seat near him as he followed suit.
Another wolf came up to him. “Almost over. You think you’ve swayed some people?”
“I do. The old ways will stay intac, I’m sure of it. I don’t see how anyone could feel differently.”
Dex walked into the room at that moment. Both men glanced his way. “There he is. No Luna.”
“Waiting for his fated mate,” Lucien said, his words filled with disdain.
Emma pressed her lips together and looked away from Dex. Little did Lucien know what was going to happen when they arrived home.
“There’s no way that anyone would follow him. I think a lot of Alphas have been quiet, but they are on our side,” the other wolf said.
Lucien didn’t introduce her to the wolf before he left where they sat. That was her husband. She might as well not be there. Just another reason to leave him.
She glanced Dex’s way, but he wasn’t looking at her. That was good. No need to have anyone see them exchange a look or a glance.
“The council will begin in a few minutes,” Lucien said. “I’ll be speaking first.”
From what Dex had said, Lucien had been talking a lot. “Okay.”
She didn’t know what other answer was required of her. Kendra entered the room and waved at Emma, who returned the gesture. Emma wondered if Leyton would be there. She would have come in with Dex. Brutus wasn’t here either. Emma didn’t know that much about how these Councils worked.
Someone banged a gavel and the murmurs in the room quieted. “Welcome to the second to last meeting of the Council. I believe Lucien still has the floor.”
The man nodded in Lucien’s direction. Her husband rose and walked to the lectern. This was going to be interesting. She glanced Dex’s way and his face showed nothing.
Was it a coincidence that Lucien and Dex were at odds? She would make it worse by going from one to the other, but she couldn’t stay with Lucien.
Lucien adjusted the microphone to his height. “Council members, good morning.”
No one said it back. He cleared his throat. “As you know I’ve been talking about the old ways during these weeks. I believe firmly that we need to stand with tradition, stand with the ways of our ancestors.”
Emma watched him and then she scanned the crowd. Everyone was paying attention, but not all liked what Lucien had to say.
“We are warring people. We can dress up these councils and meet here, but at the end of the day, we are at war. With each other.”
A gasp went through the crowd. Had Lucien said what others had been thinking? Emma looked around and some of the Alphas shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Lucien had disrespected the Council by questioning the reasons for it.
He really was an ass. He wasn’t going to change anyone’s mind by insulting them.
Lucien went on as if no one had reacted to his words. “There is honor in war. There is honor in fighting and defending our territories. Honor is the basis of everything we do as wolves.”
She glanced at Dex. His face showed nothing and she admired that he could keep so calm. She wanted to yell herself. War was useless. Sometimes necessary, but rarely was there the outcome that the warmonger wanted.
Wolves died needlessly for honor.
“We can meet and discuss things, but there will always be war. No matter what some wolves want,” Lucien said, his gaze going to Dex.
“Today I want to know who is on my side, who is willing to make sure we do not lose ourselves.”
A growl went up among the attendees, but Emma wasn’t sure if it was in agreement or not.
“The old ways are the best. We’ve survived as packs for centuries. It's only been in the last decades that we’ve talked about peace. That we’ve insisted that we each have a fated mate. I scoff at that. The relationship between a Luna and an Alpha should be like a business partnership. It should benefit the pack above all else.”
Lucien thought of Emma as a business partner. Several looked her way, but she didn’t take her gaze off of Lucien. Would she have married him if she’d known all of this? She doubted it.
Lucien looked around, letting the noise die down. “I think we all know what happens when we change. We lose our honor. We lose our way. We stop being wolves.”
Lucien walked away from the podium and the silence couldn’t have been louder.
The man who’d introduced Lucien returned to the lectern. “Now I’ll give the floor to Dex.”
Dex rose and Emma tried not to stare. Lucien sat down beside her but didn’t acknowledge her. He didn’t even gloat about how he thought his speech was received.
Dex approached the stage. He shook the man’s hand and then looked over the crowd in the room. “Lucien has strong words, but where have strong words and war gotten us? Dead wolves.”
A murmur went through the crowd.
“We’ve lost sons, sisters, brothers, family. Loved ones. All because some wolf thought it honorable to fight.”
Dex glanced in Lucien’s direction, but not for long.
“We all need the same things and we are in packs to obtain those things. We have territories and they all have the resources we need to survive.”
“Lucien would have us at each other’s throats, all the time. Why? So we can have some elusive idea called honor? Isn’t honor just as easily obtained by walking away from a useless fight?”
Some of the wolves growled. Emma couldn’t tell if Dex was swaying the crowd or angering them.
“Is it honorable to take advantage of a pack that is weaker than yours? We are Alphas, which means we head the packs. We are the strongest in the pack. Do we have to prove that again and again on the battlefield? Are our egos so fragile that we need to be bullies?”
Dex directed those words at Lucien. Emma glanced at her husband. His jaw was clenched shut. His knuckles were white while gripping the arm of the seat.
“Why?” Dex asked. “We can live in peace. We can live in honor because we don’t need to fight. No one needs to die uselessly for an outdated concept.”
“Furthermore, fated mates make the best partners. Better to be in love and mated than to be a business partner. If your partner is only there for profit or the pack, then they may want to leave you at some point.”
Emma swallowed hard, but Dex wasn’t looking at her when he said it. She stared straight ahead.
“If you are mates you are bonded in a way that makes both partners stronger. It’s the only way to go. Thank you for your time.”
Dex sauntered off the stage as many of the wolves clapped. Lucien watched Dex go. “B*stard.”