Ben entered the village hall, followed closely by Paul, Sarah and Simon, and took a seat on the stage. He had asked Sarah to walk with him as his mate but she had refused.
"It isn't the right time, Ben," she said.
"Why? Why isn't it, Sarah? You should be there with me."
"I will be, but as a parent, not a mate. This is about Aiden. Don't make it about us."
Looking around at the seated faces in the hall, Ben knew she had been right. His pack had learned to respect him for doing what was right and in turn, he had learned to include them in decisions that risked everything they had. If he was to announce his mate and his son, they would feel obligated to go all guns blazing.
"I don't know about you but I'm tired of hearing humans tell me how afraid they are. They're afraid to go out alone. They're afraid to be out at night. They're even afraid to raise their eyes from the ground and why? Because they are terrified of Red Dawn."
Ben paused for a moment, taking in every face as each pack member watched him intently.
"We all know the stories of Red Dawn. We all know how vicious they are and how nobody dares to say or do anything against them. We all know how feared we are supposed to be of them, but I ask you now, are you afraid?"
Ben watched as heads around the hall began shaking a no, while a few of the boisterous hunters shouted "No way." Others simply waited for him to continue speaking.
"They have created fear in our community. Do you fear them?"
The murmur of no was a little louder and Ben stood. Walking to the front of the stage, he raised his hand out towards his pack. "They thrive off the fear they've caused and have turned our community against us. We, as werewolves, are now feared. We're seen as guilty by association because of what we are, not who we are. Should humans fear us?"
A louder, more adamant no came from the seated crowd.
"Do we deserve to be feared because of a pack that brings disgrace to our race?"
"No! They need to be taught a lesson."
"I agree, Jethro. Someone needs to stand up to Red Dawn. Someone needs to show our human community that Red Dawn are nothing but a bunch of rogues. The question is, who will do it?"
Silence fell, but he had been expecting it too. Stepping off the stage, Ben walked down the centre of the hall, taking in the rows of chairs on either side of him. He had never manipulated the pack into an all-out war but he needed them to feel personally affected.
"Mary, Edgar was attacked on the streets of Salisbury because of his heritage, wasn't he?"
"He was Alpha. A broken jaw and shattered collarbone he ended up with."
Ben nodded and turned to face a teenage girl in the back row of seats. "Francesca, you were beaten up in school by a group of Red Dawn kids not long ago, right?"
"Yeah, stupid bastards said I was a hybrid."
Ben nodded again and walked around the outer edge of the hall. "These are your pack members and just two of the people who have been directly affected by those bastards who call themselves wolves. How many humans have been murdered in their forest? How many humans have disappeared and the police won't do a damn thing about it because they're scared? How many of us are going to be hurt, mistreated, abused or accused of something that those bastards have done? I, for one, can't live with the guilt of seeing one of you guys hurt because I stood back and let those animals run riot. Right now, this very minute, they have a young woman. She's a visitor to Salisbury and they took her in broad daylight and have her hidden in that damned cabin in their wood. We all know what happens to people who end up in that cabin and it needs to stop."
"But what can we do? Their Alpha is a prick who refuses to listen or be reasoned with."
"Sadie is right. It's not like we can go there and demand they return the woman. It will cause a war."
"You're right. It will cause a war. This is why I'm asking for each and every one of you in this room to vote on what we do. The Blue Moon pack has and always will, go with a majority vote. Places please."
Chairs scraped as the pack stood and cleared the sets to the edge of the hall. Ben made his way to the stage, his heart leaping at Sarah's smile. Paul stood, clapping him on the back as they passed each other and Simon nodded as Ben turned to view his pack, all crowded together as one in the centre of the hall.
"Yes to the left and no to the right. Do we teach Red Dawn a lesson?"
Feet shuffled as the pack dispersed to their chosen sides of the room. Ben nodded and shouted "Yes wins. Places, please."
"Do we attempt to rescue the woman?"
Again, Ben waited until everyone had picked their answer, then shouted out a win for the left. "Final question. Do we initiate a pack war?"
Ben waited with batted breath as the pack murmured amongst themselves. The first to move was Simon, who walked off the stage and stood alone for a moment. Sarah followed his lead and only a second later, Paul moved to the left. Silence fell over the room as though nobody dared to decide.
Give them a minute, he thought, not wanting to force their hand.
"Your Alpha asked you a question," Paul bellowed.
Ben rolled his eyes at his beta's impatience and he made a mental note to mention it, later. He would have to learn to accept people pushing boundaries, as well as master patience if he was to ever become an Alpha.
Suddenly, feet began to shuffle as people made their way to the edges of the hall. Ben looked out over his parted pack and sighed.
It was too close to judge by sight. He would have to do a headcount.