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Red Moon: Chapter 9

The Alpha sat at his desk in an office building somewhere in eastern Russia. It was where he worked as a ground manager for a factory that created fertilizer. It wasn't an important position that let him keep tabs on the government, he had others for that, but it did give him something to do on a day to day basis. He encouraged the rest of the pack to find jobs, not only to bring in money, but to keep them busy since it was common for there to be long stretches of time where nothing major happened.

The death of the Matriarch was a major event and the arrival of a man who had threatened the pack was another, but not many knew about it. The Alpha had made sure of that, he feared that too many of the pack would want to go out and hunt down those responsible since many were still young by werewolf standards and were full of energy and adventure. To let them go out and do that would most likely cause damage by alerting more humans to their presence.

He wondered if it all mattered though. It was becoming clear that their presence was beginning to be noticed anyways. It had always started like this, just a single independent attack, but soon it would grow out of control. It was why he made the deal with Sergei. Help with the current situation and he would be officially exonerated from the pack so the old treaties that kept him here would no longer apply.

The Alpha already had the plane ticket that would bring Sergei back to his homeland that he had been away from for over 70 years. He didn't regret his decision of making the deal, it was in the best interest of both of them. The Alpha got rid of an immediate threat without having to expose his pack, except for the minor incident where his son was shot, and Sergei went home. What did worry him was the mystery of how long it would take for the next danger to creep out of the shadow and how much he would lose then.

For over 500 years he had led the pack and had kept it as safe as he could through 2 separate inquisitions that had wreaked havoc on other packs. No matter how well he had done in the past though, he always felt a certain fear that crawled into his gut when the future looked uncertain.

"Alpha?"

The Alpha blinked a few times and looked up to see Vasili was still sitting across from him. He though that the dog had already left to tend to his wounds from the fight.

"Sorry." The Alpha rubbed his brows with a set of fingers. "I was just thinking." He opened the top draw of his desk and pulled out some pain killers. Most drugs had little effect on werewolves, but the Alpha found that a double dose of his usual prescription medication that he had for his aging body did the trick well.

"I can tell." Vasili watched as his leader popped his head back with four large pills and drank them down with water. It was a sign that the person who looked old and tired, even with the regenerative properties of a werewolf which kept most from looking past 50 at any time in their life.

"Enough about me though." The Alpha rubbed his throat to help the pills slide down easier. "Do you think that this human is alone or if there are others?"

Vasili considered the question for a moment. "The human seemed well supplied which could mean he got them from a larger group. But, if he had enough money himself then he easily would have been able to get the supplies." He went on to list other variables that pointed equally to both possibilities until he came to the conclusion that, "It's impossible to tell at the moment."

The Alpha hated uncertainties, but even with this one, his decision was easy to make. "We must prepare for the worst either way." He said and Vasili agreed. It wouldn't hurt to assume there were others.

"How do you plan this?" Vasili asked, wanting to know where he was needed next. He had always been like this, filled with a desire to so something. It was rare to see him stay still for an amount of time even though he was nearly 400 years old and should have slowed down some ages ago.

"I think I'll go to Moscow to give my son and Sergei a visit." Vasili raised an eye, not sure how that helped. "It will do me some good to get out and will allow me to give Sergei a message to deliver to Germany."

"You're not considering?" Vasili asked and paused to see that the Alpha was serious. "We can't go to the Germans for help."

"Why not?"

"They're a rival pack!" Vasili yelled in defiance and quickly quieted down to a more calm, but stern voice when a few heads outside of the office turned. "They're a rival pack." He hissed out and leaned forward in his chair.

"They're also the largest and strongest pack in the world. If anyone can help us, it's them." The Alpha ignored the look that one of his most trusted friends was giving him, it was a look he knew. Vasili had long played the devil's advocate, it was his job in a way, to challenge the Alpha in a way to make sure he was always certain of his decisions. No one else had the nerve to openly challenge him and the Alpha respected that.

"This will make us look weak on the global scale." Vasili's eyes darted to a globe that was sitting on top of a filing cabinet. "What will the other packs that have long known their place beneath us say?"

"They will thank us when this is over." The Alpha nodded once to affirm it. "Plus, I plan to keep any dealings with their Alpha under wraps. He's a smart person and will understand the need for secrecy."

"You're right on one part." Vasili huffed. "He is smart... and devious as well. Managed to keep his entire pack in one piece during World War 2 even though the last inquisition happened right there in Germany." Vasili looked up at his alpha. "Be careful, he has quite a few tricks up his sleeve."

"I know that." The Alpha smiled. "I am the older one here."

"Sometimes I feel like it's the opposite." Vasili said and ran a hand through his hair. He knew that the Alpha was going to go through with his plan. He may not agree with it, but he trusted the Alpha and had full confidence in him.

