They had a busy day ahead. Eva had packed a bag for her overnight stay--if Eastmarch felt it necessary. Nearly guaranteed as Eva was human. Andy and Mae would stay with that pack longer, as she had conditioning chemo to go through.

Mrs. Longfish would be leaving with a rather docile Drew in tow, once they got back in. Apparently his mother's care took the fight out of him--that and nobody was refusing Mae contact with her eldest.

But before they left it was a rush to go through the paperwork, to at least choose an entitled to head the pack as they had not been without the Alpha or Beta for years.

This time, Trace held Eva's hand as they went into the office to sit down for the meeting. Not because she needed it or he wanted it--though there was that element--but because she wasn't getting out of the boring bits of life. The almost Luna wanted to be involved in the fate of the pack, so she eagerly dragged him to the loveseat.

"For being inattentive, your pack is very solid, Alpha Keller." Mrs. Longfish started off, as she gingerly sat down across from them. "And while it's rare, roughly 5% of US packs are under leadership older than you--a couple of them look like they will continue on under their current Alphas until death, then will dissolve the pack. Also, you don't have enough assets that are likely to net you a successful young challenger--they have better options elsewhere. And once fully mated, young Clotilde should still boost your base power, even without forcing her to shift."

"Ah, we've got to confirm if that will work, with Eastmarch's medical staff." Eva hedged. As much as she missed running through the woods and driving her mate insane, there were risks.

"It's not necessary for the overall safety of the pack," the Omega replied, "but you would be advised to never go alone without a guard while unshifting--even though you're a bit more capable than the average human female."

"Yes, well, my back is still protesting the idea of fending for myself, so believe me, I've gotten the message." And it had. The knot the clothing was in had her back out of alignment enough for the young woman to feel twinges for days. Thankfully Drew had been more intent on intimidation than damage because his grip on her throat could have killed her so quickly. Instead, he held back.

It had been enough for her to sneak a peek a his records, and it confirmed he had been playing the whole time. Class 1 fighter against a Class 3?

Trace had his rank withheld, as grandfathered-in active Alphas could request to be exempt. The next generation would be looking up stats before issuing a challenge to strangers halfway across the globe.

"Well, the point is that you are well on your way to a fairly stable Alphaship. And the Beta is solid, even with his wife's health, but if they choose to step down and their son improves, he could be back here within six months--investigation, interrogation, we will ensure he comes back a different person."

"How?" Trace managed to get the question out before his mate, but only by a hair.

"Well, there's a new God that was formed about 5 years ago? He is still the Goddess' servant, and very protective of the weak in general--being an early member of the Omega Council. If you have more questions on that, just read Luna Rachel Hall's journal. It should be out this year." Harriet shook her head. "But anyway, my suggestions are: that giant, Marcus? He should be your Gamma. That head cook--Don? He's got some of the oldest Delta genes on the continent--I doubt he's going to want to travel, but the title is his. For backup, Joseph Wayne should be announced as your interim-heir, until you two have pups or until something is done about Drew, as most the unrest in this pack centers around the future, not now."

She took a pause there to change directions. "As for Epsilons, we're going to have an unusual request of you, Alpha Keller."

Trace nodded, not bothering to speak.

"There is a couple who survived a pack war in Argentina who need to move away from the aggressors. They will be coming with what is left of the pack's children. They speak English fluently."

"What's the catch?" Eva knew something was off.

"They are genetic mates--staight match, but both have a different orientation, so outside of heats, they are constantly looking for another partner, and a lot of packs don't handle the instability well. Yours has."

"They haven't found someone to fit their needs?" Trace raised an eyebrow as he absorbed the implications. "What about publicly advertising in the forums for what they need?"

"Before getting their young settled? Not worth risking. Their third was also the reason why any pup escaped. They are still mourning that loss."

"Well, as long as they don't disrupt work more than Eva, my wolves wouldn't notice. I'm willing to give them try, after my Beta's done with Eastmarch."