"Okay! Here are my ideas!" I started saying, but reassessed the single sheet of paper Dad was holding and admitted, "they're really just some ideas I banged together to save Rebel."
Jonah looked unsure. "Won't we be going against the prophecy? Like, if we rescued him, he wouldn't be there to become the vampire master or whatever."
"And he wouldn't be able to bring an army back to us!" Gamma Harry said, sounding as if it were a good idea.
"Wait, so we just leave him there to rot?" I asked.
"Sam," it was Beta Lucas again, "why do you care so much about saving the Lorent boy?"
"What?" I was a little stunned by the question.
"I need you to think very carefully—is he your mate?" Beta Lucas asked.
I thought about everything I had considered so far. "I don't know. But I'm not doing this because he might be my mate. I want to do this because I want to try. If it can help Alpha James and Luna Edith, I want to do something."
The adults were very quiet for a while. They passed around my sheet of "plans" and looked at it like they were studying Fount's prophecy. I shuffled my feet a little under their scrutiny.
Finally, Dad spoke.
"All right, Sam. Please tell us what we are looking at."
I decided this was my chance to sell my ideas to the adults. They were great ideas! I was pretty excited about it myself. A lot of it sounded like part of an espionage movie, except for real. I felt quite sure if we picked any one of these ideas, we would be able to save Rebel.
PLAN A
Since cage fighters can be sold, bought, or bartered from coven to coven, or even into private ownership, Alpha Lorent could potentially try to buy his son back from Ven's.
And if the rogues are still alive… they could be bartered. There were more than ten of them, so give and take a few losses, it was still a good deal, right?
I thought maybe that would be a fair punishment for rogues who kidnapped wolves and sold them into slavery. Like make them have a taste of their own medicine.
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
This was a really popular expression among Alphas.
Sometimes it was used as a call to justice. Sometimes it was used to justify why their pack's aggression. Sometimes it just sounded pretty vengeful.
But a lot of the time, when I watched the news or heard Dad and Beta Lucas discuss the issues, it sounded like a lot of interpack political tit for tat.
Anyway, Plan A was to just use the rogues and some money and buy Rebel.
That was all. So I guess PLAN A was more like IDEA A.
PLAN B
If IDEA A didn't work, we could sneak Rebel out. Wait, hear me out. I thought this one through a bit more.
1. We hire humans who would be trustworthy for the job.
2. The humans go into the vampire towns and purchase the fight listings.
3. We figure out which one is Rebel's fight cage name.
4. Then the humans will pretend to be spectators at the fight cage match and bid for Rebel at the end of his fight.
I had no idea how much a night with a fight dog might cost, but I was assuming that bidding for a night would be cheaper than buying him outright.
Then again, I didn't know how much the humans would charge for their fees either. It might end up costing more.
Anyway, once they get Rebel, they sneak him out and bring him back home to safety, or at least to a temporary hideout until the vampires gave up searching for him.
Okay, so PLAN B was only an improvement from PLAN A because it had some actual steps. The actual facts and costs were kind of fuzzy. Let's just move on to PLAN C.
PLAN C
This one was based on Maria's information.
If Rebel did well, it would only be a matter of time before he was sold or transferred to another coven. We could keep an eye out for fight cage news and intercept them along the transport route.
Take, for example, Central Coven, which boasted the biggest and most infamous fight cages. It was quite a distance from Ven's.
To get Rebel transferred there, they would have to drive him quite a distance.
1. We dress like rogues and waylay their transport truck.
2. Rescue Rebel and bring him home.
Vampires would think the rogues did it and nothing bad would follow us home.
At the end of my explanation, the adults were all wearing frowns and pursed lips. It was like they had too many pressing questions and didn't know where to start.
"Sam…" Beta Lucas managed to speak first. "I want to ask how you came to know about these inner workings of fight cages, but I won't. I will only point out that there are many details missing in these plans."
"Plan A is the fastest," Gamma Harry decided. "I think Plan A is good. We tell Alpha Lorent to go settle it."
"We cannot barter the rogues, though," Beta Lucas cautioned. "Right now, it is against the law to trade slaves. It would have to be brought up to the Green Packland Council. That might take months to pass."
"They can trade their cars!" Gamma Harry was quick to suggest. "They have too many cars. Why do you need five Mercedes to transport twenty warriors? Just use a bus! Much more efficient. Or a truck! Even better. They are warriors, not princes!"
Laura patted Gamma Harry's arm to calm him down. We were digressing.
"We still need a lot of information," Beta Lucas said. "The plans are not impossible, but they would require a lot of preparation."
"We can do it," Jonah surprised me.
"Yeah," Ben agreed.
"You're kids," Beta Lucas shook his head. "No. Leave it to the adults."
"True that, guys." I informed my friends. "We would not even be allowed to buy the magazines. They have age restrictions."
