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Dear Amelia,

I called a meeting with the council to make some changes. Jordan told me that his dad was hired for a job, which I strongly believed was something that greatly benefited Colton. That job alone was enough to warrant change. I created the council to handle things like that, to investigate and prevent things from going too far. But they didn’t even know what was going on.

I let them have it. I don’t like to abuse my authority, or pull rank, but sometimes, you have to. Two major things changed. 1. Elders and council members were no longer alphas and clan leaders. Running a pack or clan while also maintaining their duties as council members proved to be a major distraction and too much for them to handle. They were to resign their position as leaders of their clan or packs. They couldn’t hold both titles. They proved incapable of doing so. 2. The mercy rule I created for those who challenged me or the throne was now void.

Jordan wasn’t too happy about it. Usually we talked about what would be discussed at the meetings, that way we’d be on the same page. But I didn’t tell him my plans ahead of time. He thought I was being unfair, and that I was acting rashly. But none of that mattered in the grand scheme of things. I was too lenient. I gave too many chances. That all was taken advantage of. So I had to put an end to it.

Let me back up a little so you can understand the full picture. There were packs that were being attacked and taken over by other alphas. Many lunas and alphas were missing, and it wasn’t just localized. This was happening around the world. Jordan’s family was hired to help in these attacks. Innocents were dying everywhere. And it was happening for months. Not a single council member or elder noticed. And no one reported it to me. That’s why I had to make those two major changes. We couldn’t allow that to go on. People depended on me to protect them, and they were dying thinking I didn’t care.

We needed to find the missing lunas and alphas. My fear was that if whoever was behind this- if not Colton- didn’t submit, there’d be another war. And I didn’t want that. No one did. However, the fact remained that there were hostile takeovers happening all around the world. Maybe it was connected to Colton, maybe it wasn’t. But either way, it needed to be investigated. The council needed to investigate.

After meeting with the council, I wanted to spend more time preparing the tribe in case the investigation led to another war. It’s also true that I felt guilty about what happened with Flynn’s attack, and I wanted to make sure they were stronger and prepared for anything. Typically, I spared only with Devyn, Jordan, Farrah and my parents. But if I wanted to be stronger, and if I wanted the tribe to be stronger, I needed to train and spar with everyone.

That’s what I did. I knew I wasn’t the best fighter. There were so many better fighters in the tribe, and even in other packs, clans and covens. Was I the strongest? Yes. I was blessed by the goddesses with that strength. But was I the best? No. There were so many different fighting styles, and I wanted to learn them all. I was very dedicated. And determined. I still am.

I don’t want to be weak.

~Mom

MJ. B