Lance The next rule states that anyone that doesn't reject his or her Mate gets banished; the one after that states that anyone hiding their Mate that isn't a Wolf will face death with their Mate, and I stare at Lakota as I hear Lotus growl softly. "Sorry, Lotus doesn't like that a Pack's leadership would do this to their Pack-members. I know that none of our members would have wanted to live here under those rules; they would have walked away and they would have informed the Council," she responds. We talk about the Pack-members that found a Mate that wasn't a Wolf and had hidden it from their leadership; it must have happened somewhere during the history of this Pack for that rule to have been in place. We know that there are Wolves that wouldn't be able to recognize a Lycan if they sat next to one another, but our Pack-members have been trained to sense the difference by Keir and Kobal. We decide to discuss this with the entire Pack at dinner and let them think about why this Pack might have made this a part of their Pack-rules. I find a binder with a black bow holding it closed, and I slowly pull the bow to open it; I can barely hide my excitement as I slowly open it. The crest on the lock box Lakota found is also on the binder, and I hope it will answer a few of our questions, but I am not going to hold my breath. The first paper is dated shortly after the war with Humans, and it is a letter from the Alpha that formed his Pack here. Thursday, October 1st, 2189 My name is Ferdy, and today I will settle in this territory with my Pack. My members and I were once a part of one of the largest Packs in the States, but with the raging war against the Humans I lost most of my old Pack, and we made the decision to settle in a new territory. We all need a new start, far away from the bad memories of the war. I lost my parents and my siblings within the first two months of the war, and three months later I lost my Mate of six years. I don't blame the Alpha who is responsible for our kind to get discovered; I might have done what he did if she had been my Mate, and I doubt anyone could have predicted this outcome. We had been wandering around this area for a few months now, and when my Gamma found the hidden territory we discussed with the Pack how we could keep it hidden from the rest of the world. One of my Warriors and his Mate came up with the answer; they were willing to stay in the main territory without knowing how to get to the hidden territory. They said that they wouldn't be able to tell anyone if they didn't know where it was located, and a few more were willing to do the same. This will keep our main territory inhabited all of the time, and we can build a small Pack-house to keep up an appearance in front of visitors, but we also decide not to tell the Council the real size of our Pack.We have cleared the area to build a few structures, and we have furnished the small Pack-house; there are even a few files in the Alpha's office. Our hidden territory has been prepared as well, but today we will all be in the main territory for the ceremony and to show the Council where we will be settling down. Once the Council is gone, our Pack-members that will be living in the hidden territory will receive an Alpha order to keep the entrance to our hidden territory a secret. They all agreed to it voluntarily; none of them wants to risk revealing the entrance by accident, and I am proud of my Pack-members. Alpha Ferdy, Hidden Mountain Pack. I hand the letter to Lakota before I start reading the next letter. Tuesday, February 23rd, 2190 It has been nearly four months since we settled down, and there have been quite a few Alphas that came to visit us, asking questions about how big our Pack is. After the first Alpha showed up, we had a Pack meeting to figure out a way to handle this; I know they want to know if they could overtake this Pack without many loss of lives. One of the Omegas suggested we could spread rumors about the hidden territory with different amounts of Pack-members living there; I was surprised to hear that idea coming from an Omega, and I had to admit that she had a very good idea. I fine-tuned it with my Beta, and soon we started spreading the rumors; all rumors had a consistency in common. We decided to spread rumors on how far away the hidden territory was and the amount of Pack-members living there, just to keep everyone guessing. We even decided to never tell the Council the truth as to where the entrance is or how many Pack-members are living there. So far no one has taken a shot at attacking us, and they would have failed if they had tried to; our Pack is larger and stronger than most will think. Council-members are allowed to enter our main territory and write down from memory what they have seen and witnessed, not that it will do anyone any good going over those notes. They barely see half of the Pack, and most of the members they do see are the ones that chose to live here. Alpha Ferdy, Hidden Mountain Pack. I place the letter in front of Lakota and skim through the rest of the letters. There are two more letters, but they don't reveal anything on why they determined that they needed to reject their Mates if they weren't Wolves. I had really hoped to get an answer to that question from these letters, and I know we have to wait until we are ready to go through the Archive. Once Lakota is ready with reading all the letters, she releases a deep sigh as she leans back in her chair. "At least some answers, but not the ones I was hoping for," she mumbles as she closes her eyes. I watch her as she places her hands behind her head, and I ask her if she is okay. I watch her closely as she turns her head towards me. "I am fine, Lance. Just wish we had gotten a few more answers today, but I have found at least one more rule to write down for our Pack-rules. No one is allowed to reject their Mate because of what they are; the only reasons to reject your Mate is abuse or sleeping around. I know I wouldn't want a Mate that has slept with half the males or females in their Pack or is known to have loose hands, and I will be damned if I let one of my Pack-members fall victim to that," she growls, and I believe she has a valid point; this rule would protect both parties involved. Her turquoise eyes show a determination I have seen before; it was when we all believed that there was no hidden territory, and in the end it turned out she was right. She will keep our Pack-members safe at all costs, and she will do whatever she has to do to protect the location of our hidden territory.