POV- Alpha Carlisle
"Alright, Alpha," Basil said, "Elias dealt with, let's move on to Kyas. What should his punishment be? You can't make a fool out of an Alpha and get away with it. Disrespect of the Alpha, disrespects the entire pack."
The Counsel agreed.
I tapped my pen on the table.
"I said, at first, that I had no intention of speaking on Kyas' behalf, mainly because, like with Elias, they are my sons, and especially with Kyas, it would be foolish to think I can be impartial. There's things to consider with him that I just learned about, that changes that."
"Wouldn't the first question be How to punish Kyas? He's bound inside Chaos for all but twelve nights a year. Is it even fair to use his one night of shift to serve punishment?" Asked Darcy.
"And what about Chaos? It's not right to punish him for something his human did." Said Jasper.
"As to Chaos, " I said "He's standing by Kyas all the way. I told him that he's likely to take an unfair amount of the consequences because we Can't let the pack see this go unanswered. He's adamant. He says he deserves it just as much because he supported the promise and helped Kyas do it."
"Wow, that's something to see in such a young wolf." said Carla.
I tapped my pen some more.
"The trouble with Kyas is that we can't punish him." I said.
"Alpha, that's ridiculous!" Shouted Atticus.
"You can't be serious, Alpha," Eileen said, "you just said this can't go unanswered. "
"You're not being objective, Alpha," Jasper stated, " This is why the Elders decide these matters."
I held up my hand.
"Ok, ok, settle down. Hear me out, and then after you know everything, if you still think I'm not thinking clearly, we can discuss other solutions." I said.
'Spill it, Alpha, what are you not telling us?' Said Basil.
"Have any of you ever seen a pack slave?" I asked.
"Those are illegal. " Clara said.
"For good reason. " I agreed.
"I saw one," Jasper said. "Back before it was a crime. That poor creature was barely human, and its wolf was long gone if it ever had one to begin with."
"Cedar River had them. Kyas was one of them." I said.
"NO, Alpha! That can't be true! They can't make our baby a pack slave!" Yelled Clara.
I shook my head. "The whole time I was there, every single visit, I never suspected a thing. To think my son was there, under my feet, hidden away, while I thought I was speaking to his ghost in the garden. It makes me want to go back and kill them all, except they're already dead."
"In the end, though, Alpha, you got him out." Said Harvey. "That's got to count for something. "
I laughed. "What's really something is that I got him out because He saved Me. Chaos killed the rogue that had me pinned down. A tiny scrap of a pup, no taller than my elbow, saved the Fire Moon Alpha."
"Oh, my Goddess..." said Carla.
I cleared my throat. "Kyas doesn't talk about his past as a pack slave. He told me was a pack slave his whole life, since age five, his earliest memory. He doesn't remember anything else. They taught him that he was nothing, lower than the dirt on an omegas shoe. That he was a thing, that he was an it, to use Chaos' words. We can't punish him because he still thinks that's true, even five years later, even at age fifteen. "
They sat there, stunned.
"But..." Eileen started, "He's been here for five years. Hasn't he been with you, seen Chaos be with you? How can he still think that?"
"Kyas said the words to me once and I didn't catch them, but Chaos said it clearly. Kyas thinks he STOLE every single moment with me. Every hug, every kiss, every tickle, every laugh. He feels like he TOOK them from someone else that deserves them more. Kyas thinks he's getting off easy because we're Only mad about the ghost lie." I told them.
"Oh, our poor baby..." Clara cried.
"How is it even possible to go on living if that's what you think of yourself?" Atticus said.
I stood up.
"He's an optimist. " I said.
"What?"Darcy asked.
"I asked him how he can be ok with getting royally punished for keeping a promise he got nothing out of." I told them. "He smiled at the memory of all his riches. He stole moments with us, he got through Chaos a warm bed and two meals a day. It was a win for him because its not a stone cold floor and a crust of bread. He actually said he's happy because its better than nothing."
The Counsel was shocked.
"So, how do you punish that?" I asked. "How do you punish someone that thinks he deserves every bad thing you could throw at him, so he wouldn't bat an eye if you did? We couldn't take away the food or warm bed because he'd just shrug and say it was good while it lasted. We couldn't do that to Chaos anyway."
"I see your point Alpha." Basil said.
"So..."Eileen said, "What Do we do?"
"Oh, punishment be damned, I just wanna hug him!" Carla said.
"Chaos has a suggestion." I said.
"Chaos? He wants to help punish Kyas?" Darcy asked. "His own boy?"
"Yes," I said, "But not the way you think. You see, Kyas has an obsession. Something he will move mountains for."
"What is it?" Asked Jasper.
"Bonds." I said.
"Bonds?" Asked Harvey.
"Yes," I said. "Pack bonds. He said he wasn't allowed to even think about forming any kind of bond as a pack slave, but that it's easy to see what you can't have. He said that when he came here, he could see the damage I had done to them here. I thought it was a figure of speech, but it wasn't."
"He said he could see pack bonds?" Eileen asked.
I nodded. "He doesn't just see them, he's obsessed with them. When he told me how fish was a bonus for him, he said that wasn't even the best part. The best part was the bonds he had watched heal and grow over the years. When he talked about them, it was like the moon and stars had come down personally to greet him. He said there was no color when he got here, and now it's like a beautiful rainbow. It's like his own personal garden. He doesn't even understand that he's the one who did it. By coming into my room and letting me touch my dead son's ghost for twelve hours. He slayed my demons and grew his garden of bonds."
"Bonds..." Carla said. Then she jumped up and slapped the table excitedly. "No! No way! He's a Gamma!"
I nodded. The Counsel started smiling.
"How strong?" Basil asked.
"He knows every single pack member by name, and can identify their wolves too. I'd bet if you named one he could tell you where they lived, who their neighbors are, and the name of their cat." I told them, proud of my son.
"All right, so what does Chaos suggest?" Atticus asked.
"For all of his obsession, Kyas only has Five bonds of his own. Chaos could be a stunt double for a pin cushion, according to Kyas, but he only has me, Ruby, Elias, Ethos and Chaos. Chaos says we need to get Kyas out of the shadows. He needs to be seen and heard and talked to, and touched, to forge these bonds of his own. That wasn't possible before now, but NOW we have the pack, the lifeblood of his obsession."
"Chores," Eileen said. "We make him do chores for the pack. We get the pack to dream up chores that Chaos can do, but make them go through Kyas to get them done. The pack sees the punishment they expect, while we help Kyas learn that he matters."
"I like it," Jasper said. "Chores have never hurt a good boy yet."
"Oh!" Clara said. "Full moon! No more bedtime visits Alpha. Lights, music, bonfires, and Kyas front and center. The first one, he has to apologize to every pack member for disrespecting their Alpha. In person..."
I nodded. I liked it. "The first one is going to be a lot, so I'm going to scratch Chaos from the next pack run. I don't want Kyas hiding half the night behind Chaos. Plus, Chaos is scrappy. He's just as obsessed with bonds as Kyas is, he just keeps it low key. His first pack run, Alpha Commanded at every step, he still manages to come home covered in blood, protecting Neil and Dean from a mountain lion."
They laughed.
"What about Chaos? If this plan works, Chaos is going to be on cloud nine. It's not a good punishment if the offender is happy about it." Said Harvey.
"Oh, no, Chaos is so not going to be a happy wolf. I'm still going to Alpha command the snot out of him, as a public display of what happens when you cross me." I said.
The Counsel agreed.