"Situations such as these require a leader that is youthful and capable." The Alpha even felt a bit better, the pain pills were starting to kick in. "I need to be willing to take risks and adopt new ideas even though I would be more comfortable sticking to old traditions."

"I suppose." Vasili conceded, all hints of his defiance were gone. "This is better than going at it with a sword and shield."

"I'm not that much old than you." The Alpha chuckled.

"You're old enough though." The conversation turned into nothing more than friendly banter and ended with both of them leaving the building. Vasili went to keep searching for more details about the assailant and the Alpha scheduled a train ride to Moscow where Sergei, Dmitri and Trevor, who was still completely unknown to the Alpha, were.

"Banished?" Dmitri stood up, nearly knocking over his chair and grabbed Sergei by the arm before leading him off. Trevor was forced to also get up awkwardly and pay the bill before chasing after the two.

"I should have worded that better." Sergei pulled away from Dmitri's strong grip. They stopped a block away from the restaurant they were eating at by an empty bus station. Dmitri backed off for a bit and stood with his arms crossed as he waited for clarification. The words had just come out and shocked him and made him react well before he could think about it.

"Well?" Dmitri said as Trevor came running up to him a bit winded. He stayed a bit back, sure that his input wouldn't be welcome in what seemed to be a private matter.

"I made a deal with your father." Sergei saw Trevor and thought about how much information he should be disclosing with a non-pack member in earshot.

Dmitri saw the hesitation, but wouldn't have none of it. "Spill it out." He ordered.

Not seeing any other choice, Sergei continued. "The man who shot you is, or rather was, under suspicion of attempting to get to the main part of the pack in Siberia." He loosened the grey scarf he had wrapped around his neck to let in more cool air. "I volunteered to help get rid of him and in return, I get to go back home." He said the last word with a touch of softness that Dmitri had heard in his voice ever.

"Home. As in Germany?" Vasili nodded wordlessly. "But that doesn't explain why you've been banished."

"More like let go, I suppose." Sergei added with a point of a finger. "The old treaties forbid a wolf from one pack from traveling into the territory of another. Since I'm no longer part of the pack, the treaty doesn't apply to me. A slight loop hole."

"That's it then?" Dmitri threw up his arms in disgust. "You see the slightest opportunity to leave and you take it? Hasn't this been your home in any way?" Dmitri almost felt like pleading, but kept that urge at bay.

"You'll never understand." Sergei said bluntly and accusingly. "This was never my home. I never wanted to stay here for seventy long years." He gestured at the entire area around him, never letting his eyes leave Dmitri. "You've known this."

Dmitri stayed silent, processing it all. "Fine. Go." He didn't say it with any malice, but with a sense of betrayal. He had done his best to make Sergei feel at home the entire time he knew him since it was his job to help him acclimate to a new life. Now he felt as if all that work was being thrown back in his face.

"Look." Sergei said, looking down at the dirty snow that had pushed up onto the sidewalk by the snowplows. "I do appreciate all that you've done, but you always knew that all I wanted to do was see my homeland again."

Dmitri couldn't deny this. He had seen him struggle to adapt, never really able to fully fit in with the rest of the pack. He had always been sort of an outsider and as much as he wanted him to stay and keep trying, he knew that it wasn't reasonable for him to ask that of him. "Fine." Dmitri sighed and repeated. "Go." He turned around and nearly pushed Trevor, who had remained silent the entire time, over.

"Sorry about that." Dmitri said in a tired voice. "Still have the rest of the city to see." He said and took his arm before the two walked away, leaving Sergei behind.

Trevor looked back at Sergei, who he still barely knew at all. "What was that about?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Sergei was what some in the pack would call an accident." Dmitri said and kept walking. He didn't know where he was taking them, but it felt good to hold onto Trevor and walk in the cold, but refreshing air. He needed to clear his mind for a bit. "He used to be human, but a nearly fatal encounter with one of us changed that. Due to some politics, that I'm not going to bother explaining at the moment, he can't go back to his home country of Germany. Now though, it seems as if that's changed."

"Shouldn't you be happy for him?" Trevor asked as he hopped over a chunk of ice that had fallen from the sagging old building's roof.

"Maybe." Dmitri answered. He was having mixed feelings at the moment. A part of him wanted to be happy and another part wanted to be mad. "I've known him for seventy years. For him to just up and go like that." He shook his head. "It doesn't seem right." Dmitri didn't say anything else, he was too busy trying to sort everything out in his head.

Trevor gave one more look behind him. Sergei was no longer there, he had gone the other way. He didn't fully understand the situation nor did he expect he ever really would, but he was getting the feeling that there was a lot more going on than he could comprehend. One of those things was on a train heading right for them, wondering at that very moment if he would ever have grandchildren.