Waking up with Finlay was a new experience. Yesterday, he had woken up before me, and I could feel him watching me as I woke up. Today, he was still asleep. We were in almost the same position as yesterday, me on my stomach and him draped over me. It was warm and snug and felt safe. I could feel Finlay waking up, and I burrowed deeper into him. His grip around me tightened, and he pulled me closer.

“Morning,” he said, his voice still heavy from sleep.

“Morning.” We shared a kiss and took a moment to wake up. We had a full schedule, as it was the last day here. Finlay and I had the meeting with the council, then we would come back and help with packing. After lunch, there was the closing ceremony. The late afternoon and evening, we would spend making the final arrangements and saying goodbye to friends and family from other packs. I had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact we were leaving tomorrow morning. Just a couple of days on the road, and then we would be home. I sighed as I got dressed. I was homesick.

“What’s with the sigh?” Finlay asked and wrapped his arms around me from behind. He kissed my shoulder.

“I was just feeling happy that we will be home in a couple of days.”

“You won’t miss the excitement?” he wanted to know. I laughed.

“Not in the least. I have had enough drama to last me for years. Give me back my boring life, and I will be happy.” He chuckled. We went down and had breakfast with the others. Matilda and Jake were in full planning mode and directed the others on what tasks they had. We hadn’t spoken to Jake about our plan to make him Beta. We wanted to wait until we were back, so we could talk to everyone at once.

“We are heading out; we shouldn’t be more than an hour,” Finlay said as we had eaten.

“I’ll walk with you. I need to stretch my legs,” Sam told us. Finlay walked on one side of me, holding my hand. On the other side, Sam was walking.

“So, is this part of your bodyguard duty?” I asked him. He looked disappointed.

“I thought you wouldn’t notice.” I smiled at him.

“That’s sweet of you, thank you,” I said. Finlay hummed in agreement and kissed my temple.

“Well, it’s the least I can do.” When we reached the council building, Sam headed back to the cabin to start his list of tasks he had been given. Finlay and I were shown into the council chamber we had used on the two occasions we had been there to face Finlay’s old pack. The council sat in a row in front of us. Alpha Ryan and his Beta stood on our left side. Neither of them looked good.

“Thank you for taking time out of your morning to meet with us,” the head of the council said. All four of us bowed. “We won’t take up much of your time; we know you have things to do. We feel we need to spend a minute to talk about our ruling at the beginning of the game and where we are now. After yesterday’s results, there can be no question. The Blue Mountain pack has shown they are capable of standing on their own. According to our ruling, there will be no merging of the two packs. The council will not entertain another request of this kind from the Ocean Shore pack. If the two packs in the future agree a unification will be for the best, the council will listen to them, but it needs to be a joint decision. Alpha Finlay and Luna Amie have shown they can lead their pack successfully. We have no other comments. Do you have any questions?” he asked.

“The punishment my brother made my pack take for the hide-and-seek game is the reason for our low ranking. I can’t see how the council can look at the result as fair,” Finlay’s brother said. I saw several council members raise an eyebrow.

“I think your question contains two misconceptions,” a council member said. “First, you forget that your rank had no impact on the outcome. You could have come last, and if the Blue Mountain pack had come below rank fifteen, we would have forced a reunification. Second, and more important, it was your pack member’s action that led to the punishment. The burden of guilt can’t be placed on Alpha Finlay.” Most of the council nodded, and I was starting to like them.

“His pack members are mine; they belong in my pack!” Alpha Ryan growled. Finlay put his arm out in front of me and pushed me behind his back as he faced his brother.

“Alpha Ryan! Control yourself!” the head of the council called and stood from his seat. Four warriors stepped up to flank the enraged Alpha. I tried to look around Finlay to see what was happening. He gave me an irritated look that told me to stay put. It seemed like Finlay’s brother calmed himself down. The tension in the room eased a bit. “I want to make the council’s opinion on this clear. The Ocean Shore pack has no claim on the Blue Mountain pack or its members. If you try to take it by force, the council will see it as any other pack attacking another. We will let the Blue Mountain pack defend themselves, and if the last game and their track record are anything to go by, they will win. When they do, we will stand back and let them decide the fate of the defeated pack, as is custom. Please keep that in mind,” the head of the council said. I saw how Finlay straightened up to his full length. He rarely let his Alpha power show, but now he let it radiate from him, and he was magnificent. “I think we have made the situation clear. Alpha Finlay, Luna Amie, you may leave first,” the head of the council said.

“Thank you,” we said as one and bowed. Finlay made sure I walked next to him on the side that faced away from his brother. His arm lay across my shoulders and anchored me to him.

“Time to get working on the list we got from Matilda,” Finlay told me as we headed out of the building. He sounded pleased.

“First, we need to find a private place,” I said, looking around to see what I could find.

“Why? Is something wrong?” he asked.

“You can’t just flex like that and expect me to be fine with going on with my day. I need to strip you naked and climb you like a tree,” I told him. Finlay stopped walking and looked at me. As he still had a hold on my shoulders, I had to stop as well. “Keep moving, Finn. I’m not kidding.” A smirk grew on his face, and he laughed.

“As you wish, my love. I think I know a place,” he told me and guided me towards the communal gyms. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about our little encounter the other week,” he whispered to me. I giggled, and we hurried our steps.

An hour and a half later, we finally made it back to the cabin and told the rest what had happened during the meeting. It gave us all a new reason to celebrate. Matilda still had us working. No one minded, as it was a sign we were going home. Bags were packed, the cabin got cleaned. We just left the things we needed for the day we had left.

‘How do you feel about how we left things with your brother?’ I asked Finlay in our private mind link while we cleaned my old room.

‘I have given up on us ever being close, or even friendly. It is what it is.’

‘You are still allowed to be disappointed, or angry,’ I pointed out.

‘I know, and I probably would have been pissed if it happened any other day. But there have just been too many happy things happening the last two days. I can’t find it in me to be angry,’ he explained and surprised me by taking a grip on my waist, lifting me up, and spinning me around. I threw my head back and giggled. When he stopped and put me down, I kissed him.

‘I’m happy as well, and I’m looking forward to seeing Medow’s face when we get back.’ We got back to cleaning and then walked down to have lunch.