Chapter 30 Later in the afternoon, they all met in Kent's office to hear the reports from the scouts. The two head scouts were young men, probably not much older than twenty. They were both tall and slender, their long legs. suggesting to Riley that they were probably very quick, a necessary trait for a good scout. Kent motioned to one of the scouts. "Tell me what you found, Scott." The red-haired man leaned forward. "They've set up a camp on the northwest part of the woods, roughly five miles outside our territory. There's more than we initially realized and it seems that more are joining everyday. "How many do you estimate?" Patrick asked. "Over a hundred at least," Scott replied. "Not all are fit for fighting," added the other scout, brushing his dark brown hair from his eyes. "But the majority are, I think..." He paused, looking at Scott. "Go ahead, Jeremy," Kent said, "tell us what you're thinking." Jeremy nodded. "There were a couple rogues that seemed to come and go. Once they brought back more people. I think they might be recruiting." Riley looked at Wesley. He met her gaze and nodded. "Anything else?" Kent asked the scouts. "Not at this point," Scott answered. "Please go back out tomorrow," Leo directed. "Set up a rotation if you need to, but I want constant eyes on them. We need to verify if they are actually recruiting like you suspect. I also want you to get more accurate numbers." Both men nodded and headed out the door. After they were gone, Kent turned to Riley. "That seemed to confirm something for you two," he said, pointing to her and Wesley. "You two were going over the reports this morning. What did you guys want to discuss?" Riley and Wesley filled them in on what they had noticed in the reports and the suspicion that the rogues were searching for something in the pack, "It makes sense," Wesley said. "Riley was right when she said they should have thrown more force into that second wave attack than the first. If their goal was truly to drive the pack from the land, that would have made more sense. But a small second wave suggests they were trying to move undetected, to search for something." Riley nodded. "And if they are truly/recruiting, then they are trying to gather the force to take whatever they are looking for here." "What could they be looking for?" Leo asked, turning to look at Kent. "Do you have any idea?" "No," Kent said quietly. Riley's eyes snapped to him, but he was looking intently at his desk. 1/3 < Chapter 30 +15 Points> He's lying, Rose confirmed. Riley opened her mouth to say something when Rose interrupted. Don't say it! He knows you can tell. He must have a reason. Don't confront him in front of the others. Riley closed her mouth slowly. Rose had a point. It might be easier to get Kent to tell her in private, when his defenses were more likely to be down. "Hopefully the scouts can get us some more intel," Leo continued, clearly oblivious to Kent's lie. "Hopefully," Patrick agreed softly. Riley glanced at him and he met her gaze. She could see the question in his eyes. She raised her eyebrows slightly, daring him to say something but he looked away. "How often do your scouts report back?" Riley asked after a moment. "Usually about every two to three days, but it depends on the quality of the intel," Max said. "Sometimes they come sooner, sometimes they take as long as five days." "One thing that concerns me," Leo said, "is the numbers the scouts are reporting. If Jeremy's hunch about the rogues turns out to be correct, they could outnumber us. Red Moon warriors sustained heavy losses before the Council intervened. We do have warriors from the Council and allied packs, but I don't think it will be enough." Max looked at Kent expectantly and Kent sighed. "I have another pack willing to provide support," Kent said rubbing his chin, "but I'll need to meet with them to establish a formal alliance. I've had some hesitations though." Riley realized this was the conversation she had awoken to last night. "Which pack?" "New Dawn," Kent replied. "I've heard of them." Leo frowned. "But I don't remember why.". "You were out at New Dawn, weren't you?" Wesley said, looking at Riley. "A little over a year ago," she said, her stomach dropping slightly. You'll have to tell Kent about it if he goes out there, Rose chided. That's not going to be a fun conversation, Riley replied. "Riley?" Riley looked up at Kent, realizing she had missed a question. "Sorry, my wolf was talking to me." "I asked about the pack and the alpha. What can you tell me?" She shrugged. "Good pack. They have good warriors. I was out arbitrating a boundary dispute. I wasn't there long. It was a pretty straightforward issue. The alpha is Jake Hunter. He's a good leader, well respected." "He insists that Kent has to go out there," Max explained. "The pack isn't the closest to us. I tried to convince him to come here or let me come qut to negotiate in Kent's stead but the guy was pretty adamant." "He would be," Riley said mildly. "His pack follows older rules. He has worked to update some things, but his elders are resistant." Kent nodded. "Would it be a worthwhile alliance?" "Yeah," she said, "it really would, as long as he agrees to send warriors immediately." 2/3 Chapter 30 Kent frowned, nostrils flaring as he thought. "I hate the idea of leaving the pack right now. There could be an attack." "We're prepared for an attack," Leo pointed out. "What we need right now are more warriors. If this is the best chance at getting more warriors, I think you should go." Kent nodded. "I'll need someone from the Council to go with me, to relay the Council's interest in this alliance. "Riley should go," Wesley said simply. "She already knows the alpha." Riley froze. The last thing she wanted was to go to New Dawn with Kent. That was a disaster waiting to happen. "No," Kent said too quickly, making everyone look at him. "I just meant..." He paused, glancing at Riley. "You've had a lot of traveling in the last few weeks." "Riley really is the best choice," Leo commented. Kent bit back his reply, staring at Riley for another moment. "It's up to you," he said finally. "No, you're right," she said to Kent. "It has been a lot of traveling in the last few weeks. Plus, I don't want to lose momentum on figuring out the problems here. I need to figure out what the rogues are after," she added pointedly. "I can go then," Leo said. "Just let me know when we leave." Kent nodded. "That sounds good. I'll call the alpha at New Dawn and work out travel details." Comments