I stood up to get a better viewpoint. “The clearings are obviously serving some sort of purpose, meaning packmembers are here, but there is so much space that a trained person would probably be able to get past undetected. I would run patrol patterns in an arc and have two groups of two or four
running the same path, just running opposite each other, that way no one area is unprotected for long.
If you are having rogue attacks regularly, I would have patrol check in every hour, but from a different point in their path to keep communication open
and minds sharp, especially at night. If there are specific paths in or out of the territory, I would have those monitored too, it’s easy to keep your
bearings if there is a road or river to follow. I would also use motion sensors that can be monitored at the packhouse or other central location. More than one set of eyes is always better.”
1100k up to see Alpha Lucas smiling his gentle smile, the one he wears when he is in “dad mode,’ Luna Ava and Luna Queen Anne look impressed, but not surprised.
“Is that right? I feel like I arn being tested right now and you are all making me anxious.
The Alpha King is the one who responds first. “Very impressive my dear. And you have no training in border security or patrols?”
“No, sir. Only the little we have started studying in battle classes.
“Bah! None of this ‘sir’ stuff. Alpha Reggie to you. And you seem to have a natural eye and realistic notion for what is needed. Let me ask you this,
what would you do if you were protecting the Luna in an attack on this territory?”
“Where is the attack coming from, sir?” He looks at me, eyebrows pressed together. My eyes go wide, unsure of what I did to earn that look for a
moment, then it dawns on me. “Sorry, Alpha Reggie.”
“Let’s say multidirectional attack. One from the mountains , one from the east entrance and one from the west just beyond the lake.
“Does the packhouse have a safe room?” I ask without looking up from the ‘map’ made of glasses, bottles, napkins and phones on the table, making a mental picture for myself.
“Let’s say no safe room.”
“I would have the Luna suppress her Aura and shift, we would run up the middle, trying to avoid the attacks from the East and West. Most Lunas
would want to stay and fight or care for their pack, but keeping her safe keeps the pack fighting. She can keep morale boosted via the mind link as long as she is in range on the territory. If her aura is suppressed then it will take longer for the rogues to find her, giving warriors time to fend off the
attack. More than likely, if the Luna is the target, the attackers will check the packhouse first and look for a safe room for her to be holed up in, that will also buy time if there is a rumor of a safe room planted.
“What if there is an actual safe room?”
“l would hope that it has two exits, like a rabbit hole, otherwise they can just sit on it, keeping her hostage and wait for her to need food and water. I
would also hope it’s built into the mountain, giving you options for exits. If your architect was skilled it could be a tunnel system that needs to be
navigated like a maze to find.” Pm just letting my imagination run wild now.
“You could also have more than one option for an exit with the maze system. It could also double to protect non-warriors of the pack in any type of
emergency if food was stored and you could locate a source of clean water. It could be a place to keep your pack safe or as an evacuation point. I look up smiling at all of the possibilities.
“Well now, I’m going to have to see how creative my architect can be.” Alpha Reggie chuckled at me.
“Wait, What?”
“This is the basic make up of the Royal territory and you, my dear, have picked apart our entire protective
Strategy. Your fan club back there has spent the last two summers here at the training grounds.” He points to a clearing close to the lake and I think the picture in Kota’s room. I take a breath and then my eyes go wide and I can’t utter words. Did I offend him? Did I just embarass myself?
