The Claiming by Cooper
Chapter 102

The Council Chapter 9: Mason

Mason

The next morning, we arrive at the conference room ready to take on the other Alphas. We decided that Seth and I would take on the petition for changing the claiming process and Hana and Jara would take on the petition for the Luna Council.

I let Jara know that we needed to meet with Alpha Davis after the meeting ends today, or maybe at lunch time if things don't get too crazy this morning.

As we get our coffee and get settled, Elder Jason comes in, moving to stand at the front of the room. We get settled and he comes forward.

"Good morning everyone. Today we have three petitions that we need to address. Of note, there are two that seem to be in direct conflict with each other, so I'm sure that there will be some discussion about the direction of our packs in the future."

He turns, pulling my petition from the table behind him. "The first petition has been submitted by Alphas Mason and Seth. They are proposing to change the way the annual claiming process is handled." "Of course they are." I hear Gunnar growl under his breath.

"This petition has six sections. We will go through each one individually and discuss it before moving to the next. Any questions?"

When no one has any, he continues.

"The first part of this petition states that 'Assessments will happen

within one month of the claiming'."

"Is there enough time to complete assessments for a couple hundred claimaints within one month?" Elder Stanley asks.

"It would depend on how many claimaints there actually are for the claim and how many assessors we have. Now that we have fewer packs and fewer werewolves, I think it could be done." Surprisingly, it's Elder Carson that agrees that this is possible.

There are a few other questions, but this is pretty straightforward. It was meant to ensure the safety of the she-wolves as much as possible, but it's already a requirement, it just shortens the timeframes for completion.

"Let's take it to a vote." Alpha Jason says, and all fourteen Alphas

agree.

"Done. Moving on to the second part of the petition. It states, 'Killing is not allowed and will disqualify the claimant from that and all future claimings'."

Not surprisingly, this one causes a lot of grumbling.

"Are we wolves or are we wolves in sheep's clothing. Fighting is what we do, it's how we show dominance." Alpha Gunnar says loudly, his minions nodding in agreement.

"Except, the claimings are open to all ranks. It gives an unfair advantage to ranked wolves and is depleting our omegas at an alarming rate, especially after this year." Alpha Zaire speaks up.

"Then perhaps you should do a better job of training your pack members, Alpha." Alpha Emanuel says sarcastically.

"No matter how well you train an omega, or even a warrior for that matter, they could never win against an Alpha or a Beta. And they'd

be lucky to beat a Gamma unless they are a younger brother with true blood lines." Alpha Luke speaks up. "I agree with the

elimination of the killing. It was a fucking bloodbath this year, and for no good reason."

"Oh, poor Alpha Luke, lost some of his pack members. Too bad, Alpha. Get with the program. I vote that the killing continues. Isn't that the point of the claiming? Let the strongest claim their mates?" Alpha Gunnar says.

"Just because you don't care about the loss of your pack

members, Gunnar, doesn't mean the rest of us don't. I agree with Alphas Seth and Mason. Eliminate the killing during the claiming." Alpha Antonio says.

"Let's take it to a vote." Elder Jason says. When we vote, he reads the tallies.

"Nine in favor of changing the laws, five in favor of keeping them the same. The law will change and killing will now be illegal during the claiming process and those that kill either before or during the claiming process will be eliminated from that and all future claimings."

I can see Gunnar from the corner of my eye. He's fuming, especially since Alphas Davis and Quinton sided with me. Of course, both of them have small packs. They can't afford to lose their members to something stupid like the claiming process. It could easily cause them to lose their pack status, forcing them to be absorbed by another pack. That may not sound terrible, but it means that the Alpha of the absorbed pack also loses their Alpha status and must now submit to another Alpha. I know I wouldn't do it.

I look at Gunnar more closely. Maybe that's his plan. He didn't increase the size of his pack too much during the meeting

yesterday. So, maybe he's hoping his alliance with the other packs would allow him to absorb their members over time. It makes him more dangerous, and certainly worth watching.

"What is it?" I hear Jara in my head. I look at her and see her watching me closely.

"I'll tell you later." I say, needing to stay focused right now.

"The third part of the petition states that 'All claimings, regardless of the rank of the female, will be limited to fifty claimants.""

The response is instant and has many Alphas on their feet.

"No!"

"No way!"

"That's the best way for someone to get a ranked female. You can't limit it."

Elder Jason turns and looks at me. "Alpha Mason, Alpha Seth, would one of you like to explain your reasons behind this part of the petition."

I stand, knowing Seth and I had already talked about me taking the lead.

"In this year's claiming, it became very apparent that the larger the group of males in the lottery, the more likely and more quickly the claiming haze would take you. In Luna Hana's claiming, for instance, omegas and warriors were falling into the haze before they entered the territory. It was a bloodbath and they never made it into the claim. By the end of the second day, the haze had started to take ranked members as well. No one was immune. It was the same in Alpha Jara's claiming. Members were falling to the haze almost immediately and no one was immune, which

caused the deaths of at least one Alpha." I turn and look at Alpha Asher, nodding at him. "Possibly the death of Alpha Typhon, nearly taking Alpha Luke and countless other ranked members."

I stop, looking around. "Many of you lost ranked members this year. Some of you are in your positions because your Alphas were killed in previous claimings. Some of you have killed the ranked members of other packs. By limiting the number of claimants, we limit the effects of the claiming haze."

"Haze or no haze, like Alpha Gunnar said before, we're wolves. We're a violent species. I say we keep the numbers. Every wolf has the opportunity to excuse themselves from the claiming. Every wolf knows the risk of entering a claim, no matter the size of the lottery. I say leave it as is." Alpha Conrad, one of Gunnar's minions says and I see many others nodding in agreement.

"Even if they know the risks, some pack members are so close to going feral, that it's worth it. Some of our pack members will die whether it's in the claiming territory or by their Alpha's hand a few months later. I agree with Alpha Conrad, the numbers shouldn't be reduced because of the haze." Alpha Jonas, one that I felt wouldn't side either way, says. He makes a valid point, one that I see several others agreeing with.

"So, we will modify the previous statement, then? Killing outside the claiming territory is not allowed. But what happens once in the haze inside the claiming territory is unavoidable." Alpha Emanual says. I don't like it, but I know from experience you can't change your instinct once you're in the haze."

I look at Seth and he nods. "Fine." I say, turning back to the group.

"Let's take it to a vote." Elder Jason says.

This time, the votes are split down the middle. Seven in favor of

the change, seven against it. It doesn't escape my notice that the ones against it, still don't have mates.

"Since this is a tie, we will take it to the Elders." Elder Jason says, turning to his brethren. "All in favor of changing the maximum limit in the claimings, raise your hand." None of them do.

"All in favor of keeping the lottery numbers as is, raise your hand." All four raise their hands.

"The votes fall to the side of those wanting to keep the lottery numbers the same. No laws will be changed." Elder Jason looks down a moment. "If I had needed to vote, I would have voted in favor of the change. I cleaned up too many dead bodies this year. Dead bodies of YOUR pack members." He says, and it's almost as if he's scolding the Alphas

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