Nature is not a place to visit 7

Chapter 7
*“With great power comes great responsibility.”*
*Peter Parker*
Fortunately, finding Hudson was nothing like trying to find a needle in a haystack. If anything, it was just like finding a
haystack in a field of haystacks.
As I approached our small camper, I could already hear his nervous pacing inside. The camper was a hand-me-down from
one of the elders that passed away a couple of years ago. We did our best to maintain it, but rust clung to the outside
and the side patio was too damaged to use. It was nothing close to the small home that Hudson and I’d shared with our
parents, but that cabin had burnt to ash during the Blood Moon attack.
We’d slept in a tent for the first couple of years after our parents died, and this RV was a pretty big upgrade from
windows made of zippers and mesh fabric.
The rusted door opened with a high-pitched shriek as I stepped inside.
Hudson immediately whipped his head around to look at me from where he’d been leaning over the counter. His hair
was in disarray and his knuckles gripped the counter so hard they’d turned white, but his eyes softened when they met
mine.
“Ollie,” he greeted me, straightening up immediately. “What are you doing here? I thought you were helping out in the
infirmary.”
“I was,” I said, “But Healer Carol has got a handle on it now. I wanted to come and check on you. What happened in
there…” I didn’t need to recount Alpha Roman’s death – he’d been there. He’d watched our Alpha die with his own two
eyes.
Hudson sucked in a breath. “I’m fine, really.”
I stepped closer and my eyes swept over his rumpled clothes. “You don’t really look like it.”
“I am.”
“You’re gripping that countertop so hard that I’m worried we’re about to need a new one,” I said.
His grip immediately loosened as if he didn’t even know he’d been grasping it so tightly.
“I just needed to clear my head,” he said.
*This is classic Hudson behavior right here. Pretending that he’s got it all under control and never needs to talk about
anything.*
“You can talk to me, you know,” I replied, “I’m not a professional, but I am your sister. That’s got to count for something.”
Hudson stared at me for a moment and then he sighed. “I just didn’t expect to become Alpha this way,” he murmured,
his voice so low that I almost missed it with my supernatural hearing. “And not this soon either.”
Having a loud mouth was one of my fatal flaws, but even I knew better than to interrupt Hudson when he began
unlocking the steel vault he kept his emotions behind.
“Alpha Roman never had any kids, so I knew it would happen one day,” he continued, “Just not today. Or tomorrow. Or
five years from now. Maybe decades from now, when he was old and gray and I was actually ready.”
“You don’t think you’re ready now?”
“I’m twenty-three,” he scoffed, “I don’t even have a mate or a family yet. If I was them, I’m not sure I’d want to follow me.”
“They’ve been following you so far,” I replied, “And you’ve been leading us just fine.”
“But that was all temporary,” he shot back, “Calling the shots for a couple of weeks is a lot different than being the only
permanent authority. Especially now…”
He swallowed hard, and I could the strong mask slip, showing the worry and anxiety that lay underneath.
“It’d be one thing if Alpha Roman had died by accident,” Hudson said, “Or even in a rogue attack. But by the Blood
Moons?”
A heavy silence hung in the air, and I held my breath even though I knew exactly what he was about to say.
*Not you too, Hudson.*
“This calls for war,” he finished.
“But you and I both know that’s a fight we can’t win,” I shot back. “The Blood Moons almost wiped us out a decade ago,
and they just cut through our warriors and our Alpha like it was nothing.”
“The pack is going to want vengeance,” Hudson said sternly, “Killing an Alpha is an unforgivable offense.”
*First Rae and now Hudson.*
*Am I the only one who doesn’t think we should go to war? Am I the crazy one here?*
“But you’re the Alpha now,” I told him, “You make the decision that’s best for the pack. We don’t have to go to war if
you don’t order it.”
I could see the hesitancy all over his face. Hudson didn’t want war any more than I did, but chances were, the pack would. Most of them would probably be like Rae, eager to sink their claws into the Blood Moon pack for revenge.
But he also knew there was some truth to my words. If we did go to war, we’d be the David against the Goliath.
*And it’s the Goliath that usually wins in real life.*
“What would you have me do, Ollie?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I said, “Anything that’s not walking into a fight we can’t win. We could try merging with another pack as
refugees…maybe we could leave. The Blood Moon pack can’t kill us if they can’t find us. I’ve heard of wolves integrating
into human society and cities, living in secret –”
“We’re not leaving our home. Not now and not ever,” he cut me off, “And certainly not to live like humans, hiding in
secret and unable to run or shift or train as we do now.”
I had known Hudson would never go for the idea, but to hear him shut it down so harshly felt like a punch to the gut.
He sighed and stepped closer to put a hand on my shoulder. “Look,” Hudson said, “It’s been a hard day. We’re all scared
and anxious. We’ve got refugees to worry about now. I don’t want to fight with you, Ollie.”
“I don’t want to fight with you either.”
A small smile crossed his face. “Then we shouldn’t. Besides, nothing is for sure or happening tonight. Right now, we all
just need to get some rest. I’m going to check on Luna Baila and introduce myself to some of the refugees. Maybe you
should get some sleep soon?”
As if his words were magic, I could suddenly feel the exhaustion coming on. It had been a long day, and now that I was
no longer a part of the action, I could feel the fatigue. It was the kind of exhaustion that settled deep in your bones – the
kind I wasn’t sure that a restful sleep could fix.
Still, I had a feeling the days weren’t going to get any easier, so I might as well rest up while I could.