Dad nodded. "We'll invite Alpha Lorent for a meeting to discuss how we can assist them."
"They can afford it!" Gamma Harry said. "Just sell some of the cars!"
I got the feeling Gamma Harry would not be letting go of this line of thought anytime soon.
"They would certainly also have better contacts than we do," Beta Lucas muttered. "I would not be surprised if they have not tried something already."
I couldn't imagine any of the Lorents dressed like a rogue, so I'm assuming they would have tried to buy Rebel or pay for his rescue. In my imagination, the Lorent Pack wolves liked to spend money anyway.
Dad concluded the meeting: Beta Lucas would invite Alpha James to discuss the ideas and how we might help; he would consider and prepare to propose new, tougher deterrents against kidnapping for the slave trade to the Green Packland Council; and finally, us kids would stay out of it. He looked directly at me. "Do not venture to obtain any more information on this."
I wondered why, but I nodded. Then I asked, "Can I sit in on the meeting?"
Dad paused, as if considering it. I could tell mind links of various opinions were sent to him. He frowned. "Just drop by my office casually, like before. Although you might not be able to stay for the whole meeting."
It was a compromise. I could tell from the looks on Beta Lucas's face and my Mum's that they would have preferred he simply said no.
I nodded. "Okay. Thanks."
I briefly wondered if it would have been different if I were a boy—if they would have been so uncomfortable with me learning about fight cages or getting involved in Rebel's rescue.
But I wasn't a boy. So I'd have to work with what I've got.
A while later, once we were back home, I returned to my room and found the new clothes Mum had left on my bed. Oh right, Alpha James and his Luna bought me presents! These might be the perfect costumes for our next meeting with Alpha James.
The clothing was in scented paper bags, wrapped individually in snow-white tissue and gold tape. I opened the first one: a very small white brocade dress. A Lorent ceremonial dress. Short, with a high slit up one leg, and a very fitted top with a row of embroidered buttons over the slit, above the neck and shoulder on one side. I guessed that was how you fit your head through.
There was a second one, almost just like it, but it was a double-layered silk dress, with a layer of white lace wrapped over it. All white.
I think Jessica had once told me that Lorent girls start wearing these dresses when they were twelve, and maidens always wore white to signal their purity. OMG. I don't think that was something I felt comfortable "signaling." But it would be even more uncomfortable not signaling it at my age, I suppose.
The other paper bag had a shoebox. I opened that to find a pair of very high white heels. They were completely white.
I don't think they could be worn outdoors without becoming ruined. Actually, I doubt they'd survive indoor wear either.
Even the soles on the underside were white and completely smooth.
Did Lorent girls not have to walk? Maybe they only walked on very clean and textured surfaces.
There was also a smaller gift box in the pile. It was a simple white textured cardboard box. I opened it, and breathed a soft gasp when I saw the perfect gold bracelet with a single golden heart charm. There was a card in the box: "For a brave girl with a heart of gold."
Awwww….
"Mum!" I practically screamed. "Savy!"
Both of them popped into my room. "What happened?"
I showed them the card and the bracelet.
"Is it real? Like, real gold?" I asked Mum.
Savy picked up my heels and tried them on. She wobbled a bit and took them off. "Maybe they hope you will be their son's mate one day. You had better start practicing how to walk."
I shook my head. "Their son is not going to take a Luna mate, remember?"
"They have two sons, remember?" Savy grinned at me.
Oh. That was true.
But I remembered my dream. Dumbbell said he was coming to Green Packland to get me.
I was going to wait for my soul mate.
I shook my head. "Still no. I believe Jessica has reserved him."
Savy cackled loudly. "Jessica has reserved half the male wolf population!"
My Mum was looking at the bracelet. She handed it back to me. "Keep it in a safe place."
I nodded. Wow. My first real jewelry. I was probably going to lose it.
Mum spoke again. "It seems they have taken a special liking to you."
Dad was standing in the doorway by now. He surveyed the gifts. "The Lorents are usually very generous with gifts."
But the card… I was still holding it. I touched the crisp edges and felt those words fill my heart with a fuzzy, warm feeling.
Let's try on the bracelet! I couldn't work the clasp with one hand. Savy helped me.
Yay! I lifted my hand to admire it. It was so golden and pretty.
For some reason, wearing it made me feel special. And that feeling made me feel stupid. How could I let a piece of metal make me feel special?
"Now take it off!" I ordered Savy. She cackled and did.
I still think the Lorent Pack liked to spend money, but writing cards with kind words and giving special gifts felt like a nice practice.
My family left my room after a while. I put everything away carefully. Urghhh… the shoes already had a light gray scuff on the side, just from lying around in my room! I grabbed a wet wipe to rub it off.
It was late, but here I was fussing over a white shoe.
I need to pack my bag and get ready for school tomorrow!