Two months later.
Full Moon Night
POV - Kyas
'Kyas? It's Cathy, from the kitchens.' She said when I answered her push.
'Hey, Cathy, I know who you are." I sent.
'Um... I know you often have an open link, but can I talk to you privately?' She asked.
This was different.
'Uh, yeah, sure, give me a sec, and I'll push you back.' I responded.
'Chaos, what do you think that's about?' I asked after closing the open link.
These days, I preferred the open link because... people actually wanted to talk to me. Me! A lot of them.
'Don't bother me, I'm enjoying nap time.' He shot back.' Find out from her.'
Papa had been gone for two weeks, attending a mandatory Council of Alphas. He was due home tonight. Chaos had been enjoying the time off from command runs. A few packmates had requested they stop, but not many. We didn't feel that it was ok for us to ask the pack since it was our punishment, but Papa said he may start asking around to see where the pack stood. It's possible they just hadn't thought they had a say.
I pushed to Cathy. 'Hey, Cathy, what's up?'I asked.
'I'm sorry to bother you, Kyas, but with Alpha and Beta gone, and Gamma Chris busy with the water pump problem, I wasn't sure who to ask.' She said.
'Cathy, it's never a bother. You can contact me anytime. Tell me what the trouble is, and if we can't help, we can connect with someone who can.' I said back.
'Well, the kitchen's grocery stock hasn't come in yet, and we're getting a bit low on supplies. I didn't say anything before now because we usually keep enough stock to last a minute, in case of emergency or delays in shipping. I thought that's what this was, just a shipping delay, but then one of our biggest suppliers called and asked why we didn't send a requisition order in. We've looked for the order form and receipt book for it but can't find it." She explained.
Hmm.
'Ok, can the order be put in without the book?' I asked.
'I guess that's possible, but its designed to streamline the process for both us and the suppliers since each one has different ways they need the paperwork.' She replied.
'Ok, Chaos and I can try to help find the book as long as its ok for us to sniff around in the kitchens and storerooms, and I'll reach out to Gamma Chris to see if he can complete it, and see how this got missed so it doesn't happen again. How long do you think we have before things get bad?' I asked.
'That's why I said something, we have about a week before we'll have to start rationing, and we've already cut down on portions, but theres only so far you can push a pack of wolves over their food before tempers start flaring. If you count suppliers' shipping time, we really need to get this done.' She said, worried.
'Ok, Cathy, thanks for reaching out, I'll see how we can help.' I said.
'Ok, thanks, Kyas.' She said as her push receded.
'You heard her, Chaos, we have a book to find.' I said.
'Mmmm, can't we do it tomorrow?' He said.
'Sure, if you want oatmeal for breakfast...' I said.
He got up, headed for the kitchens.
I pushed Gamma Chris.
'Hey, Kyas, what's up?' He asked.
'Hey Gamma, how goes the water pump trouble?' I inquired.
'Going good, we have a plan we think will work, why?' He asked.
Technically, I'm not supposed to be pushing him directly, I'm nowhere near ranked high enough for that, but Gamma Chris and I had developed a good relationship, and he even asked me advice sometimes. For the past month, we've been working closely on lots of pack matters.
'Cathy contacted me about food supplies, she said the requisition order wasn't sent out, they can't find the book, and food stores are getting low. If Chaos and I can find the book, can you complete the order?' I asked.
'Well that's usually something Alpha does, but he delegated that to Elias as a duty to start his alpha training, but I have done it before, so I can do it of you find the book.' He said.
'Ok, can you tell us what it looks like and where it's usually kept?' I asked.
'Yeah, we keep it in the Alpha's office. It's dark green and leather bound. Sometimes, it can be found in the kitchen office, but Cathy is pretty good at returning it.' He informed.
'Ok, on it'. I said.
We actually didn't check Alpha's office or the kitchen office. We figured Cathy would have obviously checked those locations. In the meantime, while Chaos looked, I tried to reach Elias again. Still blocked. I opened Pack Wide.
'Can anyone get in touch with Elias? He has me blocked.' I asked.
Responses came immediately from all over the pack. He has them all blocked. No one has seen him since Alpha left, but his scent was strong in his room and regular in the kitchen. He's cut himself off.
Anger blossomed again, but knowing that book needed found to feed the pack and that I couldn't shift until sunset, let me keep it on a slow simmer. I didn't care if Elias wanted to cut himself off and wallow in jealousy, but he doesn't get to neglect my pack. Mess with my pack, mess with me.
'What about Ethos? Can he be contacted?' I asked.
Again, immediate response. They try, but Elias shuts him down. The simmer gets harder to maintain. Focus.
We found the book in the farthest corner of the wine cellar. It was open. There were five entries. The last one said SUCK IT!
'Found it!' I sent to Gamma Chris. 'I'll get it to Cathy. Maybe she can help you with it. You're going to want to start a new page.'
'Ok, thanks, Kyas. I'm headed there now. Do you think I should handle Elias first?' He asked.
'You're the Gamma, and you're in charge, so it's ultimately your choice, but if it were me, I would do the food first. We have a pack to feed, and that's more important than one little brat. Alpha will be back by morning, so you can tell him, and he can handle Elias.' I advised.
'Sounds good, I'll let Alpha handle him.' He said and dropped off.
Not if I get him first.